Smackdown 07 is easily the best wrestling game to date. There's enough juicy content here to keep you busy for years to come, which is enough time for Hulk Hogan to retire and unretire twelve times.

Graphically, it's difficult to find any real differences between the two versions- in other words, they both look pretty good- but overall, I'd have to give the win to the Xbox 360, which comes out slightly on top with visuals that were a wee bit crisper.

Those who loved the original should at least try the game to experience how having the Wii-mote has changed the feel of the operations.

The worst part of the game has to be the audio. The incessant buzzing that is meant to represent the vehicles engines brought to mind the tinny whine of our time with Outrun on the Sega Master System. There's literally no variance or change in pitch in the engine's hum for, oh say, air flow, proximity or speed. There's just straight up honey-powered bee-mobiles.

Taken in small does, NFL Street 3 is fun enough, but despite comic book flourishes and interesting interactive field ideas, it just can't hold a candle to Blitz's polish in it's current form.

One could possibly spend hours on end playing this game, as they obsessively upgrade their shops to unlock more things to buy, until eventually you monopolizing businesses the entire Tamagotchi Mall.

NBA replay online content does have some interesting prospects, with the top five real-life NBA games from the past week set to be recreated in NBA 07 as part of an online multiplayer competition. Good hustle.

What's most disappointing, however, is how pitifully the game's "attitude" falls on its face. Every last unfunny quip issued by the traffic chopper, every painful Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, every ham-fisted racial stereotype is so poor that you can't help but wonder "what were they thinking?"

Best viewed as a refinement on an already phenomenal product.

A shallow and simpleminded title that holds a faint glimmer of fun. There's nothing here that you'd want to play for more than a few minutes, but ironically enough, that qualifies Dark Kingdom as one of the more tolerable PS3 launch games.

Fun and light-hearted play. A tongue of praise to Yoshi's Island 2 for not only remaining true to the classical style but also adding new elements to keep things fresh.

The Ridge Racer series has always seemed to provide games more suited to the casual arcade crowd than serious racing devotees, and despite its jump in graphics quality and new twists, this latest installment isn't likely to convert many to its streamlined feel.

We give the nod to NBA 2K7 [over "NBA 07"] for its superior in-game management and franchise development mode.

There's no online component whatsoever, and splitting the screen for local one-on-one match-ups just exacerbates the already intolerable frame-rate woes. The sad truth is that even the most hardcore robot battle junkie will feel ripped off by this mess.

Blitz is no work of art. It's quirky, bizarro entertainment that grabs you like a swift kick to the testosterone sack and is best played live with guys in an M-rated atmosphere.

Add in the eye-catching, and retina burning graphics, the clever use of audio cues to alert you to events and problems, the elegant control and menu interface and a design philosophy that doesn't unfairly penalize you for mistakes, and you've got a recipe for fun that's simple and enchanting.

Despite all the caveats, fans of the better-known Contras should find the original arcade game an enjoyable curiosity, and it's also pretty cheap at only 400 Microsoft points.

The game glows in a revelatory way we haven't seen since "God of War" and "Resident Evil 4." If nothing else, it's infinitely more engaging and suspenseful than this year's crop of by-the-books FPS games.

Treyarch and Activision have done an great job with COD3 and created an experience that is at once much the same, but also better, than its predecessor.

Project 8 is ridiculously pretty. The overall graphics received a significant upgrade, but we were especially impressed with the character animations. The virtual skaters look and move just like their real-life counterparts... The best Tony Hawk game since "THPS2."

Though the Genesis played second fiddle to the Super Nintendo, it had some awesome titles and thankfully, there are enough of them on this disc to merit a look.

Old Digimon fans will absolutely love this game; it's a repackaging of the older Digimons, but with much more to do. However, new fans may be a bit wary approaching a game like Digimon World DS.

While I personally don't LOVE the overabundance of hard rock and metal songs, every track on the game is more than fun to play along with, and the classic rock tunes are savage, as usual...One of the best gaming experiences ever.

