It’s definitely a great game and will likely be on top ten lists at the end of the year. It’s just not a perfect 10.

It's definitely a great game and will likely be on top ten lists at the end of the year. It's just not a perfect 10.

Roguelike fans will also like the depth they will find beyond the basics that will keep them busy throughout the campaign. Its $40 price point is well worth it for the amount of content you’ll find here. Basically, if you’re interested in roguelikes, this is one that you need to check out.

While the level designs deserve plenty of praise for creatively exhibiting the Nine Circles of Hell, Dante’s Inferno really has nothing else to offer itself other than its obvious comparison to God of War.

While the level designs deserve plenty of praise for creatively exhibiting the Nine Circles of Hell, Dante’s Inferno really has nothing else to offer itself other than its obvious comparison to God of War.

Chime does a good job of providing a fun and enjoyable experience that may not have a ton of music to choose from, but it offers enough to make the 400 Microsoft points ($5 US) a worthy expense when most of that cost will be going to charity.

Assault Heroes makes for some intense, old-school gaming on a rainy day. Whether it’s with a friend or just for your own enjoyment, there’s a lot to like about Assault Heroes.

The story is bigger and more personal, the combat and inventory have been refined for better execution and the overall presentation trumps the quality from the first game. Everything you could have hoped for in a sequel is made clear in Mass Effect 2.

The story is bigger and more personal, the combat and inventory have been refined for better execution and the overall presentation trumps the quality from the first game. Everything you could have hoped for in a sequel is made clear in Mass Effect 2.

This is the spiritual successor to Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and you owe it to yourself to pick this one up—maybe it’ll influence more third parties to actually put some effort into the Wii.

The sounds of battle are great along with the random chatter your characters have to say in the heat of battle.

Death by Cube has some great potential to achieve in a sequel; it's just that right now there are some serious flaws that are holding it back from achieving commercial success. Did we mention that it soon becomes frustratingly, bang your head against the wall hard? DBC is fun for a good thirty minutes, and after that you are better off putting it down, which is not worth the 800 Microsoft Points ($10) to download. Just go for the trial version.

While slowdown plagues the game throughout, the action never stops and Rios and Salem will continually battle amidst the crumbling cityscapes of Shanghai as they battle with their own morality and try to save helpless civilians along the way.

While slowdown plagues the game throughout, the action never stops and Rios and Salem will continually battle amidst the crumbling cityscapes of Shanghai as they battle with their own morality and try to save helpless civilians along the way.

Matt Hazard in Blood Bath & Beyond is a good example of what a side scrolling action shooter should be. Sure it’s got a few rough edges, but overall it’s a fun game.

Matt Hazard in Blood Bath & Beyond is a good example of what a side scrolling action shooter should be. Sure it’s got a few rough edges, but overall it’s a fun game.

Buzz! Quiz World for the PSP had the potential to be a great compliment to the PS3 version by offering a similar but portable-friendly experience that fit the PSP well, but numerous annoyances, odd handling of the large pool of questions, and completely barren online play makes the group this game could appeal to a very small crowd.

PixelJunk Shooter is another great game in this series, though it’s an experience that ends quite a bit sooner than its predecessors that left us wanting more in the best way possible.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is everything its predecessor was and more.

Gravity Crash does a great job of recapturing the old style of gravity-based shooters and giving it a nice visual upgrade that even bests Geometry Wars with more elaborate level design.

Madden NFL Arcade does a great job of providing a more casual, arcadey experience for football fans that long for the days that NFL Blitz ruled the arcade football genre many years ago.

Madden NFL Arcade does a great job of providing a more casual, arcadey experience for football fans that long for the days that NFL Blitz ruled the arcade football genre many years ago.

The new levels for the adventure mode and multiplayer will add more visual variety to those modes, though the new challenges are designed much more for Peggle veterans.

if you’ve got a PC, and if you’re reading this you obviously do, then you might be better served to just buy Bejeweled 2.

The new levels for the adventure mode and multiplayer will add more visual variety to those modes, though the new challenges are designed much more for Peggle veterans.

