Like just about every other sequel in Koei's Warriors franchises, Samurai Warriors 2 offers an overly familiar and ultimately mundane hack-and-slash experience.

Open Season is a slick action game that plays like a bizarre mash-up of Metal Slug and Mario.

This trio may not look or sound as nice as recent games developed specifically for the GBA, but they're far from ugly, and, more importantly, the gameplay in each of them still holds up.

This rendition of Open Season is a plodding adventure full of inane fetch quests and lifeless dialogue scenes.

This rendition of Open Season is a plodding adventure full of inane fetch quests and lifeless dialogue scenes.

The injection of Pokémon characters and aspects hasn't done anything to improve ChunSoft's oft-copied dungeon hack.

The injection of Pokémon characters and aspects hasn't done anything to improve ChunSoft's oft-copied dungeon hack.

Technically remarkable and features some novel twists that make it unique among real-time strategy games. Yet while it's easy to get into, it's not just difficult to master but also rather difficult to manage, partly because the game does such a good job of evoking the sheer chaos of frontline WWII battles.

Bounty Hounds has a unique visual style and some appealing gameplay concepts, but the core action is too repetitive and shallow to sustain your interest for very long.

Scramble on the 360 is a faithful rendition of the original arcade game. If that alone doesn't get you excited, you should probably take a pass.

Faces of War proves that even something as formulaic as a World War II real-time strategy game can still go awry.

Aside from including some half-baked touch-screen features, Harvest Moon DS does nothing to set itself apart from previous games in the series.

Joint Task Force's theme of modern military intervention to solve the world's ills seems fitting, as it shows how good ideas can get bogged down in reality.

The gameplay hasn't changed dramatically, but better source material makes Lego Star Wars II a better game than its predecessor.

The gameplay hasn't changed dramatically, but better source material makes Lego Star Wars II a better game than its predecessor.

The gameplay hasn't changed dramatically, but better source material makes Lego Star Wars II a better game than its predecessor.

The gameplay hasn't changed dramatically, but better source material makes Lego Star Wars II a better game than its predecessor.

Despite a litany of glitches, LEGO Star Wars II is a rousing action adventure game that lives up to expectations.

This game brings Bomberman to the PSP with plenty of enjoyable, challenging single-player levels, as well as the fun and frantic multiplayer battles the series is known for.

The game ultimately runs out of steam before it's over, but along the way, Rengoku II creates a more streamlined and interesting experience than its predecessor.

Mega Man ZX offers a familiar but refined combination of action and platforming that will challenge even the most seasoned Mega Man veterans.

If you can make it past IGPX's terrible presentation and steep learning curve, you just might find an inexplicably satisfying mech-combat racing game.

This survival horror game trades typical zombies for a pack of sadistic children, but its compelling premise and creepy atmosphere only partly make up for the mostly bland gameplay.

Despite cramming in a respectable amount of licensed material, weak minigames and a plodding pace mean this ship bilges on its anchor.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the versions of NHL 07 not made for the next generation of consoles offer little in the way of new content.

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.

NHL 07's thrilling new skill stick makes up for its bare-bones package.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the versions of NHL 07 not made for the next generation of consoles offer little in the way of new content.

The outstanding gameplay mechanics will be familiar to fans of the series, but NHL 2K7 makes important strides in the realm of presentation with this year's 360 offering.

Cooking Mama is a cute, charming little cooking-themed minigame collection, but it lacks direction and depth.

A countless number of rough edges and some major bugs sap just about all the potential for entertainment from this overambitious, underdeveloped game about the pirates' life.

Apart from the lack of online play, MechAssault: Phantom War brings all of the mech combat action from the Xbox to the Nintendo DS without losing much in translation.

Seeing the three original Star Wars stories play out as Lego toys is a treat, and the game is also a good action adventure in its own right.

The gameplay hasn't changed dramatically, but better source material makes Lego Star Wars II a better game than its predecessor.

A deeply flawed game that fails to bring anything new to the world of golf games.

NHL 2K7 for the Xbox lacks much of the forward progress of its Xbox 360 counterpart and instead provides a mostly great hockey game that you've pretty much played before.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the versions of NHL 07 not made for the next generation of consoles offer little in the way of new content.

