The spiritual predecessor to Halo is an interesting glimpse to the dawn of the shooter age, but the gameplay feels dated at this point.

Brave Story follows the traditional role-playing-game formula to the letter and ultimately turns in a serviceable, though unremarkable experience.

You've got to give Nucleus a bit of credit for not just being a pure Robotron clone, but its oddball take on the dual-stick shooter isn't much fun.

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature and Harvest Moon for Girls are poorly ported together in this bundle that brings nothing new to the farm.

Picross DS is a high-quality collection of logic puzzles at a terrific bargain price.

Mario's soccer sequel is a markedly more enjoyable game than its predecessor, especially for those who prefer the multiplayer arena.

Escape from Bug Island is a dismal reminder of the low points of survival horror's past.

Wing Commander Arena has the right idea, but the gameplay and presentation come together to form an extremely dull experience.

This multiplayer-focused, handheld distillation of the Dynasty Warriors formula is barely entertaining enough to sustain its two-hour length.

Super Contra's blistering level of difficulty makes it best suited for those looking for an exceptionally punishing arcade run-and-gun experience.

A sense of murky monotony sucks most of the life out of this action RPG remake of Sega's classic arcade shooter.

A sense of murky monotony sucks most of the life out of this action RPG remake of Sega's classic arcade shooter.

The updated graphics are pretty, but the chaotic leveling system and aged gameplay don't hold up very well.

There are certainly some bona fide '80s showstoppers on this expansion, but all told, this is Guitar Hero II with a coat of neon paint and half as much content.

NASCAR 08 is a decent racer, but it feels like a classic example of a game where the developer put in limited effort because of the lack of competition.

NASCAR 08 is a decent racer, but it feels like a classic example of a game where the developer put in limited effort because of the lack of competition.

NASCAR 08 isn't a bad game; in fact, it's fun once you get the hang of it. Its biggest problem is that it's not noticeably better than last year's game and there aren't any compelling new features. If you own any NASCAR game from the past few years, you might as well stick with that one.

Beyond the Sword's additions are primarily to Civ IV's core gameplay, so the expansion doesn't make a huge leap forward in terms of graphics or sound.

A $30 game about winning fake money by picking random numbers is awful to begin with, but a completely broken version of said game is another story altogether.

This game has a short offline fuse, but is a blast to play online or with friends.

It's a relic from arcade's past that probably won't appeal to new players, but outside of being able to say "Hey, I remember liking this game back in the day," old arcade buffs probably won't get $5 out of it either.

The PC version of GRAW 2 is custom-built for the platform, and it's so difficult that it appears to have been custom-built for masochists, as well.

Even though a lot of what's new is a bit rough around the edges, NCAA Football 08 is a great game with a lot to offer.

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox version of NCAA Football 08 didn't get many new features this year, but it's still a great game if you don't own NCAA 07.

The in-game presentation doesn't have much of a college football feel to it, and the amount of turnovers will likely frustrate many hardcore fans. But even with these issues, NCAA Football 08 is a great game and another step in the right direction for the franchise.

Tales fans will enjoy the familiar faces, but for everyone else, Radiant Mythology is just another formulaic RPG.

Hot Shots Tennis has some of the ingredients found in the Hot Shots Golf series, but Clap Hanz forgot to add fun into the mix.

The seminal rhythm game makes its PSP debut with a chunk of new content, but the gameplay hasn't quite withstood the test of time.