Though a few of the changes are constructive, the new developer, Coyote, has generally made a mess of what used to be a good game.

Yes, it introduces plenty of new features that enhance the gameplay that was so popular in the original game, but it doesn't drastically refresh it. It also features plenty of options to play with, but it seems like it could've used even more content.

The game is simply designed and has a few annoying quirks, but it's got a genuine charm that helps to balance it out.

Gradius V's particular brand of hard-boiled shooting mayhem is so intense that it can keep you breathlessly entertained for as long as your extra lives don't run out.

It certainly raises the bar on vile, pointless cutscenes. However, anyone interested in more than stubbornly average gameplay should look elsewhere.

It certainly raises the bar on vile, pointless cutscenes. However, anyone interested in more than stubbornly average gameplay should look elsewhere.

The sequel delivers the same style of stealthy action found in the first game, but it wraps all the action up in a much more inventive and somewhat lengthier package.

An evolutionary step above what Stormfront did with "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.

The developer took everything that was great about Call of Duty and then ratcheted the gameplay's intensity even higher. The result is that Call of Duty: United Offensive is a truly great expansion.

In many ways, Madden 2005 is just a bit too much like last year's Madden for comfort--but it's still a truly excellent game of football all around.

This budget platformer's few interesting ideas are submerged under its litany of half measures and conventionalities, which include an outdated graphics engine, relentlessly boring level design, and heaps of sterilized button mashing.

This is still a solid game of hockey, but it isn't the most realistic or best-playing NHL title out there, and as such, it shouldn't be your first choice for one.

Wik & the Fable of Souls is a mix of challenging, intelligent gameplay and an intriguing, fairy-tale presentation that will appeal to just about anyone.

The small problems that have been apparent throughout the series are still intact, along with a couple of new quirks that make the game overly easy. Even so, Buu's Fury is still a decent game for Dragon Ball Z fans.

Advance Guardian Heroes isn't as satisfying as the sequel to one of the Saturn's greatest games should be, but it is a decent beat-'em-up that should please people who go into it knowing exactly what to expect.

A well-put-together but standard action adventure, primarily consisting of lots of basic combat and running from point to point. Mind you, this is a decidedly great game, all in all. Its most interesting, riskiest features may lie at the fringes rather than at the core--but they're there.

One of the most highly evolved 2D fighting games yet--and not just from a gameplay standpoint, since Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is also among the first online-enabled home fighting games.

It certainly raises the bar on vile, pointless cutscenes. However, anyone interested in more than stubbornly average gameplay should look elsewhere.

Even for the budget price tag that Miami Takedown is retailing for, this bomb is a horrible choice for anyone, and it should absolutely be avoided.

One of the worst action games of the last 10 years.

Above all, Port Royale 2 is a remarkable accomplishment, largely because it can make economic simulations captivating even to those who may typically dislike the idea of this game genre.

For all its faults, though, Arena Wars manages to offer up clever gameplay that merges elements of shooters and real-time strategy games into a fresh, action-packed whole.

Wings of Power may just seem like a plane add-on for Flight Simulator 2004, but it's definitely commercial-quality software: It lets you experience the closest thing to actually <I>flying</I> a colorful collection of World War II-era aircraft.

Has the same basic engine and gameplay as The Ardennes Offensive and Korsun Pocket, but it incorporates several improvements, including a deadlier computer opponent, a streamlined interface, and much better in-game support, which can be relied on to present answers to most questions with simple mouse-overs.

It's a solidly average game whose few original ideas are compromised by screwy controls, some pacing problems, and a punishing save-game system.

It's a solidly average game whose few original ideas are compromised by screwy controls, some pacing problems, and a punishing save-game system.

While Locomotion doesn't vary much from "Transport Tycoon"--which itself is a classic game--you can't help but feel that this remake doesn't really feature any of the improvements and enhancements that you'd expect after 10 years.

Pairs third-person and new first-person gameplay with an emphasis on combat and item management. The resultant hybrid has some flaws, but The Room retains the dark, disturbing soul that is the unsettling center of the Silent Hill experience.