Ultimately Puzzle Quest 2 isn't a bad game, it's just a disappointing one. There are other games in this genre that should get your greenbacks before you invest in this one, including the stellar Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes and the original Puzzle Quest. Measure your expectations accordingly.

Despite all of these somewhat questionable design issues, the title does deliver a rather enjoyable hop n’ bop experience that can easily burn a few hours without demanding too much investment of cerebral activity.

It's too simple, too short, and becomes boring far too quickly to recommend.

2006 FIFA World Cup is truly a game I really want to like. There’s enough in it to play for a while, however the control issues and the terrible, repetitive play by play really bring it down a notch

Even if I hadn't played the crap out of the game series on the PC, I would have still felt the game was lacking any significant punch to set itself ahead of the market for its time.

As bare-boned as Deathsmiles is, playing through the game a couple times is entertaining.

Runespell: Overture is good for an hour or two, the size of the demo conveniently enough, but beyond that, there's just not enough there to warrant spending the additional time playing it.

Need for Speed: The Run is a true black sheep trying desperately to fit in with its siblings, but simultaneously getting so much so very wrong.

Still hamstrung by the lack of voice communication among human players online and workman-like AI for non-human-controlled allied characters in the single-player mode, the game just fails to differentiate itself enough to avoid a comparison with the new "Resident Evil 4" kid on the block.

The bottom line is that it’s impossible to recommend this title to anyone who isn’t a fairly hardcore adventure buff.

You do not get a whole lot of replay value from it however...if you took this game to work with you and you work a 9 to 5 shift...you could be done before the day is over...you might even be done before lunch.

If you have the patience to put up with some very slow plot points, have never been bothered by an overuse of clichés in the JRPG genre, and are more interested in a JRPG with refreshing combat than a refreshing narrative, you'll get a kick out of The Last Hope.

The motion-controls certainly deserve praise, but its assorted shortcomings stifle the game’s good qualities. Lackluster, repetitive missions and a horrid ranking system prevent Wing Island from being more than a short-lived diversion for your kids.

Is it harder? Absolutely—but it's also not nearly as much fun, the witty banter between the Prince and Elika is gone, and the ending leaves the player, and the Prince, wondering just what all of the effort was for. Combine that with the short play time (about two hours) and the recycled enemies and you're left thinking that your ten bucks could have been better spent elsewhere.

Another problem that is baffling is that there are fewer characters available for the versus and online play match types than there were in the last game.

From a technical standpoint, C.O.P.:The Recruit is very impressive and tech-heads may find it worth checking out if only to see how smoothly it runs with such a large environment at play.

Halo is still a superlative multiplayer game, and with a group of friends, there's nothing quite like a well-tuned game mode or a white-knuckle finish to a Firefight. It's a shame that Halo: Reach couldn't add $60 worth of improvements to it.

Those looking at this game as a way to jump into the trading card genre, or just looking for a new way to make their’s Marvel, will be better suited with heading down to the Game Shop and entering the tutelage of the resident ten year old experts.

If you're not the type to shy away from enthusiastic Wii games, or loved any previous DDR games, then it's worth giving a shot.

Other playable modes offer a little variety to Legend Mode, such as Dream Mode, which opens up a story not seen in the manga for rabid fans to devour, and Challenge Mode featuring endless waves of enemies to slaughter again and again, but unless you're that devoted fan with every single episode of the anime series and every volume of the manga, there just isn't enough here to recommend.

It's a shame that the gameplay hasn't evolved all that much since last year's release and that there is a real lack of contrast between Pandora and Death Jr.'s character, but there's still a solid and fun game experience to be had if you give this title a chance.

Wait until next year when "Dynasty Warriors 6" comes out, buy Dynasty Warriors 5 then at the Greatest Hits price of $20, and then comfort yourself realizing that you’ll still be playing the same game the jokers who just shelled out another $50 for "Dynasty Warriors 6" are.