The Italian countryside was a perfect fit in both design and gameplay and many of the new features should keep fans entertained for quite a while. You simply could not have asked for a better addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

The Italian countryside was a perfect fit in both design and gameplay and many of the new features should keep fans entertained for quite a while. You simply could not have asked for a better addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

Those of you who had doubts about this being just another glorified expansion need to stop yelling at Valve and give Left 4 Dead 2 a try, as it is incomparably better than the first game by a large margin.

LittleBigPlanet has certainly made a pretty good translation to the PSP as more of a single-player-focused experience, but that also brings with it more of a reliance upon great community levels and/or developer support with DLC to help give it replay value to be worth $40.

The God of War Collection might be more of the same, but taking two of the best games on the PS2 and upgrading them to look like PS3 games can offer little arguments from anyone.

As an obvious rush job, Bloodlines is perhaps the only big PSP game of this year that fails to be at least a good game.

Those of you who had doubts about this being just another glorified expansion need to stop yelling at Valve and give Left 4 Dead 2 a try, as it is incomparably better than the first game by a large margin.

Has just enough charm and spunk.

If you have a love for trivia and want a great quiz game for the PS3, there’s no reason you shouldn’t check this out and get ready for some quality time with the family during the upcoming holiday season.

While at times the action can make you whiz by the environments, slowing down will allow you to take in the beauty of the environments. There isn’t quite the real-life detail as seen in the last game with Chernobyl, but Modern Warfare 2 has its own great detailing. And best of all, you won’t have any hiccups or lag.

While at times the action can make you whiz by the environments, slowing down will allow you to take in the beauty of the environments. There isn’t quite the real-life detail as seen in the last game with Chernobyl, but Modern Warfare 2 has its own great detailing. And best of all, you won’t have any hiccups or lag.

Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble offers a pretty good ride, but it doesn't really hold up that well when you factor in that it'll cost you $40 for what you get.

It’s a decent enough game that has the ability to keep your interest for a while, but there are enough flaws with it that it isn’t worth a purchase.

It may be best to just check out the demo for Midnight Carnival to see if you’re interested in plucking down any money on a LocoRoco game and then going from there since any of the three games offer a good time.

The game is accessible to both veterans and newbies, and veterans should also find new combinations and strategies with the innovative bouncing mechanic.

The game is accessible to both veterans and newbies, and veterans should also find new combinations and strategies with the innovative bouncing mechanic.

It does a good job of easing people into the experience, and yet has all of the options to make the game as hardcore as you’d like. It’s a game that packs a lot of value into its two DVDs of content.

There is definitely a feeling of this being more of the same, but enough has been added to the formula to keep that from being a big deal as a negative.

While the Nerf fad may be over, this game is actually quite solid and should be able to keep younger players satisfied for a couple months before the latest toy comes out. If anything, you want to pick this up because the gun it comes with is pretty awesome.

If you’re looking for a good stocking stuffer for a young Wii owner in the family, Hasbro Family Game Night 2 isn’t too bad.

Space Invaders Extreme 2 is an extremely solid game that will leave players wanting more. But with only eleven short levels and almost nothing making it different from the first entry, you might want to hold off on picking this one up, even at its bargain $20 price tag.

Topatoi: The Great Tree Story is a pretty good puzzle platformer that is hurt most by the episodic portion of its package since that means the game ends as you reach the end of the tutorial levels and are about to enter the meat of the game. It feels more like you’re getting one-third of a full game rather than something that’s truly episodic.

Though there are control issues that make it a more clunky experience than we’d like, the quality of the story and jokes is enough to make it worth enduring those issues.

When all is said and done, Naughty Dog has done an amazing job of fixing any issues that the original game had for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves while adding more to make this a package that anybody with an ounce of interest should not miss.

Half-Minute Hero does a great job of being a refreshing experience that combines unique takes on four very different genres to tell an epic story into one of the most interesting PSP games we’ve played in a long time.

With a deep single-player mode, online multiplayer, and fun, challenging gameplay, Critter Crunch is one of the standouts in the puzzle genre this year that deserves your $6.99 to check it out for yourself.

South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play is a pretty good tower defense game that has some flaws that keep it from being a great game, but anybody that has friends to play with should definitely check this out.

The combat system is robust, the amount of exploration is amazing, and the game looks and sounds beautiful. Combine all this with the game's masterful storytelling without hours and hours of dialog, and you have what's probably the best and most frightening role-playing game this generation so far-just in time for Halloween.

