At its core, this is the Assassin's Creed we've grown to love in recent years, and it still serves as a pretty good time sink -- plus, it's a necessary bridge to next year's already-announced follow-up. But obligation shouldn't be the primary reason to play something, and sadly, that's too often the case in this humdrum campaign.

It's fun while it lasts, but it certainly won't blaze any new trails as far as virtual rockstardom goes, and diehard fans of Rock Band should hope that the devs return to their hard rocking roots for the next genuine installment. [Feb 2010, p.89]

When Dead to Rights is good, it’s damn good…pity that parts of it are such buzzkills.

At its core, this is the Assassin's Creed we've grown to love in recent years, and it still serves as a pretty good time sink -- plus, it's a necessary bridge to next year's already-announced follow-up. But obligation shouldn't be the primary reason to play something, and sadly, that's too often the case in this humdrum campaign.

A nostalgic experience with the Resident Evil franchise should always include number two.

Brainless action-shooting doesn’t get more engaging than AFO. But without depth, the destruction eventually gets repetitious and tiring to the eyes.

Challenges are also oversimplified. Where single-player challenges in previous Worms games had cool objectives such as shotgunning targets and parachuting to grab mid-air items, Challenge Mode in Open Warfare is merely team combat.

It just turns out to be an object example of how even the prettiest eye candy can't mask flawed mechanics for long, and how gameplay that aims for greatness can stumble and wind up slumming it in Mediocre Town.

A sloppy single-player campaign met with matchless multiplayer makes for an unbalanced first-person shooter experience.

It's a mere...er, shadow of the cartoon, but it's also a lively workout...While this is far from "Onimusha," "Shinobi," or "Ninja Gaiden," initiates fresh to the genre should find it a worthy first challenge. [May 2004, p.70]

Illbleed scores major points for twisted originality, even if unfocused and clunky execution keeps it from turning horror on its gory, severed ear.

Word Searcher Deluxe offers a great value for fans of the word puzzle genre, but it's clearly geared towards a very specific clientele. With plenty of puzzles, a local co-op mode, and downloadable content, word search aficionados looking for a new way to play their favorite newspaper-to-arcade game should check this title out. Everyone else may find the game lacking.

Armageddon's not bad, it's just plain. The game feels like Volition started from scratch, but accidentally threw out too much of what made the last game great.

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.

The sex appeal factor is just okay, so it’s not going to blow you away if you’re mainly in the market for eye candy or compromising situations.

Non–Dragon Ball Z fans, however, may have a hard time not only grasping the quirky DBZ story, but also wrapping their fingers around the repetitious controls.

A sloppy single-player campaign met with matchless multiplayer makes for an unbalanced first-person shooter experience.

It won't replace scheduled sessions with Team Fortess 2 -- nor is it as good -- but Lead and Gold is extremely fun and has an exceptional amount of potential if Fatshark is willing to fix some of its more glaring issues.

Despite my gripes, Shank is a badass game. It could've done with a little more content (maybe a boss rush mode?), but it's a hack-and-slash murderfest that can easily stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Castle Crashers and Scott Pilgrim.

If there's a problem with Rabbids 3D it's that it's a little too forgiving, despite the game's best efforts to be otherwise in its latter half. Still, given the as-of-yet anemic selection of 3DS releases available, Rabbids 3D is one of the better options.

Armageddon's not bad, it's just plain. The game feels like Volition started from scratch, but accidentally threw out too much of what made the last game great.

You can easily beat the game in one sitting -- pretty disappointing, especially for "Strider" veterans.

Despite it's aesthetic weaknesses, Sempai Legends is a good trading-card game and definitely a match for its competitors.

Wacky camera angles that can be frustrating and difficult to adjust during heated battles plague every level.

It's a little repetitive, but smooth controls and varied weapons make this pig's tale an addictive game of revenge.

A very, very, very old-school platformer that doesn’t have enough standout new features to keep it fresh in this day and age.

Even if you strip away the Robotech coolness, you still have a decent action game that entertains but doesn’t surprise.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 isn't at all a bad game, but it is frustrating, both for newcomers that need to master the combat system and for fans that have to unlearn habits formed around the first game.