Just Cause is able to justify its relative brevity and disrespect for physical law with some extremely visceral and often satisfying action.

For the most part, it's a satisfying re-creation of the struggle that defined the 20th century. But because it lacks a challenging AI, it eventually falls apart as anything other than a multiplayer game.

Mark of Chaos captures the fantasy combat of the popular Warhammer franchise in a beautiful way, but it's marred by some technical issues and a basic strategic campaign.

Midnight Club II's rubber-band AI, annoying voice work, and poorly designed front end all hold the game back.

What may be a surprise, however, is how poorly Madden NFL 2005 for the DS compares with some of its contemporaries on other platforms.

M.A.C.H. is a solid flight game that offers plenty of speed and high-flying antics, but it's grounded by a limited selection of stages and activities.

Doesn't do much to mark the occasion, but it still offers the same esoteric war strategy experience that keeps dedicated fans coming back time and time again.

Does Brain Age actually make you smarter? We have no idea, but it's still an interesting puzzle game available at a budget price.

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.

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.

Its incredible similarity to previous Hot Shots Golf games may disappoint those looking for something fresh and new...[but] anyone looking for a consistently goofy, lighthearted golf game, will surely be pleased.

Just Cause is able to justify its relative brevity and disrespect for physical law with some extremely visceral and often satisfying action.

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

Though its presentation is rather dry, Formula One Championship Edition is a good racing game that straddles the fine line between being accessible to newcomers yet deep enough for longtime fans of the series.

Calling Dynasty Warriors 4 an evolutionary game is a bit of a stretch--as the core gameplay is almost identical to that of its predecessors.

The graphics are sharp, the physics are accurate, and the amount of customization available is impressive. But the frustrating gameplay, relatively slow pacing, and anemic multiplayer mode make it hard to pick up and immediately enjoy.

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.

The gameplay still pops, and the career mode still has plenty to offer, but Top Spin just isn't as exciting as it once was.

While far from perfect, it is easily the best surfing game on the market, but more importantly, it's also a fun game.

Fans of squad-level tactical strategy and small-arms battles who are looking for a serious challenge--and can forgive the game's appearance--will find that Wildfire offers as much depth and excitement as Jagged Alliance 2.

One of the least altered, if not the least altered, of all the console games ported to the PSP. And that ultimately works both for and against it.

Ultimate Ninja 2 still values style over substance, but a bigger cast of fighters and a better-realized story mode will certainly make it a hit with Naruto fans.

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.

Pinball Hall of Fame looks good, controls well, and should be a no-brainer as an addition to your library if you're a fan of simulated pinball.

Karaoke Revolution Country finally adds some focus to the Karaoke Revolution party games, but the focus is too strict, and there are not enough great country classics to appeal to a wide enough range of people.

The Dreamcast version of the game is definitely the best one yet, though there really isn't enough in it to warrant a new look from those who've played the previous versions.

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.

There's definitely a lot to do, and MXRider will last a long time, especially for those of you who feel the need to get everything out of a game.

Broadband-enabled PS2 owners will find that Tribes Aerial Assault is a fun, tactics-oriented online first-person shooter with some impressive technical features.

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.

The fighting is fun, but the presentation problems do get in the way just enough to become an issue.

All things considered, Time Crisis II is a whole lot more fun than a console port of a three-year-old arcade game should be. Fans of the arcade version will not be disappointed.

The action in Graffiti Kingdom is brief and shallow, but creating and animating your own crazy creatures is easy and rewarding enough to make up for it.

A solid real-time strategy game, but it's one that doesn't differentiate itself much from its illustrious predecessors.

The Xbox and GameCube versions of Hot Pursuit II have slightly detuned graphics and mushier controls, and, inexplicably, they omit a variety of minute but tangible features found in the PlayStation 2 game.

There's a real raw, visceral satisfaction to Infected, which is undermined by a short, single-minded story mode and an ambitious but inherently flawed multiplayer game.

It's got a lot more depth and replay value than it might seem to have at first, and it's definitely worth taking a look at.

Digimon World DS is a solid, if unremarkable monster battle game, which pretty much means it's the best Digimon game ever made.

A typical film tends to be fairly short, and Parasite Eve, in keeping with its cinematic inclinations, is no exception. Expect to finish the game all the way through in no more than 15 hours.

A good pick for young players and experienced gamers alike, but buyer beware: Once you finish the main quest, how long the game card will remain in your DS will depend primarily on how much you like the included minigames.

Though its visual style is soft and often flowery, the pace of the action is maddening and intense.

X3 features more of the open-ended space exploration and trading of the earlier games, and it has a gorgeous graphics engine; just don't expect a riveting story.

The game delivers creepy moments aplenty, and your German Shepherd makes a unique and neat teammate to play with, but some gameplay oddness and dog artificial intelligence quirks mar the adventure.

A solid-playing game that simply doesn't look that great.

It's soccer starring Mario and friends, but the problem is, there just isn't enough "Mario" in Super Mario Strikers.

However, if you're already a fan of Dance Dance Revolution and you're looking for some more steps and tracks for your PlayStation 2, In the Groove is a good addition to your hot-stepping library.

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.

The sequel's enhanced graphics and sound make it a good "sandbox" kind of game, and if you're a parent with small children who need to be entertained, that might be all you need.

For football fans looking for an alternative to Madden, QB Club 2002 is far from perfect, but it isn't terrible, especially if you're not interested in a single-player game.

