At its best, the game is a fun and interesting diversion, but it's rarely at its best. It's a good first effort and I personally hope it's a sign of more to come.

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.

Joker could've used a heaping helping of the friendly big touch-screen button style interface that the latest Pokemon mastered, but ultimately with these monster hunter games, it's really just just up to your brand preference.

I'd suggest you pass this one up unless you're a Wii fanatic, a light-gun aficionado, or a Zelda freak who just has to have every single Link game around. [Feb 2008, p.77]

Sure it has a ton of great options and modes, but it simply doesn't have the action packed excitement of the Virtua Tennis series.

Although it's leaning in a good direction, Music Jam could've used some more rehearsal.

A solid RPG experience that is muddled by some unfortunate pathfinding and UI issues.

Series fans'll eat it up , but others may want to contemplate whether learning the Digiropes is something they're really willing to invest in.

Full Auto 2 is certainly worth a rental, if only for the high-resolution destruction, but it's plagued by too many other irritating issues to be a true candidate for purchase.

Unreal Tournament III's game style is still too tied to the PC's mouse-and-keyboard interface to be easily playable on a console controller (and believe me, I tried). Had Epic dialed down the speed, simplified the interface, and re-tuned the weapons to leverage the strengths of the Xbox 360's input device, Unreal Tournament III might've found a niche on Xbox Live.

Series fans'll eat it up , but others may want to contemplate whether learning the Digiropes is something they're really willing to invest in.

Despite being tremendously slim, Worms is still fun, looks glorious in high definition, and the controls translate very well to the Xbox 360 pad.

It's hard to make a glowing recommendation about a $60 game that includes virtually no offline mode, lacks variety in its weapons and match types, and suffers from rookie blunders in terms of presentation and interface. It all points to a rushed, chaotic development cycle.

Unfortunately, the PS3 version features a choppier frame rate. F.E.A.R. is still playable, but the frame rate doesn't maintain a preferred rate of 30 frames per second, giving the action a slightly sluggish feel. Luckily, the controls give super-precise targeting abilities, which helps compensate.

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.

If you're looking for the sense of depth and complexity that made the previous SimCity titles so memorable, you might find yourself feeling disappointed.

Only mildly amusing and the violence and gore gets tired after a while. If you're into movies like Eli Roth's Hostel then this game's right up your alley. But, if you're looking for a thriller with a little more substance, you might want to look elsewhere.

Action mode is fast-paced, as you seek out a fresh pathway for a pursing tank, which becomes immobile if gel blocks stand in its way. Puzzle mode, however, is less stressful.

For diehard Potter fans and those who walk away from the movie with stars in their eyes, the game will hold some value, especially in the unlockable videos and interviews with the cast and staff members of the movie and games. However, the rest of you Muggles should definitely stick to the novels and the power of your imagination to get you in a magical state of mind.

It's buggy and unevenly presented, which spoils what fun there is to be had. However, it did give me a taste of how FPS games can and will change on the Wii, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the genre will play out in the future.

The ultimate downfall of Shred Nebula is the controls.

The $10 asking price is too much to plunk down for this shallow card game.

Viva Pinata Party Animals is squarely aimed at a specific audience populated by those that find burping hilarious and think cartoon violence and comic mischief are peak entertainment; i.e. children.

Call of Duty 4 for the DS provides some decent--if watered down--first person shooting action. It doesn't live up to the standard set by Metroid Prime: Hunters or do a terribly good job of replicating the efforts of its console and PC bigger brothers, but it's a decently entertaining game for any DS owner who needs a FPS fix.

A decent enough game that won't leave much of a lasting impression. It's good if you just want some mindless fun but don't go in expecting anything more because the only payback you'll get is a shot in the foot.

Bomberman Land is basically a PSP version of the classic Bomberman game plus a bunch of random stuff you can take or leave. The trouble is, there are better versions of Bomberman around, so unless you really want to play the mini-games, you're better off sticking with those.

Johnny Depp adds a good deal of credibility to his role in the game (and the movies, for that matter), but as far as late-generation PS2 titles go, this one should walk the plank.

Monster 4x4 isn't a particularly deep title, but you'd have to be a fool to go into thinking that it would be. It's probably best as a weekend rental to blast through with your friends.