NBA 10: The Inside isn’t going to blow you away in any aspect of the game since it just offers a decent game of portable basketball that will be enjoyable by those that can accept its flaws. Just looking at what NBA 09 offered last year, you might as well use the $29.99 that you’d pay for this year’s game and get what is essentially the same game without the added fluff for a cheaper price.

While it may be a bit later than PSP owners in 2005 expected, what we did end up with is a pretty good portable version of Gran Turismo that doesn’t have everything we’d expect out of a portable iteration of this series.

Easily the definitive version of this tower defense game.

The story shines as leading the way to the events of the original Dead Space and the visuals all look remarkable as you venture through the game’s ten gloomy and dark levels. But with a hideous looking shooting reticule, some hard-to-handle weapons and scary segments that are never remotely frightening, Dead Space: Extraction is a good weekend rental for fans to tie up loose ends with the story and nothing much else.

Bigbig Studios did a great job of shrinking the great MotorStorm gameplay and feature set for MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, making it one of the better console transitions to the PSP so far. With the deep Festival and online modes, the package is worth the $40 for what is probably the best racing game for the PSP this holiday season.

A great story, addictive and intuitive combat system, polished graphics and with a multiplayer component that will keep you coming back, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days should keep fans interested for months to come.

Unfortunately, it’s not anywhere near the quality we were met with several years ago.

While Ion Assault’s gameplay is interesting and fairly unique with some depth to how you can approach each level, but it’s the overall lack of modes or features that makes this worth its 800 points price ($10 in US dollars).

You have a good expansion that at times feels odd, but delivers satisfaction. It sticks to the familiar formula but keeps things fresh as necessary. And while it won’t be the highlight of Fall ’09 action shooters, it’s a solid selection.

This game is definitely worth the $40 on value alone, as it took us over 50 hours to beat and could probably be beaten in 40 hours if you know what you’re doing right away.

If you’re a fan of games like Project Gotham Racing and Grid, you’d really be doing yourself a disservice in missing out on this game since it’s probably right up your alley.

If you’re a fan of games like Project Gotham Racing and Grid, you’d really be doing yourself a disservice in missing out on this game since it’s probably right up your alley.

An incredibly lackluster game.

An incredibly lackluster game.

In just three years, Vicarious Visions has taken a well adapted formula and created an enjoyable, polished and all-around better sequel. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will give fans a reason to enjoy playing, and with the dynamic fusion powers, wide cast of characters, and the storyline based around the events of Civil War, there is surely something here to please anyone.

In just three years, Vicarious Visions has taken a well adapted formula and created an enjoyable, polished and all-around better sequel. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will give fans a reason to enjoy playing, and with the dynamic fusion powers, wide cast of characters, and the storyline based around the events of Civil War, there is surely something here to please anyone.

The title screen alone offers up more fun than the missions portray and the clunky controls will only leave those impatient gamers reeling from the inconsistent layout. Scribblenauts is a brilliant idea that offers up plenty of fun for anyone with a creative mind, and despite some technical flaws, is well worth a sit-down for anyone looking to have a good time.

Co-op helps ease the pain by letting you work with some friends to get through the fairly small amount of levels those two modes have to offer.

Defense Grid: The Awakening offers what is easily the best tower defense game on the Xbox 360 and is a game that anyone interested in that genre should check out.

Without a doubt, Arkham Asylum is one of the best games of the year, and from the solid single player experience, amazing voice acting, rewarding challenge maps and a slew of nearly dozens of unlockable bios and collectibles, any fan will be hard-pressed to not give this game a try.

Without a doubt, Arkham Asylum is one of the best games of the year, and from the solid single player experience, amazing voice acting, rewarding challenge maps and a slew of nearly dozens of unlockable bios and collectibles, any fan will be hard-pressed to not give this game a try.

An engaging experience that’s both easy to pick up and tough to master.

If you were expecting this second entry in the Layton series to go through extraordinary leaps and bounds, which you really should have no business expecting, then you will be horribly disappointed. But if you were expecting another session of tough puzzles with a convincing story, then Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is every bit as good as The Curious Village and should be more than enough to satisfy your inner detective.

Mass Effect: VR Missions would have been a more suitable title for this expansion, and with the repetitive level designs, trial-and-error scenarios and lack of any defining story, you will leave Pinnacle Station with only a new weapon and house to save face from this letdown.

