The game has been simplified to give more casual and younger players an easier play experience, but hardcore gamers may find the gameplay too simple for their tastes.

The save system is also a major weakness. Unlike so many games now that allow the gamer to save at any time, Echoes employs the save-point method that only allows saving at specified locations that must be reached.

The editors alone are worth the cost, but what really sells it is the community. That’s right, the community. This is exactly the type of tools which can infuse a game community with drive and passion.

In just about every way Zoo Tycoon 2 is bigger and better than the original, but is still holds true to the heart of what made Zoo Tycoon such a great game.

Its sexuality comes off as more silly than really erotic and, if there wasn't actually a decent wrestling game under it all, it would be as disposable as yesterday's newspaper.

No, it won’t replace SSX in the trick department, but AntiGrav’s control system makes it a unique and engaging experience that many hardcore and casual gamers will be able to appreciate.

The combination of a great campaign mode along with a goldmine of multiplayer options makes for an unbeatable gaming experience.

While The Urbz: Sims in the City has its moments and boasts high production values, the core gameplay just never really rises to the occasion.

A brilliantly crafted work art in almost every respect. It just never became fun for me. It always seemed like I was supposed to be working for something, but I never figured out what that this was.

Aside from the annoyances of learning the key commands and they fact that you don’t seem to enjoy the benefits of cover that your opponents do, there is only one other issue of note. At random times the game slowed to an agonizing frame rate.

I was honestly expecting a really neat experience out of Scrapland, but the tedium and ultimate lack of innovation just left me flustered.

Tron 2.0 looks and feels just like the movie "Tron", but ultimately some poor choices in gameplay bring the overall package down.

I'm glad to see Insomniac put a bit of effort into the game's multiplayer mode rather than just passing it off as a stale deathmatch, and I hope there's a strong enough userbase to keep the game popular for some time to come.

Killzone may have not lived up to the title of “Halo Killer”, but the great gameplay and in-depth story line of the single player campaign as well as the multiple modes of online play should keep even the most disparaging gamer happy for quite some time.

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.

A wonderful new edition to the SmackDown! family, serving up slick graphics, vastly enhanced gameplay, and lots of other bells and whistles that make the whole package shine. Online play is a bit of a disappointment, but better than not having any online play at all.

The humor is adult focused, fun and plays out through the entire game. The other gameplay elements aren't perfect but ultimately the game is a lot of fun.

How can a rehash of the same basic formula prove so successful? As GTA:SA has taught me, one does so by taking the best parts of a given game, improving them, and then adding a ridiculous amount of new features and content.

Like "Donkey Konga," Taiko Drum Master ultimately suffers from being a one-trick pony that grows a bit boring after playing the included songs enough times.

If the actual gameplay had shown more innovation and been as solid as the story script, this could have been a truly great game. As it is, it must settle for simply good.

Unless you're the evil kind of person who eats kittens and hates candy, I don't think you'll get anything but satisfaction out of Ace Combat 5.

They had to reach back to Berzerk’s, one-stick control scheme and then tack on a bunch of button presses to achieve what could have been done just by using both of the Dual Shock’s analog sticks.

While a solid lightgun game in the classical sense, Time Crisis: Crisis Zone just does not offer enough innovation to highly recommend it if the player already owns previous games in the franchise.

A good first attempt at bringing The King of Fighters franchise into the realm of modern 3D fighters, but it does not quite go far enough. At the same time I fear the changes will alienate some of the core KOF fans.

A game that hardcore RPG fans should surely pick up, otherwise they will kick themselves for missing out on a game that is both a good story and extends the standard turn-based RPG play mechanics with some nice additions.

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

Now I’m not going to lie here. It took me about 5 or 6 tries to get that guilty verdict. Hey I’m not a lawyer ok! But the challenge did make it interesting.

Difficult, awkward, poorly-designed horror.