Time of Defiance isn't all there right now, but it'll be interesting to see what Nicely Crafted Entertainment does with this promising game design in the coming months.

Evil Genius is hampered by some frustratingly haphazard pacing as well as issues with the artificial intelligence of your minions.

While casual gamers will feel like they've been plunged into a maelstrom of names and dates, anyone with a love of history will appreciate the rigorous attention to detail and epic scope.

It features a plot worthy of the TV series, a number of the original TV actors reprising their roles...and boring, frequently broken gameplay that absolutely ruins the entire experience.

It's a little rough around the edges, and it doesn't break new ground for 3D platformers, but it gives the series the shot in the arm that Wrath of Cortex failed to, and what it does, it does pretty well.

The boxing mechanics, while occasionally enjoyable, become practically automatic after a couple of trips through the career mode. And while the career mode itself is cool, it could have benefited from more in the way of story.

From Software has taken an already complex and involving game and made it even richer by expanding the variety of customization options available, in addition to giving players an even larger array of aspects to concern themselves with when building and using their own giant robots.

The game features interesting characters, an engaging plot, and beautiful graphics, yet it's an adventure with few puzzles and a mystery where you don't actually solve the mystery.

Plays a solid game of basketball, but even the flashy new features can't hide the fact that it isn't a huge step up from last year's edition.

Not only does SVC Chaos simply not play particularly well by the standards of 2D fighting games, but also the game's implementation of Xbox Live support is flawed.

It's a little rough around the edges, and it doesn't break new ground for 3D platformers, but it gives the series the shot in the arm that Wrath of Cortex failed to, and what it does, it does pretty well.

The boxing mechanics, while occasionally enjoyable, become practically automatic after a couple of trips through the career mode. And while the career mode itself is cool, it could have benefited from more in the way of story.

But it's tough for us to say that the dunk mode really adds a lot of value to the franchise, and it's also likely to prove too difficult for most casual players to fully grasp anyway.

Ups the ante--if only a bit--with improved online play, an interesting career mode, and the same solid driving model fans of the series have come to love.

Even though there are some rough edges in its franchise mode, ESPN NBA 2K5's basic gameplay mechanics are extremely well done, making the game easy to recommend to any basketball fan. It hits the mark in just about every aspect of basketball, including post-up play, rebounding, and passing.

It features a plot worthy of the TV series, a number of the original TV actors reprising their roles...and boring, frequently broken gameplay that absolutely ruins the entire experience.

Plays a solid game of basketball, but even the flashy new features can't hide the fact that it isn't a huge step up from last year's edition.

Even if you don't explore all the nooks and crannies, Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a great game that any fan of the role-playing genre would likely enjoy; its style, its humor, and its well-crafted battle system set it apart in a world of "Final Fantasy" clones.

A game that fans of the film will likely enjoy, first, because the diverse assortment of different levels keeps the hands-on experience fresh, and second, because so much of the actual footage, music, and dialogue from the movie has been woven so generously into the game.

Integrates a fair amount of footage, music, and dialogue from the movie it's based on, but the pleasant surprise here is the sheer variety of different levels the game includes.

The DK Bongos are nice and responsive, the action can be genuinely fun, and though some of the music choices are extremely weird, there is, in fact, a little something here for everyone.

A game that fans of the film will likely enjoy, first, because the diverse assortment of different levels keeps the hands-on experience fresh, and second, because so much of the actual footage, music, and dialogue from the movie has been woven so generously into the game.

It's as much a revolutionary step as it is an evolutionary one, thanks to a beautiful new 3D graphics engine that makes the series' tactical battles--featuring thousands of soldiers--better than ever. The results are nothing short of spectacular, helping make Rome: Total War the very definition of an epic strategy game.

It plays similarly to the original yet has so much more to it that makes it unquestionably different. The resulting game has a great design, and it offers plenty of depth and complexity.

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

Goes beyond the standard update and delivers some new styles of gameplay that freshen up the experience without sacrificing the things that made the games popular in the first place.

In today's world, it's merely a living fossil, reminding us of what online console gaming once looked like.

The transition to the more measured pace of a turn-based battle system is handled surprisingly well, and while the game is too short and too simplistic, there's still a good time to be had here for Mega Man X fans.