Sluggish controls and lifeless gameplay make Ghost in the Shell worth playing only for loyal fans of the anime, and even then it isn't worth more than a rental.

Land of the Dead fails to deliver even the most garden-variety of zombie-killing thrills, due to its inept combat, awful visuals, and cripplingly stupid artificial intelligence.

The Hustle gets overly cute with its story mode, and the pacing is achingly slow, but the pool itself can be fairly fun.

Heroes of the Pacific isn't going to win over simulation fans, but if you're looking for an easy-to-play World War II flight combat game, and you've got a decent gamepad, give it a shot.

An amazing achievement in a variety of ways: Its inspired, state-of-the-art cinematic presentation works extremely well with its relentlessly exciting, white-knuckle action, all of which is wrapped up in a decidedly lengthy adventure chock-full of hidden secrets and bonus extras.

For the most part, Spartan: Total Warrior is a pretty good action effort. Unfortunately, the high production values and engaging gameplay of the Total War games are nowhere to be found here.

Soul Calibur III is one of the best fighting games around. But it earns this distinction largely by playing it safe while most of the competition simply dropped off.

It doesn't really break any new ground, but the game nails the core aspects of first-person-shooter gameplay so well that it doesn't need to.

Still one of the best platformers you can find, with a clever story, unique and interesting weapons, and compelling multiplayer options.

It may have 16 solid arcade hits, but if you care at all about visual accuracy in your arcade compilations, this package most definitely isn't for you.

The lack of light gun support drags down Operation Wolf, but with games like Elevator Action and Bubble Bobble on board, Taito Legends offers good classic arcade action at a budget price.

Fundamentally, this is a much-improved version of the same Civ games we've all been playing and desperately trying to put down for years. And that's far from a bad thing. In fact, it's an awesome thing.

An easy game to pick up and play, but unless you're a big fan of the license there isn't much to keep you playing.

A decent attempt at a 3D brawler on the Nintendo DS, but the gameplay quickly wears thin, leaving you with nothing more than a somewhat dated license.

Its fast, furious action and brilliant visual style will appeal to any side-scrolling action fan.

For the most part, Spartan: Total Warrior is a pretty good action effort. Unfortunately, the high production values and engaging gameplay of the Total War games are nowhere to be found here.

An easy game to pick up and play, but unless you're a big fan of the license there isn't much to keep you playing.

The lack of light gun support drags down Operation Wolf, but with games like Elevator Action and Bubble Bobble on board, Taito Legends offers good classic arcade action at a budget price.

Traveller's Tales delivers a short but inviting adventure that makes deft use of both of its almost arbitrary licenses.

Modern Combat doesn't really look, sound, or play like any of the PC Battlefield games, which might be a little disappointing for those looking for more than just another arcade-style shooter.

While the game is definitely a fine technical achievement and one of the best PSP games to date, the dull storyline and basic mission design do bring the whole thing down a bit.

The Sims 2 loses something in translation from PC to consoles. Namely, its addictive, entertaining gameplay.

The idea that the game of pinball may be used to simulate virtually any other challenging struggle is a good one (since pinball is cool), and Metroid Prime Pinball pulls it off very well--both by being a fun and great-looking pinball experience, and by being a faithful spin-off of one of the best Nintendo games of the past decade.

Like its predecessor, Vietcong 2 offers up some challenging gameplay, though it's plagued by technical issues and short campaigns.

A thick, unsettling atmosphere fills this ambitious first-person action adventure, which makes up for some technical issues with plenty of chills, variety, and originality.

Modern Combat doesn't really look, sound, or play like any of the PC Battlefield games, which might be a little disappointing for those looking for more than just another arcade-style shooter.

The Sims 2 loses something in translation from PC to consoles. Namely, its addictive, entertaining gameplay.

With a short story mode that serves as a fun, linear introduction to sequential stomping, Mario Mix is suitable for a child, or for an uncoordinated friend.