The core one-on-one fighting action is easily the best part of the game. It's gory, intense, and quite complex, meaning it captures much of what has made MK an institution among fighting games.

It's nice to see an effective clinch control enter the mix, and it's even better that clinches can be shrugged off or avoided altogether, preventing the move from being an automatic fail-safe.

A long-in-development shooter from Germany that--despite occasional bursts of endearing "deepest depths of your soul" wackiness--is ruined by sloppy design, bugs, and a desperate need for some editing.

This is a huge game, but not in a good way. There simply just isn't enough action or variety to keep your attention, and the complex economic structure feels just a tad bit too complex for its own good.

While some of the extra modes aren't as strong as they could have been, the core fighting is nearly perfect, whether you're playing against other humans or computer-controlled opposition.

This gem of a space tactics offering is everything that fans of the genre have been waiting for, as it takes gorgeous, next-generation graphical technology and applies it to an exciting game about starship combat, rogue artificial intelligences, galaxy-spanning wormholes, and more.

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

This unique marriage of the puzzle and adventure genres isn't for everyone, but those of you out there who like solving puzzles while hopping around will definitely get your money's worth.

A fairly playable, albeit generic, portable air combat game with a passable selection of fake planes and simple missions.

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

The franchise modes are comprehensive enough, the selection of different online play options is extensive, and the whole game almost looks and sounds just as good as a broadcast on ESPN HD.

Though it suffers from a curious lack of evolution in terms of some of its central aspects, most notably its racing AI, when GT4 works to its strengths, it delivers like few games of this console generation.

Despite feeling somewhat formulaic, this installment of Ys still provides a bunch of challenging, old-school hack-and-slash action for devoted thumb-warriors.

It delivers a solid, fast-paced experience that provides a nice balance between the fresh and the familiar.

A soccer game that boasts far more style than substance and has more in common with the FIFA games of old than it does with "FIFA Soccer 2005."

Delivers a good balance of tactical decision making and up-close action that will be most appealing to existing fans of Koei's other beat-'em-up works, but it's simple recipe for mass warfare can create an armchair general out of anyone.

The bottom line is that if you're looking for a realistic and feature-rich baseball video game, you can't go wrong with MVP Baseball 2005.

You won't quite get that just-ripped-the-cover-off-the-ball satisfaction earned once upon a time in High Heat, but you will get a sense of much-needed Major League authenticity that PC baseball fans have been missing over the past few years.

Leave it to Sonalysts to create a modern-day naval survey simulation that has the breadth and depth of the oceans where the combat it simulates takes place.

A solid, fast-paced experience that provides a nice balance between the fresh and the familiar.

The good news is that these fighting games--true to their classic roots--have aged gracefully. And, finally, you can play them online.

It truly manages to re-create what it must be like to be on the wrong end of a mob shakedown, because by the end of the experience, you'll pretty much feel like you've had your head caved in with a lead pipe.

A soccer game that boasts far more style than substance and has more in common with the FIFA games of old than it does with "FIFA Soccer 2005."

The bottom line is that if you're looking for a realistic and feature-rich baseball video game, you can't go wrong with MVP Baseball 2005.

The bottom line is that if you're looking for a realistic and feature-rich baseball video game, you can't go wrong with MVP Baseball 2005.

It's got some flaws and it's not very long or replayable--you'll probably finish it in 12 to 15 hours, without much incentive to go back to the beginning--but it's fun while it lasts.

KCET's best soccer game to date, which, in terms of on-the-pitch gameplay, basically makes it the best soccer game ever made...even taking the seminal Sensible World of Soccer games on the Amiga into account.

This is a complex, complicated turn-based wargame featuring literally hundreds of authentic modern military units, as well as a big campaign, dozens of stand-alone scenarios, and a full-fledged map editor.

An obvious attempt to cash in on the street racing craze by providing bargain-basement production values, unlicensed cars, and about as much excitement as a half-lit sparkler.

Considering the talent behind the game, it's disappointing that it could be so utterly devoid of positive traits, but no matter how hard you look, you won't be able to scrounge up much of anything to really like about Nano Breaker.

Improvements to the game's turn-based combat engine, graphics, and its still-captivating plot ensure that fans of story-driven role-playing games and the Xenosaga series itself will still find much to appreciate about Episode II.

This game might make a few halfhearted attempts to try to rope new players into the Tenchu fold, between its original story and its tutorial mode, but the gameplay itself is cumbersome, and the presentation isn't going to be good enough to hold most players' interest when the gameplay fails to.

Offers just about everything a racer could want (with the exception of a comprehensive printed manual) and works hard to satiate the thirsts of both the action/arcade crowd and the generally more demanding devotees of realistic/simulation competition.

