Although the first few levels may seem somewhat pointless, the game later spawns into a fairly diverse platforming experience.

A fun but underwhelming title thanks to a lack of replay value and miscellaneous quirks.

After playing it for several hours, I started to see that it's a decent game. For fishing fans, it's a must-buy.

The landscapes, from the desert to the jungle, are good-looking, with enough differences in the terrain to keep it interesting. The change that the time-of-day makes on the environments is especially beautiful.

I liken it to a big, dumb, friendly guy: an affable, warm-hearted chap that you'd be friends with in real life even if he doesn't offer any useful insights or advice. Reliable, trustworthy and true: that's Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits.

There's not much new here.

Solid, immersive gameplay that sadly does lose some steam after extended periods of time. But, it's a fun ride for those looking something a little different from the norm.

If you can get over the inane product licensing and the idea that small sugar pills are magical, this isn't a bad third-person action/adventure.

Despite some nice features, the overly repetitive gameplay will probably wear thin after a bit.

Despite some nice features, the overly repetitive gameplay will probably wear thin after a bit.

It's mechanics and gameplay may annoy you, but if you liked John Carpenter's version of "The Thing," you should be able to buy into (and enjoy) the storyline.

The additions are nice, yet it's obvious that Sega didn't even try addressing the well-known shortcomings of the Dreamcast game.

It plays a good game of Blitz, but a lack of gameplay modes, average graphics for the console, and few appreciable improvements over last year's game make it hard to recommend to anyone but the most ardent fan.

Although it's not a perfect game by any means (I don't think we've found one yet), it's old-skool fun at its best. Lock and load baby -- it's time to save humanity one more time.

The pace is quick, the visuals pleasant and the writing as tight as its television counterpart.

Bad isn't even close to deep or sophisticated, but, for a quick action game diversion, it's worth checking out.

Despite its lack or originality and ultimately disappointing graphics, Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition remains a decent, but far from great game.

If you enjoy puzzle-oriented RPGs or the Freedom series, you might enjoy this game. Otherwise it should stay on the shelf.

It's a good game, with occasional glimpses of genius, but its many flaws prevent it from achieving true greatness.

The result will please gamers that are fans of the show or those searching for a simple fighting game, though fans looking for the next incarnation of "WWF No Mercy" will have to keep waiting.

It's difficult. Which isn't a problem in and of itself, it was difficult before, only now it's also unforgiving.

Unless you want a mega-dose of pink cotton candy, you'll likely be bored stiff.

While the drive-and-shoot gameplay of Starsky & Hutch unavoidably becomes repetitive, the solid level design and great two-player mode combine to make it one of the best budget titles for the PS2.

If you can live with the load times, and don't mind avoiding Kraven, give this game a try; it's a spideriffic and mostly commendable effort.

Despite its many bugs and flaws, the game is still fun to play when it works. The combat is rather uninspired, but it serves to add to the atmosphere. The amount of frustration you'll find in the game should be noted, however.

What it offers is sufficient, but it is not going to tear someone away from the likes of "Project Gotham Racing" or "Gran Turismo 3."

One of the game's biggest deficiencies is the camera, which doesn't work well when you're in attack mode.

The lack of a strong storyline or multiplay hurt the game, though, as do the controller options, which leave you with a choice between the far too simplistic and the overly complex.

Difficult to learn and a little gimmicky, but an enjoyable golf game nonetheless.

A perfect way to take a walk down memory lane and relive the good old days of professional wrestling.

It's occasionally so rough around the edges that you'll lose sight of its superlative premise and you might just decide you'd rather play "Baldur's Gate" after all.

The gaming is tense, the firefights exciting, and the price reasonable, but poor mission design and dated camera controls sink the game into the upper echelons of mediocrity.

A fun and open-ended tactical shooter marred by pathing issues.

A decent racer, but unresponsive controls prevent the Xbox version of QPR2 from outshining the pack.

What's truly surprising, given how atmospheric Relic's Homeworld was, is just how lame the story and ambience of Impossible Creatures turned out to be.

MVP Baseball 2003 has several obvious flaws and missing features -- such as the lack of an in-game player editor or a fantasy draft option -- but the prospect of what future versions of the series could be should make any baseball gamer extremely happy and anxious.

The game shines when you focus entirely on building up your cities and taking care of your people.

With "Halo" and a host of other games that take advantage of the Xbox hardware available, purchasing is not advised.

Despite my aggravations and frustrations with some of the aspects of the game, there was an addictive quality to Dropship on a Rubik's-Cube level.

The striking visual design, the intensity of the battles, and the seamlessness of the mech's transformation add up to an engaging experience.

A deceptively simple overhead strategy game only slightly comparable to "Scorched Earth."... My only real disappointment with [it] is the limited range of weapons.

Gamers who may be looking for a deep adventure should consider Enclave. While there are a few graphical elements in the game that could've used a little more studio time, there are just as many gameplay elements that enhance the game.

A good puzzle game. If you can get past the load times, it's even better.

A perfectly standard real-time strategy game that's tightly implemented and faithful to the series, but doesn't strive to be all it can be.

A decent, but unremarkable game. The story, graphics, music, and voice acting will greatly appeal to fans of the show, but I don't see these aspects bringing new fans into the fold.

