Most companies believe slapping a license is work enough, and while the Goblet of Fire isn't a terrible adventure, it's not nearly as compelling from a visual or gameplay standpoint than what you could pick up for your GameCube.

It would be best to describe Operation Flashpoint: Elite as a simulation instead of as a game, since the essential elements of video games have been overlooked in this PC to console release.

The constant action means the Harry Potter series has always lent itself well to the video-game format, and thankfully (albeit surprisingly) EA has mostly improved upon their winning formula, while upping the ante visually and adding welcome multiplayer features, easily making the Goblet of Fire their best adaptation yet.

Dancing and singing simply takes too much coordination, and the steps aren't timed well enough with the music to make them feel as natural as they should've.

Thanks to one of the best storylines we've seen in quite a while (as well as a heaping helping of good old-fashioned violence), Gun isn't a gaming experience that we'll soon forget.

Only those with 20-20 vision, muscular thumbs, weeks of free time, and patience in overlooking overloaded graphical offerings need apply.

The constant action means the Harry Potter series has always lent itself well to the video-game format, and thankfully (albeit surprisingly) EA has mostly improved upon their winning formula, while upping the ante visually and adding welcome multiplayer features, easily making the Goblet of Fire their best adaptation yet.

Dancing and singing simply takes too much coordination, and the steps aren't timed well enough with the music to make them feel as natural as they should've.

Thanks to one of the best storylines we've seen in quite a while (as well as a heaping helping of good old-fashioned violence), Gun isn't a gaming experience that we'll soon forget.

A turbulent ride between decent action, half-baked graphics and camera, and occasionally clunky, but undeniably authentic presentation.

The main problem though, is that this game was made as a single player experience and cramming a two player mode into it feels awkward. The stages and balance just aren't designed for multiple players.

Wailing on the guitar, I might add, is immensely satisfying.

If Donkey Kong Country 3 was released today as an original title, it would redefine 2D platform gaming.

A turbulent ride between decent action, half-baked graphics and camera, and occasionally clunky, but undeniably authentic presentation.

It's better than the last game but not all that innovative. Of course, until somebody else steps up and makes a great party game, Mario Party's the only gig in town.

Curse of Darkness is often a lot of fun in its own right, but if you're not the kind of player that can tolerate "grind"-style gameplay -- and indeed, often thrive on this -- then you might get bored here.

It doesn't help matters that the game plays like a mindless shooter-by-numbers.

There are some minor gameplay issues, and the weak multiplay -- with no online gaming -- hurt the overall game, but the single-player story is strong.

LucasArts has added a ton of new features to an already great game, resulting in one of the best Star Wars games ever. The Force is strong with this one, indeed.

Bottom line: this is a bad basketball game. The last Sony-published hoops title, NBA ShootOut 2004, was extremely solid, so these massive leaps backwards befuddle me to no end.

It's just too darn much like its predecessors. The graphics and sound have shown little improvement since the first game in the series, and they certainly haven't been updated at all with the leap to DS (save the 3D Mega Man on the touch screen).

Mutant Nightmare, while wholly competent, goes down like pabulum and possesses all the (as the kids are wont to say) mad flava of boiled water.

As nightmares go, this one ranks right up there with the one about entering the schoolyard pantsless, and perhaps even on fire. The turtles deserve better, and its unfortunate this game extends their bad luck streak.

The problem is that there's only so much that can be done with the concept, and it becomes routine and boring before the game is even close to over.

Unfortunately, what starts off as a fascinatingly fresh idea eventually breaks down. For all the compelling aspects of building your empire, the game's strategic model is actually pretty shallow.

It doesn't help matters that the game plays like a mindless shooter-by-numbers.

There are some minor gameplay issues, and the weak multiplay -- with no online gaming -- hurt the overall game, but the single-player story is strong.

LucasArts has added a ton of new features to an already great game, resulting in one of the best Star Wars games ever. The Force is strong with this one, indeed.

The game is polished, and delivers a satisfying journey while it has you, but loses you with an all-too short experience.

As nightmares go, this one ranks right up there with the one about entering the schoolyard pantsless, and perhaps even on fire. The turtles deserve better, and its unfortunate this game extends their bad luck streak.

Starting with "Lament of Innocence," it seems like Konami is inching ever closer to creating the 3D Castlevania game that we've been waiting years to play. Curse of Darkness is an incremental step in the right direction.

As nightmares go, this one ranks right up there with the one about entering the schoolyard pantsless, and perhaps even on fire. The turtles deserve better, and its unfortunate this game extends their bad luck streak.

Like Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Moriarty or He-Man and Skeletor, though, City of Heroes and City of Villains need each other in order to be complete. Having the whole package makes the City of... games what they were always meant to be -- one of the best massively multiplayer online games available today.

