A huge amount of slowdown, even when there’s little going on, detracts from the overall simple shooting-n-slashing frenzy. A sloppy targeting system and the inability to strafe make the controls more of a pain than painless.

Playing side by side with some friends did yield some fun moments at times -- tag-teaming enemies with combos of physical and magical abilities, working together to solve puzzles, or the flustered excitement of teamwork-under-duress that's only possible in local multiplayer made me really wish the game wasn't quite so gimped. But in the end, the series' rep for punishing gameplay is intact, leaving this competently flawed experience as an oscillation between fleeting enjoyment and agitated boredom.

Its cool graphics, story, and gameplay variety are buried by the brutally bad camera and controls.

Take note, game developers: Loading and re-loading does not a fun play experience make. Give us quick-saving or give us death.

Fails to do both the genre and the franchise justice. [Apr 2010, p.87]

The game’s worth a visit for anyone whose ideal night of TV involves The Simpsons episode where they go to Japan followed by two Iron Chef episodes back-to-back. It is, however, potentially baffling to anyone else.

Tabletop fans will probably enjoy playing it when a flat surface and friends aren't available for the pen-and-paper version. For everyone else, it's best to go into Blood Bowl understanding that it's best played with others, and largely a brow-furrowing affair when played solo.

This zombie hero would have been better off left for dead.

From the random bugs and collision problems to some joke missions that have no punch line, the whole game feels rushed and unfinished.

A solid racer, but it is definitely not for everyone. Take it out for a spin only if you're familiar with rally racing. Otherwise, this niche sport is worth passing up.

You have four major game options when online: quickmatch, play a friend, custom match and home run derby. On top of single game options you have what amounts to be the best online function any sports game could have, leagues.

Unfortunately, thanks to the unwieldy controls and poor design choices, Prinny bombs. [Mar 2009, p.81]

A relentlessly slow plot, plodding dialogue, and the unfortunate fumble of the robot interfaces's potential keeps Xenogears out of that stratosphere enjoyed by its far superior cousin, "Final Fantasy VII."

I plan on playing more Heroes VI, and if you've enjoyed past Heroes game, you're going to enjoy this one, too. But it'd be nice to see Ubisoft try more new things and ditch their lousy online strategy.

Looks pretty, but the flawed controls prevent it from having the wide appeal a sport featuring toned female athletes in bikinis should have.

It’s too easy. You'll be able to breeze through the game's 13 levels and only encounter about three tough bosses, which comes out to roughly $17 a challenge.

Real talent produced this technology and artwork. So much of LocoRoco is so clever and original that it's almost perplexing when it stops being any fun. The fun does run out, though, long before the game is over -- in that sense, the experiment has to be called a failure.

Its repetitive gameplay, mundane puzzle design and eye-twitching platforming segments really cuts into Origins' fun and yet, for fans of the franchise, it's a solid title that's worth playing through. It will even make the most jaded comic fan smirk every once in a while. However, if you're not a huge fan of Wolverine, I'd suggest you sink your claws into something else.

All of the levels are extremely short, but that seems to be well-suited to the design of this game, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. Kids seem to really latch onto this game, so if you've got a little one running around in your house, this might be worth the download to keep them entertained.

The Galaga collection is a special kind of questionable. The question is if you're so into Galaga that you'd be willing to pay for and play up to four variations on the game that all look homogenous. Just don't forget that for $2.99 you can get the earlier Galaga Remix, which gives you two full games for the price of one, and is just as much a celebration of Galaga.

Graphically, this version is slightly below the recent Xbox release but in line with the competent PlayStation 2 iteration.

You might get sucked into the online world of competing slayers and level grinding for a while, but the tedium will kill you far quicker than any member of Hell's vast.

SpongeBob SquigglePants has a few problems that can be justified -- the lack of impressive 3D effects doesn't sting since the game includes a variety of cool art styles, and the game's derivation from the WarioWario formula can be forgiven since the core gameplay is entertaining. Unfortunately, there's no good reason for the game's biggest problem: the extreme dearth of content. At $40, there's not nearly enough of SpongeBob SquigglePants to justify a purchase.

Droid Army's one-note gameplay includes fierce button tapping broken up by stretches of aimless wandering; the vague missions ("make your way to X") don't help.

The gameplay, however, isn’t anything that hasn’t been done already, and the paint-by-numbers seek-and-destroy missions can get pretty dull after a couple of hours.

Death Tank is a well made game but does not offer any mind blowing features. At the current overpriced price point, Death Tank is tough to recommend.

A fun, but pretty conventional ride.

This game is just too bare. Sure, some reviewers will pick this one up, play it for an hour, and slap on a decent score, but not this reviewer.