It's a mediocre survival horror game that demonstrates a lot of ambition on the part of Sega, but it clearly needed some more time in development.

In the end analysis the game just does not hold up. The broken frame rate makes it difficult to control and it just can't deliver on its promise of a massive online fighting game.

Activision is publishing an Aerosmith-focused game with a mere 31 tour tracks, a significant fraction of which have nothing to do with Aerosmith, and they’re charging people full price for the privilege.

If I was forced to choose a version out of these three I'd go with the Xbox 360 version simply because it looks better and nearly matches the level of visual quality found in the film.

Despite a litany of grievances, the multiplayer is at least moderately entertaining and I do think that die hard Castlevania fans will get some mileage out of it.

Etrian Odyssey requires patience and resolve to unlock the mysteries of the Labyrinth, with not enough reward in return. This is a game only for the hardcore. All others need not apply.

I really liked Fortix until I discovered I could cheese my way to victory. Of course, you don’t have to play that way, but once you know you can, it’s basically over. Since Fortix isn’t a particularly long game in the first place, being able to blaze through every level takes some of the fun out of it.

For better or worse, random battles pop up on the screen at a pretty high rate. While this will help in the quest to get stats and skills boosted, it becomes pretty tedious after awhile.

While the game is not exactly polished when it comes to objects like cars, the dreadful cornfield, and the fire, most of the things look nice, but a little blocky.

While I can’t recommend the game at $60 simply because it’s superior than previous EA attempts, I can say that it might lead to a better series down the road. You have to start somewhere, right?

Again, I realize that some people will absolutely love the challenge that BloodRayne: Betrayal brings. It has an old school Castelvania flavor to it and the ability to search for powerups as well as the exhilaration one feels when making it out of a massive battle alive will no doubt thrill some of the hardcore among us.

Playing online is a lot of fun because you can remove the silly AI from the equation, but when you add up all of the game's problems you are left with a very sloppy effort on the part of 2K Sports and Kush Games.

Fans of the series might be delighted to have this game in their pocket, but I can't imagine anyone choosing it over the recently released Dynasty Warriors 7 or a favorite console entry in the Koei canon.

Despite having tons of potential and a few very bright ideas, it’s impossible to fully recommend this game. Go with the infinitely superior EA Sports Active for a real workout – or perhaps Wii Fit if you’d like to play with the kiddies.

An average game experience with a number of small problems that result in mediocrity. On the plus side the gameplay is a lot of fun if you can forgive the AI's obvious deficiencies.

It's fine entertainment for an hour at a time, but there are too many niggling problems to keep playing for long.

I have nothing against casual edutainment titles that are fun for the whole family, but the marketing behind the game led me to believe I was getting into something more complex.

As you play through the time trials, the main tournament mode, and the online multiplayer, it quickly becomes apparent that without the main allure of simple race modes, TNT Racers rapidly drives itself into a rut.

A bad, bad game. It's a quiz show format that can't work as a game, but was made anyways.

MX vs ATV Alive has decent gameplay going for it, and though the controls and rider reflex mode can cause some head scratching moments, they rarely detract from a race's enjoyment. However, the big problem with the game is that there isn't much of it, and what little there is of it at the start must be completed over and over again far beyond the point of entertainment. Until you get those small nibbles of new content, MX vs ATV Alive is a grindfest.

While playable, True Crime: New York City really isn't worth buying, with clipping bugs and a bad story line and the game being somewhat too easy the game just isn't worth it.

A disappointment. It’s still fun and new gamers who haven’t played the original will like it much more than players who were here from day one.

Enemies almost always react faster than your character, he turns as if he’s in a particularly unwieldy chariot. Jumping is a chore, thanks to the awkward mapping of the function to the nunchuk’s Z button.

When you get down to it, SingStar Vol. 2 just doesn’t make sense as a purchase if you own the original SingStar PS3 and have a broadband connection.

While I can’t recommend the game at $60 simply because it’s superior than previous EA attempts, I can say that it might lead to a better series down the road. You have to start somewhere, right?

