This diamond in the rough makes me want to brush the dust off of my PSP and give it a whirl. Gurumin is an action adventure game with a classic cutesy Japanese look and a well suited plot line.

It has certainly impressed me in many ways: Beautiful design, convincing environments, and depth of play.

While the voice acting is atrocious and the card system can really anger you when it doesn’t work in your favor, overall Fuzion Frenzy 2 is unmistakably an admirable party title.

Whether you’re a seasoned adventure gamer, an MMO player looking for a truly different experience, or you simply have an appreciation for a fully immersive gaming experience, Uru Live is worth your exploration.

Taken for what it is (a high budget, sci-fi, old-style shooter with a low-ball story) it's a lot of fun. It's a short game, clocking in at around 8 hours on normal setting, but it has legs due to the strong multiplayer component and well-designed maps.

Even if you've never played a Metal Slug game in your life, but you do like classic 2D shooters, you won't be disappointed. There is a reason this series has been around so long and when you play through any one of these games you will understand why.

A commendable improvement to last year's release. The driving physics are still a little more awkward than one would hope for, but if you can see past this flaw, then there's plenty of adrenaline pumping, gut wrenching racing waiting for you.

I was frankly surprised at just how easy and flexible the coaster construction tools were; and the mini-games that introduce training, ride and attraction types were a nice change-up to the usual sim/coaster model.

The graphics hit the jackpot, the new cover mechanic is implemented fantastically well, and the setting provides a lot of color and tactical opportunities.

Trackmania: United is rollercoaster of a game that should be at least tried out by anybody with even a remote interest in high-speed racing.

If not for the countless bugs, the watered down melee and magic combat, the uninteresting NPCs, the sometimes weak design, the horrible performance, the missing dialogue, and the overall lack of polish, perhaps it could have been.

Technical issues aside, it is a game that has matured, grown, and evolved, and I recommend checking it out.

It’s not super fast-paced (which could be regarded as a positive) and the gameplay might be a little too open-ended for those who like clear and specific goals. But for anyone who is looking for a game the whole family can play together, Viva Piñata will do very nicely, indeed.

Incredible visuals, super sound design and music, varied missions, and engaging multiplayer make this game a definite buy.

If you played the previous game in the series and liked it, then the expanded story mode as well as the number of new characters may be enough to pick up the next installment. If you have not played the original Tenkaichi or did not care for it, the sequel is most certainly not for you.

The game moves at a leisurely pace, and anyone too intimidated by the demands of the scenarios or the continuous play mode can opt to try the simplified sandbox game.

A let down; not a terrible game, but disappointingly short of its potential.

It's a bright shiny toy of a game and so many of the heroes are familiar to even the least comic book savvy, that one can't help but enjoy mixing and matching teams and playing with special powers and cool abilities. The boss battles and the level design are derivative of titles we've seen before, and the camera never really pulls us into the action, but my hours spent with the game so far have been button mashing heaven.

Those looking for grueling puzzles may not find complete satisfaction here, but if you're primarily after light-hearted humor with a bit of thinking in between, then I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Young gamers may really enjoy this game, but I didn’t. The gameplay is too simple making the game downright easy and, in my opinion, not worth the price of admission.

Collecting pets and playing around with merging them is just plain old fun. The setting and character designs are all great and were at times what kept me playing even if the story was a bit slow to get going.

The enjoyment in Joint Task Force does not come out of adrenaline-laced combat or any sort of quick thrills; instead, it comes from the satisfaction of seeing a well-laid strategy work.

TDU will appeal most to casual racers who enjoy the freedom of GTA-like gameplay and want to create courses and drive online with (and against) their friends.

Simple, direct, and appealing in its 3D platformer delivery, and it successfully harks back to a time where gaming could be fun without having to annihilate an entire alien race in the process.

Despite the minor aesthetic flaws, World Racing 2 is a success in terms of improvement over its predecessor. The lack of an in-car view with full cockpit might leave some hardcore fans slightly disappointed, but the other features of the game more than make up for that loss.

Simple, direct, and appealing in its 3D platformer delivery, and it successfully harks back to a time where gaming could be fun without having to annihilate an entire alien race in the process.

Scant little more than a badly reared puppy that’s bound for the pound.

A must-play for fans of the series and a perfect place for newcomers to jump in.

Rockstar Games did a fantastic job at creating an authentic ping pong simulator that may even be more appealing than Top Spin for many gamers. With an unparalleled amount of shot control and a meager price tag of only $39.99, there’s no real reason for you to not have a copy of this game already!

OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast offers up nothing more than a single focal point of arcade racing gameplay that’s polished and honed to perfection. All other considerations are devoid of merit.

Shadowgrounds is a pretty solid game if you treat it as what it is, a game where you collect and upgrade weapons, and use them to blow away aliens.

The visuals are absolutely breathtaking, whether it is the incredible lighting effects, lush environments, or the fine details that are often overlooked by other games, XR delivers.

Yet, despite such solid aesthetic production value, Dreamfall ultimately lacks any real driving motivation with which to compel the player to endure through the masses of dialogue, explanation, and largely uninfluenced 'gamplay'.

