An amazing stress reliever as well – there’s nothing like beating the crap out of someone with a bat who only has their hands to defend themselves.

Many of Space Marine's shortcomings are somewhat understandable should this (hopefully) be in for a long-run franchise. There might be breakout hits, but Relic's new shooter appears to be focused on getting key features nailed down on its first pass, rather than spreading itself thin with totally useless aspects.

With the fast-paced battle combat, vast array of playable characters, and intuitive battle system that yearns to be perfected, it's hard to not find anything to like about this double disc collection.

To those who doubted the concept of MKvsDC, doubt no more because Mortal Kombat is back with a vengeance.

The game's balanced humor ensures that players won't lose interest, and the ability to jump in and out of proceedings by a second human player definitely adds an extra dimension to what's already a great adventure platform title.

While Stubbs is a well constructed, solid package, it doesn't reach the stratospheric levels that its older brother "Halo" did. Wideload's first title is nonetheless a fantastic game, as it takes an original premise and executes it with finesse and skill.

All in all, MX vs. ATV: Reflex is a solid entry in need of expansion: the bare-boned framework is there for what can be a stellar franchise in its genre.

At the very least, gameplay in Space Colony won’t get repetitive – just familiar. With the mix of management, action and trade, the game certainly has a long life, and there are always new objects and items becoming available as the game progresses.

For those who are already fans of the series, you’ll find more of the same thing that you loved in Patrician II; the biggest addition probably being the online multiplayer component, but Patrician III is structured in such a way that it is very accessible to newcomers as well, so come one, come all.

Ultimately, Nanostray 2 caters to the hardcore, traditional shooter fan.

The beauty of Port Royal is that it is more than just an economic sim, it adds piracy and town building and various other things that give the game a surprising amount of depth.

If you’re a fantasy football lunatic, you should definitely check this title out. It’s entertaining and engrossing for those of us who like the world behind the gladiatorial garments and rampaging machismo.

Lots of lovely little details and gimmicks, lots of black humor and lots and lots of evil deeds to perform - what else can an evil genius of tomorrow ask from a game?

Ultimately, as an expansion franchise, Medal of Honor's debut in the Modern Warfare League isn't a championship run.

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

I have a feeling in a few years gamers may look back to see what an influential and groundbreaking game it really was.

It’s delightfully twisted, I love it.

Some parts of the game can drag a little, and the warfare system doesn’t feel fully fleshed out, but creating towns and ‘playing god’ is as fun as ever.

A somewhat weird addition to the already weird Dark Age of Camelot.

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.

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

A simple, fun and well designed game, Kung Fu Panda doesn't offer the deepest narrative or most though-provoking gameplay for the more mature audiences; it's more of a guilty pleasure.

Honestly, if this weren’t attached to such a fanatically nostalgic license and fan base, it would be just another vanilla robot action game.

A moderately solid action RPG that fails to live up to its peers in this generation. It just isn't as solid, gameplay wise, as games like "Baldur's Gate" and its humor is way too hit or miss to make up the difference.

This title will have you hooked from the beginning until the end, and the open-ended conclusion will leave things up to your imagination to figure out.

I wouldn't go so far as to call Rock Band: Green Day a ripoff, because the set list is deep and certainly catches the spirit and energy of the band. But the total lack of innovation and the minimalistic presentation-at least compared to the visual and musical feast of The Beatles: Rock Band-makes this feel like a generous helping of DLC rather than a stand-alone game.

A very detailed, historic 3rd person shooter. I actually chose this game over "Call of Duty" - and I do not regret it. Great graphics, great stealth teamplay, good replay value, and a very nice campaign, all lead to a sequel ten times better than the original.

Comes across as one of the most involved strategy games for the Playstation 2. Unfortunately, the audio and visual performance delivered was done poorly, so this game will not appear to be as great as it really is from the start.

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.

But tie the high-brow nature of the cockpit-nerd content with the disconnected, unhelpful interface, and what comes up for the rest of us is a recognizable flight sim that’s very firmly grounded.