Identity issues aside Universe at War has a great concept, and is commendable for not only it’s control scheme but also in that it has three distinctly unique sides and not one of them is the human faction crutch that plagues the genre. At the same time the title has many technical flaws.

As it stands, it's simply a mindless beat 'em up with a few unlockables and some formulaic gameplay.

Framerate dips everywhere (going into turns and lots of graphic assets on the screen at once).

Aura is puzzle intensive. It's a difficult game even for hardcore adventure gamers and gamers that hate puzzles won't want to touch this title with a ten foot pole.

Another problem that is baffling is that there are fewer characters available for the versus and online play match types than there were in the last game.

So the games tend toward stalemate. Action-packed stalemate, certainly, but that action grows tiresome as the armies take and retake the same contested territories over dozens and dozens of turns. Rise of Prussia becomes a game about attrition and endurance, on the part of the player as much as his troops.

In other words, Uprising does nothing to lift Red Alert 3 or move it in any really interesting direction.

At the end of the day Fusion Frenzy 2 is a fun game for the whole family, but the bland character design, non-existent plot and the overall obnoxious voice-overs really hurt this title more than they should.

Unfortunately being forced to play through the storyline mode is what really brings this game down.

If I was forced to choose a version out of these three I'd go with the Xbox 360 version simply because it looks better and nearly matches the level of visual quality found in the film.

Has some great features on paper, but when played out, it underperforms and seems to be more gimmick than fun. The game excels as a multiplayer football game online or with a friend. As a simulation or for a stat gamer, the game fails miserably.

The good news is that the developers of the respective franchises are trying to regain the glory they once held. The bad news is there’s still a long way to go, especially for our purple dragon friend.

Is it harder? Absolutely—but it's also not nearly as much fun, the witty banter between the Prince and Elika is gone, and the ending leaves the player, and the Prince, wondering just what all of the effort was for. Combine that with the short play time (about two hours) and the recycled enemies and you're left thinking that your ten bucks could have been better spent elsewhere.

A game that plays well but has left a lot of key gameplay options behind. Even with NBA Replay, this game is just not worth $60 to pick up, but it may be worth a weekend rental.

The problem here is that the levels are either two small, or laid out in ways that are counter-intuitive. There's also the problem of challenge.

This series sucks without the sniper rifle. Sorry, end of discussion.

Duke is a nice trip down nostalgia lane if you have been missing Duke's smug face over the years and want to get reacquainted with the jeans wearing meathead but if you have already been there, there's really no real reason to return.

It was apparently made on a low-end budget and pushed out long before it was ready.

The game does have a handful of genuinely entertaining minigames to offer, but you’re likely to get all the entertainment value out of it that you’re ever likely to after just a few hours.

While Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes may not be as flashy as the PS2 games, it is a decent first step on the PSP. Fans of the PS2 titles will have no problems jumping into this portable entry in the series, though it isn't particularly flashy or as interactive as those titles.

There's a ton of cool content and some great puzzles but it's all weighed down by loose driving controls.

I really wanted to enjoy this game, but the online play was very frustrating and the offline play is very difficult even on the lowest levels making it a big challenge for novices to pick up and play.

If I was forced to choose a version out of these three I'd go with the Xbox 360 version simply because it looks better and nearly matches the level of visual quality found in the film.

A disappointment when you look at it against the last two games in the series. The elimination of an open world environment and police chases takes any adrenaline rush that was in the last couple games and puts you in decidedly static game mechanics.

The gameplay is great in short bursts (which is why it worked so well in the arcade) but if you play for more than a few hours it gets extremely repetitive.

A flavorless mash where not even the explosions are cool.

The good news is that the developers of the respective franchises are trying to regain the glory they once held. The bad news is there’s still a long way to go, especially for our purple dragon friend.

The solo game is decent enough but without the ability to play this game with friends it simply loses its edge.

