Joust is a bona fide arcade classic, and this Xbox Live Arcade edition is a fine tribute to the 1982 original.

Clunky settings options, graphical hang-ups, and occasional artificial intelligence fouls bring the game down a peg or two, but mostly this is good hockey that handles the portable translation well.

It's a good product, overall, but its overreliance on touching means that many of the microgames have you doing the same sort of activity again and again.

It is, however, exactly what most puzzle fans are looking for: a fun, value-packed addictive experience that looks as good as perhaps a puzzle game can or should.

Battle of the Gods is a straightforward expansion that adds some new, but not remarkably different, content to Black and White 2.

The deciding factor should be whether or not you appreciate the Phantasy Star Online aesthetic and would be interested in playing a card battling game alongside and against other players in that universe. If so, then PSO will have plenty to offer you.

You might have to take some time to get adjusted to the sometimes touchy collision detection and the occasional frame rate drop, but these problems aren't drastic enough to completely mar an otherwise solid gaming experience.

As with most classic arcade compilations, the games here tend to hold up pretty well, and for the most part, they're very close to the arcade originals.

A lighthearted and somewhat original game, but it's not quite as addictive as the games it most closely resembles, and its lack of different gameplay modes will cap your desire to keep coming back to it over an extended period of time.

So long as you can see past the game's proclivity toward spinouts, F1 2002 is a good choice if you're looking for a relatively accurate, and portable, portrayal of the F1 racing season.

This budget-priced stand-alone follow-up completely reinvigorates the original game by adding four new car types, 20 racetracks, and a host of updated graphics and gameplay mechanics.

It has its little glitches and problems here and there, but the bonus material is nice and most of the games are nearly identical to the arcade originals that they're trying to duplicate.

While it seems pretty clear that some parts of the game were rushed to get it onto store shelves in time for the movie's release, The Sum of All Fears is still a solid team-based shooter that's surprisingly accessible, even for new players.

This slightly enhanced version of Tecmo's endearing, puzzle-heavy PSP platformer is still fun, but it feels small on the PS2.

MR3 successfully combines five extremely unique motorcycle disciplines into one convenient package and delivers a substantial helping of thrills and spills. However, it is not nearly as deep as it initially appears or as sophisticated as a third installment should be.

College Hoops 2K6 for the Xbox 360 is a late entry that maintains the same great gameplay from its previous versions, but doesn't have enough new features or content to justify the new price of admission.

An enjoyable game that should appeal to dinosaur buffs and park simulation fans alike, thanks to its attractive graphics engine, unique features, and surprising gameplay depth.

MTX Mototrax may be the only game in town if you're dead-set on online play, but THQ's recent release, "MX Unleashed," is still a better game across the board.

An average shooter that doesn't offer up more than a handful of satisfying thrills throughout its single-player and multiplayer modes. You'll certainly play worse FPS games in your lifetime, but you'll also certainly play better ones, too.

State of Emergency isn't exactly the deepest game on the market, but with its timers and its high-score lists, the game is definitely shooting for shorter, arcadelike play sessions.

Overall, Off-Road Redneck Racing is a fun game, and its low price makes it especially attractive for fans of arcade-style racing.

Different enough that it will appeal to those gamers who have an interest in the car-combat genre or aren't excited about the new turn for the morbid that Twisted Metal has taken.

Ties That Bind makes few changes to the formula, stretches a thin story to somewhere near the breaking point, and delivers a bloody, curse-filled action game that might still please fans of the first game, though it's more likely that you'll feel like you played the same game last year.

Outbreak doesn't really live up to its potential, but it's a pretty good game for members of its already-established audience.

As far as realism is concerned, though, the game lacks any real depth, and it has very little to offer after the first few hours of play.

The game design doesn't take full advantage of the huge city, so instead you'll usually end up repeating the same half-dozen or so tasks over and over again, with some unique challenges thankfully sprinkled in to keep things moving.

A by-the-numbers movie-licensed game that makes pretty good use of its source material without really doing anything too surprising. It's perfect for kids.

An interesting take on a classic concept, but as with many reinterpretations of canonical standards, it isn't better than its source material.

Still, while Head Coach is ultimately an imperfect football-management simulation, it is also, almost in spite of itself, a frequently fun one. Those with a penchant for serious football management are most certainly going to find things to like about it.

It's not the most visually astounding game, but it finds middle ground between being a rigid sim and a strap-in-and-stomp-it arcade racer.

A worthy enough "sequel" to the original and can deliver an adequate number of thrills, though nothing unique or surprising.