Digging through the fake web sites in order to find clues I can use on real web sites takes a gentle charm, especially for someone who bludgeons their way through most real-life and game-related problems, like I do.

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.

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.

Its success at blending all of its parts together into a smoothly flowing, finely-crafted whole are more than just the final word in the development of the game; it’s a testament to the thought that went into blending the best features of two of the most complex genres in gaming, and creating an interface that’s easily accessible and suitably detailed.

In some ways the game feels like an expansion, or maybe a half-sequel. It doesn’t have as many levels as Hitman 2, but they’re longer, and usually more interesting.

All in all, MX vs. ATV: Reflex is a solid entry in need of expansion: the bare-boned framework is there for what can be a stellar franchise in its genre.

If you are a fan of adventure games and only want to buy one game this year, I would certainly suggest Runaway: A Road Adventure.

A title worth picking up if you’re feeling a little nostalgic and want to play some simple, but great old titles or would just like to try out some things you may have missed.

Ultimately, Killer7 is both an interesting and creative game. The controversial control method needs some getting used to and may turn off certain gamers, but if you give it a chance, you'll find yourself intrigued with the game and its amazing story.

Made worse by its squandered potential. Pump the rating up to “Mature,” add some blood, a few guts, craft a story and gameplay more appealing to an older audience, and the game designers could have a hit on their hands.

The game’s excellent visuals and integration of that Japanese feel make it a better-than-average action adventure game, but is overall too short to make it really stand out.

Team17 did a fantastic job mixing the old style with the new graphics. The quality of the graphics fits this type of game and the game play hasn’t changed, a few things have been added but the core is still there.

A smart strategic addition to a solid, turn-based strategy game.

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.

The fast paced gameplay and looks of the original are still here. Also, the multiplayer and graffiti edit modes give it a good lasting appeal.

The game makes no major missteps, but neither does it surprise, innovate or evolve the genre in any significant way.

My expectations may have been a little high, because I’m left wanting more. I wish the developers had implemented things like loops, and that they had added more cars, more levels, and just about more of everything.

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 sheer amount of sound effects and spoken dialogue is quite impressive, and the musical score isn’t too shabby either.

The multitude of customizable features for the cars is the most impressive selection seen on PSP, but the gameplay doesn’t compare with titles such as "Wipeout Pure" or "Ridge Racer."

The game's a bit muddled in terms of strengths and weaknesses, but if you're in the mood for a playable story where your characters aren't overblown stereotypes and you can invest in your protagonist, it's easy to sink a few hours into the follow-up to one of 2002's greatest hits.

The creative use of player control to determine the gameplay and story delivery is an industry-leading feature.

With a career mode that will take hundreds of hours to complete 100% of the way and multiplayer support for up to four players, SSX Blur will undoubtedly compliment any Wii gamer’s collection.

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.

Ultimately, Law and Order 2 slightly exceeds its predecessor, mostly due to simplified gameplay. The storyline and voice acting make this a must have for every self-respecting Law and Order fan.

A solid, enjoyable if ultimately mediocre RTS.

The game is not easy and might leave some players mad and tired of constantly getting fragged while playing against skilled human opponents, but I guess that's what keeps the players striven to practice their skills off-line against AI and then taking it back on the real battlegrounds.

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

Simple, addictive and fun, with just enough complexity to keep things interesting, Puzzle Quest 2 is a "casual game" winner.

A great plot, extravagant graphics and solid audio, Scrapland is tolerable even with its downsides.

It may not be the most compelling shooter, but it can be an entertaining adventure with a dedicated friend.

The Graphical presentation is a let-down, but the gameplay is entertaining. Not all is bad, however. Multiplayer modes add those few more hours of fun.

Interface is everything in a large-scale simulation and TPB2003 provides pretty good access. It’s not entirely intuitive, but it is sufficient and somewhat streamlined.

