Despite the game generally being the same as it was the last few times I played it, the PSP version pulled me right back in as if it were a completely new experience, and I didn’t want to let go.

Lionheart remains appealing throughout because of how well it captures the period. It's not a perfect historical representation, of course, but it puts you in the seat of two all-conquering medieval heroes.

Even if you’re not familiar with the comic, as long as you don’t mind a little vulgarity, and one or two urine soaked weapons, the game offers a fun, light-hearted romp filled with breezy combat controls, dozens of filthy hobos to beat up on and one positively useless cat.

The game has a 100 percent pure Tony Hawk pedigree. For gamers looking for more innovative experiences for their innovative little system, it probably should be a rental-before-purchase situation.

Midnight Club Los Angeles is an excellent game brought down by its maddening difficulty level. It’s unfortunate to see Rockstar San Diego fall back into that ditch with this game seeing as how the rest of the package is loaded with arcade racing goodness.

This game is a good alternative fighter for the 3DS; it's definitely not as good as SSFIV3D, but most assuredly not an embarrassment with its own set of respectable values and a very different play style.

This game is definitely a case of one step forward, two steps back. It's a modern, fresh SoulCalibur but it doesn't offer anything that you can't get from previous incarnations other than the more robust online offering.

While single players will need a bit of extra setup time, the enjoyable story and intuitive touch controls make Echoes of Time a blast to play for practically anyone – not just the diehard RPG fans out there.

In the end, Guitar Hero: On Tour is a blast to play with friends or alone, but it's hard to shake the feeling that any videogame not called Track and Field should be such a physical endurance challenge.

If you are looking for a solid entry point into the rhythm game craze or have some youngsters running around that you don’t exactly want to expose to some of the more mature music in other rhythm games Band Hero is a solid choice.

The ability to pick up and play at your own pace is another definite good thing about this game that is great for the casual gamer. If you want a game that really gives your brain a run for its money while giving you the creeps at the same time, then Evidence is a game right up your alley.

Hegemony otherwise does a good job of capturing the nature of war in this time period.

The time-traveling mechanic at the epicenter of this adventure can be as burdensome as it is intriguing, but most of Radiant Historia's faults are easily forgiven. In a genre often plagued by clichés and cutout characters, Radiant Historia's empathic characters and strong themes are surprisingly invigorating.

In the end, Justice League Heroes The Flash is a decent arcade action game that really delivers the goods to Game Boy Advance players. It's a shame that the DS version isn't half as good as Flash's solo adventure.

Are there enough improvements to warrant a purchase of 09 if you have 08? That’s hard for me to say. The dynamic ratings are fantastic, but with a majority of the courses being identical and the gameplay being almost identical it’s a tough sale.

If you can forgo the glitches and some oddball lag online, you'll find yourself with a decent game.

Where the game seriously losses points is in its presentation. Delta Force: Black Hawk Down is a two-year-old computer game and it shows it.

WWE All Stars is all about giving the impression that the stars of WWE are god-like. From the overblown caricatures to the over-the-top physics and dazzling lighting effects, the game does a good job of making its case. More importantly, All-Stars proves that a wrestling game that does not have the word "SmackDown" in its title can be successful.

The price of $89 really isn’t that bad compared to a gym membership and I think you’ll probably use it more than the gym. If only the manual was a little clearer on Quest mode then I could wholeheartedly recommend the game.

More than just a classic with a new coat of paint. No, it's a classic with over ten new games, new CG movies, a bit of touch screen bonuses, and a splash of paint that will leave you smiling (and possibly a little hungry) afterwards.

TNT Racers is a great little racing title that feels like it's something out a Saturday Morning Cartoon thanks to its goofy tone, lush visuals, and over-the-top action. It's not perfect, but it'll provide you with an incredible amount of bang for your buck.

Ghostbusters is a much better game than anticipated because I suppose I am hung up on the fact that licensed games, by and large, fail to meet the standards of the license it’s based on – but this adaption of the lore is a success.

