The PlayStation 2 version of Tiger Woods 08 has no new game modes, fewer courses, and fails to improve on last year's game in any significant way.

Insecticide can't decide whether it wants to be an adventure or a platformer, so it does neither particularly well.

While the level of customization is nice, the RPG section of the game and the actual combat leave a lot to be desired.

Eat your heart out in this undersea action game, in which you guide a fish around as it swallows up anything smaller. Fun, simple gameplay makes this one a fine if brief diversion.

It's an arcade-perfect port of Dig Dug, an experience that still stands up well enough, but easy achievements and a lack of additional features keep it from lasting too long.

Though it lacks the rich community features of other versions, Def Jam Rapstar still has enough great songs to get your living room bumpin'.

Brutal robot-destroying fun is buried deep, but this giant mech battling series could still use an oil change.

With all the additional features that expand Prime World beyond traditional genre definitions, the game lacks the heart and focus needed to keep you invested in each match.

Because of its high production values, fans of the movie will undoubtedly enjoy this movie tie-in, but the epic scope of the adventure is hampered by the unoriginal gameplay.

Armored Core V can field some fierce firefights, but the combat is encumbered by repetitious missions, simplistic objectives, and dull visual design.

This gory, gorgeous action game has plenty of flaws, but it will still satisfy your thirst for blood.

Need for Speed returns to its roots with hokey cutscenes, wild cop chases, and solid racing action.

Nailing down my feelings on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet this past year has been difficult. In my review of the base game, I said it was one of "the best mainline Pokemon games in years," and 350 hours later, I still stand by that. Terastallization is the best battle gimmick the series has introduced to date, the open-world design fits nicely into the series' themes of exploration and discovery, and the competitive scene has been a thrill to follow and participate in. However, Scarlet and Violet's triumphant highs are still obscured by technical issues, and the same can be said for The Teal Mask. Scarlet and Violet's core issues still persist, but there's a lot to chew on here, both for hardcore competitive players and fans who want to see more of the Pokemon world. [Provisional Score = 70]

Though Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland is a charming adventure, its stark simplicity and annoying deadlines narrow its appeal.

MotoGP 08 is meat-and-potatoes racing with enough challenge to keep two-wheeled gearheads busy for weeks.

Some of you may be in for a shock when you dive into TMNT2: Battle Nexus and discover that it's just as much a puzzle game as it is a Turtles-inspired beat-'em-up.

Advance Guardian Heroes isn't as satisfying as the sequel to one of the Saturn's greatest games should be, but it is a decent beat-'em-up that should please people who go into it knowing exactly what to expect.

Unfortunately, in the end, not even the inclusion of the classic version of Battleship is enough to save this pointless game.

In practice not all of these new features are successful. In fact, if you enjoyed the original Armada, you might find yourself nostalgic for that game while playing Armada II.

If you're more interested in the relaxing sights and sounds of Las Vegas than you are in playing a highly challenging strategy game, you might want to take a gamble with Casino Empire.

The easy puzzles and outstanding graphics make Stupid Invaders seem more like a lengthy exercise in computer animation than a fully realized adventure game.

While the game does a lot of things right, severe graphical issues surface at almost every turn and essentially nullify its strong points, leaving behind a game with lots of untapped potential.

An inadequate addition to the mission-based sci-fi sim genre. The branching mission paths are a nice idea, but, in practice, they could have allowed for more mission variety than what the final product actually delivers.

For what it is, RC Cars isn't a bad game. However, the distinct lack of features, compared to Creat's previous RC racing title, is a pretty big disappointment. There's just not much here beyond the scant few single- and two-player modes and the currently vacant online mode.

No love of choo-choos is required for this flawed but addictive puzzle game about life as a train dispatcher.

A good-looking game with good split-screen multiplayer but a relatively dull single-player game.

Sadly, the shallow gameplay ensures that the game gets really old, really quick.

This hidden-object game introduces a number of features that work well on the DS and has a good amount of replay value.

The big, dramatic-looking naval battles pack in a lot of variety, and the open-ended structure of the campaign rewards your curiosity.

In Barrow Hill, nobody can hear you yawn.

Island of Happiness offers plenty of satisfying farming gameplay, but the controls will leave you decidedly unhappy.

It's the kind of expansion that gets you imagining what else this world and these characters are capable of, which is the best kind of disappointment you can have.

