In reality, it is fun and entertaining… for a little while. Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is actually the perfect definition of a rental game.

Fracture is a mediocre title released at a time of year when that simply is not good enough. It is repetitive, derivative, and often times boring.

Lackluster.

For PS3-owning mahjong fans, there’s enough to like, despite the poor multiplayer options.

What once was an incredibly fun set of games has become a monotonous experience that’s more about going through the motions than it is about having a good time.

Outside of the lack of songs, I had one major issue with Guitar Hero On Tour: portability. I tend to buy handheld games to play on train rides, or while flying. The combination of the cumbersome Guitar Grip, the non-ergonomic angle at which you hold the DS, and gameplay interface make this a game I was actually embarrassed to play in public. And if a handheld game can only be played at home, what’s the point?

The omission of previously available features, like season mode and create-a-player, make this a serious step down in terms of gameplay and replay value, and what’s left isn’t quite worth the price of admission.

It’s too bad that once again, Bond fans are left with a game that’s more interested in cashing in on a movie license than presenting a complete gameplay experience. Quantum of Solace ends up feeling more like a mod of "Call of Duty 4" than it does its own game, and that’s a shame.

The only saving grace is the cooperative multiplayer, which allows up to four players to join together to complete the game's campaign. It's much more fun with friends, and obviously built around the co-op experience, but the missions are so uninteresting and repetitive that even playing with friends can't help it too much.

There’s about as much to complain about as there is to acclaim, but as a whole, it never rises above the level of an adequate game.

Via Domus is really light on any actual action; as Elliott, you’ll mostly be solving puzzles and trying (and failing) not to get lost and frustrated while wandering around the jungle, in between conversing with other plane crash survivors and trying to figure out who you are and what’s going on.

Rubik’s World is a title that had potential, but unfortunately it was lost among the dull and pointless exercises included in this game.

Visually it’s a success, with wonderful blur effects and animations accompanying the colorful world. The gameplay is even something worth paying attention to, as it shows that Sonic Team hasn’t entirely forgotten how to make a Sonic game. However, it falls apart, and the repetitive nature of the missions can become grinding.

Spore Creatures isn’t the shovelware I originally expected, but it isn’t much more than a cash-in on the PC version’s anticipated success. It isn't a bad game, it isn't a good game, it's just sort of there.

Light on content, strategy, and presentation, this mediocre title fails to innovate in any real way, and instead strips away a lot of what has worked in the past.

The excellent control scheme and shiny units aren’t enough to save UAW from its own flawed code.

There are several moments when you are told that stealth is an important part of Turok's hunting ethos, but when it comes time to be stealthy, the AI are able to see you even if you're hidden. It basically amounts to a useless stealth system.

I can overlook the average graphics, the camera mechanics, and even the sub-par voice-acting. What I can’t accept is that the story, which was supposed to be the most interesting part of the game, is just plain boring.

Considering that Tiger Woods ’09 is being hailed as the greatest golf game ever released for the 360 and PS3, it is truly depressing that the Wii port is such a mess.

The enemy design is, simply put, wonderful, and so many different elements of Demon's Souls call out to me, demanding love and affection. Sadly, I cannot return its calls. It just goes so far out of its way to be difficult that it misses some key, important elements that would have made it a vastly better game.

Tom Clancy’s EndWar could’ve established itself as a must-own game had it done anything better or more stylishly than predecessors like Advance Wars. Instead, DS owners are given another RTS that brings nothing interesting to the table, and can get easily lost among the dozens of other games it shares so many similarities with.

Virtua Tennis 2009 is a prime example of a game treading water that desperately needs an overhaul.

Sadly, it ends up being a bit of a disappointment, with iffy controls and less than impressive graphics.

By changing the game to more of a true wrestling game and less of a turn-based RPG, the developers definitely took a step in the right direction.

Old and young should have no problem finding joy in the game, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The problems that can't really be forgiven, however, come from the slow pacing. True, slow pacing on its own doesn't necessarily mean bad pacing, but Cursed Mountain's molasses speed doesn't work in the game's favor.

I spent time with both hockey games this season, hoping that 2K could at least be considered a decent hockey simulation for those who still haven’t gone over to the EA side. Sadly, 2K can’t even hold its own against older versions of its own franchise, let alone a game as technically sound as NHL 09.