As a whole, Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked is a surprisingly well done button masher which should be even more appealing to anime fans.

Considering that there has never been a US release of beatmania even though Japan has seen at least ten releases by now, Konami managed to make up for the delay by delivering a solid title.

Despite the lack of level diversity towards the later part of the game, everything else fits nicely into place. The control scheme efficiently uses the PSP's solo analog setup, and there are plenty of different objects, unlockable characters, and presents just begging to be discovered.

Oblivion is far from a perfect game, but I can think of very few titles that come as close. It’s among the very best in terms of gameplay, audio, and graphics.

Despite the low-level evolution of its RPG elements, Petpet Adventures still plays well, and its visuals and sound complement an easily accessible gameplay mechanic.

It’s fun to drive round a city far too fast. There’s an imperfect framework in which to do that here, but it’s a vast improvement on its predecessor.

Essentially, this is a well-constructed game. It looks good. It plays well. It keeps you interested. But soon enough you’ll have finished it. It’s good at what it does, but you’ll wish it did more.

KOEI will doubtlessly continue to pump out these hack-and-slash titles into the polluted genre pool, but it remains to be seen whether they will ever venture into clearer, deeper water or rather remain where they are now, which is treading water in the oddly yellow tinted shallow end.

Hopefully, if EA and Criterion are allowed more time to develop Black's sequel, the proper attention can be made to fleshing out the total experience-and not just shining up the guns.

The gameplay is very poor once you’ve played it for a couple of hours and realize that you will be doing practically the same thing over and over again.

Far too many Sonic titles are finding themselves occupying a disappointingly mediocre niche in the industry, and Sonic Racers never really advances beyond being acceptable in every department.

Patience is a virtue, though, and player perseverance should eventually reap its reward, and, as stated earlier, any mounting frustrations are soon forgotten because Touch & Roll is simply impossible to dislike.

For those who base their first impressions off a game’s graphics, they may find themselves rather discouraged, but if you can overcome the aesthetic obstacle, you’ll find that the level of depth and customization, the upgrading and the combat system are fully satisfactory for a RPG.

Being very mildly priced, this compilation is a worthwhile purchase if you're interested in venturing into retro gaming on the PC without delving into the world of emulators.

Clearing a derelict building of rival graffiti artists through seemingly relentless hand-to-hand battles and then spraying amusing taunts over their interrupted 'work' is strangely appealing, and to simply 'get in', 'get up', 'get out', and get away with it is always a perversely winning combination.

Fit to burst with an astounding 21 games from the heyday of arcade history, Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play is an equal parts assault of entertaining variety and challenging frustration.

With no real differentiating qualities other than a half-baked outline for what could have been an original take on the Gauntlet mythos, Seven Sorrows is purely a by-the-numbers exercise in keeping a franchise alive, albeit in questionable health.

While a somewhat throwaway experience by its limited genre content, The Gottlieb Collection definitely provides a formidable gameplay challenge, and some of the specific goals laid at the feet of the player are nigh on impossible without masses of sheer luck.

It is definitely a diamond in the rough, as was the original Chrome. SpecForce offers up some intense firefights, great gameplay, awesome visuals, and astonishing voice actors.

An incredible game. I would say it’s a must have for every RTS fan out there. I haven’t enjoyed a game this much for quite a long time.

With a simple yet wholly deficient control mechanic that renders fighting anything but entertaining, a supposed free-roaming environment that's somewhat limiting, poorly executed graphics and characters, and laughably bad sound, Crime Life: Gang Wars is barely worthy of the bargain bucket-and with its reduced price tag, it's almost there already.

A terrifying and deeply cinematic experience from start to finish. However, it is short, running around 8 hours, and offers little in way of replayability, aside from unlockable concept art and trailers.

Unless you absolutely feel the need to play Quake on your 360, its technical issues hinder it from being worthy for most gamers.

The same enjoyable arcade racing has entered the next generation of gaming, and despite the lack of major gameplay innovations, it’s still a great title to pop in and play for any amount of time.

Although it does have its fair share of shortcomings, there’s also a lot of fun to be had, specifically in 32-player matches over Xbox Live.

The impressive presentation and intuitive gameplay make a surprisingly enjoyable WWII adventure despite this being part of a tired genre.

A thoroughly impressive package in terms of visual and audio, and is extremely reminiscent of the better Ubisoft shooters.

It may not replace "Star Craft" in terms of stature—but it’s damn close. The multiplayer matches are suitably intense, and the single-player campaign delivers everything in terms of both expectation and intention.

Too average of an adventure game to be interesting. The uninteresting story and gameplay are disappointing, especially since the game is based off such a popular franchise as Neopets.

It is by far one of the scariest games of all time, and its innovative combat system and captivating storyline make this game one hell of a ride.

With its unique blend of simulation and arcade physics, Project Gotham Racing 3 is a beautiful game that will be certainly be played for a long time.

With no multiplayer modes and a barely noticeable graphical upgrade, the only upside to owning GUN for 360 as opposed to any other current-gen platform are the ‘accomplishments’—unlockable rewards that contribute to your Xbox Live account’s Gamerscore.