The old school platforming and sometimes punishing checkpoint system won't appeal to everyone, but those that grew up on the platformers of the 16-bit era will be right at home, as will anyone looking to spend a little money to see how downloadable games have matured over the years.

All in all, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona succeeds at transitioning a cult classic RPG into the handheld market, and proves that games this original and well-written are truly timeless.

Stellar tuning options are perfect for diehard racing fans and, assuming you're playing online, the integration of Autolog makes this one of the most competitive racing games on the market. Even so, peculiar choices in presentation and very questionable actions on behalf of the A.I. make Shift 2: Unleashed an alternative to other simulators, rather than a replacement.

The puzzles will definitely make even seasoned adventure title players flex their brainpower a bit, but given that the vast majority of the puzzles make some sort of logical sense even players new to the genre should be able to think their way through to the solution with little help.

Its entire purpose is to extend the base game with the same fundamental gameplay.

If you’re a fan of the GT series, it’s certainly worth picking up and at the very least is worth a rental to get your Turismo fix. New players may want to wait for a sale at the PS Store.

It’s not the poem in game form by any stretch – but it is a gorgeous action game – one of the best looking games you are likely to play and if you’re a 360 gamer who has never experienced a God of War game then it’s actually a fairly easy sell. However, those who know Kratos will quickly realize this is mere imitation.

Despite the story in this outing leaving me lukewarm, I'm still interested in seeing where the story takes Layton, Luke and Emmy. Level 5 has done such a great job making the characters so delightful to hang out with, that even a subpar addition by Layton standards still makes for a good puzzle game.

Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team is a fun, simple blast-a-thon that goes a little beyond typical twin-stick shooter mechanics with its classes and upgrade system and it takes place in one of the coolest settings in all of gaming.

Mirror’s Edge is not the fully-fledged Parkour game that I was hoping for, and it stumbles over and over in its attempts to be a shooter. It can be needlessly frustrating and begrudgingly repetitive, but equally and truly awe-inspiring. If you can trudge through the story, the Time Trials provide one of the most intense and liberating platforming experiences to date, and ironically, it just might inspire you to turn off the TV and get outside.

There are still things to work on for next year, including better control and the play by play, but this game will definitely keep me busy until next year’s game.

Even with the game's various problems I kept finding myself excited to play and looking forward to the next chapter to see which characters would be along for the ride.

Playing in a multi-player Dynasty is A Grade fun despite the flaws, Campus Legend is certainly worth investigating and online play remains a bright spot. So even though the game is peppered with major and minor annoyances, there is definitely fun to be had. It just all depends on your perspective.

The game isn't bad but it does have a very narrow focus on Apache helicopter combat.

The game isn't bad but it does have a very narrow focus on Apache helicopter combat.

If all of your games need to be sprung from the fountain of creativity then you might want to look elsewhere, but if you're into some casual creature combat, you may be pleastantly surprised with what you unearth.

Those looking for big changes to the series won't find them here, but the music is great, the choreography is well designed and appropriately silly, and there are enough extra modes to keep things interesting.

Ivy The Kiwi? is deceptive. While it looks lighthearted it's really a serious and challenging platform game, but in spite of its difficulty, the simple controls and game mechanics make it very approachable, and while you'll almost certainly die a lot the game is very forgiving.

Ultimately, Puchi Puchi Virus is a solid puzzle game that's great for anyone tired of the myriad others on the DS.

For $10, you can’t go wrong with Texas Hold ‘Em and looking at the Xbox Live most played games, I’m not the only one that thinks so. Give it a shot!

For everyone else though, the game is a harder sell and I would recommend that you make use of Live's ability to download the trial version before dumping those 800 points into a purchase.

That said, I like a lot of what Relic has done here in both opening up the campaign a bit and finally giving the basic grunts of the Imperial Guard their time in the sun.

SSX is a worthy addition/reboot (whatever we're calling it) to the series, although the whole Survive It shtick isn't nearly as robust as it was originally played up to be, and probably explains why EA dropped Deadly Descents from the name. While some feature are questionable, or questionably absent, as in the case of multiplayer, shredding the slopes in outlandish fashion is as enticing as ever.