Despite cramming in a respectable amount of licensed material, weak minigames and a plodding pace mean this ship bilges on its anchor.

The gameplay hasn't changed dramatically, but better source material makes Lego Star Wars II a better game than its predecessor.

It's short on modes and asks you to replay the same tournaments on multiple difficulty settings, but the core gameplay in Mario Hoops is pretty good.

The gameplay takes you back in time to the days when RTS programmers had yet to figure out such intricacies as pathfinding, level design, and visual presentation.

Bad Day LA has all the subtlety of a hammer, and the occasional commentary on the absurdities of modern life is drowned out by a constant barrage of uninspired vulgarity. Even the game's shock value rings hollow, and it doesn't distract from the fact that this third-person action game is short, ugly, and sloppy.

NASCAR 07 shows little improvement over its predecessor, and the lack of substantial new features is disappointing.

NASCAR is a deep and enjoyable game that sacrifices little in the transition from consoles to the PSP.

EA seems content to leave the NASCAR series on cruise control. Instead of improving online play or cleaning up the dated graphics, EA Tiburon has made a number of small changes, none of which do much to improve the way the game plays or looks. As a result, NASCAR 07 feels like little more than a patched version of "NASCAR 06."

It gets points for its unrelenting pace, but the action in Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run is too derivative and mechanical to matter.

It's not quite as unlimited as its subtitle might suggest, and it's got a pervasively aimless feel, but Test Drive Unlimited still succeeds by creating a fun, leisurely world to drive in.

The over-the-top anime stylings of the Guilty Gear series deliver a one-two punch in this package containing both a beat-'em-up and a fighting game.

Yakuza vividly portrays modern Japan and its organized crime families, but it pulls its punches before delivering a truly great action game or a completely satisfying story.

LocoRoco oozes charm for days, but the gameplay is a little too singularly focused for its own good.

Though it hasn't changed dramatically since last year, the few changes made to Crave's latest poker title don't do anything to bring the series up to the standard set by recent, better poker games.

It gets points for its unrelenting pace, but the action in Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run is too derivative and mechanical to matter.

Emperor's Testament offers plenty of new missions to keep you busy, although the overall experience is practically identical to that of its predecessor.

A deeply flawed game that fails to bring anything new to the world of golf games.

Despite its almost-famous face, Time Pilot is, and always has been, a great shooter. And Digital Eclipse's Xbox 360 version of the game showcases the original well, while also delivering one of the best graphical updates to hit Xbox Live Arcade so far.

The newest Def Jam fighter may be an update of a nearly two-year-old game, but this PSP brawler still packs a punch.

Enchanted Arms is a capable and often enjoyable role-playing game, but it's also one that you'll likely forget as soon as you finish it.

Dance Factory's main feature is the ability to generate dance steps to your own music CDs. There's just one problem: It doesn't really work.

A great-looking update of a classic platformer, but it can be frustratingly difficult to a fault.

Xenosaga Episode III manages to wrap things up in dramatic and mostly satisfying fashion for the memorable main cast and the universe that they inhabit, while simultaneously leaving the door open for a continuation.

The computer-controlled players aren't terrible, but they're just as prone to ill-advised plays as any game out there, and some of the poker variations available suffer from bizarre hand repetition, which is a baffling problem.

Though it hasn't changed dramatically since last year, the few changes made to Crave's latest poker title don't do anything to bring the series up to the standard set by recent, better poker games.

Traveller's Tales has perverted Sega's previously charming action puzzle series into a clumsy, frustrating action adventure game.

Act Zero takes the Bomberman series to a new low with paper-thin gameplay, ugly visuals, and an overall lack of effort.

One Piece Grand Adventure feels like a beefier version of One Piece Grand Battle, but it's still not a very compelling brawler.

Just like the first Disgaea, this strategy role-playing game is best suited for fans of other stuff like it, and it's chock-full of depth, lasting value, and surprisingly good humor.