It might be good enough for fans of the film looking to walk in Constantine's shoes, but if you're simply looking for a good action game, you can do better.

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.

And although living the career of a Triple H wannabe makes the game more frivolous than the usual stat-heavy sports sim, the absence of serious depth is offset by the entertainment value of role-playing a muscle-bound freak who bashes people over the head with chairs for a living.

It might be good enough for fans of the film looking to walk in Constantine's shoes, but if you're simply looking for a good action game, you can do better.

The game has its heart in the right place and provides some entertaining moments, but Assault doesn't quite measure up to the pedigree of its namesake.

Packs some of the most brutal hand-to-hand combat ever, and there's plenty of story and intrigue to conveniently justify all the gory violence.

A half-baked attempt to combine a combo-based fighting system with some light stealth and puzzle-solving. Unfortunately, no one aspect of the game is done especially well.

It's remarkable that the game's quest is every bit as big and complex as the original's. On the other hand, some unsightly technical issues and a general feeling of déjà vu will probably prevent you from feeling as strongly about The Sith Lords as you did or still do about the first game.

The addition of online play (on the PS2 and Xbox) and a compelling single-player career mode, as well as improvements to the basic game mechanics, make NBA Street V3 the new gold standard of arcade-style basketball games.

So what these games may lack in graphical prowess, they more than make up for in spirit and underlying quality.

Featuring tight racing controls, 12 wacky drivers encapsulated in 12 real-life vehicles, and fast-paced, addictive, and challenging racing, Racing Gears Advance is simply a great game in every respect.

It isn't as comprehensive or glamorous as any of Nintendo's Pokémon games, but fans of the show will still probably enjoy it a great deal, since it will let them gather and build their own set of fighting spirits while also experiencing firsthand many of the stories told in the show.

It isn't as comprehensive or glamorous as any of Nintendo's Pokémon games, but fans of the show will still probably enjoy it a great deal, since it will let them gather and build their own set of fighting spirits while also experiencing firsthand many of the stories told in the show.

The addition of online play (on the PS2 and Xbox) and a compelling single-player career mode, as well as improvements to the basic game mechanics, make NBA Street V3 the new gold standard of arcade-style basketball games.

The new king of the court as far as arcade basketball games go.

The improvements that Champions: Return to Arms makes over its predecessors are modest, and after four years of roughly the same game, the fundamental formula is starting to feel a little tired.

There are so many problems with Will of Steel that it's hard to know where to begin in terms of describing them, but trust us when we say to spare yourself the frustration and avoid this decidedly lackluster game.

KCET's best soccer game to date, which basically makes it the best soccer game ever made...even taking the seminal "Sensible World of Soccer" games on the Amiga into account.

KCET's best soccer game to date, which basically makes it the best soccer game ever made.

This is one of the worst turn-based tactical games in quite a while, thanks to bad gameplay, horrendous storytelling, lackluster graphics, and more.

Despite the bacchanalian context, this Sims-style strategy game comes off as cold and mechanical, capturing none of the devil-may-care attitude you'd expect and casting Hef's idyllic lifestyle as a hollow grind established purely for the sake of selling more magazines.

Yet despite the bacchanalian context, this Sims-style strategy game comes off as cold and mechanical, capturing none of the devil-may-care attitude you'd expect and casting Hef's idyllic lifestyle as a hollow grind established purely for the sake of selling more magazines.

Flashpoint Germany updates the gameplay to modern-day standards, and the result is an excellent introductory wargame full of taut and exciting moments.

A great game that brings together a few styles of gameplay startlingly well.

Despite the bacchanalian context, this Sims-style strategy game comes off as cold and mechanical, capturing none of the devil-may-care attitude you'd expect and casting Hef's idyllic lifestyle as a hollow grind established purely for the sake of selling more magazines.

The action is plagued by loose controls and a bad camera, your scores of brain-dead opponents never put up enough of a fight to make things satisfying, and it's all set in a blandly designed world.

While the temperamental Edward and his patient, tragically transmuted brother Alphonse bring some of the series' personality to the game, some awkward controls and the lack of any real challenge or longevity relegate this title to rental status at best.

The action is plagued by loose controls and a bad camera, your scores of brain-dead opponents never put up enough of a fight to make things satisfying, and it's all set in a blandly designed world.

While it attempts to put its own spin on the third-person shooter genre by adding sometimes-gruesome interrogation sequences, this game is, more or less, "Max Payne" without the bullet time.

When you look at Zoo Keeper strictly as a DS game and ignore the outside world, it's a great puzzle offering that looks nice and offers play that can be really habit-forming.

While it attempts to put its own spin on the third-person shooter genre by adding sometimes-gruesome interrogation sequences, this game is, more or less, "Max Payne" without the bullet time.

