Strictly on its own merits, this version is an altogether unimpressive action adventure that still smacks of being a watered-down port of a technically superior game. In other words, both GameCube owners and Splinter Cell fans deserve better than this.

From its barely existent storyline, to its laborious and periodically broken platforming mechanics, to its sadly underdeveloped combat, Red Ninja just never manages to pull itself from action game mediocrity.

Odds are you'll simply grow tired of grinding through the same battles yet again, with only a half-baked storyline to keep you interested. Ultimately, you're probably better off waiting until Koei announces the inevitable first Dynasty Warriors 5 spin-off, rather than picking up this game.

The really ingenious thing about it, though, is the majority of the characters, vehicles, and scenery contained therein have been drawn to resemble the Lego play sets that have been released to coincide with the films.

From its barely existent storyline, to its laborious and periodically broken platforming mechanics, to its sadly underdeveloped combat, Red Ninja just never manages to pull itself from action game mediocrity.

The game itself is lousy.

Myst IV still offers a one-of-a-kind experience for the Xbox, and it's available at a budget price, for good measure. But you'd be better off playing the PC original if you have the means.

Strictly on its own merits, this version is a good but unimpressive action adventure that still smacks of being a watered-down port of a technically superior game.

Chaos Theory sometimes has a designed-by-committee feel due to its many disparate parts, and despite the game's grittier new theme and its new "Mature" rating, it's going to offer a familiar experience to Splinter Cell veterans. But even if some of the changes are marginal, this is still the most entertaining, most well-rounded game in the series yet.

Good overall, and it deserves credit for being something other than just another military-themed shooter or strategy game. It's just too bad that it isn't more involving.

The GBA game's multiplayer features are fairly limited and poorly organized. Its single-player component, on the other hand, is very nicely organized and offers a great deal of variety.

Chaos Theory sometimes has a designed-by-committee feel due to its many disparate parts, and despite the game's grittier new theme and its new "Mature" rating, it's going to offer a familiar experience to Splinter Cell veterans. But even if some of the changes are marginal, this is still the most entertaining, most well-rounded game in the series yet.

While the online play is merely average at best, its single-player play, as well as its overall production values, present themselves as seriously subpar.

Provides a very rewarding way to relive WWII from the perspective of its top leaders.

Neither especially tactical nor satisfyingly action-packed.

With its surprisingly awful fighting mechanics, busted-up frame rate, and bare-bones gameplay, Iron Phoenix is just a colossal waste of time.

Dogged by a number of graphical issues that often interfere with gameplay.

Probably the best portable fighting game ever made.

A colorful cast of characters, a great presentation, exciting shooting action, and support for wireless multiplayer competition over the Internet combine to make this game one of the safest bets you can place when choosing your first PSP games.

It's a trite and aggressively boring version of what a million other third-person action games have done. And even for its budget price, it's a pretty lousy value.

Up to 16 people can play online, and there are several different modes of play. While this might sound like a pretty good deal, the unbalanced shooting mechanics and mostly lousy maps pretty much do away with that notion right away.

Because the air races found in MX vs. ATV Unleashed are so frustrating, one wonders why they even made it into the game in the first place, especially when you consider how fun the game is with two (or more) wheels on the ground.

The best handheld golf game to date. Though it lacks the online play and a few other details found in "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005," it's actually a better game in some ways, as it takes the sport a little more seriously.

This "remixed" version of the original delivers almost everything that was great about the console versions, and with the inclusion of four new levels, the single-player experience has gotten even better.

This isn't exactly the most overachieving action game around, but it's not a bad showcase of what the PSP can do, and it's generally entertaining for as long as it lasts.

It's simply a marvelously executed experience that's fun from beginning to end, and anyone with a taste for mature content and the action adventure genre would be foolish to pass it up.

If you strip away the patently silly drug effects and the forced attitude, NARC is an unimpressive mission-based third-person action game. It's also short, rife with bugs, and basically not a lot of fun to play.

It's got some very good qualities, but you'll need to wade through a lot of potential frustrations to enjoy them.

Considering how rich your upgrade options actually are, it's disappointing that the combat itself falls a bit flat. This is a straightforward hack-and-slash that is saddled with an unnecessary partner system and masses of foes that can be easily killed.

A short, ugly, slightly buggy, and brain-dead beat-'em-up that all but nullifies the good work of the Budokai games.