This budget-priced bonus pack features several additions to the original game, but it also exists as a playable, stand-alone product--albeit one that isn't as interesting on its own as it is when combined with the original.

Despite being a rough composite of a half dozen other first-person shooters without much personality of its own, Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter is still pretty good.

Fans of last year's game won't find much more than a roster update and a few minor gameplay tweaks in NFL Fever 2003, while new players will find in it a fairly entertaining, though unrealistic, game of football.

It certainly looks great, and it can be fun.

Top Spin 2 offers an authentic and deep portrayal of tennis, along with a decent selection of player modes and real-life players.

But the game design doesn't take full advantage of the huge city, so instead you'll usually end up repeating the same half-dozen or so tasks over and over again, with some unique challenges thankfully sprinkled in to keep things moving.

It's a short and generally simple game with only a few difficult sections, but it emulates the show's style of criminal investigation almost perfectly, and you can't really ask for much more than that from a game called Law & Order.

It certainly is a good arcade-style driving game, but it's nowhere near as fun as the PlayStation 2 version.

Though Xyanide plays similarly to various classic arcade shoot-'em-ups, it's got its own strange twists and style that are worth experiencing by fans of similar games.

A good third-person action game that's pretty straightforward but has a few nice twists.

With its simple, turn-based battles, storybook universe, and saccharine characters, Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana feels like a throwback to the glory days of the SNES role-playing games--which is the best thing that can be said for a game like this.

This basic game receives some nice updates in its "refuelled" mode, but it's still best suited for those who hold some shred of nostalgia for the original game.

There are a number of things that EA Sports could have improved upon from the previous game, but this series is still far and away the best for anyone looking for a traditional football game on Nintendo's popular handheld.

If you're frustrated by simulations, ESPN MLS GameNight is the game for you.

If you do have a Transfer Pak, want to get more out of Gold or Silver, and enjoy a lot of battling, then Stadium 2 is a complete package and is definitely worth picking up.

Apex's drab driving and painfully dim AI drivers drag down an otherwise interesting idea.

It's a bare-bones product that's a missed opportunity, offering no compelling reasons to make it recommendable over the PC version, except to someone with an Xbox Live account and a completely outdated PC.

Once again, the Empires expansion of Koei's long-running hack-and-slash action series turns out to be the bright spot amid the doldrums of endless button-mashing, thanks to some legitimately interesting strategy.

Although the game is so fundamentally similar to "Patrician II" that those who own the previous game have little reason to pick it up at full-price, the feature additions refine the open-ended gameplay by removing some of the micromanagement and by providing more significant milestones to achieve later in the game.

It's that multiplayer competitive spark of screaming at and/or cheering for your friends that injects life into these often-simple little games, and without it, they're just simple little games. The less-social gamer might want to rent.

The classic gameplay remains largely the same, and although certain elements haven't weathered the years all that well, fans of the series and dedicated RPG junkies will get good mileage out of this one.

The transition to the more measured pace of a turn-based battle system is handled surprisingly well, and while the game is too short and too simplistic, there's still a good time to be had here for Mega Man X fans.

If you're willing to forgive its brain-dead gameplay and occasionally frustrating design, Magna Cum Laude is a hysterically entertaining romp through the world of wacky sexual hijinks.

Mega Man X Collection follows the same basic formula as Capcom's excellent first Mega Man compilation, but it just doesn't have quite as much to offer.

Won't win any new converts to the strategy genre, but it's a good game that ought to please devotees of the series.

Auto Assault certainly has a lot of potential. But in its current form, that potential is squandered with repetitive quests, technical glitches, and a complete lack of challenge from most of the environment.

As with most classic arcade compilations, the games here tend to hold up pretty well, and for the most part, they're very close to the arcade originals.

Heavy on style and light on coherency, but there's enough enjoyable action to keep things from flying apart at the seams.

[Its] somewhat generic nature, dark visuals, and repetitious missions may deter the casual flight jockey.

It won't pose much of a challenge due to deficiencies in the artificial intelligence, and there isn't too much replay value to be found in the game either.

Manages to serve up a nice variety of ways to shoot the hell out of a lot of cyborgs as well as to keep things fresh and interesting throughout its relatively short, but still enjoyable 14 missions.

An average shooter that doesn't offer up more than a handful of satisfying thrills throughout its single-player and multiplayer modes. You'll certainly play worse FPS games in your lifetime, but you'll also certainly play better ones, too.

Thinking up and tweaking your robots offers a lot of challenge, replay value, and entertainment.

And though it has an unusual and open-ended story, lots of spoken dialogue, and a substantial amount of gameplay, it also has frustrating action sequences and some noticeable technical problems.

