The game is put together pretty well, but the game is very simple and very short. On top of that, the lame wordplay and fart jokes that pass for humor just don't cut it.

One of the better billiards outings released for consoles in quite a long time.

It's a refreshingly focused online role-playing experience, and is an entertaining, polished game that, unlike so many others, manages to deliver on the underlying promise of an excellent concept.

The new nations offer up interesting variety and gameplay styles, while the new campaigns introduce the narrative drive and focus that the original campaign lacked. Thrones and Patriots is a highly enjoyable experience and an excellent expansion to an already outstanding game.

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.

Onimusha 3 maintains the series' very high standards for production quality, and it features vastly improved controls, an entertaining premise, and Jean Reno, who's good in pretty much everything, including this game.

Unless you want to spend $20 to be bored to tears, you should stay away from Street Jam Basketball.

If you can forgive the game's dated-looking graphics, its rather basic gameplay model, and its comparative level of ease--which is, admittedly, a lot to forgive--you can have a good time with Serious Sam: Next Encounter.

Just another languid translation of the exact same game you've been playing since the days of the Dreamcast. Sudden Impact is pretty much on autopilot in every aspect of its execution, presenting just the bare minimum to make a playable UFC game.

Siren's dreamy, unsettling experience is ultimately marred by tedious trial-and-error-based design that makes it best suited to survival horror fans with a good store of patience.

Given that "Hitman 2" was such a huge improvement on the original, it's inherently somewhat disappointing that the new Hitman: Contracts is really just a rehash. It's more of the same, replete with everything that was good and everything that wasn't so good about the 2002 game.

Given that "Hitman 2" was such a huge improvement on the original, it's inherently somewhat disappointing that the new Hitman: Contracts is really just a rehash. It's more of the same, replete with everything that was good and everything that wasn't so good about the 2002 game.

Tightens the focus of the gameplay, delivering a rhythm action experience that's entertaining, if a little familiar.

Manhunt is seriously intense, and anyone with a stomach for the game's concept ought to find it fiendishly entertaining...An audacious game that backs up its extremely violent subject matter with solid stealth action gameplay.

Variety and customization are what people enjoy about the dungeon crawler genre, and Shining Soul II offers both in abundance.

Given that "Hitman 2" was such a huge improvement on the original, it's inherently somewhat disappointing that the new Hitman: Contracts is really just a rehash. It's more of the same, replete with everything that was good and everything that wasn't so good about the 2002 game.

Manhunt is seriously intense, and anyone with a stomach for the game's concept ought to find it fiendishly entertaining...An audacious game that backs up its extremely violent subject matter with solid stealth action gameplay.

Fans of modern shooters will have no use for this trite, monotonous junk, and fans of the original Space Invaders will simply be appalled at how Taito has butchered its classic gameplay into this one-dimensional mess.

It may look a lot like its predecessors, but all of these new features give the game an unmatched feeling of authenticity.

It's a pity, then, that World Tour Soccer 2005 plays such an ugly version of the beautiful game that it's unlikely you'll play it for long enough to see even half of what it offers.

A deep and enjoyable racing title with more racing variety than you're likely to find anywhere else on the market today--and at a meager price tag to boot.

With these changes, Massive Assault Network isn't so much a step forward as it is a step sideways--or even backward.

It offers up lots of spectacularly visceral, bloody, in-your-face action through its numerous, action-packed single-player levels. And it looks beautiful, it sounds great, and it's got a pretty good old-school multiplayer deathmatch mode, for good measure.

Ultimately, though, Serious Sam Advance comes up short because there just aren't enough levels to play.

If you can forgive the game's dated-looking graphics, its rather basic gameplay model, and its comparative level of ease--which is, admittedly, a lot to forgive--you can have a good time with Serious Sam: Next Encounter.

Terrible from top to bottom, suffering from bland, derivative gameplay, simplistic level design, brain-dead AI, and a buggy graphics engine that chugs even at low resolution.

A superb game that sounds great, looks impressive, and gets the most important element--playability--just right. No true PC soccer fan should buy into the EA FIFA machine this year without first investigating Konami's superb alternative.

The core mechanics are solid, and the addition of true online play is a compelling selling point.

There are still too many unpolished areas and simply not enough challenge to make the game appealing to anyone outside of the most devout Alias audience.

The core concepts found within the game are of a proven ilk, but the devil's in the details, as they say, and the sloppy execution of said concepts can't keep the game enjoyable for very long.

Silent Hill 3 isn't so much about gameplay as it is about creating a disturbing world and immersing you in it, which is something it does very well.

Unfortunately, contrary to what Sega Sports would lead you to believe, the first-person setting is more of a gimmick than a playable mode.