Once again, EA has managed to innovate in a genre that had grown stale and tedious. With its numerous graphical glitches, control issues, and overall lack of polish, it’s obvious that Skate It is a first effort. Still, pulling off big tricks (and even small ones) can be very satisfying, and there’s a real feeling that this is a series that will benefit greatly from further iteration.

Haze's heart was apparently too big for its chest, and the finished product is quite possibly the biggest letdown this generation.

A flawed boxing game with excellent presentation and some features that should make the next Fight Night team stand up and take notice. I stop short of calling it a solid effort because of the actual boxing gameplay, but 2K definitely has something to build on in the future.

After each round, you’re forced to watch a 20 second animation of the dealer paying out to the winners and collecting cards and chips from all the players. While it may be nice to see the first few times, 20 seconds between rounds is a long time to wait, and after 10 or 12 rounds, it can be infuriating.

With an overwhelming number of party games already on the Wii, including the two previous Raving Rabbids titles, it’s hard to justify spending fifty bucks on this game.

It’s a shame that Mind Over Mutant turned out to be just another so-so Crash Bandicoot game, because it actually did seem promising for a little while.

If the game were actually simplified and released as a downloadable title for the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, or Wiiware service it might be worth checking out, but as a full title, even at a discounted price, it isn’t worth the trip to the store.

There are plenty of good ideas in Velvet Assassin. Sadly, they’ve all been done before. The issues in the game are simply too great for more people to give it any thought, and everything besides the basic stealth mechanics aren’t fleshed out enough.

The story never draws you in, battles take forever, diminishing the game’s allure as a portable experience, and the fact that you play as a ball of light introduces a layer of separation from the game’s characters that ensures your disinterest in their fates.

Despite its many flaws, there is some fun to be had. Poor design choices, sloppy controls and a lack of any soul or polish keep it from being anything but a brief distraction, but hacking your way through the armies of Sauron to the tune of Howard Shore’s epic soundtrack is enjoyable up to a point.

It is a fun party game, on par with games like Scene It or Rock Band, but not as addictive. And at 1000 Wii Points ($10.00), I can't say that it is for everyone. But for me, a trivia junkie, it was totally worth it.

The Fable II Pub Games are sort of a strange case, as they are just barely games and in no way worth the $10 no matter how excited for Fable II you are.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is certainly a victim of its platform’s shortcomings, but it’s also not a very good game to begin with.

The biggest problem with We Ski is that it’s just not exciting or challenging enough to make most gamers want to keep playing.

Pop does offer mild entertainment, but I found that it only kept me occupied for a few minutes before I grew bored. Even with up to 4 players, it’s only so long before you are ready to move on to another game or find something else to do.

Gran Turismo was most definitely not worth the wait. It’s a good looking game that plays well, but the lack of game modes, the poor car acquisition system, and the absence of more online features completely deflate the experience.

Strong Badia the Free has some great gameplay ideas without proper implementation. As soon as it starts to get into a proper rhythm there’s a confusing portion that drives it to a deal halt, and some of the best sections of the game don’t pay off as well as they should, especially considering the Homestar Runner license.

Something just doesn’t add up about it, and the real mystery in Alone in the Dark isn’t what happened in Central Park, but what happened inside of Atari’s offices.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen did one thing right: it improved on the previous game in the blockbuster tie-in series. Unfortunately, the last game was a glitchy, broken mess, so that’s really not saying too much. In small doses, Revenge can be somewhat entertaining, but after spending more than half an hour with this game, I was ready for a break.

All of the pieces are there for a successful game, and while there are flaws in the controls and visuals, none of the problems are really all that troubling. It's just that... the game isn't very fun, and the fault is based on the levels themselves, not the mechanics of play.

Hopefully they've learned their lesson, and will make sure that future installments don't feel as fundamentally weak, and outstandingly pointless. Sorry, Moxxi, looks like you'll need to look elsewhere for a new hubby.

All in all, Woody Two-Legs: Attack of the Zombie Pirates is a fun and amusing distraction, as short as it is. In the spirit (get it? a pun) of Halloween, this cartoony romp with pirates, zombies, ghosts and skeletons be fun arrrr right.

While I don’t recommend it for most things in life, in this case, judging a book by its cover works just fine. X-Blades is exactly what you expected it to be; a mediocre fantasy action game with a heroine that appeals to the basest of men’s instincts.