Far better than it should be, partly for its spirited use of the license, partly for its variety, and partly for the simple fact that it's a rarity to have a game like this with serviceable bots.

Multiplayer has its attributes, but stumbles hard when it comes to framerate and resembles a Monet painting at some points. Overall, I'd recommend it for single-player, but for Wi-Fi, well, I've offered my caveat emptors.

I understand the need to change the identity of the murderer in order to create suspense for those who have already read the book. Unfortunately, the new ending feels tacked on and incredibly contrived.

If you just want more stuff, you'll probably be satisfied with it, but if you were hoping for a strong animal-themed expansion pack, Wild! is more gelding than stallion.

After such an uneven effort, there can be no other assessment made: the game gods must be displeased.

With a lame story and boring gameplay, I got tired of Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex in a hurry. There's also a noticeable lack of polish, with things like maps and clear objective descriptors being absent.

It's a real shame Heroes of the Pacific doesn't include a proper save system and better balancing. Richer multiplayer and instant action modes would be nice, too. Otherwise, this is an addictive air combat game that hits all the right notes: daring, adventure, and non-stop action.

Anyone who doesn't own a GameCube, however, would be smoking crack rocks the size of my fist not to buy this game. At forty dollars, it is worth every penny, and given the quality of the translation to the aged hardware of the PlayStation 2, is absolutely one of the best games on the system.

After such an uneven effort, there can be no other assessment made: the game gods must be displeased.

The Soul Calibur fighting system is back, and it's the best it's ever been.

Instead of feeling like a stale retread or losing steam halfway through, it manages to be a blast from start to finish.

May be a slight letdown to fans of the series that enjoy a more well-rounded platformer, but it will thrill those looking for fast action, plenty of weapons, and killer online play.

A game with this much depth, this much strategy, this much replayability, and multiplayer is totally unheard of in this space. Civilization IV stands alone. No fan of strategy games should leave this on store shelves.

In fact, the entire game seems to be pushing the GBA to its limits. This is arguably the best looking GBA game around, with all sorts of scaling, rotation, parallax scrolling, and all sorts of neat, SNES-caliber effects.

It's astounding, almost like a train wreck the player can see coming, but has no power to stop. These unarmed dullards in Warrior do not stay behind their defenders.

It does a good job of emulating 29 games, but a lot of these games are less than exciting inclusions. Meanwhile, some genuinely classic Taito games are left out.

It's definitely not a serious look in to the franchise, but this game has been marinating in fun for months, and the goodness has soaked all the way in.

Pales in comparison to the beloved PC games. On its own, however, the game is an enjoyable, if unspectacular, first-person shooter.

The amount of content in the game is simply amazing and, like the console games, you'll find yourself playing even after you've completed the main story.

There's still something addictive about this game once you get past the initially slow start. There are dozens and dozens of things to unlock, and charting your progress through the title really sucks you in.

At the end of some extensive play time with MPP, I'd have to say that this is one of the more unique gaming sessions you can have on the Nintendo DS.

It starts off promising, but too much of what follows is lamely generic or underdeveloped. The game also punishes you for exhibiting daring or initiative.

This is the first frothing video game form of Cthulhu Mythos that's been done almost completely right, and this year's most frightening first-person adventure. A true cult classic.

Pales in comparison to the beloved PC games. On its own, however, the game is an enjoyable, if unspectacular, first-person shooter.

There's still something addictive about this game once you get past the initially slow start. There are dozens and dozens of things to unlock, and charting your progress through the title really sucks you in.

If you're new to the whole Dance Dance "thing," then you'll have a blast with Mario Mix. Interacting with a game via the dance pad is quite a bit of fun, and there are enough things to unlock and other diversions to keep you busy for a while.

There's still something addictive about this game once you get past the initially slow start. There are dozens and dozens of things to unlock, and charting your progress through the title really sucks you in.

A competent, highly stylized romp through a fading franchise that's appealing to the younger set, not really hip enough for the teen crowd, and not in-depth enough for veteran gamers.

It's essentially the same game in a prettier engine, mowing down waves and waves of enemies with the all-too-infrequent vehicle sequence or boss battle to break things up.

If you spent weeks building the perfect parks, unlocking new content, and wandering around as a guest [in the original], you'll get a little more mileage out of this expansion, but even then, you might find it a little skimpy.

The whole thing is very goofy, funny, weird, and cute... If you're looking for a fast-paced, simple fighter with appealing graphics and an unusual sense of humor, Zatch Bell! is definitely worth your time.

The whole thing is very goofy, funny, weird, and cute... If you're looking for a fast-paced, simple fighter with appealing graphics and an unusual sense of humor, Zatch Bell! is definitely worth your time.

An absolutely fantastic title with superb graphics and tight gameplay. Single-player or multiplayer, no matter what your skill, you'll get hours of joy out of this sucker online or off.