A breath of fresh air for the PSP’s game library. This title delivers a fast paced 3rd person shooter experience with a fairly substantial amount of depth. Although a more substantial single player campaign and better infrastructure game modes would’ve certainly helped.

It’s a solid affair, but far from revolutionary.

A Tear of Vermillion is yet another example of shameful missed opportunity for the sake of safe expectations and profit margins.

Half-Life 2 has impeccable style, an unrivalled elegance, and a frighteningly realistic aesthetic that no other game can even attempt to rival.

The fact that a host of disgracefully basic errors ruin any chance True Crime: New York City had of becoming what it should have been should serve as a lesson for publishers Activision: seeing a product through to its proper conclusion-even if that means delays-translates better in the long term than consumers reaching elsewhere, and remembering your name, because the final product is so much of a letdown.

Although the frame rate and sync bugs can be bothersome, as a whole this game isn't all that bad.

The game is unappealing, full of glitches and bugs, and should be avoided at all costs.

The choice of speed and rehashed gameplay are what drag the game down. Shadow the Hedgehog is still a fun game for Sonic fans, but is too average to be really interesting to casual gamers.

A big mix of somewhat clumsy gameplay and great use of the environmental conditions of the land of Narnia.

Stacked against the pleasingly immersion-friendly fighting mechanics are a restrictive camera, lackluster sound, fractured A.I., and shamefully substandard graphics.

There is no other game like it on the market, which proves that Peter Molyneux never ceases in his ceaseless search for innovation.

The new fighting system of Suikoden Tactics is a success. By going back to basics and adding a new dimension to it through the use of affinities, the gameplay has emerged as a point of strength within the game.

While Karaoke Revolution Party certainly is the biggest karaoke videogame to date, the perhaps overly varied song list and gimmicky game modes detract somewhat from the game's obvious greatness.

Roughly six years ago, the man known as Morpheus once said that to know the path is different from walking the path. To all Matrix fans, gamers, and fellow human beings, please take the following advice: steer clear of the Path of Neo.

After a few levels in Path of Neo your mouse clicking finger will hurt from the button mashing. Even the biggest fans of the trilogy should think twice before going down with Neo in this path.

A refreshingly fun experience for a launch title, and although it creates little in the way of true innovation, it still provides plenty for action and adventure fans alike.

With simple yet addictive gameplay, a unique input device, above-average visuals for the genre, and a carefully crafted aural component, Guitar Hero’s hefty MSRP is the only obstacle in recommending this game straight out.

To cap the experience off, the brothers Wachowski have rewritten the ending of the last film to better fit the game medium-or, as most gamers will say, they completely lost their minds. All that the new ending accomplishes, complete with its annoying final boss, is the complete and utter end to any relevancy that the Matrix saga once had in popular culture.

Big Red One comes across as a nicely presented game with some impressive visuals and memorable moments, but it doesn’t have enough to make it stand out from the rest.

The lack of emotive content is conspicuous by its absence, as is the inability to wander from the game's restrictively linear path, as well as the option to accomplish mission objectives from multiple perspectives.

An instantly accessible, thoroughly entertaining, and worthy addition to the busy hack-and-slash genre.

The omission of any kind of multiplayer aspect for the GameCube version in itself takes away a large portion of the title's potential longevity, particularly when the single player section won't take any more than a weekend's worth to plough through.

Stand Alone Complex may have proved to be a success on the home console market, but it feels oddly fractured on the PSP, suffering from its own shameless sense of self-importance while failing to provide any opportunistic innovation to a fairly blank and open genre canvas.

The multiplayer can be fun, but only because it means you won't have to endure the game alone.

Aside from the odd mood breaker, somewhat sluggish load times between menus, and occasional repetitive gameplay, Spartan: Total Warrior manages to bridge the familiar RTS brand to the console world through its silky-smooth framerate, very respectable visuals, and deviously violent gameplay.

The new features and modes aren’t mind blowing and even appalling in the case of Chronicles of the Swords mode, but they don’t take away what Soul Calibur does best: amazingly detailed fights.

To inspire any future attraction from older gamers, the developers must consider making adjustments to the game’s response system and also the overall action speed—even though Slamming Charming into the castle never gets old.

While it's lacking somewhat in content and variety, Shrek Superslam offers instant and easy cartoon scraps to those gamers either a little on the young side, or looking for quick fix, bite-size battles. It doesn't push the boundaries in any particular department, but remains true to the ideal of pure and simple fun.

An astounding addition to the Grand Theft Auto catalogue, and it barely suffers from the supposed constriction to a handheld device.

With a somewhat vacuous and overly dramatic plot, mixed with fractured gameplay loyalties and the sense of unease it creates, Modern Combat perhaps fails as much as it succeeds. However, the Hotswap squad function is an unusually appealing and vitally important inclusion.

Endangered species, elevated paths, tours, and more of everything pretty much sums up this expansion.

It is entertaining, it is appealing, it is addictive, and it is worthy of your time. In short, it’s solid and accessible fun, and in today’s often-dreary marketplace, that’s no bad thing.

Every part of this game offers ample opportunities for irritation and few chances for satisfaction.