Perhaps the most disappointing (and surprising) thing about World Tour Soccer 2006 is that it's vastly inferior to the recently released PSP World Tour Soccer game, which not only plays a better game of soccer but also features a style-based challenge mode that's infinitely more enjoyable than that on the PS2.

Does a fine job of showing off the system's technical prowess while simultaneously providing more of the same smooth Ridge Racer gameplay that still holds up after all these years.

These are 10 awful remakes of old Sega games that will only serve to infuriate their intended audience.

Once you get a handle on the core mechanics, you'll find in Acid a rewarding game of strategic stealth combat coupled with a quirky, intriguing storyline and some neat points of nostalgia for the longtime Metal Gear fan.

Between the beautiful presentation, the innovative gameplay, and the excellent single-player and multiplayer modes, Lumines may very well be the greatest Tetris-style puzzle game since Tetris itself.

There's not much enthusiasm in Untold Legends. This leaves a game that, while hitting most of the necessary bullet points, is just going through the motions.

The finely tuned control that made the first game such a hit seems to have been lost in translation, but the game still has considerable charm.

If you strip away the patently silly drug effects and the forced attitude, NARC is an unimpressive mission-based third-person action game. It's also short, rife with bugs, and basically not a lot of fun to play.

Despite the license and some interesting gameplay modes, Ford Racing 3 comes off feeling generic and far less distinct than the real-life vehicles the game attempts to capture.

A short, ugly, slightly buggy, and brain-dead beat-'em-up that all but nullifies the good work of the Budokai games.

It's a trite and aggressively boring version of what a million other third-person action games have done. And even for its budget price, it's a pretty lousy value.

A short, ugly, slightly buggy, and brain-dead beat-'em-up that all but nullifies the good work of the Budokai games.

TimeSplitters' charm and "something for everybody" mentality means that you're almost certain to find something to like in Future Perfect.

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.

Makes for good, meaningless fun.

With its charm and "something for everybody" mentality, TimeSplitters is sure to offer GameCube owners a good number of things to like, though it feels practically irrelevant when compared to the other versions of the game.

Regardless of what you call it, the game attempts to combine zany locales with tried-and-true bowling mechanics, but the game lacks substance and ultimately won't please bowling fans, be they hardcore or casual.

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.

Because the air races found in MX vs. ATV Unleashed are so frustrating, one wonders why they even made it into the game in the first place, especially when you consider how fun the game is with two (or more) wheels on the ground.

The sort of game that's unpleasing to every possible audience. The hardcore retro fan base will scoff at the way these games have been shoddily reprogrammed. Fans of the graffiti artists will wonder why all the artwork is so poorly used.

Diehard fans of the series will probably be pleased simply because they can take Dynasty Warriors with them everywhere, though if you haven't been impressed by the series lately, this simplified handheld installment won't do anything to reel you in.

The high-speed gameplay that has always characterized the Wipeout series is still incredibly engaging, and the visuals simply impress, both on an artistic and a technical level. Wipeout Pure is a joy to look at.

Unfortunately, the core gameplay in NBA is lackluster in presentation and execution, making it difficult to recommend to anyone but the most hardcore basketball fanatics dying for a portable fix.

This is an incredibly slapdash and barren game that has absolutely nothing to offer you beyond monotonous, almost-broken fighting mechanics, tiny environments, and a bunch of lame unlockables.

Just about as broken as it was on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 last year, and thanks to the ill-conceived introduction of a mouse and keyboard into the mix, it manages to be even worse, overall.

The PlayStation 2 version of Brothers in Arms doesn't quite measure up to the PC and Xbox versions. The game feels noticeably unpolished across the board, with muddier graphics, tinny sound effects, and, most egregiously, problems with the game balance.

The most glaring omission in Worms Forts: Under Siege! is some genuine enthusiasm.

Here's a real-time strategy game with the soul of a sleek techno-thriller, stitched together with live action footage that, despite the acting and budgetary limitations, will remind you of the riveting television drama 24 at times.

It's not the prettiest shooter on the PC, but it's got a good amount of style, and the run-and-gun action stands up pretty well, regardless of the platform.

It's a fantastic package if you've missed this infectiously charming series up until now, though some of its luster has faded with time.

Mushashi Samurai Legend isn't especially hard or deep, and you'll get virtually everything it has to offer on the first time through, but it's still a decent action adventure game with a good dose of quirky charm.

