Offers plenty of single-player campaigns, plus skirmish and multiplayer maps and a good history lesson to boot.

Of all the Harvest Moon games, Save the Homeland easily has the most solid storyline.

A game that offers tremendous depth but also has an unwieldy user interface and a prodigious amount of micromanagement.

UEFA Euro 2004 might have only a fraction of the teams and features found in this year's FIFA offering, but the gameplay and options it offers are actually sufficiently different from those found in FIFA 2004 to make it a worthwhile purchase.

The beautiful landscapes complement the gritty combat, and thoughtful cinematic techniques breathe life into the engaging characters. Despite the somewhat spotty story and sundry oddities, Hell's Highway is a game you should consider playing twice.

The new pitching mechanic breathes some new life into the aging but still very good MVP Baseball franchise.

It's got a lot of star power, but this collection of sports-themed minigames isn't Mario and Sonic's finest hour.

The bullets are plentiful in this crazy, colorful shoot-'em-up.

Despite the game's fluid control system and innovative lock-on features, its pacing and repetition simply mar the gameplay experience.

Provides plenty of challenge for young and old alike.

It may not have the depth of a "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out," but it's definitely worth taking a look at, if only to see the sharp graphical presentation.

It looks better, it sounds better, it plays better, and it's ultimately more enjoyable than the original.

Questionable physics and a sloppy trick system still hinder the game from reaching its true potential.

Those looking for more complexity in their action games, though, will definitely want to look elsewhere.

A model example of what sequels should be. By taking an already great game mechanic and changing it ever so slightly, this sequel truly adds to the fishing experience--instead of just treading water.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link is a disjointed but ultimately enjoyable return to Adam Jensen's adventure.

The perpetual influx of slaves is a blunt allegory about how freeing such captives isn't a task for one man, let alone one assassin.

For racers who live for direct competition, the time trial focus of TM might be too off-putting. Otherwise, this is simply one of the most entertaining arcade racers on the market for both experienced and more casual gamers.

It's easy to imagine how a dyed-in-the-wool Crash fan will fall in love all over again via the N. Sane Trilogy, but if you're experiencing Crash for the first time--or the first time in a while--it might pain you to realize that Crash's original adventures aren't as inventive or surprising as they were 20 years ago.

Story and sidequests aside, however, The Surge 2 is absolutely worth the effort when the combat is taken in isolation. Not only does it pack a punch, but it also channels plenty of depth in its limb targeting and deflection systems, and is ably supported by a genuinely varied collection of weapons and potential character builds.

Creatively manipulating Noita's reactive world with an inventive spellcasting system acts as the game's initial appeal, but it's also the game's biggest stumbling block early on. Trying to gain footing in Noita's dangerous, unstable world is an abrasive task that distracts from its wonderful secrets and challenging puzzles, but its main hook of experimentation with spells and their effects on the world around you is strong enough to pull you through its uneven start. Noita is tough and unforgiving of even the smallest mistakes, but it's also just a gleeful sandbox of destruction that brings as much joy as it does death.

Scott Pilgrim EX is Millennial comfort food. It's reminiscent of both actual classic games from the 1980s and the 2010 homage, it's bursting with small nods to our favorite games and movies and shows, and it just feels great to play. It's not especially daring, but it goes down smooth, and sometimes that's enough.

Had the feel of the weapons been a little better, and had the campaign been more consistently intense, Finest Hour could have been a much better game.

A triumphant return to form for a franchise, and presents a beautifully structured tale with heart and soul to spare.

Twisted Metal's lightning-fast vehicular combat and large-scale destruction are gleeful, pulse-pounding fun.

It's a neat twist on the creature-collecting game with a lot of heart.

Most of Super Mario Party's varied assortment of 80 minigames are fun, especially if you've got a full group of four players, as the NPCs aren't smart or skilled enough to pose much of a challenge until you unlock Master difficulty. The new Partner Party, River Survival, and Sound Stage modes add enjoyable alternatives to Mario Party mode--which at least returns to its competitive roots.

As Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Paper Mario: Sticker Star proved, Nintendo has a knack for showcasing new and inventive ideas in both series. Paper Jam effectively relies (and often coasts) on its novel crossover appeal.