If you've got a powerful computer, a fair bit of OCD when it comes to military realism, and a lot of time and patience, then Bohemia's ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead will scratch your itch in ways that Modern Warfare or Battlefield: Bad Company can't.

With a wide range of weapons, excellent detail, and some innovative qualities, this game should not be pushed aside. Rent it first, as the mission selection is.. 'small', but it still provides a lot of fun that can't be experienced anywhere else.

Certainly a step in the right direction to a good 3D Pokémon game.

A great puzzle game for the PS2, check it out!

Arguably the best feature included with the game is the inclusion of 4-player simultaneous play. Much like Super Smash Brothers, or Power Stone, battles are an all out free-for-all brawl.

Because this game forces you to think the same way a commander of the same time period would have, Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars is the greatest strategy game on the market.

All in all, Prism: Light the Way provides a large amount of entertainment in a simple and easy to pick up package.

By taking the most essential parts of any action game and combining them into one DVD, Cold Winter is a considerably engaging console shooter.

Overall, Gameplay is excellent, yet at many times, it can get tough.

The game blends historical reality and sci-fi elements really well, and while its gameplay is perhaps too comfortably familiar, the inclusion of high-tech future weapons makes the experience diverting.

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'.

I don’t think the storyline can get much more generic than this, and I honestly don’t think it’s told and directed very well.

Overall, the expansion boasts great new content, cool weapons, fresh looking monsters, the massive cities and insane perks. However, all the old content is getting a bit aged, especially the graphics, and it still boils down to killing hecklers for your main way to gain experience.

While hardcore fans of the adventure genre may want something more challenging and less linear, casual fans or newcomers can certainly enjoy what Secrets has to offer and not be disappointed in the least.

Penumbra: Overture will surely strike a chord with fans of adventure and horror games.

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.

All of this high polish is tarnished by the significant, game-stopping bugs that are currently present in the game. If Paradox is able to clean up these bugs, I could highly recommend this game.

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.

The fascinating thing about the game is the unlimited number of possibilities as every single action a player does may influence the whole game.

A definite step-up from its series predecessors, and, surprisingly, it’s a fairly decent console shooter.

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 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.

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.

Though it is true that Tony Hawk now faces its stiffest competition in a long time, the amount of improvements present in Proving Ground shows that there is still life left in the franchise.

I found myself loving this game and playing until the sunset. The gameplay has few flaws and is packed with action and strategy. The game's simplicity should not fool you into thinking the game is easy.

But it definitely falls short of its potential, skimping on voice talent, mission variance and structure, and that principal fusion that makes the whole game feel like one big ball of fun.

EA's decision to move away from the stilting influence of closely confined conflict in favor of expansive battling proves its worth in a game of high tension and prolonged immersion.

But raising the levels of difficulty for both will not only make the game hard to play, as the rewards you can gain make up for that. Finishing the game on various levels of difficulty again, you can obtain various bonus weapons and even a bonus ending.

A definitive version of Need For Speed Lite; fewer upgrade calories and less fatty visuals to chew on. What the game picks up on, though, is a key element of racing fun, with its unpretentious (if a bit ambitious) presentation of a glamorous racing sub-culture that fits in the palm of your hand.

As with any newly-minted MMO, the game now is probably not what it will become, and whether there is enough depth and content to sustain the monthly subscription price is an unanswered question. For certain though, fans of the beloved DC comics, action gamers, and MMO veterans will all find something to enjoy in DC Universe Online.

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

Again, they’ve offered us even more action and variety than before, but still kept that chess-like gameplay for which the original Commandos game was famous.

Other than a few little issues this game has a ton of things going for it. From the freedom, the tight control, the music, options, impressive cast of pro skaters with some exciting videos, ramps, pipes, and rails, at every turn.

Massive Assault Network 2 is a game that deserves attention.

I think that it should have at least been a co-op game. Controlling four characters at once in a real time combat situation is just nuts. I could compare it to Might and Magic without the turn based system. It's manageable, however, I would have preferred to share the burden with someone else.