The game tries to break out of the third-person shooter blueprint by offering sometimes-gory interrogation sequences, but these portions don't do enough to change what is otherwise a very by-the-numbers 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.

Between Tork's slightly unfinished feel and the rising standard for 20-dollar games, Tork really doesn't have a whole lot going in its favor.

While the narrative is still enticing, and the eclectic cast of characters remains a positive, aspects like a horrible seafaring travel system and an often outrageous enemy encounter rate detract much from the experience.

A game so utterly devoted to the same flawed concepts as its predecessor that it might as well be the same game with a new story.

An amazing achievement in a variety of ways, especially in how its inspired, state-of-the-art cinematic presentation works so well with its relentlessly exciting, white-knuckle action, all of which is wrapped up in a decidedly lengthy adventure chock-full of hidden secrets and bonus extras.

Dense with explosive content that satisfies on a fundamental level. Of the games that have tried to borrow the Grand Theft Auto style of play, Mercenaries is one of the most successful.

The game easily lives up to its predecessors, with enough questing and variety to keep you entertained for the duration of its storyline and beyond.

Dense with explosive content that satisfies on a fundamental level. Of the games that have tried to borrow the Grand Theft Auto style of play, Mercenaries is one of the most successful.

Even by 2003 standards, Airborne Troops is an extremely uninspired shooter that borrows endlessly from other World War II games, yet still manages to get almost nothing right. Thus, by 2005 standards, Airborne Troops is a wholly poor effort.

If not for lingering issues with the steep learning curve, the barrage of information boxes, and a couple of bugs, this would undeniably be Paradox's finest hour.

The mech-jacking and the variety of team-based modes available are cool, but the relatively slow pace makes the rest of the game feel like a plodding, fairly standard third-person shooter.

Despite the fancy name, Advanced Battlegrounds is simply a repackaging of the 2003 first-person shooter "Chrome." There's nothing notable or new here that we could detect, aside from the fact that it's now been patched to address some of the stability issues from the original release.

A good enough game, though barely anything has changed. It doesn't feel like it has been rushed, since it isn't buggy or broken in any way, but there's definitely a lack of proper maturation here that hinders the overall product.

Lacking both the volatile charm and the compelling technical details of the series, it's little more than a halfhearted racing game that features some appearances by characters and from locations you've seen on TV.

A good enough game, though barely anything has changed. It doesn't feel like it has been rushed, since it isn't buggy or broken in any way, but there's definitely a lack of proper maturation here that hinders the overall product.

A good enough game, though barely anything has changed. It doesn't feel like it has been rushed, since it isn't buggy or broken in any way, but there's definitely a lack of proper maturation here that hinders the overall product.

A few modest improvements have been made in porting Budokai 2 to the GameCube, but the game just feels late, and a little irrelevant.

Unfortunately, Sentinel often undermines one of its biggest strengths by taking those captivating puzzles and turning them into extremely repetitive busywork.

Tiger Woods takes good advantage of the capabilities of the DS, and it's easily the most technically accomplished handheld golf game to date.

Primitive production values, flaws in the single-player campaign, and a sometimes lag-ridden experience in online play make GunGriffon: Allied Strike difficult to recommend.

On multiple levels, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fails miserably.

Even if you have a previous version, the new features in version 8 more than justify the upgrade price.

A small evolutionary step above what Stormfront did with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and players who appreciate that brand of brute-force, hack-and-slash gameplay should find in it a great-looking and enjoyable, if somewhat familiar, experience.

Every bit as surprisingly good on the PC, thanks to an excellent translation that shows no traces of the game's console origins. Furthermore, some exciting, brand-new extras that are exclusive to the PC version make it worth experiencing even by those who've played and enjoyed the original version of the game.

Despite some pretty good writing, catchy music, and nicely drawn 2D art, the experience suffers because of repetitive and oft-frustrating gameplay.

In essence, Ping Pals is "PictoChat" with a lousy personality, and there's absolutely no reason why you should waste your time with it.

Fans of role-playing games rarely get as good a deal as this package offers--two full-length tactical RPGs with branching paths, numerous side quests, and tons of content for the price of a single game.

A few additions to an already proven formula make Viewtiful Joe 2 another great and quirky action game.

Eliminates some of the annoyances of its predecessor. However, while that's all well and good, X8 can still often be an intensely frustrating game, and still isn't especially fun.

It's inhibited by ponderous combat controls, its repetitious nature, and an overall lack of depth.

At best, D-Day offers up a tepid serving of cookie-cutter RTS gameplay. At worst, it makes you descend into micromanagement hell.

Pretty much the perfect sports management game.

While it's certainly a competent racing game, Ridge Racer DS's awkward driving and collision model feel very dated by today's standards.