An excellent set of unique-mini-games. [Jan 2006, p.99]

Strong voice acting and sound effects (listen for the subtle heavy breathing when running), and a patriotic score set a believable mood, while the dark, detailed, war-torn streets of New York City are almost too tangible.

There are some great innovations, like the lead pass from this year’s ESPN NBA game, that are sorely missed in the College version. This becomes a crucial factor considering rival March Madness bases its game engine on basically the same one as its newest NBA Live installment.

Though most of the songs are poppy club music, there’s a surprising amount of variety and the tunes serve their purpose perfectly. For the truly extreme, dancing across two pads offers the ultimate challenge for your skills.

The RTS genre's notoriously slower pace and complex controls can be a bit snooze-inducing to newcomers, but Red Alert 3's smooth interface, fast-paced action, crazy-ass weapons, and endlessly entertaining cheesy style should keep even the most short attention-spanned gamer engaged.

After a few plays, though, the game becomes tiresome—mostly due to repetitive gameplay and lack of balance.

To-Fu 2's difficulty can ramp up pretty quickly, but thanks to precise controls it's never a source of frustration.

DiRT is by no means for everyone. Most racing games are difficult at first, but you eventually master them. In DiRT, you are always on the verge of totaling your car. There's never a moment to screw around, because you will crash.

Rise of Nations’ biggest weakness—lack of variety—becomes obvious. Every nation is the same, except for some bonus modifiers; there really aren’t that many units; and in the end, you wind up wielding them as a jumbled horde.

The consistent mental challenge of tackling each mission is what makes it so captivating, relying on strategy over spectacle. That's not what everyone is looking for in their games, but those who are will find it in droves in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

But the moral of the story here is, well-written scripts and addictive story modes never spell a bad time. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is impressive, hilarious and downright worth your money.

The Wii version of Geometry Wars is a great port and the developers overcame the one potential hurdle--the controls.

But expert scribblers will no doubt find Super Scribblenauts' enhanced approach a major net positive over simply receiving a larger batch of levels, while the rest of us finally have a user-friendly way to experience this immensely creative idea.

It's a solid Dreamcast racer, but advancing to the next level can be frustrating. Access to more cars in the beginning, customizing, and level advancement should have been tweaked.

No real levels have been added to the original arcade version, so the game ends just when you’re revving up.

The consistent mental challenge of tackling each mission is what makes it so captivating, relying on strategy over spectacle. That's not what everyone is looking for in their games, but those who are will find it in droves in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Despite these imperfections, though, UFC: Tapout still reigns victorious.

A refreshing multiplayer showing overshadows the humdrum single-player game.

Instead of trying to retell the story of the movie, Cars 2 evokes the experience of the film through gameplay.

Art students, old-school gamers, and people with wild imaginations (and lots of free time) are going to love making their own masterpieces in WarioWare D.I.Y.., but if you have trouble drawing stick figures, you'll at least be able to enjoy a sizable new crop of fun, quick mini-games with tons of personality.

We praise the designers' decision to make Adol a speedy little devil, so darting around towns and inevitably retreading terrain isn't such a tedious chore.

It's a fun little title that will prove especially pleasing to those who can't wrap their heads around Rock Band or Guitar Hero. It doesn't have the addictive staying power of those two heavyweight franchises but it's an accessible rhythm game that's perfect for the casual gamer and younger rock-god wannabes alike.

Sports the best lighting effects you’ll ever see on the Dreamcast. The overall graphic quality is topnotch with sharp prerendered environments and good-looking characters.

To be sure, it's not a must-buy if you own last year's edition. (Well, unless you're a hardcore Masters fanboy. Do such things exist?) But it's another step in the right direction for the series, and an easy recommendation if you've missed a year or two.

Instead of trying to retell the story of the movie, Cars 2 evokes the experience of the film through gameplay.

Dynasty Tactics makes the sometimes slow and daunting challenge of launching grid-based military campaigns fun and entertaining.

It’s puzzling that this game could look better on the Dreamcast than on the PS2, but it does.

GGX2’s stunning anime-inspired graphics more than compensate for the lack of a Z-axis.