This tactical combat game features battles, battles, and more battles, and it's fun, though very light on content or depth.

While we still admire the unique gameplay mechanics of Squad Assault, it certainly feels as though the series, as well as the technology, is being pushed a game too far with Second Wave.

Dungeons' mind-numbing, repetitive gameplay never reaches the greatness of Dungeon Keeper, its classic inspiration.

A fairly lackluster game of hockey that doesn't really need to be in your PSP collection.

The attention to detail, the well-considered level design, and the sense of momentum that characterize the finest shooters are missing here. Aliens vs. Predator is sometimes enjoyable but never escapes an overwhelming sense of carelessness, so while it may remind you of the good old days, it fails to recapture them.

This game is surprisingly enjoyable for a few hours, but after that it goes from good, mindless fun to mind-numbingly repetitive.

This entertaining hack-and-slash game is best played with a few friends.

Elements of Destruction won't hold your interest for long, but it will satisfy your craving for blowing stuff up.

Disney's Meet the Robinsons is a fairly satisfying movie tie-in that borrows heavily from a number of classic adventure and action games.

Are you dying to play some more Ms. Pac-Man? If so, then pick this up, but keep in mind that it's a very barebones emulation of the original game.

The Sims 2: Pets offers good AI and challenging pet gameplay, but the Wii control scheme isn't ideal.

Quantum of Solace will leave you shaken and stirred, but not entirely satisfied.

A very fun baseball game to play. The game's great graphics, involving gameplay, and great commentary all blend together to deliver an exciting and authentic game of baseball.

It's as mindless of a shooter as they come, and you can't help but be disappointed at the thought of this, in light of the series' roots as a mentally stimulating strategy game.

This is a game designed specifically for a general audience, and thus, the bulk of what would normally make an adventure game challenging or unique has been stripped away in favor of the most user-friendly interface and game design possible.

Those simply looking for a good PlayStation golf game are better off looking at the Hot Shots series than picking up this antiquated, middle-of-the-road golf game.

It's a game that only a DBZ fan could <I>love</I>, but it's a proficient enough fighting game that others might like it.

Twin Mirror has interesting new mechanics, well-realized characters, and a good understanding of what makes exploration rewarding. It's just a shame that the pacing undercuts so much of what makes it work.

Mass Effect 2: Arrival is a disappointing conclusion to a beloved series' second chapter.

Ratatouille is a sufficient, if unfulfilling, platformer.

Apropos of the franchise it portrays, when I dig below the currency-ridden surface of Tomb Raider Reloaded and see what's really on offer, there's fun to be had. Dungeon crawling with an increasingly powerful Lara Croft is a blast, while watching her continue to grow more powerful with each level up allows for experimentation with combat in a manner that few other mobile titles do. It's not perfect--microtransactions continue to be an annoying sticking point in the mobile realm--but Tomb Raider Reloaded does a good job of taking the undesirable parts and making room for what this game does incredibly well. Despite a few pitfalls, Tomb Raider Reloaded is worthy of the moniker it holds, with fun mix-and-match gameplay and an ever-changing challenge waiting to be excavated.

Spore Creatures is pleasant and charming, but ultimately forgettable.

A thoroughly original title that brings to a new audience, through parody, a touch of what makes Japanese culture so appealing to so many Westerners.

For all the risks Sunset Overdrive takes with its vibrant art direction and intuitive level design, the Mystery of the Mooil Rig is a fundamentally safe spin-off. It’s impressively consistent with the main game, and enough that relearning the controls takes no time, even if you haven’t touched Sunset Overdrive since launch week.

Epic scale and depth of content make Two Worlds worthwhile.

A few unique touches are overshadowed by crushingly dull gameplay in this perfunctory animated movie tie-in.

There's not much new about Cars for the Xbox 360 to justify its higher price or late arrival, but it's still a good, solid driving game for a younger audience.

Dinosaurs rescue an otherwise underwhelming shooter.

Though a bit square, this puzzle game fits nicely into any lazy day.

Unfortunately, the gameplay feels too much like a mishmash of several other well-known gaming franchises and ends up overly simplistic.

Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution. It's a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment--of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you'll inevitably come crashing back down.

Arguably the finest PC-based tennis simulation to date. It is strategic, positional, somewhat realistic, and at times extremely challenging.