It's not just another cookie-cutter shooter but plays differently in a number of key ways. So if you're looking for a unique twist on the single-player PC shooter, then Dead to Rights is worth your while.

SingStar's American debut presents a decent song list, solid microphones, and sparse but functional game modes that amount to a reasonably entertaining karaoke package.

With the release of DDRMAX2, the US is finally getting a collection of songs that contains a few hits from this country rather than relying on the Eurodance and Japanese pop music for which the series is known.

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.

The story mode provides five missions that can be completed in 20-30 minutes each, and the unlockable training and boss modes don't provide too much more entertainment.

The game did add a parry maneuver that, when mastered, really changed the face of the game.

It could have been a great driving sim were it not marred by its poor control.

Atmospherically, Cold Fear is derivative and predictable, which is a shame considering that it is, at times, an enjoyable action game.

Despite the game's utter lack of originality, Banjo Pilot can often be good old-fashioned simplistic fun in the vein of some of the great kart racing classics like "Super Mario Kart" for the SNES.

Whereas the console game is bland and broken, the portable game is a lively 3D adventure packed with plenty to see and do.

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."

While Emperor's Tomb has a few control issues that will take some time to get used to, the game's fast pace definitely makes for an interesting adventure.

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

The game offers a couple of new modes and options, but it's basically just a new batch of songs for you to sing, and how much you'll get out of the game is tied directly to your interest in the songs on the disc.

The gameplay is fresh, innovative to a certain degree, and a real eye-opener for those who have grown tired of the swords and sorcery settings of "EverQuest" and its ilk.

Call of Duty 3 for the Wii manages to overcome its lack of multiplayer and a sometimes-unwieldy control scheme with an exciting and enjoyable single-player campaign.

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.

This straight-ahead arcade action game hits its mark with a good deal of enthusiasm.

It's a very fun game to play, but there really isn't much to it. You'll likely finish the game in a few hours.

Despite the rough edges, however, it is the Spider-Man character itself that makes Spider-Man: The Movie fun to play.

At its best moments, a uniquely involving experience. These moments are all too fleeting in a game that has a very short lifespan, and while there's a nice little story and some flashes of brilliance in the design, it's all over far too soon.

Fairly long, but it's also fairly repetitive.

It takes a while to shift into high gear, but once it does, Star Wars: Lethal Alliance offers an enjoyable mix of shooting, puzzle-solving, and platforming.

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.

It's fun to play and it captures the spirit of giant fighting monsters really well.

Some flight-combat buffs will probably dislike the game's loose style, but people who aren't necessarily looking for a pitch-perfect simulation of the conflict will enjoy Heroes of the Pacific.

The slow start can make BloodRayne a tough game to stick with.

Once mastered, the inventive gameplay mechanics have a way of becoming addictive, and the no-frills graphics get the job done.

There are a total of 22 missions, each with multiple goals, but most can be easily bested in one or two tries, save for the final mission.

While Smash Court isn't quite as polished or deep as "Virtua Tennis," there's still plenty of fun to be had with this game.

Mercury Meltdown Remix is a handheld puzzler that feels ill suited for the PS2, but because the underlying puzzle designs are so good, the game still mostly works.

In the end, Resident Evil is a rare gem that has not only been able to make the jump from a video game to a computer game nearly flawlessly but has done so almost two years after it was originally released. Console gamers may want to check out Resident Evil on the PC - it is the only true uncut version of the game, featuring scenes not even in the recently released Resident Evil Directors Cut. If you aren't too squeamish, you should definitely give Resident Evil on the PC a look.

Teamwork and puzzles distinguish this side-scroller from other movie-based games.

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.

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.

Just Cause is able to justify its relative brevity and disrespect for physical law with some extremely visceral and often satisfying action.

Though its problems might be frustrating at first, once you settle into the game, you'll be in for a suitably rewarding adventure.

For those who haven't yet played a Close Combat game, or for veterans looking for new maps and scenarios for this outstanding series, then Close Combat: Invasion Normandy provides plenty of new challenges.

All the games play incredibly well, though "Pole Position" suffers a bit without its original analog steering wheel. The games also sound just like their arcade counterparts.

This is a game that was clearly inspired by any number of 16-bit classics, but Sigma Star Saga doesn't quite measure up to them. But for what it's worth, for a while it sure comes close.

It looks and sounds unimpressive, and at first, its poorly designed interface may seem like more trouble than it's worth to master and will likely continue to seem cumbersome even after you've gotten used to it.

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.

So if you're a shooter fan on a budget, Delta Force Xtreme isn't a bad way to go.

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

The graphical tweaks are nothing to completely disregard, but on the other hand, they're nothing for Xbox owners to brag about either.

Some flight-combat buffs will probably dislike the game's loose style, but people who aren't necessarily looking for a pitch-perfect simulation of the conflict will enjoy Heroes of the Pacific.

The game may not have the lasting appeal of Psygnosis' "Wipeout" or Namco's "Ridge Racer," but it has enough gameplay, eye candy, and bonus secrets to put it near the top of what the PlayStation has to offer.

Smash Cars isn't going to appeal to everyone, but its easy-to-pick-up style of play, often absurdly amusing level design, and budget price tag make it a worthwhile purchase or rental for any RC or kart racing fan.

Those looking for an FMV extravaganza need not apply, but if you value the gameplay that really makes an RPG what it is, you'll find a lot to like in Tales of Destiny II.