But the fantastic graphics, sound, and firefights all blend to make F.E.A.R. an excellent game, though in order to enjoy the graphics and the game to its fullest, you must have a high-end computer system. In closing, F.E.A.R. is definitely one of this year’s best games.

Improving on this venerable franchise with bigger environments, controllable vehicles, and a revamped online mode, newcomers and veterans to the series will both be able to appreciate the new features.

Quake 4 places more emphasis on its single-player campaign, and in so doing has slightly neglected its multiplayer aspects.

Unless you really enjoyed watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, there are plenty of other action adventure games with much more value.

Just remember to keep the lights on…and invest in rubber underpants.

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.

Whether you’ve repeatedly played through the Castlevania catalogue since the first game, or never before, Dawn of Sorrow is both a fabulous series ambassador and also one of the best Nintendo DS titles available.

For players prepared to risk finger cramp, wrist lock, eye strain, and cracked patience in order to make the transitional skill demands laid down by the merciless gameplay, the experience is never anything less than rewarding.

One of the worst downfalls we found in the PS2 version was the lack of an online multiplayer mode, which is intact in the Xbox and PC versions.

The lighting effects of CRC2005 are absolutely stunning. Light falls and reflects on tons of objects, and it changes with fluidity when objects are moving. The reflections on the cars are extremely realistic and the graphics don’t allow the car to appear perfectly undamaged by the race rubbing and bumping.

In the audio-visual department, the game shows how little it has matured since Worms 3D yet is still bearable, and the cartoony feel draws comparisons to Saturday morning cartoons.

A perfectly adequate Gundam title that will clearly live up to fan expectations. While newcomers to the series should expect to initially struggle with a slightly shoddy control scheme and overall camera confusion amid the heat of battle, veteran Gundam gamers should see it all as par for the course.

A decent platform adventure game for the PSP. The diversified environments and vast array of puzzles require you to think at times, but there’s a little too much recycled material.

The biggest aspect of Lost in Blue is repeating daily tasks and trying to stay alive on the island. After a while this can get somewhat annoying when players want to go out and see what’s on the island, but can’t because they still need to gather food or supplies.

Although the actual gameplay doesn’t vary all that much from previous installments, and it can take a while to unlock all the songs, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 delivers an incredibly entertaining party experience.

A noble attempt to bring the Lunar universe back to the fore, but the lack of features that made the series popular and the dated, old-school visual style take too much away from the game.

The ten new factions along with hundreds of new available units will help give this title new life, and even though the changes in gameplay won’t make any new fans out of the series, Barbarian Invasion delivers almost everything that fans could’ve asked for.

The single player campaign is dragged out and filled with the same puzzles over and over, and there isn’t a whole lot of depth to the multiplayer portion either. Although it’s possible for some kids and people new to the series to have some fun here, Ancient Shadow doesn’t quite hit the mark as a whole.

Cold War can't help but reek of mediocrity. For its low price, it might provide a bit of fun for a few hours, but in the end, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was playing a dumbed-down version of "Splinter Cell."

A big improvement over its predecessor, like "Sly 2" was over the original. The new story, variety in gameplay and even the 3D levels make Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves a definite hit and worth any gamers while.

A simple action game intended for amateur gamers everywhere. Its addictive robot transformation and customization appeal makes DICE rewarding the more it’s played, but it’s also engaging to simply indulge for a few minutes every once in a while.

The gritty atmosphere, gripping action sequences, and incredible central narrative all mix beautifully to provide many hours of great gameplay. The ‘every action has a consequence’ mechanic means that the game offers up considerable replay value.

While we would’ve loved to seen a stronger emphasis on the whole ‘actions have consequences’ premise, Fable still allows the gamer to develop a strong bond with their hero.

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.

It was well thought out, and makes for a nice change of pace from normal play.

Beyond the unusually attractive RTS gameplay variety of melee and strategy, and the advanced interaction levels granted to the game's main cast of characters, Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes doesn't quite achieve its own ambitions.

The sense of victory is strange and unfamiliar. Instead of rejoicing after a hard boss battle or an intense endurance contest, you'll find yourself wondering what will happen to the characters afterward, and what it all means.

There simply isn’t enough variety throughout the entire game to keep interest up, so it takes a lot of devotion to wade through the games nearly 200 levels.