Ultimately, the game amounts to a very extensive map pack with one new game mode, but because the great gameplay of the original is left intact, Lumines II is still a very enjoyable experience.

While it's true some of the quirkiness of the humor is better conveyed in the Japanese counterpart, Elite Beat Agents is no slouch, and is an overall very fun game.

Wonderfully rendered, but when compared to Secret of Mana's engaging narrative, Children of Mana's sparse and slow story falls short.

With amazing improvements and incredible gameplay, FFXII is without a doubt the best Final Fantasy game in over a decade. Put simply, this is what all RPGs, regardless of platform or subject matter, should aspire to be.

However, Liberation is a worthy new chapter in the Killzone series and does more right than it does wrong. [Dec. 2006, p.122]

The innovative Power Stone series debuts on the PSP and manages to retain every ounce of its appeal. [Dec. 2006, p.122]

This game probably won't appeal to new fans but it has more than enough to keep die-hard mud flingers satisffied. [Dec. 2006, p.119]

The unique blend of wonderfully bizarre settings and enemies make Death Jr.'s return a fresh gaming experience. It's "Nightmare Before Christmas" meets "Alice in Wonderland." Prepare yourself for one crazy trip.

As a highly competent, technically polished, but otherwise straightforward first-person shooter, F.E.A.R. is a safe bet for the Xbox 360 action fiend. It may not replace "Halo 2" in your FPS collection, but it sure as hell beats playing "Perfect Dark Zero" for the fourteenth time.

Carbon almost always manages to feel as finely tuned as any of its high performance sleds, and with downloadable content on the way, it seems safe to think that it'll be an adrenaline generating favorite for a good long while.

The game is gritty and dull to a fault and it doesn't have the same sense of humor that made the past titles so entertaining. What humor there is tends to be painfully blunt - the first four hours are like one long un-funny redneck joke, for example.

A broken game - which is a shame, because with a bit more effort it could have been something rather intriguing. It takes some significant gameplay risks and attempts innovation in both its single player and multiplayer modes.

Though sometimes slow and laborious, .hack//G.U. Vol.1 Rebirth is a well thought out update to the series, and is a welcome addition to the growing dot hack family.

We wish good luck to anyone looking to pry any comic collector they know away from this game long enough to complete a sentence.

In all, Petroglyph did a commendable job bringing in a new faction and fresh features and units to an already enjoyable game.

Behind the sharper graphics and the bigger kit of options, though, there's still an unfortunately shallow, repetitive game.

For those looking for a nostalgic adventure game experience, you'll be pleasantly surprised, at least in function. For anyone else, Touch Detective offers a quirky and off-kilter, albeit short and at times frustrating, adventure.

A decent title with challenging puzzles that will reward your patience and dedication. It's probably best as an extended rental but some of you might find that it's worth the full price of admission.

Reservoir Dogs should be a game that puts you right in the middle of a gang of thugs. But instead, arguments about the meaning of Madonna lyrics and trading stories about near misses with police make it a disjointed game of multiple perspectives and confusing timeframes.

Heroes is easily the worst MOH game yet, and yes that includes the PlayStation versions that came out over half a decade ago.

For those with patience, a good sense of direction, and an interest in the obscure, you owe it to yourself to try the game out. If you have a short temper or enjoy the mundane, it's best you avoid making contact with this one.

It all works quite well and should prove entertaining to the little ones. The quirky humor and gameplay will be a little too simple for more mature tastes but younger gamers should definitely tune into this one.

At such an enticing price, having to subscribe to the episodic format is a small concession for such great content found in Sam & Max.

Where the game really shines is in its story, which offers class-based warfare amid jocks, nerds, bullies, greasers, and preppies. As Bully progresses and Jimmy finds himself enmeshed in his struggle to survive, the game blossoms, and players will find themselves desperate to see what happens next.

The A.I. has also gotten smarter to the point that if you are caught out in the open, you're as hosed as Brittney's post K-Fed career. Sure, you can try to forgo the use of cover and concealment but bloody wounds and humiliation will be your only reward.