This GameCube update is largely the same as last year's Game Boy Advance game, right down to the GBA-quality graphics used in the minigames themselves.

Offers a unique gameplay experience, with a high quality presentation overlaid on a solid game design.

Fight Night 2004 reinvigorates the boxing genre. It also offers the most realistic control, gameplay, and graphics that the genre has ever seen.

It's by no means an easy game to get to grips with, and if you're after a title that simply lets you hit people, we'd suggest something radically different, but if you want to understand why the sweet science is so sweet, Fight Night 2004 is your current and reigning heavyweight champion of the boxing game scene.

Midway has done a great job at combining a fun style with a solid underlying gameplay design to create a unique basketball game experience.

The only thing Breed has going for it is its wide variety of vehicles. But in a game with so many serious problems, it's hard to enjoy them for long.

The PC version's equally excellent driving gameplay, better graphics, and added, competitive online mode make the game every bit worth purchasing.

The Third Wave is embarrassingly primitive in every conceivable way.

A fairly conventional real-time strategy game that covers a lot of ground that we've seen in better World War II-based games.

Let's face it. Smashing up cars is huge fun. But with the game's focus on things like racing and making other cars spin, not enough attention is paid to plain ol' vehicular mayhem.

Outbreak doesn't really live up to its potential, but it's a pretty good game for members of its already-established audience.

Makes good use of the material and provides some thrills when battles play out explosively, but as good as the game looks, some flawed mechanics and a general lack of polish keep it from being as fun as it should be.

It's a successful look at the sweaty soap opera that is pro wrestling, although a few interface issues and complex mechanics make it a little unfriendly to wrestling newbies.

If you're looking for a game in which you can shoot up or cut up hundreds of ugly aliens for hours on end, you've come to the right place.

The mechanics for ducking and getting behind cover are well done, and the premise is a good one. Unfortunately, that's all kill.switch really has going for it.

While this sequel doesn't quite capture the ineffable magic of the original game, it's still a strong follow-up that easily surpasses many recent adventures.

The pity is that you get the feeling the game would be a lot more effective if the main character had a drier, more morbid sense of humor. As it is, the attempts to crack weird jokes takes away from the otherwise eerie atmosphere of the game.

While on the surface Nemesis offers features we've seen many times before in the genre, such as hero characters and a lack of base-building, it also includes a clever logistics model and better-than-average artificial intelligence to help it stand apart from the numerous RTS clones on the market.

A great-looking, generally solid action role-playing game that provides a few interesting gameplay innovations...But its combat system is also somewhat finicky and unrewarding, which is a significant problem for what's fundamentally a hack-and-slash RPG.

If nothing else, this game should serve as a fine example of what not to do when developing a street sports game, and if it serves this purpose well, hopefully no one will ever have to endure another urban-themed train wreck like Freestyle Street Soccer.

If nothing else, this game should serve as a fine example of what not to do when developing a street sports game, and if it serves this purpose well, hopefully no one will ever have to endure another urban-themed train wreck like Freestyle Street Soccer.

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.

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.

This can still be an exciting and visceral game of realistic shooting action, and the online play is pretty well executed, if you can get past the loading times. However, if you have the means to play Rainbow Six 3 on one of the other platforms, then this version is best avoided.

So the big question is, "Does Trivial Pursuit Unhinged improve upon the actual Trivial Pursuit experience?" The answer is a resounding "No."...That there are far fewer questions in Unhinged than in your average Genus Edition doesn't help.

A thoroughly generic combination of beat-'em-up and platforming gameplay that draws upon only the most rudimentary elements of both genres and does nothing particularly interesting with either of them. Both exceedingly trite and exceedingly brief, Shadow of Aku is pure mediocrity from beginning to end.

The game basically controls well and looks good, but it's difficult to the point of excess, and it has no lasting appeal once you get through its nine tough missions.

So the big question is, "Does Trivial Pursuit Unhinged improve upon the actual Trivial Pursuit experience?" The answer is a resounding "No."...That there are far fewer questions in Unhinged than in your average Genus Edition doesn't help.

A thoroughly generic combination of beat-'em-up and platforming gameplay that draws upon only the most rudimentary elements of both genres and does nothing particularly interesting with either of them. Both exceedingly trite and exceedingly brief, Shadow of Aku is pure mediocrity from beginning to end.

Go into this game with the right expectations--knowing, for instance, that this is a time-consuming game that takes a while to get into and isn't dramatically different, at its core, from other online RPGs--and you'll find in Final Fantasy XI a different-enough take on the online role-playing genre that the experience can end up being both rewarding and refreshing.

Crytek almost delivers a knockout blow. Far Cry isn't just a stunning technical accomplishment. It's quite possibly the best single-player first-person shooter experience for the PC since "Half-Life."