Wolfenstein might not hold up to Call of Duty in terms of sales, but Activision’s other WWII shooter still has plenty of interesting ideas to please any fan. With powerful weapons at your disposal, supernatural powers with the help of The Veil, and plenty of eerie Nazi soldiers to kill, the fun never stops.

Wolfenstein might not hold up to Call of Duty in terms of sales, but Activision’s other WWII shooter still has plenty of interesting ideas to please any fan. With powerful weapons at your disposal, supernatural powers with the help of The Veil, and plenty of eerie Nazi soldiers to kill, the fun never stops.

Wolfenstein might not hold up to Call of Duty in terms of sales, but Activision’s other WWII shooter still has plenty of interesting ideas to please any fan. With powerful weapons at your disposal, supernatural powers with the help of The Veil, and plenty of eerie Nazi soldiers to kill, the fun never stops.

If you have a solid internet connection and have the time to dedicate to the game’s impressive franchise mode, Madden NFL 10 is a must-buy. But if you’re a more casual gamer just wanting to play this game for a bit, you might be better pressed to get last year’s version of the game.

If you have a solid internet connection and have the time to dedicate to the game’s impressive franchise mode, Madden NFL 10 is a must-buy. But if you’re a more casual gamer just wanting to play this game for a bit, you might be better pressed to get last year’s version of the game.

The game is not fast enough to play like an arcade game, yet the Mario Galaxy-like cooperative gimmicks are enough to make it seem like one. But either way you look at it, Madden NFL 09 is probably the better Wii football game.

The most enjoyable part of the game would have to be the unlockable Public Service Announcements from the old cartoon show. But chances are, you could save the cash and look them up online. And, trust us, you would be very well served by saving that cash.

The most enjoyable part of the game would have to be the unlockable Public Service Announcements from the old cartoon show. But chances are, you could save the cash and look them up online. And, trust us, you would be very well served by saving that cash.

Despite the addition of some interesting characters, it really is a shame that Fallout 3’s steady addition of downloadable content had to end on this sour note because there was plenty of room for interesting ideas.

Despite the addition of some interesting characters, it really is a shame that Fallout 3’s steady addition of downloadable content had to end on this sour note because there was plenty of room for interesting ideas.

If Titan Studios can support Fat Princess well and offer plenty of good updates that include free and paid content, there should be a bright future for Fat Princess.

There really isn’t that much that is wrong with Strikers 1945 Plus Portable in any way, but it doesn’t really offer the kind of gameplay that would help it stand out and deserve some attention.

The fun and charm from the original is back and the improved controls don’t ruin from the experience at all that is to be had with the 12 categories of minigames. In fact, if there’s anything to complain about with the game’s depth, it’s probably the possibility that it might be too much to swallow.

Good, well-priced DLC support can help extend the game’s life and appeal, so Shatter is a good leaderboard competition game with friends for now much like Super Stardust HD and Geometry Wars before it.

Though Splosion Man definitely is a platformer on the harder side of the difficulty fence, the great level design and presentation really does a great job of making you want to continue playing to see what’s next even when you get frustrated.

From building your kingdom, to recruiting an army, to choosing one out of seven princesses to be your bride, all the way to world domination–Little King’s Story has a lot to offer in a very polished package, so grab a copy or two before this one becomes rare.

The biggest thing to take away from this review is that Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! is definitely an acquired taste, which you probably could’ve gathered from the title, screenshots, or everything that is written above this conclusion.

With so many fans already on board and many gamers itching to see what all the fuss was about, Secret of Monkey Island never disappoints and delivers a remarkable revision of this classic adventure.

NCAA Football 10 isn’t really going to bring much that’s significantly new to any part of the game over its predecessor, but it does feature a well-polished game for those that are fine with that that makes it worth a purchase.

NCAA Football 10 isn’t really going to bring much that’s significantly new to any part of the game over its predecessor, but it does feature a well-polished game for those that are fine with that that makes it worth a purchase.

Battlefield 1943 is an all out multiplayer experience and one that fans will surely be hooked to for quite some time. Although only three maps are available at this time, EA is constantly holding contests to unlock new maps for each system and the inclusion of ranks and awards will only encourage players to continue fighting.