Unlike current RPGs that seem to be basking in the straight forwardness and over doing the story elements, Wizardry instead gives you one of the longest and biggest dungeons you will ever face.

Gumboy: Crazy Adventures isn’t perfect and does carry with it a bit of your typical puzzle-game tedium, but this remains a solid, well-crafted game that is well worth your time.

The new and improved Turok is easily the best since it left its roots on the Nintendo 64. Even though the title takes great liberties with some of the lore it manages to retain its integrity while at the same time delivering on a completely over the top albeit predictable experience.

Monotony complaints aside, Serious Sam Double D's wacky world, crazy weapons, oddball humor and entertaining environments will keep you chuckin' and duckin' through time with Sam. Well, at least until the shine wears off.

At a time when so few GBA games are getting released, it does shine above its contemporaries, but it is after all just another really solid platformer for a handheld that has several competent entries in that genre.

With the Madden 360 version looming on the horizon, the swan song on the current Xbox is a solid game with some of the same old frustrations combined with some sharp new features.

In the end, Age of Empires III truly feels like a continuation of the 1999 classic. If that's good enough for you, then you'll definitely want to check it out.

A nice eclectic mix of arcade classics that look and play well on the PSP.

There's a ton of content here, and the various challenges are a blast to figure out. If you are the type of gamer who enjoys going through a game of this type puzzle by puzzle, Elements will engross you from start to finish. If you're not patient enough to deal with a few clunkers (or solve at least 50 stages before getting to the real meat of the game), you're better off elsewhere.

Bulletstorm is violence distilled into a bombshell of unbridled mayhem that tries to be so over the top and brutal that it often struggles to live up to its own posturing.

Hard Reset clearly shows that the team knows what makes a good shooter tick.

In the end, Wii Fit works at what it was created to do, namely raise your level of fitness awareness and get you off of the couch and exercising.

Criticisms aside, it makes for a fantastic handheld game. It’s tailor-made for quick bursts of play (like that morning subway ride, or ahem, bathroom breaks) or longer sessions (especially multiplayer matches).

As it stands, however, Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume is still a great game for either starved SRPG fans or those looking to get their feet wet with a multi-branching title that lets you choose your destiny.

While single players will need a bit of extra setup time, the enjoyable story and intuitive touch controls make Echoes of Time a blast to play for practically anyone – not just the diehard RPG fans out there.

Overall, Frontlines has been one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had this year – particularly online. It’s too bad about the control, graphical draw in and short length of the single player game but the multiplayer portion saves it from the bargain bin of doom.

Are there enough improvements to warrant a purchase of 09 if you have 08? That’s hard for me to say. The dynamic ratings are fantastic, but with a majority of the courses being identical and the gameplay being almost identical it’s a tough sale.

Champions Online doesn't inspire the drive to explore or build a community, but it thrives on the spontaneity of twitch-based combat and the thrill of experimenting with new powers.

It's certainly a game worth playing, but if you come into it without a love for the license, you are left with a competent, gory, exciting, but ultimately repetitive action game.

If you are looking for a solid entry point into the rhythm game craze or have some youngsters running around that you don’t exactly want to expose to some of the more mature music in other rhythm games Band Hero is a solid choice.

Still, Hoard's multiplayer design accomplishes exactly what it set out to do: provide quick and well paced matches between rival dragons looking for more shiny coins wrapped nside a design that is deceptively deep. This is 10 bucks well spent.

If you're hoping for a core multiplayer experience, however, you'll likely find Nintendo's Wi-Fi network too frustrating to deal with.

For about ten bucks, which is likely six to seven times less than a boxed Greed Corp board game would cost at retail, the game gives players a lot of value.

The story itself is well done, even though there are some jokes that fall flat.

If you were waiting for a golf video game that completely changes the notion of what a golf video game can be, well, you're still waiting. If you want a well controlled game of golf that's both accessible to newcomers and challenging to veterans with tight, well implemented controls and more content then you can shake a 5-iron at then Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 All-Play fits the bill.