Battlefield, in its best moments, is one of the most perfect and pure online experiences around. It's too bad 2142 isn't a major evolution over the titles that came before it but it's entertaining enough, and as the old saying goes, you shouldn't look a gift hovertank in the mouth.

Not all the missions are wildly inventive, but the majority are satisfing and entertaining, and each is more fun than the original title's simplistic collection quests.

Heroes is a relatively simple game that, at times, feels like "X-Men Legends" with DC character models. Still, the chance to take control of some of the most beloved superheroes on the planet is one that you just can't pass up.

The only problem lies in the hefty system requirements that are required to produce all this eye candy; if you don't have the rig necessary to run it at a high enough setting, you miss out on the true beauty of the game.

Tremendously fun. The subtle nuances and sheer competitiveness still make it the best realistic golf experience out there. There are nagging issues that continue to get overlooked, but whether or not you've been playing the game in years past, Tiger 07 is a must-buy for cyber golfers.

You'll laugh out loud in your time spent with Work Time Fun. You'll even become thoroughly immersed in what you're playing, despite its ridiculousness, and for thirty bucks, this is a game you should definitely consider adding to your PSP collection.

Heroes is a relatively simple game that, at times, feels like X-Men Legends with DC character models. Still, the chance to take control of some of the most beloved superheroes on the planet is one that you just can't pass up.

Not all the missions are wildly inventive, but the majority are satisfing and entertaining, and each is more fun than the original title's simplistic collection quests.

But as good as the action is it's the replay value of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon that makes it unbelievable. There's so much to do outside the main arcade mode that you'll feel almost overwhelmed with choices. [Dec. 2006, p.115]

When compared to past Tales games, Abyss has only really changed a handful of aspects. However, those changes are obvious upgrades and have made a huge difference in the overall gameplay experience.

It's more suited as a light snack and won't satisfy your hunger for a gourmet feat of beat-em-up goodness. [Nov 2006, p.93]

In the end, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is a solid golf game that should keep you interested for hours. [Nov. 2006, p.103]

The game is obviously aimed at children who will most likely eat this one up like it was sweet, sweet candy. Adults, however, will find it about as appetizing as steamed cauliflower and should definitely avoid it as such.

In the end, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is a solid golf game that should keep you interested for hours. [Nov. 2006, p.103]

But as good as the action is it's the replay value of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon that makes it unbelievable. There's so much to do outside the main arcade mode that you'll feel almost overwhelmed with choices.

New races and units aside, the unexpectedly impressive campaign mode is perhaps the best surprise put forward by Relic. Distancing themselves from the linear structure of the previous campaigns, Relic has instead outdone itself once again, putting together a turn-based strategic level campaign that brings to mind the dynamic feel of Rise of Legends.

Although it's an entertaining and deep game in its own right, a feeling of Grand Theft Auto deja-vu dogs Scarface: The World Is Yours at every turn. [Nov. 2006, p.94]

The fact that it's practically Sims 2 with Desperate Housewives textures, voice acting, and character likeness, hardly makes it appealing. The super-simple controls, drama-filled thematic scenes, and $19.99 price point may appeal to the casual gamer, but hardcore gamers should stray far away.

Gangs of London can be quite fun in spite of its bland story mode, but I'm filing it under the rent before you buy category.

FIFA 07's allure is hard to deny, making this game a sure-fire rental for seasoned vets and a must have for new soccer fans.

But, in trying to recreate the magic of the series, the game dies on the toilet with recycled gags, rehashed plot premises and repetitive gameplay; this is despite solid scripting and voice work from Seth MacFarlane and company.

Global thermonuclear war has been a popular topic for decades, but few things have managed to capture the spirit of the subject and present in both a digestible and utterly unforgettable form as Defcon.

The sheer capacity of things to do in San Esperito is enormous and usually overwhelming.

What we have in Mage Knight is a poor attempt to hop on the "WoW" gravy train. The developer clearly flayed all the depth and nuance out of the formula that made WoW such a huge commercial success, delivering instead a soulless husk stuffed with empty promises and features that you wouldn't want anyway.