There's no character progression to speak of, nor is there anything to the combat beyond a festival of irritating button mashing. Toss in the lack of a decent world map, grainy visuals, a lousy use of the 50 Cent and G Unit licenses, and a completely perfunctory multiplayer, and what you've got is a game that, while marginally better than last year's console game, is a brand of unpleasant all its own.

ProStroke Golf - World Tour 2007 is a deeply flawed game that fails to bring anything new to the world of golf games.

It's an exciting, dynamic experience that's frequently rewarding and rarely frustrating and can keep you coming back hour after shameless hour, as you cause mayhem throughout the rather large, detailed city of Stilwater. What's more, a surprisingly entertaining storyline and a number of smartly designed gameplay features make Saints Row a memorable game in its own right.

One Piece Grand Adventure feels like a beefier version of One Piece Grand Battle, but it's still not a very compelling brawler.

The Star Fox fighter squadron returns in this solid flight combat game, which distinguishes itself with its strategic elements and well-designed touch-screen controls.

In Barrow Hill, nobody can hear you yawn.

An amusing, harmless automobile brand inspires an amusing, harmless racing game.

Texas Hold 'em does the barest of bare minimums to make a playable game of Xbox Live Arcade poker.

It's hard not to look at the current generation version of Madden as an aging veteran on its last legs, but that veteran still has a bit of game left in it.

Madden NFL 07 is a marked improvement over the previous 360 version, but some design quirks and missing features prevent it from being the system's first great football game.

Certainly, the updates it does include make it a richer game of football than Madden NFL 06, but it's hard not to look at the game on PC as something of an afterthought in the grand scheme of Madden's release calendar.

Madden NFL 07 cleans up some of the issues of its PSP predecessor, but then it tosses in a small pile of new problems to contend with.

Madden NFL 07 overcomes its no-frills presentation by providing all of the play modes and rich football fundamentals that fans have come to expect.

Pac-Man World Rally is a paint-by-numbers kart racer with almost zero in the way of unique qualities or challenges.

Pac-Man World Rally is a paint-by-numbers kart racer with almost zero in the way of unique qualities or challenges.

To make a long story short, Madden NFL 07 for the GBA is simply the 06 game with updated rosters and five extra minigames.

Even though Madden NFL 07 doesn't have any big, game-changing features to make it an especially memorable iteration of the series, its roster of small, but useful changes are ultimately more compelling than anything Madden 06 had on offer last year.

Pac-Man World Rally is a paint-by-numbers kart racer with almost zero in the way of unique qualities or challenges.

It's hard not to look at the current generation version of Madden as an aging veteran on its last legs, but that veteran still has a bit of game left in it.

You'd be better off staying away from this botched attempt to translate the great ninja stealth action series to the DS. Almost nothing good about Tenchu made the cut.

Natsume's attempt to marry the air combat and role-playing genres often feels underdeveloped and unpolished.

First Battalion is an action-heavy World War II tank game with fairly simple gameplay mechanics and not much depth.

Despite some flaws with the combat, Sword of the Stars distills the complex space strategy formula to a slick, streamlined, and enjoyable package.

While it doesn't change or enhance enough of the core game to attract players turned off by the original's extreme attention to detail, convoluted interface, and design flaws, it contains so many subtle tweaks and improvements that it is a must-buy for fans. The only drawback is that this $10 expansion probably should have been offered as a free patch.

The casino games in Payout are mostly competent, but the game spreads itself too thin and delivers almost none of the promised real-world casino atmosphere.

Dirge of Cerberus tells the interesting story of a memorable video game character, but beyond that it's nothing more than a very generic shooter.

Ninety-Nine Nights puts a lot of enemies onscreen but doesn't give you many interesting ways to dispose of them.

This 3D role-playing game lets you explore many mazelike levels through the eyes of a sword-wielding hero, but crawling through its corridors often isn't much fun.

Drift racing is supposed to be fast-paced and exciting and it's neither of those things in D1 Grand Prix, a lifeless and frustrating PS2 racing game.

Regardless of your enthusiasm for swashbucklery, there's just no reason for this cheap attempt to cash in on Pirates of the Caribbean.

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.

World Racing 2 makes a couple of key improvements on its predecessor, but it's still a substandard effort.