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

It lets you feel like you are a submarine captain in charge of a powerful but fragile U-boat, it provides a sobering history lesson, and the campaign makes you feel like you are a small but important part of a much larger conflict. Those are the hallmarks of a truly great simulation.

Dreslough and his team at Sports Mogul have made wholesale changes to the design, adding much-needed depth to key areas like player personality, contract negotiations, and historical replay. It feels like this once-great series is finally reaching its potential.

Certainly, the lack of interactive environmental features combined with the expansiveness of the game's levels could lead to burnout after a while.

A unique and terrifically successful blend of strategy, tactics, and fast action. And it's only $20!

The most glaring omission in Worms Forts: Under Siege! is some genuine enthusiasm.

It's a fantastic package if you've missed this infectiously charming series up until now, though some of its luster has faded with time.

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

Though you won't find anything especially new in this version of the game, you will find all the same classic Mega Man goodness that was on the other versions, and at a slightly cheaper price at that.

An incredibly slapdash and barren game that has absolutely nothing to offer you beyond monotonous, almost-broken fighting mechanics, tiny environments, and a bunch of lame unlockables.

Misses the mark thanks to completely linear level design, choppy graphics, and the puzzling absence of multiplayer modes.

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

It gets rid of the overblown, big-city atmosphere of the recent console release and puts the focus on getting into races--the best part of the series--very quickly.

Simply one of the laziest uses of the DS's touch screen technology to date, featuring highly repetitive gameplay that gets old before you've even finished your first race.

Boasts more than enough fast-paced gameplay and depth to justify its asking price.

Simply being the only hockey choice doesn't excuse things like the awful frame rate, the sloppy puck handling, and the generally lackluster gameplay that Gretzky NHL offers. You're better off without this one.

A very inventive, unique game that has a ton of charm and is a blast the first time you play it. But don't blink, because the bad news is that this is also a game that you'll probably finish in three or four hours.

A low-complexity game that's easy to learn and, unfortunately, very easy to master.

A great story and a wonderful cast of characters are once again the highlights of this game, which anyone with an appreciation for comic books would probably love.

The campaign is varied and lengthy enough to keep players thrilled from beginning to end. There's even good incentive to play through again at higher difficulties.

Such a solid and comprehensive product that you just may want to make it your baseball video game of choice this season, particularly if you enjoy franchise-style modes.

While the game serves as only an adequate primer to this tough-guy sport, it's a fairly approachable and fun game, and it's one that does a decent job of conveying the finer aspects of the sport it portrays.

Due to a serious flaw in the game's single-player component, the only way to squeeze your money's worth out of this 2D punchfest is to track down two or three other people with the game and play them in linked games.

While the game serves as only an adequate primer to this tough-guy sport, it's a fairly approachable and fun game, and it's one that does a decent job of conveying the finer aspects of the sport it portrays.

For a game from the same people who brought you such memorable stinkpots as "Mortyr" and the transcendentally lousy "Sniper: Path of Vengeance", Mortyr 2 is actually a semi-competent piece of work.

It's a short, simplistic shooter that's not worth even its budget price.

Offers an engaging mix of turn-based tactics and strategy that's easy to learn and hard to master. It also offers some new units and, finally, a really good single-player experience.

A pedestrian and unimaginative multiplayer mode is the only notable flaw in a game that otherwise plays, looks, and sounds fantastic.

Overcoming DMC 3's near-vertical learning curve could prove extremely frustrating, to the point where some players will justifiably give up after repeatedly failing the first few missions. That's really too bad, because anyone who perseveres long enough to learn the ropes will probably agree that Devil May Cry 3 is one of the best PS2 action adventure games since the original.

There is a certain superficiality to The Moment of Silence that prevents you from getting totally immersed in the story.

The game more than makes up for any apparent absence of run-and-gun action with the raw intensity and realism of its battles combined with the added tactical considerations required in the challenging campaign. The online aspect is equally compelling, making for a complete and thoroughly impressive game experience.

Despite its slightly aged appearance, the accessible strategy and comical violence retain most of their appeal.

It's a short, simplistic shooter that's not worth even its budget price.

That new life experience is something of a letdown, but the new items and strategic options more than make up for it.

This control scheme, which is simple to pick up yet tough to master, makes for a huge variety of matches in Round 2.

A flashy and comprehensive baseball sim chock-full of online options, but unfortunately it also shipped with a few noticeable bugs.

A pedestrian and unimaginative multiplayer mode is the only notable flaw in a game that otherwise plays, looks, and sounds fantastic.