When Disintegration works, it really works. You're shooting guns, you're calling advances and retreats, ordering missile strikes. You really get the sense that you're in the thick of it, the heart of a battle. Both the excitement and stress it induces are testaments to how thoroughly the gameplay draws you in. There are elements around the periphery of the experience that could have been better tuned, but they do not detract from what makes it work.

Ratatouille is a sufficient, if unfulfilling, platformer.

Essentials is anything but.

Its frustrating single-player mode, dated gameplay mechanics, and lack of interactivity make it difficult to recommend for a purchase.

Unlike EA's game ["NBA Street"], Street Hoops is ugly, shallow, and incredibly dull.

Taz has no butt stomp or double jump maneuvers, the latter of which would've come in very handy for the game's prevalent platform jumping.

Blandly go where no Star Trek game has gone before in this unexciting multiplayer shoot-'em-up.

This Pokemon-themed minigame collection misses the point for anyone other than very young Pikachu fans.

With a fairly drab presentation and a subpar interface, Sudoku Gridmaster is a pretty weak package.

It's not as shocking as you'd expect, but Manhunt 2 still satisfies your primal instincts.

Metal Saga has the makings of a good role-playing game, but there's nothing to tie it all together.

True, its best qualities can be obscured in the early going by its unforgiving difficulty and the absence of good tutorials, but even when you're overwhelmed, speedy combat and smart AI reel you in. Give it time, and the fast and furious combat smooth out the rough edges into a compelling and challenging strategy game.

Frankly, Redemption just isn't a very interesting game, from any angle.

In this 3D Sonic game, developer Sonic Team attempts to iterate upon the formula of games like Sonic Generations and Sonic Colors, but it falls short due to frustrating design choices and inconsistent level design. Even its most entertaining moments come with caveats.

This port of the PSP game fares poorly on the PS2 and claims the title of worst Ratchet & Clank game available for the aging console.

Like the show's action, 24's gameplay tries to throw in everything but the kitchen sink, but in this case, it couldn't make any one of these attempts work well enough to be fun.

Rumble Roses XX introduces a few positives into the original game's formula, but too much of the content feels recycled, and the game's sense of sexuality is still rather unseemly.

Lots of variety and funny cutscenes make the second Madagascar game a good reason to escape to Africa.

Unresponsive controls and confusing level design make Rad Spencer's latest adventure an exercise in frustration.

Once again, the Empires expansion of Koei's long-running hack-and-slash action series turns out to be the bright spot amid the doldrums of endless button-mashing, thanks to some legitimately interesting strategy.

Although NBA 2Night shows potential as the first game in Konami's new basketball series, it doesn't excel in any specific category and thus finds itself a step behind EA's "NBA Live" series.

Everything of value here means little because of the sluggish pace.

Needs work, especially with its control system, which is absolutely put to shame by EA's freestyle control scheme for "NBA Live 2003."

The combination of elements from several different genres--action, strategy, and role-playing--works to keep things interesting. When flaws in one are discovered, you always have something else to fall back on.

The game's arcade elements aren't done well enough to ever balance with the simulation elements, and the end result is a game that's too wacky to be a sim game and too simulation-based to be an arcade game.

It's difficult to care about the story or any of the characters in it when the game doesn't have any voice acting to lend personality to it.

Hardwood Spades is a Spades game for Spades fans, but even fans of the card game will probably be a little put off by the dull graphics and sound.

Though based on a great series of innovative tactical action/puzzle games, Commandos Strike Force comes off as just another middling World War II shooter, despite some good ideas.

The good news for PC owners is that the PC version happens to be a port of the 360/PS3 version. The bad news is that this port doesn't quite cut it. The control scheme is totally unplayable unless you have a good dual-analog gamepad, and a number of performance problems frequently get in the way of the action.

Younger players will enjoy the variety and sandbox-style freedom of Bee Movie Game.

It's cute enough, but this Katamari clone won't blow you away.

It would have been nice to have seen some more variety in the environments, and the instances of backtracking through areas you've already visited are disappointing. But the game's exciting, free-form combat makes up for those deficiencies.

Namco's back catalog deserves better than this slapped-together cash-in.

The style and attitude are available in spades, but unfortunately the battles just feel sloppy and unsatisfying. There are some great singular mechanics in play here, but they're all just tossed together in a mess of flashy effects and shallow gameplay.