But then there's the fascinatingly complex multiplayer mode, which truly is one of a kind and potentially gives Pandora Tomorrow much more lasting value than its predecessor.

Whatever minimal amount of sleekness the game has to offer is completely overshadowed by unimpressive graphics and sound, sloppy combat mechanics, and an almost nonstop assailment of long, boring, and mind-numbingly frustrating puzzles.

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.

But then there's the fascinatingly complex multiplayer mode, which truly is one of a kind and potentially gives Pandora Tomorrow much more lasting value than its predecessor.

A few adjustments have been made here and there--particularly to the game's online features--but overall, this is still the same batter-friendly baseball game that Acclaim has put out for the last three years.

Aside from being the first version to hit the Xbox, there isn't a whole lot to differentiate The Dawn of Destiny from its predecessors. It's really just a mediocre card battling game.

While Crystal Key 2 sure isn't a stunner, it's still a fairly solid adventure game that has its charms.

Dead Man's Hand isn't a bad use of your $20, and for what it's worth, this PC version of the game is substantially better than the previously released Xbox version.

It remains more of an uncannily accurate baseball-stat calculator than a game, with virtually no amenities and a punishing interface.

One of the freshest, most satisfying games produced by Impressions in years, and it's a great real-time strategy game in its own right.

Rang[es] from boring to silly to confusing, with only the odd moment of interest to keep you trudging along.

While the game is marred by some graphical and gameplay issues, it still crafts an intriguing and engaging set of "episodes" that will please fans--as well as survival horror aficionados--with the taste of some good, old-fashioned alien conspiracy.

This is the multiplayer action game that offers something for everyone--even those who prefer playing offline, since the UT bots are better than ever and are still the best in the business...No other multiplayer-focused action game has this much to offer.

The lack of originality and one particularly glaring multiplayer flaw make Jungle Storm less than exciting overall.

Compares favorably to the other baseball games that are currently on the market, especially if online play or a franchise mode are the features that matter most to you.

The GBA version of R-Type III is a pathetic, wretched imitation of that great game.

Ideas aside, however, Breakdown's underlying game design is unable to bear the weight of its own innovation, so it's really just a pretty good action game that you can't help but feel could have been so much more.

Doesn't fix what's not broken, and it delivers the same addictive gameplay the series is known for in a prettier package.

The game's incredible visuals and sound, its offbeat sense of humor, and, most importantly, its legitimate affection toward one of the greatest boxing franchises ever made truly make it a game worth playing for anyone who has loved and appreciated the Punch-Out!! series.

Packs more dramatic moments in its gameplay than most any multiplayer-focused action game in the past few years.

If you're looking for a frenetic beat-'em-up, à la "Dynasty Warriors," 20XX may scratch your itch, though it's still marred by stilted pacing and a wildly inconsistent frame rate.

The old-timers out there may find that though the transition to 3D is novel, it doesn't really have much impact on the overall experience.

A cute, quirky little strategy game that has some excellent multiplayer capacity. However, the old-timers out there may find that though the transition to 3D is novel, it doesn't really have much impact on the overall experience.

The old-timers out there may find that though the transition to 3D is novel, it doesn't really have much impact on the overall experience.

Between the different level variations and the multiplayer features, Tenchu: Return From Darkness has good lasting value.

The few ways in which Jetters differs from its predecessor don't improve upon the formula in any way; instead, there is a heavier focus on an insipidly lame storyline and an almost completely unnecessary second playable character.

The expansion to last year's excellent shooter differs very little from its predecessor, in terms of plot, and heaps on more of the same tense tactical combat we've come to expect from the franchise.

The end result is a much more action-packed experience that might be a little too straightforward in spots, but it does make for a solid action game.

Fighting fires instead of more typical corporeal opponents is certainly a refreshing change, but the gameplay can't make entirely good on Firefighter's unique concept.

The core fundamentals are spot-on, the variety of options and control choices is spectacular, and the presentation totally draws you into the experience.

This is mostly a great game on the field, but it lacks a certain degree of authenticity.

A pretty dry game that's a little too light on the action for people who don't like an equal dose of slowly paced strategy, but if you're as much into customizing your own ship as you are blowing other ships to pieces, Naval Ops: Commander might be for you.

If you only played the Xbox version of Mafia, you'd still get a sense of the game's ambitious nature, and you'd enjoy some of its finer points, but you'd also miss out on the PC version's outstandingly good graphics and its more seamless gameplay experience.

The end result is a much more action-packed experience that might be a little too straightforward in spots, but it does make for a solid action game.

The core fundamentals are spot-on, the variety of options and control choices is spectacular, and the presentation totally draws you into the experience.