While it risks being overlooked due to some of the series' less than stellar versions, Super Monkey Ball plays like a dream on Nintendo's latest handheld. It's a true return to form for AiAi and the bunch, and one of the best uses of 3D I've seen yet on the system.

Dragons are still really god damn cool, and being able to gobble up villagers on a whim with nobody else caring (possibly because they're afraid of pissing off their dragon overlord) provides an unlimited amount of random, sadistic entertainment. I'd definitely rank this as a "must-buy" for any dragon-lovers out there.

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.

Every developer is allowed to lay an egg, and this is definitely Free Radical’s turn to drop one.

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.

There is not, however, any real drive or immediacy to the gameplay that you'll actually want to take Ultimate Tenkaichi up on its generous offer of playtime.

For a handheld, this is the complete package, and an enjoyable romp through 480 B.C.

It’s hard to ignore the fact that Hot Pixel is a blatant clone of Wario Ware, but try not to hold that against it.

Insecticide is a schizophrenic game. The adventure parts of the game are decent enough, but the action could easily have been left behind or at least refined.

Even at a commendable budget price and with the developer's commitment to support the game, I can't recommend Sniper: Ghost Warrior. Even as a cheap stopgap, the game is sure to disappoint all but the least discerning fans of the genre.

CreaVures garnered a considerable amount of attention with its distinctively colorful visuals, and for some people that may be enough to look beyond the game's failings. It is pretty. It also has excellent potential, but at the moment, it's eye-candy that requires too many concessions in gameplay to fully enjoy.

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.

In the end, is Ghostbusters the worst game I've ever played? No. It just pales so much in comparison to the other versions that it's not even worth picking up for anyone other than diehard fans of the series.

Trioncube just doesn’t have the gameplay to back up a rather soulful, fun, charming and bizarre cast of characters.

Ironically, the old Virtua Tennis continues to do the job for me if I need to play a tennis game; this one is at the bottom of the heap.

An average third-person action game the leads you by the nose and doesn't give you too many choices to make. You'll spend the bulk of your time battling the same bad guys, killing walnut heads to unlock areas and occasionally battling some pretty impressive bosses.

For a game that is part racing and part fighting, the fact that the only real racing is the last ten seconds of each “race” really is a downer.

Even offset by the low price and the arcade-style context, Battlestar Galactica just doesn’t have the punch to stand out in today’s market. Even the graphics engine is marred by low-resolution textures, small engagement zones, and dated special effects, and what bothers me about this game is how it could easily be a lot better were it simply blessed with more expanded gameplay.

I'm sorry Tecmo, but even though we mech sim fans are rather neglected and abused these days, that doesn't mean that you can shovel out a pile of dung and expect us to start devouring it. "Unacceptable" is a label I can slap on just about every aspect of Gungriffon: Allied Strike.

Street basketball is all about over the top game play. However, it’s more fun when you feel like you’re making those moves, instead of watching it unfold on the screen with minimal interaction.

Say what you will about the 2005 Spielberg film adaptation turning the invasion literature into an explosive action romp, it probably would have been a better starting point for the game adaptation. Then again, maybe this is a project that should never have got off the ground to begin with; after all, some pages are better left unturned.

The basics for a great rendition of Warhammer are there, but they’re buried too deeply in the mire of frustration to be appreciated.

Difficult, awkward, poorly-designed horror.

Monotonous gameplay, sound errors, and sparse content make The Italian Job a game to pass by.

I won't lie. I had fun with this game, especially considering it was better paced than the game it copied, "Time Crisis: Project Titan." If you can look past a painfully ugly presentation, you'll be treated to a fun romp in the old west

Folks who have been watching the show from the first episode won’t find any new answers about the island, and those used to a more robust adventure game experience will be put off by the boring, simplistic game play.

The game has great strengths in its visuals and overall appeal, but the gameplay underneath is simply outright flawed and repetitive.

All of this hammers home the notion that you’re playing a really nice tech demo and not a complete football game—and the $10 discount price of $49.99 isn’t enough to warrant a purchase.

If you are looking for an enjoyable game to play with friends in the fashion of Mario Kart, then Pac Man World Rally is a good way to go, but if you are looking for a game that tests your mettle and driving skills, World Rally may not fill that need.

Dream Trigger 3D is off-putting and inaccessible at worst when coupled with the difficulty level and crude production values. If this game had a more casually approachable tone and a greater focus on one core mechanic (or two simple and complementary ones), then there might have been a great game here. As it stands, it's a muddled nightmare, in 3D.

A rather interesting game with a pretty good ideology behind it and a reasonable amount of gameplay within it. At times the game can be frustrating with some overly difficult battles but over all, it is a rather enjoyable experience and the way the missions are set up, it really is perfect for the casual gamer.