The game has cutting edge visuals and Hollywood-level production values, but the gameplay isn’t anywherenear as powerful or compelling as you would think the franchise would allow for. A real shame.

It's a shame the game engine isn't flashier, because it does put up a good fight, but without a sexy bullet point like Killzone's graphics, Bad Company's destructible buildings, or MAG's 256 players, it's going to be hard to draw new players in.

It's a shame the game engine isn't flashier, because it does put up a good fight, but without a sexy bullet point like Killzone's graphics, Bad Company's destructible buildings, or MAG's 256 players, it's going to be hard to draw new players in.

Sadly, off-the-wall and new does not always mean a good gaming experience. Trying to juggle all the diverse elements of Odama with shoddy speech recognition ultimately makes for a game that is not likely to see much time spinning in the Cube.

It's a shame the game engine isn't flashier, because it does put up a good fight, but without a sexy bullet point like Killzone's graphics, Bad Company's destructible buildings, or MAG's 256 players, it's going to be hard to draw new players in.

For a game with such promise it’s a shame that it’s sunk into the realm of also-ran.

The pleasing presentation and interesting monster management elements are enough to keep you playing, but you’ll constantly be annoyed with the dialogue and the plodding pace of battles.

The game hardly lays out a convincing tale, which leaves gameplay to perform double duty.

If you’ve absolutely positively have to have a tennis game for your PlayStation 2, check out eBay for "Sega Sports Tennis."

If you're a puzzle fan, then the game does have some thought-provoking puzzles; however, it moves so slowly, you might not be able to stay awake long enough to get to them.

One of the good things about the game is that it targets both boys and girls with its characters from the film -- and let's face it - you don't see too many fat kids getting leading roles in films animated or otherwise.

It's simply been done before and done better -- and will probably be revisited again in the future via Kinect or Move.

Spark has made a better game this time around than its previous attempt but it still isn’t on par with the elite of the genre. In the end, Legendary is a cool idea wrapped inside an average shooter.

A mediocre racer for a single person with a multiplayer mode that is too difficult for the very casual player.

Overall, Smash-Up doesn't break any new ground, adhering to the groundwork laid by Smash Bros., albeit with less content and less polished gameplay.

One of the good things about the game is that it targets both boys and girls with its characters from the film -- and let's face it - you don't see too many fat kids getting leading roles in films animated or otherwise.

Heatseeker claims to be an arcade fighting game -- which it is, so in that regard...mission accomplished; however it is also very easy with a low presentation value and limited gameplay options. There’s just not a lot here to get excited about.

A game on the verge. It's impossible to ignore all of its shortcomings, some of which are very significant, but if they can ever be addressed, Sony and 989 will have a top notch game on their hands.

LEGO Star Wars III is a perfectly competent LEGO game, neither excellent nor dismal, just simply there. It has all of the things you'd expect from a LEGO game, however they never gel into a game that's better than its parts. I would imagine die hard fans of the series will find more there than I did, but I suspect that most people will remember the game for being a 3DS launch game rather than being an exemplary LEGO game.

Problem is, I’ve been here before. The gameplay is nothing special. There must be a dozen games of similar design and feel. This particular title certainly hones and refines this style, but there is nothing to shout from the rooftops.

Basically, Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits is like any other Guitar Hero sequel that doesn't drastically change the gameplay experience. If you like the track list, or have friends you want to play multiplayer with, then get the game. If you don't like the songs, then don't.

This Guitar Hero game is no different than its predecessor, which is both a positive and negative. On one hand you'll still enjoy the game if you like the set list. Then again, with the tantalizing introduction of keyboard play in Rock Band 3, I get the feeling that the Guitar Hero franchise will experience the final curtain call with Warriors of Rock.

While the kind of run-and-gun gameplay Snowblind strongly promotes may offer a fun experience for some, I personally feel that the game has little to offer beyond a depressingly average experience, marred further by a number of gameplay and interface problems, as well as multiplayer support that feels entirely half-assed.