Not everyone's going to love the transplanted platform puzzler elements, and RPG purists might be turned off by the wafer-thin town exploration, but just discovering the way your different options fit together is so endlessly absorbing that even wildly divergent tastes will agree that Valkyrie Profile 2 is yummy indeed.

While SuperNOVA is more of the same idea, it takes everything that made DDR a smash hit and turns up the volume a notch.

A landmark in programming incompetence. Exclusive or not, it's a bigger embarrassment than any retro port could have been.

As a sequel, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: March of the Minis surpasses the original by leaps and bounds backed by the capabilities of the Nintendo DS, however the new control scheme does take some getting used to.

A major leap over last season and brings back all the features we so dearly missed. Although the visuals are some of the best we've seen on the Xbox 360, the controls and overall gameplay could take a lesson from close competitor "NBA 2K" series.

NBA 2K7 may not look as good as EA's "NBA Live 07," but the intuitive controls, silky-smooth animation, and fun gameplay makes NBA 2K7 the Xbox 360's basketball game of preference.

Nba '07 is a pretty good action RPG and a decent basketball game. Unfortunately, the two don't quite add up to the outstanding effort necessary to be a contender in the sports genre. [Dec. 2006, p.128]

The best thing you can say about The Godfather is at least the developers didn't just slap the console version into a handheld and call it day.

Okami shames them simply by being the genuine article: A stunningly gorgeous and unique masterpiece that effortlessly blends art and storytelling with puzzles and amusement. Miss this landmark effort at your peril. [Oct. 2006, p.78]

The Godfather is one of those films that defined a decade of cinema. The somewhat open-ended world of this game isn't destined to have anywhere near that level of impact, but it is juicy amoral fun all the same, even if its belated arrival on the next generation is more than a little disappointing.

Tank battles can get quite challenging.

Mamodo Fury suffers from a variety of problems, among them a frustrating camera, an overly complicated combat system, cheap enemies who'll have you tearing your hair out, and repetitive gameplay that just doesn't get any better. The game also screams "value title" with its mediocre graphics and sound production.

If they ever invent a time machine, SNK should set it for the date of the PS2 launch and chuck KoF 2006 through; that, and that only, might make this game relevant.

If monotonous gaming and skimpy Pokemon action aren't your thing, then this is one mystery that's best left unsolved.

Put simply, Company of Heroes is a masterpiece. Its dedication to realistic battle concepts and tactical warfare is enough to make it a high watermark for the RTS genre but its excellent graphics and physics, along with an intensely enjoyable single-player campaign and multiplayer options, help make this an instant classic.

No matter what your age, LEGO Star Wars II will keep your inner child happy. [Oct. 2006, p.84]

It's quick to pick up and easy to put down which is everything a portable game should be.

A decent addition to the survival-horror/psycho-horror genre and at its best, is an intense thrill-ride experience. However, to get to these moments, you have to endure a flawed presentation and design elements.

It's wacky and weird and has some funny moments. It's just too bad that the actual gameplay can't seem to keep up with that kind of creativity.

The Skills Stick alone make NHL 07 a completely different game and one worthy of the new NHL. [Oct. 2006, p.96]

A great addition to the franchise, especially if you're willing to take the time to fiddle with the settings.

Its smart design takes full advantage of the DS' strengths and is put together in a delicious, ready-to-eat package that's sure to delight.

The formula still needs a bit of work, to be sure, but Age of Pirates is definitely a potent breath mint fit for the mangiest of pirates, if only for the seaworthy ambience and ability to play in full pirate regalia without feeling silly.

No matter what your age, LEGO Star Wars II will keep your inner child happy. [Oct. 2006, p.84]

With its light-hearted gameplay and silly graphics, Mario Hoops probably won't win over a diehard basketball fan but it's entertaining enough to keep most gamers glued to the on-court action. Nintendo definitely shoots and scores with this one.

Every year the NASCAR series seems to emphasize a different aspect of the sport. But this year, the focus is back where it belongs: on the driving and on-track competition. [Nov. 2006, p.102]