Outside of battles, the rest of the game is a complete bore. The game was clearly rushed to meet the movie’s release date, as there’s very little to do outside of combat.

Unfortunately the game's premise, mechanics or characters don't help either as they aren't interesting enough to make you overcome any indifference you feel towards Eike's plight.

It seems that Sonic Team is emerging ever-so-slowly from the hole it’s dug itself into with the Sonic franchise.

I’ll be shaking my head and wondering what went wrong to create this seriously flawed game from a great development team working with a strong license.

The realistic gameplay and sound makes NCAA March Madness 2002 not just a playable basketball game but a fun basketball game as well.

If you like that fast chasing styled racing type game, pick it up too. I like it!

If Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge is not the most evilly addictive game I've played in years, I don't know what is. I just got up from a playing session almost five hours long and all I want to do is go back and play some more.

As a clever puzzler, Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem succeeds, but when it comes to serving its intended audience, (which is presumably, young kids) it misses the mark.

Maybe with better tech this one could become a box office smash, but for right now, you should leave it on the cutting room floor.

While it's true that this specific genre, namely the mature, police adventure genre is underrepresented on the DS there are plenty of other more worthwhile adventure games that focus on investigating crimes such as the excellent Hotel Dusk: Room 215 or the long standing Phoenix Wright series.

As is the case with every title in the franchise, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 doesn't re-invent the wheel. A few minor changes here and there, more than double the playable characters, and a half-hearted attempt at bringing large scale boss fights to the series are the only real changes over the last version.

If you've beaten "Streets of Rage" twenty times and need a modern-day equivalent, look no further, because this is an amazingly fun multiplayer game that brings back that old-school feeling with 3D class.

Folks who have been watching the show from the first episode won’t find any new answers about the island, and those used to a more robust adventure game experience will be put off by the boring, simplistic game play.

At the end of the day, I have no problems recommending this for kids ages 7 and up, but for oldster Peanuts fans like myself, this game is about as thrilling as watching Pig Pen's dust cloud.

While TIJ doesn't exactly fail on any given level, it certainly doesn't really over achieve either. Another movie, another bland game is released. The world continues on.

In a lot of ways the hand-held games do a better job of representing the action than on the beefier PS2 and Wii platforms. when you don't have the ability to use slick graphics and full blown voice acting you have to focus on the gameplay.

Steambot Chronicles is an extremely fun, non-traditional RPG, while Battle Tournament is a watered down mech fighter with repetitive and time-consuming missions thrown in between fights.

Disney’s Sing It knocks it out of the park.

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.

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.

Even at the reduced $49.99 price point Facebreaker must be avoided unless you like no-brainer button mashing boxing.

At the end of the day Transformers The Game on the PlayStation 3 does offer some interesting open-ended gameplay in between the loose driving and fighting missions, and that's the only thing saving it from being a complete wash.

If NBA ShootOut 2002 does come in contact with eyes flush with water and induce vomiting.

This is the crappiest RPG that I have ever played in my life. We all know that the N64 is limited when it comes to RPGs, but it appears that THQ didn't even try to make a decent game.

The clumsiness of the controls makes combat a somewhat uneven experience.

With a lack of multiplayer and a very short game – it’s doubtful you’ll be playing this long. The only replay value is the attempt to try to beat your friends score online and that’s not much of an incentive.

Lair has major problems with its use of motion-controls, despite nailing basic movements. Flat out broken contextual sequences, a choppy camera, and groan-inducing level design are hardly reasons to recommend it.

Warpath may not keep your interest for too long while playing through the single player campaign, but if you can look over the absurdity of the computer players, it is a good way to sharpen your skills before bringing them online.

It's a little small, and most of it is available individually through XBLA or Steam, but what's here is gold.

The game is good enough for what it is supposed to do, but KOEI really needs to start making more dramatic changes with these yearly releases across the board.

It's not that War Rock doesn't have a good idea for gameplay direction, as the persistent ranking and economy is an idea that the genre has yet to fully explore. At the same time this direction has no momentum behind it and sometimes seems haphazard at best in its implementation.

Sure, each faction has a special unit but nothing stands out to make this game feel like a game based on Martin's works and that's something that , more than anything else, many fans will have a hard time accepting.

Disney’s Sing It knocks it out of the park.

No-brainer button mashing boxing.

As a hack-and-slash platformer, Fairytale Fights could have been a success. On top of a consistent and admittedly appealing theme, it has all the right ingredients to fit the genre: countless weapons, challenging levels and 4-player co-op. But with repetitive gameplay and unrewarding challenges, this title falls very, very short of becoming the next Castle Crashers.

Even though Katana shares the same “slaughter everyone” overall goal, the on rails approach combined with the Wiimote/nunchuck control system may turn off previous fans and will do little to attract new ones.

