Episode 2 is so well written, funny and enjoyable you'll gladly submit to the domineering, steel toed boot of your new red masked overlord.

The gameplay is nothing new, but the engrossing story and intense action will keep you playing for hours.

The hook of the Xbox version is that the multiplayer missions are playable from the beginning, and new games like Tag and Detonator Drop have been added.

When it comes to sports games, the GameCube’s controller always seems to suffer in points due to its unconventional button arrangement, but surprisingly it's not an issue this year. The default setting has been specialized for the GameCube, and it works wonders.

The game is a visual feast. If it controlled a little better this would be a perfect score, but as is, this game is still a hell of a good time.

Straddles the line between arcade and simulation nicely. Players move, look, and behave in a realistic fashion, but fatigue, substitutions, and playcalling don’t interrupt the fun.

Everything from the story line to the sword-slashing gameplay is both fun and captivating, launching Musashi into the realm of outstanding PlayStation RPGs with "Final Fantasy VII" and "Breath of Fire III."

This year's version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour is as sweet as a 350 yard tee shot down the middle of the fairway. It will challenge experienced players while still providing enough teaching and lessons to acclimate even the newest of players.

A superior GBA adventure in every respect and a marked improvement on "Harmony of Dissonance." Still, it is another "Symphony of the Night" clone—if you’re feeling a little sick of the same ol’ thing, this game may be the breaking point.

The game isn't flawless, nor is it technically finished - a good many quests fall into a "kill 20 of enemy X and collect 9 of item Y" pattern, a lot of promised end-game content still isn't in, and there are still bugs being squashed - but it's easily the closest MMORPGs have yet come to perfection. If this one doesn't hook you, nothing will.

San Andreas's chief advantage over "Vice City" is size. And for many players, that's good enough. But another group of fans will come to quietly understand that, at least for the time being, "Vice City" remains the high point of the GTA series.

Don't expect a re-invention of the wheel and you'll be provided for; otherwise here's hoping that the hinted-at third installment will be a bit more inventive.

As always with the McRae series, the sublime handling of your car is what makes this game so appealing.

MLB 2005 has a great tactile feel - in your first trip to the plate, you'll notice right away how much the ball moves like it should coming off the bat...Will have strong appeal to diehard baseball fans. [May 2004, p.88]

Head-and-shoulders above other EA Sports Xbox 360 launch games, and is the first game in the sports genre to evolve beyond the current generation, and is worth a splurge, even if just for a few hard hits.

Minor niggles aside, Champion stands alone as the most polished and playable boxing simulation ever released, with the new adjustments and additions easily prolonging Fight Night's relatively uncontested reign over the genre.

For a refreshing RPG that will satisfy all but the most blowhard dungeon hacks, take a trip to Evil Islands.

Most importantly—and this will make Dark Cloud fans very happy—Level-5 has fixed nearly everything wrong with the first game.

Galaxy 2 is a constant deluge of fresh ideas that are successful -- not because of its place in a franchise -- but because it is wholly willing to reinvent itself on the fly.

This game was meant to be played with four players instead of two, but considering how much fun you get for the price, you shouldn't be deterred from buying it.

While the series has strayed from its hardcore sim roots pioneered by Coach K College basketball way back in the Genesis’s heyday, it at least has defined an identity and found a fun formula as well.

When I wasn't thrashing foes along complex battle maps, I was laughing my ass off at the brilliant cutscene sequences.

With its deftly meshed story lines, deep use of spellcasting, and innovative insanity system, Eternal Darkness is a unique and tasty addition to the survival/horror genre.

There's plenty of bang for your buck, and attempting missions over again in harder difficulty modes can really prove themselves as addicting challenges. Throw in the extraordinary Crysis Wars multiplayer, and you've got yourself an absolute steal.

Still, $15 is a small price for a remake of a game that I always considered to be better than Street Fighter IV. Many 2D fighting games have outright borrowed or stolen wholesale from the Street Fighter III series' formula, and for good reason -- there simply hasn't been a been a better 2D fighting game since. If you want to see how good at Street Fighter you really are, step up.

We Rule plays like a combination of Sim City and Farmville. Aside from a large variety of crops (which can take up to a day in real time to grow) that can be cultivated on a limited number of farm spaces, money can be made.

Beat the Heat games are the best part of this speedster, cleverly mixing a variety of cool driving techniques with engrossing competition.

To date, Wario Ware Touched is the only DS game that fully utilizes the DS's unique functions and is a must have for all DS owners.