A game that simply lacks polish and, in some cases, feels unfinished. It makes decent attempts with its different styles of gameplay, but none of them are particularly well done, and the game's storyline doesn't tie them together in a satisfying way.

The [PS2] game is easily one of the best games in the series, whereas the sloppy controls, floaty cars, and average graphics of the [Xbox] game make it simply OK.

While more accomplished gamers may find some of the minigames too simplistic, this accessibility ensures that Mario's party is one that just about anyone can enjoy.

It's bigger and more ambitious than any of its predecessors, but XGRA is hindered by a few unfortunate technical and design issues.

The compilation here offers a lot of role-playing bang for your buck, and though each game shows its age a bit, the combined package is still worthwhile for old-school RPG fans and patient neophytes.

Before you take the plunge, ask yourself whether you're looking for a new virtual world to call your second home or whether you just need to cleanse your palate with a bit of streamlined superhero action. If you're in the former group, Champions Online isn't broad or deep enough yet to make it your game of choice. If you're in the latter, you'll get more than your money's worth for the initial retail price, and the month or so that it takes to fully explore its vibrant nooks and crannies.

It's got some problems and takes some time to get into, but it should otherwise appeal to players who've enjoyed previous hack-and-slash action games, or those who like the idea of them.

Could have benefited from a better interface, but at its core, Battlegrounds is still a good game.

What it lacks in innovation, it makes up for with a solid multiplayer game with respectable graphics, a healthy helping of variety, and plenty of replay value.

Anyone craving some old-style, surprisingly difficult Mega Man action shouldn't think twice before jumping right into Mega Man and Bass.

Like Liberty City Stories before it, Vice City Stories isn't nearly as appealing as a PS2 game, but it's still got worthwhile qualities.

Plotline aside, Colony Wars delivers the real experience with its spectacular cinematic graphics.

The stages get progressively more challenging as more-complex layouts and additional ball colors are introduced, and while the underlying gameplay really doesn't change much, it's still an engaging way to pass the time.

Phenom has also added a two-on-two mode and a free-roaming story mode to its repertoire, but underneath those additions is a game design that hasn't changed much and a graphics engine that is beginning to show its age.

A solidly designed card game that suitably incorporates aspects of wrestling such as submissions, crowd-pleasing, disqualifications, and individual wrestler trademarks in a no-frills, easy-to-learn setting.

Offers a fine collection of classic pinball machines. It looks good, controls well, sells at a budget price, and should be a no-brainer as an addition to your library if you're a fan of simulated pinball.

Isn't nearly as compelling on the Game Boy Advance. In relation to other GBA extreme sports games, however, it stacks up quite favorably.

If you're a fan of the cartoon or are buying the game for someone who is, The Mummy more than lives up to expectations.

While the motion-sensitive controls don't fully justify the Wii version's higher price tag, they do make a fun sandbox game seem even more engaging.

Despite some rough edges, Summer Heat Beach Volleyball gets enough of the fundamentals right to keep things fun.

The game's shallow goal design keeps it from achieving the same level of addictiveness as games like "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3" and "Aggressive Inline."

A solid, complete baseball game, even if many of you have seen it before.

A thoughtfully designed, complex, and pretty fun game to play. Alas, a dearth of supplemental features and some flimsy presentation drag down what could have been a more solid overall package.

A good addition to the series, but it's not different enough to appeal to anyone other than the biggest of DDR fans.

Always frantic, NHL Hitz 2002 provides some high-level entertainment for the first couple of days and works best as a multiplayer game, but the handicapping AI makes the gameplay unbalanced.

The novelty of the gameplay is almost palpable, but so are the game's tech demo roots.

A good middle-of-the-road trick-based racer that should please fans of the genre, and it's an accessible entry point for newcomers as well.

One of the better billiards outings released for consoles in quite a long time.

Offers a fine collection of classic pinball machines. It looks good, controls well, sells at a budget price, and should be a no-brainer as an addition to your library if you're a fan of simulated pinball.

It's an interesting bit of role-reversal for Peach, and it does a good job of defining itself outside the Mario formula, but the game is just too easy for its own good.

There's enough variety here to keep you busy; it delivers a strong sense of speed; and the control, while not perfect, is good enough to keep you coming back.

Those who've played MMORPGs in the past may appreciate the relative simplicity and relative fast pace of EverQuest Online Adventures, but those who have never played a game like this before may just find it boring, confusing, and overly repetitive.

Tales of Phantasia still distinguishes itself with its action-oriented, side-scrolling battle sequences. Other than that, it's a pretty standard RPG filled with random encounters that drag down the pacing and pad out the playing time.