The sound was not exactly great but they were all customizable right down to the amount noise the engines made.

Without additional players, it's extremely tough to enjoy the game or make much progress, so I can't quite recommend it in place of the far better offerings out there.

But we can only look at what we have now. Elemental is now undercooked with no incentive to keep sitting down to dinner. With more variety and more clarity, Stardock's fantasy world might tell stories you would tell your friends. It's a shame it insisted on trying to tell them now.

By the time it's all over, just after you've finished the dopey out-of-place boss fight, you're left with Generic Shooter Videogame Number Umpteen, drawn out with a few levels stuffed with filler instead of gameplay.

A must buy for any fan of the series to hold them over until Dynasty Warriors 6 comes out. For those who hate the series, you really won't find anything new to sway you to the dark side, and should probably avoid altogether.

Matt Hazard’s designers clearly tried to do something interesting here, and the basic concept of a videogame action star as a washed-up Hollywood type is really quite cool. If only the game actually lived up to its premise.

Ultimately, however, Space Trader is just too traditional to ever move beyond mediocre.

To add to the frustration, many obstacles in your way seem to weigh three pounds or less, as civilian cars fly through the air after colliding with you, but trees and other seemingly destructible objects are as solid as a mountain.

Unfortunately, the biggest drawback to 18 Wheeler is the game life. This game is short. Really short.

Folks who have been watching the show from the first episode won’t find any new answers about the island, and those used to a more robust adventure game experience will be put off by the boring, simplistic game play.

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.

Soul Calibur Legends isn’t a horrible game; it just doesn’t add anything exciting or new to a third person action adventure genre. It’s over relatively fast and it feels more like an unlockable to the original Soul Calibur than a standalone full priced videogame.

A fun and simple game that should keep youngsters that are familiar with the film amused for countless hours. The simple gameplay design and interface along with the large cartoon objects and cute juvenile humor is fund and family friendly.

By the time the game ends, well after you wish it had, and with a cliff-hanger no less, you'll be more than happy to have it over, and not because a murderer's reign of terror has ended, but because your time with the game has.

Does almost everything wrong including bad execution, a weak combat system that isn't very engaging, object interaction that isn't very responsive, uninspired enemies, framerates that stutter, a total lack of presentation, a camera system that sometimes interferes with gameplay. The only real redeeming qualities of this PSP title is multiplayer.

Raccoon City isn't the next real Resident Evil game (though its improved controls do bode well for that game). Instead, it's a mostly solid third-person, cover-based shooter set in the same universe. Granted, it's a little too Evil in spots for its own good, and not Evil enough in others, and certainly not as good as Left 4 Dead unless you don't play well with others. But overall, it's a fun spin-off.

At the end of the day Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles 2 just isn't all that much fun and doesn't go out of its way to build upon the last iteration in this continuing series.

Just keep your expectations for it measured and with the understanding that it ultimately peaks with the skiing and loses its luster from there.

The shortness of the campaign, coupled with the lack of any incentive to replay missions makes it hard to call this game a good value, even with the 20 dollar price tag. Ironically enough, what Time Ace needs more of…is time.

In the end, this is a movie for collectors and fans with a casual game tacked on.

It’s sad to see a beloved series sink so low—like watching a childhood friend fall to drink and destitution, stumbling into the street to be hit by a truck.

The game doesn't look anywhere near Xbox quality, and trying to perform some simple tasks like jumping a platform or climbing a rock may take several tries because our hero can't latch onto them on the first try.

This is a bad RTS and a bad bargain. Not only have things not improved from Ancient Wars: Sparta, things have barely changed at all. There are a few neat ideas in this template, but none are carried far enough to count as truly interesting and all are saddled by poor technique.

It's disappointing that Battlegrounds has more in common with a 30-year old Atari 2600 title in a number of ways than it does with the generally likable Red Faction franchise. Really, it doesn't have anything to do with it other than as a source for the vehicles and a couple of logos.

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

Surprisingly compelling story, expectedly terrible gameplay.

Has a great story that looks greats and has more than enough action that will keep you entertained if you will take the time to learn the control and get past the swarm of bugs.

It’s not a good practice to ding a game on what’s not included, however in the case of Brunswick Pro Bowling, there’s so much missing that could make the game better that it’s hard to not think of what could have been.

It is not impossible to enjoy Syberia, you'll just need a lot of patience to do so. For most people though, there comes a point where you'll watch Kate walk across a screen that she can't do anything but traverse and think to yourself "what else can I do while waiting for her?" I'd suggest playing a better game.

Conflict: Denied Ops offers many of the best features that you’ll find in today’s first person shooters, and combines it with an excellent co-op mode and a nice variety of online game modes.

Far from exciting so even the studious may lose their adoration over time.