As good as the game is - aside from the targeting issues and the falling to your death over and over - the story that unfolds is the definite high point.

There’s a lot of game here for the money, and as long as you haven’t already played it, it’s definitely worth picking up.

Nerf: N-Strike Elite is an obvious cash in for both EA and Hasbro but at the same time, it's well done, fast paced, entertaining cash in that comes with an awesome Nerf blaster.

Although singleplayer is over quick, online play is a lot of fun and unlike other vampire games, Darkwatch sure doesn't suck!

Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter bests its predecessor in almost every way, and provides one of the best ways to flex the creative and gaming sides of your brain at the same time.

I have to stress that this is not a "pick and up and play" game if you're new to rugby. There's a lot of learning involved as rugby, turns out, is a pretty complicated sport. Still, Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge, from the perspective of a novice rugby fan, is a great starter game.

It’s easy to pick apart the game, and in the end that may be a bit unfair – it certainly does what it sets out to do and that is to add solid additional PvE content to the Guild Wars world for already established players, and if that’s what you’re looking for, then Eye of the North fits the bill; just don’t look for it to reinvent the wheel.

Midnight Club Los Angeles is an excellent game brought down by its maddening difficulty level. It’s unfortunate to see Rockstar San Diego fall back into that ditch with this game seeing as how the rest of the package is loaded with arcade racing goodness.

The game remains true to the series in catering more toward the hardcore element despite good attempts at making the game accessible; Armored Core 4 easily offers up the hottest mech-on-mech action yet in this next generation.

For about ten bucks, which is likely six to seven times less than a boxed Greed Corp board game would cost at retail, the game gives players a lot of value.

The strategy elements fall short and are only as important as you choose to make them, but the combination of brutal action and customizable crews is reason enough to warrant a play-through.

The world itself is actually incredibly cool – it’s a giant representation of the “real” world, from a tiny mushroom’s perspective.

The makers of Majesty 2 call your heroes “somewhat obnoxious subordinates.” That is an understatement. Their stubbornness makes this terribly challenging RTS, at times, nearly impossible.

You spend most of the game with dominant powers treating you as a pawn in their own game, when the reality is that no one can achieve their goals without your intervention. That's fertile ground for an RPG to harvest and New Vegas ultimately succeeds in doing that.

The close up celebration scenes are good but the players look a bit more blocky, that may be why the camera angle is so far out in the actual game.

So for the same old good game with a new way to control it, Bust-a-Move DS earns an above-average "B" score.

You'll be grinding your teeth every few minutes as you realize the difficulty that Acclaim has sunk into this thing.

Enough Family-friendly platform action with responsive controls that's true to the spirit of the movie.

If you enjoy micromanaging monsters and think Poemon is for babies, then you will be hard pressed to find a deeper game than Joker on the market.

Multiplayer is pretty solid, though the controls are a little slower than in the single-player mode. Still the multiplayer mode is a nice addition to the solid single-player game.

Madden 12 has an awful lot going for it and in many ways it's the best the series has ever been, but in others you can see it still trying to break the shackles of the past. In the end, you get a mix of the two: a lot of great new ideas combined with issues that should have been dealt with a long time ago.

Nothing was done to improve upon the game, and those that want 3D adventure will find much better courts in "Banjo-Tooie" and other games.

A fun and engaging game of golf.

It may feel a bit different from the Final Fantasy you're used to, but Final Fantasy XIII deserves the chance to branch out and develop on its own.

MAX'd would probably appeal to hard core paintball players, but the average gamer may get confused with all the gear and stat configuration that normally don't go hand and hand with a First Person Shooter.

A must-buy for fans of the series and an interesting extension to what the film portrays. If you own a PSP and are a die hard Silent Hill fan, than this little UMD is worth a purchase.

Imagine the L.A. skyline during rush hour, condensed into the perimeter of a city block, and you have a good idea of how thick the trademark fog has become.

Dracula: Origin is an enjoyable point-and-click adventure with a solid story, recognizable characters, and great atmosphere that is slightly betrayed by some truly difficult puzzles that are more frustrating than fun.