An immense treat that offers fresh and innovative gameplay experiences. If I had to level one complaint against the title, it's the fact that it's missing the little bit of extra polish that gamers have come to expect.

Bloated expectations aside, Virtua Tennis is a fan service treat from the moment you open the box, and setting down the controller without blowing hours on end requires considerable willpower, even if it all comes to feel like just a more refined, balanced version of what we already played to death on the Dreamcast.

An outstandingly well-made game. Its technically impressive visuals, easy to learn but hard to master gameplay, and great selection of mini-games makes Virtua Tennis 3 an ace.

EXA doesn't do much to further the legacy of the series but at least it doesn't critically damage it either.

The mechs are highly customizable--a franchise hallmark--but the environments are sparse and the gameplay experience itself feels ultimately soulless.

Most importantly and most powerfully, however: The completely open-ended nature of this experience creates a very real sense of infinite possibilities.

Afterburner is addictive and fun, but best played in short bursts. Though the game is sometimes challenging, it never gets frustrating if only because it no longer requires a stream of quarters to keep the action going.

It's the gaming equivalent of a local neighborhood eatery: the food's good and service is decent, but it certainly won't be the best meal you've ever had.

Rather than mixing speed and destruction Full Auto feels messy and made me wish I could turn my rocket launcher toward my head.

Deep and engaging puzzle action with a heaping tablespoon of RPG elements on top. Should come with a warning label--it's that addictive.

A game that tries exceedingly hard to avoid any attempt at innovation, or for that matter, any pretense of being fun.

As fun as hurling dozens of rockets at a time into a swarm of giant alien ants is, it will get boring after a few hours. If you're up for a shallow yet addictive and gratuitously violent shooter, you can't go wrong with Earth Defense Force. Just take a break every few hours and read a book to rebuild some of the higher brain function you just lost.

TMNT provides some fairly fun ninja-style leaping around, but it's hampered by boring combat and annoying jumping puzzles that further suffer from control issues.

The cool platforming elements make this one worth at least a rental--if only so one can revisit the days when "Cowabunga" was a socially acceptable thing to say.

Coupled with the terrible combat, the game is only 2 hours long.

If it weren't for the torrid pace at which you're required to gather edibles, Lost in Blue 2 would be an enjoyable game. The developers obviously wanted to instill a sense of urgency, but really, all they did was rob the game of its fun.

Coupled with the terrible combat, the game is only 2 hours long.

Yeah, that's pretty much the story of "Pokemon," but it's tedious and boring in Custom Robo. The story is flat and the characters are inane.

No review can truly capture the magnificence of God of War II. There are memorable moments galore, the kind that you'll try in vain to describe to your friends but words can't fully do justice to this game.

Tiger for the Wii is a lot like the real sport of golf: wonderfully fun and tremendously frustrating. But unlike the real deal, it just isn't always worth the aggravation.

Roads to Victory achieved an impressive feat in translating virtually every aspect of the Call of Duty series to a UMD except the one that arguably matters most: control.

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

As it is, Spectrobes is little more than a dull game of collecting fossils with a momentarily enjoyable gimmick attached to it.

But as pretty as the game is, and as great as the soundtrack might be, the game's real draw lies in the eight amazingly detailed rumble locations. [Apr 2007, p.83]

Even with the lack of a Crash mode and no online play, Burnout Dominator is a wise investment, even for the Burnout first-timer, especially with a $40 price tag.

Everything about Dominator's gameplay just feels right. The welcome return of burnouts has infused an even greater sense of recklessness to a game that certainly wasn't lacking it to begin with.

If [you] live and breathe online gaming, GRAW 2 is undoubtedly a must-buy.

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