In the end, Crash Mode really saves the game. The problems with translating the fast nature of racing to a small screen are nullified by the high fun factor involved with Crash Mode.

It manages to exhaustively deliver everything that made "Burnout 3" so fantastic while adding small tweaks that make its predecessor an immediate item for trade-in at your local game store.

Lots of one-liners, lots of humor, and a healthy dose of action. The story isn't an epic masterpiece, it's an Evil Dead plot. It's nowhere close to being the best, but it sure is fun.

Maybe in the next generation of consoles, I'll be able to immerse myself in the pretty graphics and forget I'm playing the same damn game yet again, but not this time.

It doesn't quite make do on its promise of being a hybrid platform/puzzle/action racer, but it does enough things right to make it worth checking out.

Unarguably, however, the most significant change has been the increase in the level cap. Players who were once sitting comfortably at 50 (the old level cap) are now looking forward to a lengthy, laborious grind.

Last year, Take-Two won the Stanley Cup of NHL games hands down. With NHL 2k6, Take-Two is on its way to win the championship one more time.

There's enough content and replay value to keep you busy for hours -- even more if you hook up with friend. Factoring all the elements this title offers makes it a no-brainer for anyone who's wanted a fighter that's simple to play, entertaining, and offers long-term value.

Although the game controls quite well, one move is pretty tough to get the hang of.

There's enough content and replay value to keep you busy for hours -- even more if you hook up with friend. Factoring all the elements this title offers makes it a no-brainer for anyone who's wanted a fighter that's simple to play, entertaining, and offers long-term value.

Although the single-player game is lacking, the same thankfully can't be said about the multiplayer, which is just as strong as ever.

Diehards will love the reduced emphasis on checking, while more casual fans should enjoy the new skill stick moves and the ability to place your shot wherever you please. Best of all, every rule change has made it into the game.

When all is slashed and looted, Radiata Stories is an unremarkable RPG whose stabs at innovation end up feeling rather inconsequential. It's perfectly playable and is not a bad game, but it lacks any real hook or draw.

A solid strategy game experience for GBA owners. Anything the game's presentation lacks is more than made up for by the intricacies of its gameplay.

One of the best things about the earlier games in the franchise was the feeling that you could be taken out at any time by a hidden terrorist, which made player approach each situation much more carefully. With the addition of the heartbeat sensor, you can simply scout out every room before you enter, allowing you to easily pinpoint enemy locations.

Diehards will love the reduced emphasis on checking, while more casual fans should enjoy the new skill stick moves and the ability to place your shot wherever you please. Best of all, every rule change has made it into the game.

Last year, Take-Two won the Stanley Cup of NHL games hands down. With NHL 2k6, Take-Two is on its way to win the championship one more time.

Diehards will love the reduced emphasis on checking, while more casual fans should enjoy the new skill stick moves and the ability to place your shot wherever you please. Best of all, every rule change has made it into the game.

For fans of the card game, Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour is a dream come true. The game takes everything that has made the card game so popular for years, and faithfully puts it all together in one convenient handheld package.

It may not be the prettiest game to look at, but in its third year of being the exclusive holder of the NASCAR license, EA Sports and Tiburon refuse to rest on past successes.

While the game should have included at least a little bit of museum-quality extras, at $20 it's still a hard deal to pass up.

If you can live without high scores and multiplayer, then you'll be fine. Just don't bother if you already own the original Namco Museum and Pac-Man Collection. Rally-X isn't worth $20.

Minor A.I quibbles aside, MotoGP 3 works as one of the fastest, most sharply designed, and deepest racing games on the Xbox.

It may not be the prettiest game to look at, but in its third year of being the exclusive holder of the NASCAR license, EA Sports and Tiburon refuse to rest on past successes.

While the game should have included at least a little bit of museum-quality extras, at $20 it's still a hard deal to pass up.

While the game should have included at least a little bit of museum-quality extras, at $20 it's still a hard deal to pass up.

Something that only a true fan could appreciate. If this isn't an indicator to KOEI to let this series move on to greener pastures, I don't know what is.

I was totally engrossed with challenge mode and had lots of fun with the mini-games. The core gameplay, which is quite good, is overflowing with that inimitable Mario charm. The gameplay, characters, and fields more than make up for any defects in the A.I.

The submission meter is the best new addition to gameplay, but the new stamina addition feels restrictive on fighting.

The game is serviceable enough for even old-school types looking to take a break from the more methodical titles on the market. While it won't replace my love for "Street Fighter," at least there's something else I can play to get my brawl on.

If a little more focus had been placed on adding depth to the game, 187 could have been a solid title for Ubisoft. Instead, comical use of lingo and the otherwise average presentation make 187 Ride or Die feel more like a poser than a player.