The odds of Sony dropping a first-party title better than this for the rest of the year are slimmer than a supermodel on the Atkins diet.

A solid racer with a few minor game balance problems. If you're able to get over them -- which isn't hard -- you'll be looking at a good online and offline kart-style game slammed with the good stuff from the Jak & Daxter universe.

While not overlong, the loads are meaty, certainly enough to be a distraction; no matter how many pans across the fighting arenas before a brawl the game makes, it still adds up to the same thing: it's time to get a soda or do some multitasking.

One of the most impressive elements of the Xbox version of Earned in Blood was the AI (both your enemies' and that of your squadmates). Alas, the PS2 version of the game just can't keep up, and there are bugs and glitches all over the place.

Graphically, it can be too impressive for its own good at times, and the online experience doesn't quite measure up to that of the consoles, but it does more than enough things right to make it worth a look.

It tries really hard to please both jaded vets and exuberant fanboys, and for the most part, it succeeds, even if the story mode's a little short and on the easy side.

Digging Strike's simplistic gameplay is both an asset and a weakness. Fans of old school games will really enjoy this lighthearted update, but gamers looking for deeper gameplay will be disappointed.

The game's lower level of difficulty and varied gameplay styles make it easy for just about anyone to get into the game and enjoy the experience.

If you're just a casual fighting game, or more specifically, a fan of Dragon Ball Z, Budokai Tenkaichi may be exactly what you're looking for.

The game's lower level of difficulty and varied gameplay styles make it easy for just about anyone to get into the game and enjoy the experience.

As short as it is, Stubbs is an instant classic and should appeal to any gamer with even a slightly morbid sense of humor. It's the perfect Halloween rental.

So, is THAW the best Tony Hawk ever? No, but it's definitely better than the last two. It's a throwback to the old-school Hawk series, yet it's a compromise at the same time.

All in all, WPT is not a bad title, but $20 can get you into a couple of real tournaments online. Tournaments where you could actually make money.

The game's lower level of difficulty and varied gameplay styles make it easy for just about anyone to get into the game and enjoy the experience.

It tries really hard to please both jaded vets and exuberant fanboys, and for the most part, it succeeds, even if the story mode's a little short and on the easy side.

While it would have been very easy for the developers at Rockstar Toronto to simply recreate the events seen in the movie, they've managed to craft a tale that actually enhances the film.

Unquestionably, one of the best shooters of 2005. The advanced graphics and physics create a string of firefights that are amazing to watch, and creative level design and advanced AI make them equally engrossing to play.

The game is brutally violent, unapologetically vulgar, and simply a hell of a lot of fun to play.

There's the core of a truly great beer-&-pretzels wargame in here, and strategy gamers looking for a light, enjoyable romp through a ruined United States will have a lot of fun with Shattered Union, particularly in multiplayer. It's just that -- as with most political promises -- what the game is simply doesn't match up to what it could have been.

The game is brutally violent, unapologetically vulgar, and simply a hell of a lot of fun to play.

While it would have been very easy for the developers at Rockstar Toronto to simply recreate the events seen in the movie, they've managed to craft a tale that actually enhances the film.

What the game is simply doesn't match up to what it could have been.

Undoubtedly, the worst thing you can say about Path of Radiance is that it's a bit drab in regards to aesthetics.

If you don't mind using your brain as you play, then approach this bench. Court is now in session.

A "Dynasty Warriors" clone. It's also the best one I've played in years -- and I've played them all. If you have any type of interest in these kinds of titles, and consider imitation the highest form of flattery, check out Capcom's take on the genre.

Anyone looking for a lengthy, varied platformer with hidden secrets up the wazoo and tongue-in-cheek humor should find themselves enjoying Night of the Quinkan more than they would have expected.

Anyone looking for a lengthy, varied platformer with hidden secrets up the wazoo and tongue-in-cheek humor should find themselves enjoying Night of the Quinkan more than they would have expected.

Everything developer Pitbull Syndicate has achieved in LA Rush has been done before, and usually with more flourish.

If you're wondering if it's worth picking up, consider yourself warned if you're a newcomer -- it's a tough nut to crack. If you've been a long-time fan, close this browser window and head to the store.

Since just about every trail is unlocked from the beginning, you won't get to feel the satisfaction of making your way to a new mountain (one of the best parts of "SSX 3") and exploring it for the first time.

The game's minor tweaks here and there do a lot to smooth out some of the weakness from before, and the new gameplay features add just enough to the game's familiar formula to make things interesting.

While it may lack the ridiculous depth and complexity of "SMT: Nocturne," arguably Atlus' deepest RPG, Digital Devil Saga 2 makes up for it by having the most compelling plot, a swath of subtle refinements, and fleshed-out, addictive gameplay systems.