It gets the job done, but NASCAR 2011 is a better reminder of the great old NASCAR games than it is a good game in its own right.

Depending on how you look at it, Lineage II offers either a repetitive grind or a stiff challenge. In any case, the game isn't suited for more casual players who may only have time to play for 30 minutes to an hour.

There are just too many hurdles to overcome to enjoy We Happy Few, and not enough Joy in the world to cast them aside.

It nails the show's insanely enjoyable brand of humor, but can't quite pull out a gameplay design to match.

Arena Football's Road to Glory has been paved with little more than a roster update and a few unappealing upgrades.

If you're absolutely riddled with Pac-Man fever, this game is for you, but if you're anything less than fiendish in your desire to play Pac-Man, then take a pass.

Continue's commentary on mortality, existence, and what is truly important in our lives will persist long after you put the game away. It is a pity the actual game supporting this evaluation isn't as rich as the subject matter it addresses.

Though based on a great series of innovative tactical action/puzzle games, Commandos Strike Force comes off as just another middling World War II shooter, despite some good ideas.

For anyone that poured their heart into any of the last two or three games, however, Mega Man Battle Network 6 definitely comes across as been there, done that.

Midway's arcade football franchise breaks all the rules, plus your arms, legs, skull, scrotum, and spleen. If that sounds like fun, it's because it is.

Combining beat-'em-up action with randomized levels and loot, Legend of Dungeon offers just enough variety to stem the tide of repetitive gameplay.

Hardcore Godzilla fans will appreciate seeing the decent renderings of some of their favorite monsters here, but they're unlikely to be terribly impressed by the action itself.

Redshirt does manage to successfully poke fun at a lot of social media's worst aspects, and it can be good for some genuine chuckles.

If you can get past its dense and uninviting interface, Warship Gunner 2 offers unique naval combat and an incredible amount of ship customization.

In Line Rider 2: Unbound, you'll experience a love-hate relationship with squiggly lines.

Not bad. But a laundry list of unfortunate drawbacks keeps it from becoming the exciting box of good times and nostalgia that it could have been.

Chronicles ends not with a bang or a whimper, but a shrug.

It gets the job done, but NASCAR 2011 is a better reminder of the great old NASCAR games than it is a good game in its own right.

As you may expect from this genre developed by From Software, there is a good story integrated into the game, but somehow your character, Cain, lacks personality and the ability to interact with the rest of the characters in the game.

A difficult game, and, as the developer's first effort, it's a bit rough around the edges. For serious fans of the genre, the game can be very time consuming and rewarding in the way a good strategy game should be.

It's fun to play and should appeal strongly to anyone who adores the Spy Kids 3-D movie, but it doesn't compare to some of the deeper, more full-featured action games that are available for the GBA.

The screen size and button layout of the GBA prove to be limitations that this otherwise respectable port of SimCity 2000 cannot overcome.

The small problems that have been apparent throughout the series are still intact, along with a couple of new quirks that make the game overly easy. Even so, Buu's Fury is still a decent game for Dragon Ball Z fans.

The best option for console gamers looking for some online puzzle action.

An incredibly dated port, and the fact that it retails for as much as a game made within the last year is quite despicable.

This budget-priced Xbox Live-enabled fighter still packs some good stuff for hardcore fans, but the touched-up paint job doesn't make this feel like a whole new game. In fact, in some ways it feels like a step backward from "The King of Fighters 2002."

There's some magic to this fantasy puzzle adventure, but a few frustrations break the spell.

The manic rabbids are at it again, providing a solid helping of simplistic, good-natured fun.

The amount of content you get for the price is impressive; it's just a shame that the quality of said content isn't better.

Fun and challenging, but the graphics and audio are outdated and the play modes aren't deep enough.

While Namco Museum is fine for people who are looking for arcade classics, players who own most of these games in another format needn't bother adding this to their collection.

Breakpoint is a messy, confused game and a ghost of the series' former self.

ProStreet is a solid racing game, but it's missing most of what made the previous games in the series interesting.

Dead Island: Riptide might look like an idyllic zombie-fest, but it's little more than a frustrating mess of half-baked ideas and repetitive combat.