If a little more focus had been placed on adding depth to the game, 187 could have been a solid title for Ubisoft. Instead, comical use of lingo and the otherwise average presentation make 187 Ride or Die feel more like a poser than a player.

It's one game that's worth the price of admission. Not only is it a great action title, it may very well be the best superhero game for current-gen consoles.

And for the beat-'em-up fans who want something new, just playing Beat Down feels enough like getting kicked down the stairs that you won't return to the genre any time soon.

Hardcore retro fans will love how great the games look, and the casual player will enjoy playing "Ms. Pac-Man" for a few minutes on the bus.

A surprisingly fun game.

There's nothing outright horrific about Big Mutha Truckers 2; in extremely short bursts, it can even be a bit of no-brainer fun. But there's too much that's underdeveloped and gruelingly tedious over the long haul.

Not only is it a great action title, it may very well be the best superhero game for current-gen consoles.

It's one game that's worth the price of admission. Not only is it a great action title, it may very well be the best superhero game for current-gen consoles.

Nintendogs is good, but after the novelty of the voice recognition wears off, there's just not a lot to do.

Nintendogs is good, but after the novelty of the voice recognition wears off, there's just not a lot to do.

Nintendogs is good, but after the novelty of the voice recognition wears off, there's just not a lot to do.

With intuitive controls, tons of strategic depth, and lots of worthwhile single-player game modes, this is a seriously enjoyable game with serious legs.

While it might fall short of championship material, it's still an excellent game that will get fans through the upcoming season.

A truly remarkable experience. And, while the game itself may not have broken any new ground, the world it introduces more than makes up for that. It will leave gamers hungry for more.

An improved story, questing system, and plenty to do means that if you were a fan of the original and are in need of some good hacking and slashing, you should pick this one up.

It's not perfect, but if you've already got an EyeToy, there's no reason not to add Play2 to your collection.

Not a complete misfire -- the graphics and sound are fine, the control is tight, and WayForward continues to show the flair for character design first seen in Shantae -- but there's no saving a game where the core gameplay element is completely bland and uninteresting.

A truly remarkable experience. And, while the game itself may not have broken any new ground, the world it introduces more than makes up for that. It will leave gamers hungry for more.

Definitely a weaker package than "Sonic Mega Collection." The only games that truly hold up today are "Sonic CD" and the "Vectorman" titles. The rest are merely passable and are only of interest to the hardcore crowd.

Geist isn't a great title, but it is pretty good. If you're looking for something a little different than the standard FPS fare, Geist is definitely worth taking a look at.

While it's hard to fault the good intentions that underlie the creation of Advent Rising, a game of this quality does more than just eventually stink up some EB bargain bin; it misses a huge opportunity to put the medium forward. Advent Rising has fallen -- it's time for us to move on.

Although it's true that the QB Vision system changes the game dramatically, it's not always for the better, especially when you're still trying to learn how to use it properly. If you can get over the steep learning curve (and trust me, it's a doozy), you'll probably learn to love it, as it makes the game feel much more realistic.

Although it's true that the QB Vision system changes the game dramatically, it's not always for the better, especially when you're still trying to learn how to use it properly. If you can get over the steep learning curve (and trust me, it's a doozy), you'll probably learn to love it, as it makes the game feel much more realistic.

Although it's true that the QB Vision system changes the game dramatically, it's not always for the better, especially when you're still trying to learn how to use it properly. If you can get over the steep learning curve (and trust me, it's a doozy), you'll probably learn to love it, as it makes the game feel much more realistic.

Its solid gameplay mechanics, tight controls, and impressive presentation come together to give gamers a thoroughly satisfying experience.

If you've never experienced Ghost Recon before, this is a perfect place to jump into the action. Summit Strike is better than most games that are twice its price, and it should appease most gamers until "Ghost Recon 3" hits the Xbox 360 later this year.

RPG fans and fans of titles such as "Monster Rancher" and "Magic Pengel" will probably adore it.

Has all the makings of a truly great air combat sim, but it's hard to recommend while it's crippled by bugs and poor documentation.

One of the ugliest games of this generation, and the majority of Dreamcast games would put it to shame. The textures are cloudy and the player models are cheesy.

The off-the-wall humor is wickedly pointed and the characters are simply hilarious; the gameplay is deep and engrossing but clunky and far too close to what the developer's been doing for the past several years, just more so.

The multiplayer has too many hiccups to be worth your time. The single-player mode is so unbalanced that when I put the game on my bookshelf, it tipped over.

The humor in Outlaw Tennis provides some quick-and-cheap thrills, even if it does get old fairly fast.

If you enjoy your stories ripping and your RTSs simple but smart, Codename: Panzers Phase Two is probably for you.