Everything else about the game is completely lackluster, and even driving around the open map, the high point of the game, gets tedious after a while.

Mad Moxxi isn't worth the money. It's little more than an additional mode, and it really isn't as fun as the ones found in other games.

Odds are if you have access to any other console, there are plenty of better tower defense games to enjoy.

The only area where SEGA succeeded was in realizing that the game had to blend together the different elements, not keep them apart. Where Airtight failed was not realizing that very fact. In the end, it's worth playing Dark Void, though expectations should be kept very low, and it's not worth picking up at full price by any means.

There's not a single moment worth experiencing. It's a dull, monotonous title that needn't be played by anyone, especially with all of the quality already available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Only mildly entertaining, and even with up to four players being able to compete both online and off, the fun factor is very limited. Even more limited are the repetitive events, and you’ll probably have played all of them in under an hour.

While there are some glitches from time to time, there's nothing about it that stands out as being broken or unplayable. That said, there's not a single moment worth experiencing.

There's the makings of a cool game in here, but the sloppy controls, brutal and bizarre death penalty, imbecilic camera, and a host of other small issues add up to it being more of a chore to play than remotely enjoyable.

Even for a movie tie-in, GI Joe feels like a rush job. It’s not a terrible game by any means; the game mechanics mostly work, there’s plenty of variety to the characters, scores of things to unlock, and even playable Cobra characters like Storm Shadow and Firefly. It’s just that everything it does has been done much better by many different games.

The repetitive missions and lack of any replayability can make the few short hours spent in 2016 barely tolerable, and don't justify any more than a rental from anyone. While it's far from the worst movie tie-in this generation, it does little to change the stigma, and is best left untouched on store shelves.

With its various bugs, issues with physics and AI, and lackluster visuals, it would be hard to recommend the game as a bargain title, much less a full priced game.

A bad shooter with worse excuses, and there’s little chance you’ll enjoy playing it as much as Vicious Cycle enjoyed making it. The developers relied too heavily on cheap laughs, and didn’t take advantage of the satire nearly as much as they should have. Instead, they used it as a crutch, explaining missing features and other problems on the game’s premise – an excuse that grows thin quickly, as far too often, it’s used to the detriment of the player instead of to their benefit.

Sadly, due to the lack of a compelling narrative, the frustratingly boring gameplay, and the poor camera, Lost Frontier becomes a forgettable experience almost immediately after playing it.

Activision panicked, all right, and they fired on all cylinders back at Skate, ready to prove that their series had what it takes to get back on top. Sadly, for fans of Tony Hawk, every shot missed its target. Tony Hawk: Ride was a knee-jerk reaction by a publisher who pushed gimmick over gameplay, and the result feels like the most manufactured, soulless gaming experience to ever be released.

Sonic 4: Episode 1 is a train wreck for Sonic fans. It makes Mario look good, and remember, Sonic was a character made to compete with a short, fat, ugly plumber.

Almost a solid game. There are some interesting concepts put forth this time around, but most of them are overshadowed by the lack of attention paid to the gameplay. I really wanted to enjoy playing this, but the longer I played, the more it felt like a chore instead of fun.

A bad shooter with worse excuses, and there’s little chance you’ll enjoy playing it as much as Vicious Cycle enjoyed making it. The developers relied too heavily on cheap laughs, and didn’t take advantage of the satire nearly as much as they should have.

The problem is, despite having everything it sounds like it needs, it's missing what might be the most important element: fun. It's an often joyless experience, and there's absolutely no reason to pick it up over the dozens of other options on the market, even with the low price factored in.

It’s hard to believe that the same company that makes the absolutely stellar NBA 2K series is responsible for the travesty that is Major League Baseball 2K9. In all honesty, MLB 2K9 plays like it might have been a good game three or four years ago, but it’s graphical inconsistencies, lackadaisical AI, and gimmicky controls feel very dated in today’s gaming climate.

The world could really use an awesome Indiana Jones game. Sadly, Staff of Kings is not it.

It’s too buggy, choppy, and unrealistic to be considered even a solid title.

Tony Hawk: Ride was a knee-jerk reaction by a publisher who pushed gimmick over gameplay, and the result feels like the most manufactured, soulless gaming experience to ever be released.

This decent idea got buried under glitches, a bad camera, and frustrating gameplay, and there seems to be no reason for that to have happened.

Gamers deserve better than another mediocre effort.

