This is still a solid game of hockey, but it isn't the most realistic or best-playing NHL title out there, and as such, it shouldn't be your first choice for one.

If you're the patient type and can stand sitting through a fair amount of menu loading, you'll find Madden 06 on the PSP to be the best game of handheld football available on the market.

Luigi's first solo excursion has flashes of brilliance and is fun while it lasts, but the short amount of time it takes to complete it makes it a hard recommendation.

College Hoops 2K7 is a very good college basketball game, but its value is somewhat lessened by the fact that it follows "College Hoops 2K6" by just eight months.

Delivers a satisfying team-based shooter experience that many hardcore Star Wars fans will probably enjoy greatly.

The PS2 version's new additions and enhancements, along with its faithful reproduction of The Sims' gameplay, make for a game that is as solid as The Sims has ever been.

You couldn't ask for an easier way to find opponents, trade pieces, and compete in tourneys than with this online-only game from the creators of the acclaimed online collectible card game, Chron X.

This new take on an old favorite adds new, exciting elements to the formula without getting rid of what made Pac-Man so good in the first place.

You can create a route, enjoy riding around on it, and with the new interactive industries and AI drivers, you can really make the train do something.

MX Superfly may get bogged down from time to time by the overabundance of minigames, but behind that small obstacle is a motocross game with great gameplay and solid audiovisual presentation.

NCAA 2K3 still doesn't quite reach the level of quality found in EA Sports' "NCAA Football 2003," which offers more in-depth features and is an overall better representation of the college football experience.

It does pretty much everything a yearly sports update needs to do to be a success: It improves on features that previously were lacking, and it brings some new additions into the mix as well.

Its technical issues are going to get in the way of some players' enjoyment of an otherwise solid and relatively original first-person shooter, and they'll likely convince other players to avoid the game altogether. Vietcong is still a very good game, however.

Does its job quite well--it's a graphically remarkable yet otherwise conventional 2D fighting game that plays well, sounds good, and offers a memorable lineup of cool characters with countless crazy moves.

Orion Pirates has an impressive amount of content for a stand-alone expansion, so it's great for new players; but ardent fans of "Starfleet Command Volume II" will merely find more of the same.

Looks absolutely stunning. It's the best-looking home fighting game ever released...Once you get past its graphics--and you will--you'll find that DOA3 doesn't offer much of anything that hasn't been done in other 3D fighting games.

A cleaned-up and slightly larger version of MX 2002. If you missed out on MX 2002, Superfly is a perfect place to start.

Newcomers, on the other hand, will discover a somewhat quirky but enjoyable real-time strategy game that focuses on formations and tactics rather than base-building and tank rushes.

A well-crafted, entirely satisfactory arcade-style flight combat game--much like its predecessor. In fact, Lethal Skies II is so much like its predecessor, in so many significant ways, it's largely the same game.

Through its use of real time and brilliant writing, the game ups the ante for storytelling in gaming. And if it weren't for a few gameplay issues, The Last Express could very well be among the best adventure games ever.

The game looks and moves great, the controls are responsive, and there's a nice variety of gameplay modes available. Still, considering the seven-year gap since "Mario Kart 64" was released, it's hard not to be a little disappointed with the limited scope of the game.

While the game is certainly impressive on a technical level, some elements of its graphical presentation seem somewhat primitive when viewed against current standards.

What Rayman 3 does is re-create much of the same lighthearted whimsy that made Rayman 2 so incredibly enjoyable, while differentiating the action enough for the game to stand up on its own.

Ultimate Block Party is easy to pick up and play, and once you do, the quick, chaotic puzzle battles will have you hooked.

While some design choices mire aspects of this futuristic game in the dungeon-slogging role-playing-game past, the end result is an enjoyable experience, even if the game does not boldly go where no game has gone before.

Delivers a satisfying team-based shooter experience that many hardcore Star Wars fans will probably enjoy greatly. Ironically, though the PC version of the game is technically the best, it also faces the stiffest direct competition, because to many PC shooter fans the game may come off as old hat.

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.

The game packs enough pure action to make it appealing to those who like first-person shooters in general, and it's got plenty of Star Trek science fiction in it for those more interested in the source material.