I like the RPG elements and the ways Koei gets the most out of an interesting-but-modest engine.

Weak weapons, dodgy dodging, and the most oppressive scoring system in years all rob Nanostray of any momentum it might have mustered.

If you just want to have a lot of fun batting a ball bearing around fantastic locales, then Flipnic should be 20 bucks well-spent.

The inclusion of the ridiculously over-the-top mini-games instantly helps this game move ahead of the pack, and the online action is highly entertaining.

A definite improvement over the original.

The inclusion of the ridiculously over-the-top mini-games instantly helps this game move ahead of the pack, and the online action is highly entertaining.

If you're a college football fan, NCAA Football 06 is the game you've been waiting for your whole life. It might even be the best football game ever made, professional or collegiate, which, given the competition for the title, is really saying something.

It's a game that you can pick up and play for 20 minutes, or keep hammering on for several hours at a time. Everything is simple to pick up and once mastered, very little can stand in your way.

If you're a college football fan, NCAA Football 06 is the game you've been waiting for your whole life. It might even be the best football game ever made, professional or collegiate, which, given the competition for the title, is really saying something.

Killer 7 is going to start a lot of arguments -- it's definitely a love it or hate it type of game. I'm more in the "hate it" camp, but I do have to give it some props for being so radically different. Just be aware that it's a pretty severe case of style over substance.

If you have a choice, between getting the GameCube and PS2 version of the game, go for the GameCube. The semi-frequent load times are significantly shorter on Nintendo's system, and the graphics look slightly better.

From the boring art design to the painfully weak enemy AI, just about every facet of the game screams mediocrity.

Best of all, Bungie just announced that all of the new maps will be introduced to their Matchmaking playlists sometime next week. You don't want to be the only kid who can't play, do you?

Definitely the best puzzle game on the DS. Every time I play it, I find something new to appreciate and it makes me want to play more. And for the record, I like it more than "Lumines."

If Namco just spent another month or two polishing the camera and targeting, it could have had a rock solid action title under its belt.

It's a visual treat; it has extremely solid gameplay and an enjoyable story. While there's nothing new here, everything is crafted with care and the polish shines through.

Although far from perfect, this is still shaping up to be the best portable version of Splinter Cell to come out to date.

The game works hard to achieve a balance between elements gamers are familiar with and elements to provide new experiences. For the most part, Riviera manages to keep that balance quite well.

The cast of fighters is shallow, filled with too many slow bruisers.

The game's presentation is easily worth the attention of even the most hardcore comic fans. The graphics are all fairly well defined, though the PS2 version doesn't look quite as sharp as either the Xbox or GameCube versions.

It does an admirable job of re-creating a complex console game on the PSP ... admirable but for the ridiculous load times. They truly put a damper on the rest of the game, turning what would have been a fantastic, console-like experience into a decent, console-like experience.

The game's presentation is easily worth the attention of even the most hardcore comic fans.

The game's presentation is easily worth the attention of even the most hardcore comic fans. The graphics are all fairly well defined, with the GameCube version just edging out the PS2 in visual quality.

One of the nicer new features are challenges, mini-goals within an existing scenario that you can choose to do if you'd like.

The team at Double Fine has managed to seamlessly combine sumptuous, mind-bending visuals and a downright funny script to create one of the most inventive games to hit the PS2.

And while the title may never be mistaken for the deepest game on the PS2, Destroy All Humans! could very well be one of the funniest.

Once you strap into an F/A-18 and rocket over the landscape, once you're crouched next to a tank trying valiantly to repair it while bullets ping off of the armor inches above your head, once you defend a waypoint and ask for new orders from your commander over the radio, all of those nitpicks about map balance or sniper power fade.

It's a polished, evolved, and strangely addictive game. Sure, it's looking a bit rough and never gives you the visceral thrill that charging through the battlefield in the "Dynasty Warriors" games offers. Of course, some of us have discovered the more cerebral joys of managing troops from the background.

For fans of the previous Bomberman games, the DS version is easily one of the best in the franchise.

The biggest problem with Battle Network 5 is the same thing that has plagued all the other sequels in the series: it's just too darn much like its predecessors.

The biggest problem with Battle Network 5 is the same thing that has plagued all the other sequels in the series: it's just too darn much like its predecessors.

There's infinite replay value with Live & Reloaded's online game, but the none-friendly newbie aspect is sure to frustrate and annoy some gamers.

And while the title may never be mistaken for the deepest game on the Xbox, Destroy All Humans! could very well be one of the funniest.

Try Guild Wars if you want guild-versus-guild content, or "Everquest II" or "World of Warcraft" for a quest-driven MMORPG. Unless you're absolutely after that million-dollar prize, RYL is an easy pass.