For the most casual of the casual gamers who also happens to own a Wii and be a die-hard Grey’s Anatomy fan, this game is for you. For everyone else, the game just doesn’t have enough to offer in terms of actual gameplay.

A subpar entry in a normally solid franchise. Lousy story, terrible audio, and inconsistent design combine to make what is, in my opinion, the weakest game under the Ratchet and Clank banner.

Blood Stone 007 just doesn't have a lot going for it. It's got some standard shooting, some decent graphics, and a modicum of difficulty. Unfortunately, there's just nothing here that stands out, or deserves your attention beyond a lonely weekend.

Even with all that fanboyism, I came into this game with optimism tempered by mediocre expectations. It failed to meet even them. The game is just plain bad. It feels underdeveloped, hacked together and downright shoddy.

Even for absolute die-hard fans, I simply can’t recommend this game. The track listing is lacking, the gameplay is outdated (by its own predecessor), and the fun factor for this game just isn’t there.

The stories told in the five chapters are no better then ones that could be seen on television and the gameplay is basically "hit the A button until the plot progresses," so you may be better served just watching some episodes of the show.

Simply put, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff is too antiquated, glitchy, bland and feature-poor to compete in the modern sports game market. Even for fans of the series, there’s not a whole lot here that improves on the formula perfected by Tecmo Super Bowl, and there are even a few steps backward to be found.

The constant glitches awful enough to dissuade even the strongest at heart from playing for more than a few hours, and Rise of the Argonauts might be one of the most disapointing games of the generation.

Even for absolute die-hard fans, I simply can’t recommend this game.

Compared to other WiiWare games, however, it is a different story, and the game's uninteresting, uninspired gameplay and mediocre presentation definitely places it in the "not worth trying" category.

With its threadbare narrative, unlikable characters, uninspired combat, and myriad technical issues, Mercenaries 2 is a huge disappointment. There’s some fun to be had blowing up buildings with a friend online, but playing through enough of the game to unlock these weapons is more of a chore than it’s worth.

With its baffling design choices and shoddy controls, Rygar: The Battle of Argus fails to deliver as much fun and satisfaction as the original game.

I was hoping for more from TRON: Evolution. Unfortunately, all I got was another disappointing movie tie-in that's not very fun to play.

Die-hard rhythm game fans might get a kick out of this, but for the average gamer, there’s nothing here worth ten bucks.

Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers is not a great game. It’s not even a good game. But it’s fun, it’s cheap ($30), and provides players with some over-the-top action they might be able to enjoy.

There might be some gleaming light beyond the inch-deep layer of grime and poor design, but it isn’t worth looking for.

It’s simply too painful. At one point they might have had something special, but the entertaining combat and interesting leveling mechanics aren't good enough to prevent the constant, boring, grinding questing.

It’s not completely broken, but compared to the other far superior options available, it might as well be. I can’t even recommend this game to give as a gift to a child.

The Recording Studio is a terrific time waster, but doesn’t offer anything remarkably different from the first that would warrant an upgrade. Songbook is an aggravating mess that would have been made more tolerable if there were actual recordings instead of covers, but I’m not sure even that would have made that mode worth completing.

Shaun White seems like a nice enough guy. He’s certainly a talented athlete, and a pretty sharp businessman to boot, but slapping your name on a game that not only disappoints and frustrates gamers, but also makes you look like a complete tool through its ludicrous, cheesy, almost offensively stereotypical cut-scenes can’t be a step in the right direction for “the Flying Tomato.”

Multiplayer over WiiConnect 24 works surprisingly well, but a functioning online system isn’t enough to get over the broken, unresponsive, and unentertaining fighting mechanics of the game.

It’s a real shame, too, because NIS America has brought some great games to our shores, and I’m sure they will do so again in the future. Ar Tonelico 2 would have received a higher score if not for a technical problem that easily could have been avoided with proper testing.

I loved the PC version when I played it back in 2007 and thoroughly enjoyed some of the other Real-Time-Strategies I have played on the Xbox 360. Supreme Commander, however, is a fundamentally broken game.

With four-player co-op and an appealing art style, there are definitely the makings for an entertaining adventure on the disk. The final product, sadly, is not as good as the sum of its parts, and everything that might be seen as a success is surrounded by a series of failures, leaving gamers with little reason to invest in a purchase, budget price or not.