Regardless, these games all provide a certain kind of mindless fun you can't get in overproduced big-budget action titles, and that includes Chronicles. And the fact that you can level-up your weapons to prepare for the next big fight adds at least some purpose to the whole affair. It's not easy to explain why a non-fan should give these games a try; you just have to try them somehow and see if that mindless fun strikes a nerve. Otherwise, being loosely tied to the last Samurai Warriors should make Chronicles a fine choice for the series fan who bought a 3DS.

With subpar graphics, the action doesn’t get as bloodied as it should.

A fantastic concept upon which an average game lies. Play it as a curiosity and an example of innovative technical game design, and you'll enjoy yourself. [Mar 2004, p.72]

A watered down racing title that won't do much for even the most dedicated dirt bike or ATV enthusiast.

So, is Watchmen worth your hard-earned cash? I'm going to have to give a resounding "yes" to this expertly crafted beat-em-up. Even with its' shortcomings Watchmen always feels fresh, and really stands apart as a downloadable title.

While it's pretty easy to do the minimum required to pass each checkpoint, getting special items will demand a flexible imagination that stretches far beyond simple 2D. [Sept 2005, p.81]

Wii Play: Motion offers a better balance of quality to questionable content than the original release, with more total games and play variations in the package, but in this day and age the experience feels very insignificant. Along with Mario Sports Mix, Nintendo's Wii offerings to date in 2011 seem content to mine past concepts with middling success, which may be fine to the dwindling number of new console owners -- but it's tough to believe existing Wii owners will feel the urge to rush out for another unremarkable mini-game medley.

The dialogue and plot are more clumsily written than the lyrics to a Christian rap song, which makes it hard to get involved in the tasks at hand. When you don't care, you don't care, ya know?

So, no, Moon Diver isn't the second coming of Strider. Instead, it's carved out its own niche as a serviceable and party-game-flavored action title. Grab three friends, mash some buttons, and you can't go wrong. Just don't expect it to be Shakespeare.

The graphics are obviously improved over the PlayStation predecessors, but even fans of that trilogy will be disappointed by the comparative dearth of traps to choose from. Ultimately, mediocrity ensnares Trapt with it's own lack of gameplay meat.

In the end, though, the gameplay is repetitive and sadly uninteresting.

Gardening Mama doesn't do anything that we haven't seen already in the Cooking Mama games. [Apr 2009, p.79]

All in all, Shaun White's Snowboarding didn't leave me blown away. I liked the terrain they provided, the impressive visuals and the push towards new ways to perform tricks. I hope this title continues on and that all of the little glitches and feedback from fans help create an epic snowboarding game worthy of Shaun White's name.

I'm not expecting every licensed game that comes along to offer a worthwhile gaming experience on-par with Arkham Asylum or any other triple-A heavyweight, but come on -- I don't expect it to undervalue my time, either.

But the frustrations of the game, including its limited replay value and annoying sound and controls, keep this game from being a "must-own" for all action addicts.

Rogue Agent will leave you shaken and stirred. [Feb 2005, p.72]

Simply a rather dull experience, which could be the worst thing you could say for any piece of entertainment. From my time with it, James Cameron's Avatar: The Video Game only furthers the point, rather than dispels it, that the movie-to-video game genre is as treacherous as the planet of Pandora itself.

Campaign proceedings are frustrating as hell for one reason: spontaneous failure.

Rogue Agent will leave you shaken and stirred. [Feb 2005, p.72]

The mediocre graphics do an adequate job of rendering believable jungle environments, but the unattractive artistic style tends to jar with the hardboiled atmosphere. [Dec 2004, p.114]

The Dreamcast's analog controller just can't mimick the subtle nuances and control of original trackball games such as Centipede and Crystal Castle, or the simple twist knob in Tempest and Super Breakout.

Mathphobes will still probably view Buku Soduku like a homework assignment, but if you're looking for a fun way to exercise your brain this game is for you.

It's too bad that Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers had to sacrifice some of its progenitors strongest features to enact new and engaging gameplay changes because the new enhancements for Dust Strikers really do add something new to the franchise, however; judging the entire game as a whole leaves it wanting.

Create is far from a bad game, as the score I've awarded it should attest. But it consistently relies too much on sheer quantity over true freedom and intellectual quality to be a top-drawer puzzler, and doesn't live up to the implied promises of its own title enough to join the top ranks of the burgeoning build-your-own gaming revolution.

The gameplay stays varied throughout, but Master of Disguise ends up feeling a little gimmicky due to uninteresting characters, plot, environments and graphics.

With a better laid-out world, more cleverly hidden treasures, and a great sense of nonlinearity, The Ancient City is a nice bit of evolution for the series.

While Bandai's record with anime licenses is spotty at best, they always seem to devote ample time to the graphics—something fairly obvious when you see BattleSpirit in action.

I love Sonic because his speedy style of platforming is fun, and Sega should have just developed a game around that and left everything else out.