Like the previous games in the series, Global Terror offers some redeeming value as a shooter, but poor execution on certain aspects, such as the AI, keeps the game from distinguishing itself.

One of those game revivals that bears enough resemblance to its source material to draw up some nostalgia for the original, and yet it also exposes the weaknesses of the original, effectively betraying your nostalgia and retroactively tainting the original game.

A few neat elements help keep this tepid dual-stick shooter afloat.

It's not a very deep game; it's kind of ugly, and the voice acting is atrocious. But Heatseeker can be fun in small doses--especially if you don't mind taking down wave after wave of enemies, level after level.

I'm enjoying The First Soldier and I'll keep it in my BR rotation, but it already seems like a game I'll struggle to get better at. This is a battle royale title that's good enough, smart enough, and different enough to attract and keep a healthy player base--it's bursting at the smartphone's seams. On PC or console, The First Soldier would take a well-deserved place against other BR powerhouses, but on mobile, it's just too cramped.

Its enigmatic visuals, choice-driven narrative, and provocations on morality are the driving forces that warrant multiple playthroughs, and all of those aforementioned elements combine to make Here They Lie one of the standout offerings among the PSVR's launch lineup.

The Good Life is a curious and uneven experience. As a sort of hybrid RPG meets life-sim, it's certainly competent, despite the grind it demands. Surprisingly, the novel premise takes a back seat for the most part, but it's never anything less than adorably easy-going, carried along by a carefree attitude and endless charm.

BlackSite: Area 51 is an ordinary first-person shooter that's held back by a collection of bugs and other issues.

Escape From Paradise City blends the stereotypical action RPG with a stripped-down RTS to create one unimpressive hybrid game.

Heroes Over Europe offers some enjoyable arcade dogfighting, but it lacks the depth and excitement needed to keep you coming back for more.

Flatout 4 doesn’t bring anything noteworthy to the series, and while the Flatout and party modes are good for some low stakes enjoyment, the grind of single-player progression is too much to bare. The challenge is borderline unfair at times, and that wrecks the partytime nature that the series used to do so well.

Cultures suffers from a lack of personality because it feels like an amalgam of other games in this genre rather than a distinct design. If you're interested in city-building games, there are far better ones available that are more worthwhile.

Stiff controls, some questionable AI, and other quirk...ruin an otherwise entertaining experience.

It's relatively fun in small doses, but Project Nomads doesn't live up to the potential that its unusual design suggests.

A surprisingly clever and enjoyable little game.

Wildlife Park might have been a fun distraction for theme park fans, but the poor design and execution cripple it in a crowded field of competitors.

When you factor in how little this game really differs from any of the last few games in the line, there's really no good reason to go out and buy it.

Isn't quite the all-encompassing racing simulation that Electronic Arts' "NASCAR 2001" is, but features like the beat the heat mode make the game worthwhile for any NASCAR fan.

Pushes no boundaries and takes no chances.

With four people joining in, the number of onscreen explosions, pig-speech comments, and all-around nuttiness nearly lifts the game into the same sphere of quality as "Worms" or "Bomberman."

It's a decent freshman effort, but a lack of gameplay details and multiplayer features and substandard visuals limit the game's appeal to die-hard MLB fans only.

The absence of a basic team-building mode, a few minigames, or at least some other method of drawing out the overall replay value is really the game's only significant shortcoming. Otherwise, it's an immensely fun product.

The fundamentals of Wolverine's Revenge are solid, but just about everything seems to fall apart in the execution.

The rest of the game doesn't live up to its interesting visuals.

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.

PixelJunk Racers' virtual slot cars are fun in groups of people, but without online multiplayer, you'll get tired quickly if you're playing alone.

Lots of variety and funny cutscenes make the second Madagascar game a good reason to escape to Africa.

Towering Adventure comes close to reinvigorating the Rainbow Islands formula, but this platformer is still tough to recommend.

WRC 4 continues Milestone's trend of satisfying but unremarkable rally games. Some key areas have clearly been worked on, but the core experience still lags behind Dirt when it comes to capturing the pure excitement of off-road racing, and Career mode is nothing that we haven't seen dozens of times in other racing games.

The game's characters look and seem very faithful to their television counterparts. Some corners were cut in terms of the gameplay, however, and the result is a kart racer that isn't quite as solid as the best that the genre has to offer.