Unfortunately, the game has some pretty glaring shortcomings all around, and while the design might have looked solid on paper, it just didn't make for a fun, engaging, or good-looking game.

Because the PS2 version of Mafia unavoidably compromises the PC version's graphical presentation--while also introducing longer loading times and injecting more interruptions into the gameplay--it comes off like a mere shadow of the original.

Marred by bugs, design problems, low production values, and general sloppiness that usually overshadow its genuine charms.

Extreme Onimusha fans will probably find something to like here, and anyone after a "Smash Bros."-like fighter on the PlayStation 2 will have some fun, but in the end, there simply isn't enough to Blade Warriors to keep anyone interested beyond the time span of your average rental period.

The boxing mechanics, while occasionally enjoyable, become practically automatic after a couple of trips through the career mode. And while the career mode itself is cool, it could have benefited from more in the way of story.

Those who want a deeper, more satisfying platform adventure should probably save this for a weekend rental.

Whether you're strictly a movie buff or have followed the comic book for years, you're going to easily be able to identify with the characters, stories, and missions that the game serves.

An obsolete 3-year-old fighting game that doesn't even support online play as was originally promised.

It's fraught with lots of minor gameplay problems that eventually add up to one major headache. Rising Sun isn't completely without merit, since it comes packaged with some nice extra materials and mostly solid production values, but the weakness of the gameplay itself undermines what could have been a much more enjoyable experience.

A number of small improvements make Baseball Mogul 2009 only a minor evolution over its predecessor.

Smarty Pants is a fun, no-frills trivia game for all ages.

Majesco's portable shooter is a decent distraction, but not much more.

The tennis is merely average, but Sega Superstars Tennis' challenges and minigames are creatively done and a lot of fun.

Condition Zero is a product that will appeal most to those players who haven't tried CS yet (and how many of them are there?), those who don't want to deal with the hassles of playing the game online, and those who just want to have some offline practice.

In a sea of clearly defined morality systems, Unrest proves that sometimes the best waters consist of infinite shades of gray.

Supreme Ruler 2020's steep learning curve and micromanagement will turn off all but the most fanatical strategy gamers.

Kill Team's dual-stick shooting action has an old-fashioned arcade appeal, but it's too simple to stand out from the crowd.

A slapdash porting job turns the Force into a farce in this Star Wars action game.

Making such a legendary game accessible to a modern audience is always a good thing, but Ubisoft just didn't do enough here to set this refurbished version apart from the original and its free high-definition mod.

Questionable design choices aside, the problem with almost every aspect of The Godfather II is simply that it feels unfinished.

Isn't quite at the level to challenge PGA Championship Golf or Links in terms of realism, but even fans of those series would admit that PGA Tour 2001 can be a lot of fun to play.

The colorful presentational coating is tasty, but unfinished features and rotten artificial intelligence keep Heroes of Annihilated Empires from reaching its potential.

Takes the familiar "Settlers" community-management gameplay and manages to not screw it up in any meaningful way.

The worst and most obvious problem with the game is the constant loading. Performing just about any action--going indoors or outdoors, playing a minigame, beginning a conversation with someone, ending a conversation with someone--causes the game to load for a good second or two.

Steering Cars with the Wii Remote works pretty nicely, but some of the minigame control schemes and a few Wii-version-specific bugs conspire to drag down this film-licensed racer.

Another Road is essentially just a remixed version of the original Shin Budokai, offering very little in the way of new content.

Thanks to Viking: Battle for Asgard's mundane and tedious gameplay, the only battle you'll wage will be a losing one against boredom.

Expansive levels and artsy graphics help make Ratatouille on the GBA an enjoyable romp, even if it is way too easy.

Were it not for the part where you actually have to play it, fans of the film could have had a conceivably great time with Oogie's Revenge.

An unimpressive action platformer with a few of the trappings of the original "Dragon's Lair."

The Great Edgar Hunt is a good, if not very original, platformer in its own right, offering up some funny writing and interesting environments to explore.

The Lost Hobo King is a welcome return to the world of Stacking, but it's over before you know it.

Gotham City Impostors is frantic fun for shooter fans who want something a little different.

If you're the sort of player who is willing to do without a complex plot if it means you can spend more time brawling, Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior's Rise is a pleasant surprise. It sometimes lacks the refinement that you'd expect from a modern release, but the core experience doesn't suffer in the slightest. Make sure that you don't overlook it.