One of the great things about Borderlands is that there is always plenty to do. In addition to the story missions there are always a number of other missions available, either from characters that you meet in the game or from job boards in the friendly settlements.

So here's the deal: If you like sims and have the patience to let things run on their own for stretches of time, you'll probably enjoy Tropico. If you're a Tropico fan from the old days, expect more of the same except with prettier graphics and make your decision based on that. If you're the type of sim player that enjoys building large SimCity style metropolises, Tropico probably isn't for you as you won't be building any San Juans in the game. Lastly, for everyone else, the slow pace of the game and the time it takes to get a working economy will probably try your patience too much.

As much as I fell in love with this game, it isn't going to please everyone. It is short, easy and can be difficult to follow if you aren't familiar with the story already. It also sports a dated design, and I can't see anyone but the superfans forgoing all the other amazing games out right now to play this one.

You'll still find mayhem for mayhem's sake in this title, but for the first (second if you count the DS version) time, the GTA series has delivered more than just hooker target practice; there's a great game here as well.

For all intents and purposes Bakugan: Battle Brawlers is just battle after battle after battle (is that how it got the title?) with slow mechanics and nearly nothing to offer in the way of story, characters or much else.

You're better off just taking your kids out back and tossing around a real football.

If you have a dislike for metal I doubt that you'll appreciate the game that much and you'll certainly miss out on many of the in-jokes and celebrity cameos. To legions that appreciate the true power of rock, though, it's your one way ticket to midnight.

Follow this general rule - if a game appears on a Nintendo system and you've never heard of it, or the company that produced it, steer clear.

Control issues aside, the gameplay itself is not all that much fun. If perhaps things were faster and more chaotic, as they are in Warlords, it would fare better, but as it is it's more tedious than fun.

Demon's Souls can do no wrong in my eyes. It reinvigorated my love of RPGs and video games as a hobby, not just a job. Its punishing difficulty is a throwback to the brutally unforgiving games of my NES childhood, and the feeling of accomplishment in the face of innumerable odds is truly unlike anything I've experienced with a controller in my hands.

I don't know about you, but I prefer games that can hold my interest for more than five minutes and there are plenty of tower games out there that can do that.

Gran Turismo does a good job of bringing the core GT experience to the PSP, but racing fans are sure to be disappointed by the fact that the races are limited to four cars.

Obscure: Aftermath isn't without its flaws, but you could do much, much worse on a system that has had a criminal shortage of games as of late.

There isn't a whole lot else to say about Nectaris. It's an old school strategy title that I'm sure someone will enjoy based on either nostalgia or just a lack of anything else to play.

Straight-forward, no nonsense trivia best left to the most diehard of fans of European soccer.

Beaterator is a surprisingly powerful music creation tool for mixmasters on the move.

Dead Space: Extraction takes us back to the events that transpired before Isaac and his team landed aboard the USG Ishimura and it gives Dead Space fans plenty of backstory to make the overall Dead Space storyline feel whole again.

Case solved: MySims: Agents is a go and is a fun game for all ages.

Arctic Edge captures the MotorStorm spirit in a great little portable racer.

It plays great, offers lots to do and even though it can be slow on the story and missions seem endlessly repeated, it is still a must play for any KH fan.

Ion Assault can be fun for fans of the genre, especially if they're looking for something a little different. For everyone else it's probably too different and too difficult to be of much interest.

It's a terrible remake of a terrible game, and will probably top my "Worst of 2009" game list come December.

Majesty 2's charms will wear off a few missions into the campaign, and then once the feelings of repetition and frustration set in you'll have little motivation to keep going. Track down the demo and give it a play or two and you'll probably have your fill of the game.

Grindhouse fans will enjoy this violent romp through Rubi's seedy world.

Need for Speed SHIFT managed to hook me to the point where I was looking forward to my next session with the game. Not all games can do that, and especially not all racing games, and that tells me that the designers did something right with this one.

Ultimate Alliance 2 is a step sideways for the series, but the game is still a button-mashing treat for superhero fans.

Ultimate Alliance 2 is not a bad game. It misses some opportunities to capitalize on its great story and wealth of character interactions; it didn't receive the presentation update that next gen gamers expected; and it doesn't make much effort in pushing the dungeon crawling action RPG genre forward.

You'll need to find creative ways to ways to solve the game's puzzles while it finds creative ways to frustrate you.