The gameplay is fast and accessible, and there's enough variety in both the single- and multiplayer modes that you could spend a lot of time with the game.

An 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.

A pretender. While it borrows some new features from "NCAA Football 2005" and includes a revamped play-calling system that is actually fun to use, a broken dynasty mode and choppy online play mar an otherwise good basketball game.

If you're a fan of college basketball, the attractive presentation, smooth online play, and deep legacy mode are all good reasons to check out ESPN College Hoops 2K5.

There's nothing especially wrong with it to make it something worth drawing ire over, but at the same time, it never finds a way to actually draw you into its experience, and it just seems to lack the intangible qualities needed to make a truly successful platformer.

While Half-Life 2 breaks little new ground, it's still a superb and engaging first-person shooter, as well as an amazing technological accomplishment.

A resounding failure. Unless you're a masochistic Fight Club fan looking to purposely have your sensibilities offended, then you'd be well advised to stay far away from this game.

An atmospheric role-playing game with a rich setting--though it's one beset with a clumsy combat system and some noticeable bugs. That's unfortunate, since the game clearly could have been better had its rough edges been ironed out.

It's a copy of a previously released game that wasn't that great to begin with, but with the less-engaging characters of the Miami cast and a series of mysteries that also aren't as interesting.

This game is just flat-out bad in most every way you can think of, and for a franchise with such promise and potential, that's a truly disheartening thing.

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.

The game is clearly best suited for hardcore fans of Capcom's fighting games, who might enjoy exploring some of the nuances here, but probably won't find much reason to keep coming back.

This is far and away the best Dragon Ball Z game around, and it's a must-have for DBZ fans. However, the action is also so fast-paced and viscerally satisfying that it can genuinely appeal even to those otherwise uninterested in Dragon Ball Z.

Essentially a collection of minigames tied together by the age-old story of unrequited love, Feel the Magic: XY/XX ends up providing an engaging experience that is more than the sum of its parts.

Yet while Spider-Man 2 sure looks great, it suffers from extremely frustrating level design (and it doesn't really take advantage of the dual-screen layout of Nintendo's new portable, either). Some of these levels can be so annoyingly difficult that they'll make you want to wreck your brand-new Nintendo DS.

Offers a fine collection of classic pinball machines. It looks good, controls well, sells at a budget price, and should be a no-brainer as an addition to your library if you're a fan of simulated pinball.

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.

It's a good single-player shooter with a terrific multiplayer component.

Unfortunately, some of Crash 'N' Burn's central ideas--the persistent wrecks being the most obvious example--introduce complexity that, in the end, will leave you more frustrated than thrilled.

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.

This game is just flat-out bad in most every way you can think of, and for a franchise with such promise and potential, that's a truly disheartening thing.

Despite the fact that Krome Studios was able to translate the story, look, and feel of the film well enough into its offering, the gameplay is simply too lifeless and frustrating to hold your attention the entire way through.

The additions made to the game seem largely perfunctory when you consider that the underlying gameplay is still quite dull, and that the game simply lacks an engaging storyline or characters worth caring about. The fundamentals needed to make a quality platformer just aren't here.

A great way to relive some of the high points of classic gaming. However, the less-than-perfect emulation tarnishes what would otherwise have been an incredible trip down memory lane.

Manages to combine the extreme sports and shooter genres with surprisingly good results.

A resounding failure. Unless you're a masochistic Fight Club fan looking to purposely have your sensibilities offended, then you'd be well advised to stay far away from this game.

The battle system has a flaw or two, but the lavishly detailed world of Baten Kaitos is a great place to go for a nice fairy tale.

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.