A great game... that you should be playing on another system.

Does offer gameplay that lives up to its name, but should have taken cues from the Wide Open in the title and made the total package just a little bit bigger.

Though not spectacular in any category Galaxies proves you can make a decent shooter on the GBA while retaining much of a games arcade roots. Once you finally finish this tough, deep, space-blaster, you'll probably not bother with it again.

A run-of-the-mill shooter with just enough to keep it interesting.

If you've ever played either of the Smuggler's Run games on the PS2, then you've already played this game.

It looks a little better, but underneath the new trappings lies the same old game.

An excellent downsizing of a cutting-edge game for a lesser platform, retaining the essential gameplay of the original while deftly imitating its audiovisual aspects.

Poor sound effects, sometimes misused, uninteresting music, bad voice acting, merely decent graphics, the same enemies over and over again, only seven and a half hours of gameplay, and the game still manages to be fun.

You're much better off getting the Xbox or PS2 version of this one. This one wasn't made for the PC originally, and it shows.

While it's a serviceable MMA game, the UFC series has been dusted by "Pride FC" for PS2.

It isn't "Counter-Strike," but it is a good way to waste an evening or two.

The story concept behind the game is surprisingly interesting, diverging from the typical rehashing of a franchise universe seen in many similar tie-ins.

The series is making progress, but it's still a cut below what Sega and EA are offering.

Like "Solomon's Key" for the NES, with the frustration level turned up by ten degrees. If you can get by the gameplay limits put in place by the developers, then you might enjoy this title. I could not.

The series is beginning to fall behind the times, and BR: Extreme is a bit shopworn, but it's still a good time.

It's the weakest of all three versions of the game, but it still manages to provide Blitz fans with what they crave.

With the problems in setting up the controller and the lack of ability for an auto-lean feature are it's main faults. Other tidbits such as the audio and the physics could've been done just a wee bit better.

For those EQ players who are looking for a new addiction and were disappointed by "Anarchy Online," Neocron might just fit the bill.

Most of the gameplay aspects are solid, the graphics are beautiful, and the quest is long. However, the relative lack of narrative elements prevented me from truly enjoying the wonderfully bizarre world Atlus has created.

It's regrettably hindered by below-average stealth elements. The result is a game that oozes potential but ultimately fails to deliver greatness.

Despite the occasional missteps, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a more than fitting tribute to its literary inspiration. It's also a great way for fans of real horror to give themselves the heebie-jeebies for a dozen hours or so. Just don't play it late at night, alone.

If you want pure, unadulterated violence, you came to the right place. Still, I can't help but be a little disappointed in this title -- especially coming from Volition, of "Red Faction" fame. It's a little too by-the-book.

If you can bear some of the repetition in between missions, the missions themselves are a blast. The environment is among the most compelling ever put on a screen this year. And multiplayer is strong. Far Cry 2 may not live up to its full potential, but there's a lot here to enjoy regardless.

Not only giving us a relatively fresh and underutilized theme, but also by mixing up gameplay and including a stats and inventory system that give you freedom (well, some freedom) on how to build your character.

Heroes complements its solid controls, mission structure, and presentation with slightly above average graphics and some killer sound effects.

This may seem like a given, but the best way to sum up Storm Legion is that it's an expansion for players who love Rift and want more of it. Where most expansions attempt to transform and refine gameplay, this one seeks only to enlarge it. Its sole (and worthy) contribution to MMO innovation lies in its spectacular player housing, and that doesn't change what Rift is at its core. I doubt it'll be enough to win back people who've left out of disillusionment with one feature or another, but for those who're still here it's a keeper.

Sure, there are a few problems, but it's worth, say, dealing with the busted camera to see which videogame the writers are going to parody next.

A definite improvement over the original.

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

If you judge TMNT on its own merits as a platform-hopper with a dash of semi-imaginative combat thrown in, then it's a fine game.

If you don't know a Liu Bei from a Lu Bu, you're not going to be interested, but those who understand the thrill of taking down the thousandth enemy in a single battle will enjoy it. Just be sure to give the new Renbu system a chance.

Crysis was a fantastic PC game, and Crysis Warhead serves up more content with the same visual genius. If you're hungry for more, it's hard to go wrong with the $30 price tag -- just don't expect anything revolutionary.

There's plenty of ball-rolling fun to be had here, as long as you keep it to brief intervals, or as often as the pain in your hands will allow.

A solid effort - it has some problems, but it's also got a lot of charm and intrigue going for it. The theme, visuals, and music will pull you in, and the story and wealth of options available to you as you play will help keep you hooked.

The thing that really annoys me about this port is the controls. It's absolutely ridiculous that we can't customize the keys at all beyond cycling through the preset options and inverting the mouse. Other than that, Activision has done a respectable, though not exceptional job here.

I can really only think of one down side to Serious Sam -- it costs $40. This is a game that provides hours of good, stupid fun, sure, but that just seems a bit steep for a game that's neither particularly novel nor very long from start to finish.

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.

If you're looking for a quick action fix, and don't mind a shallow story or weak multiplayer, there's several hours of outstanding entertainment here.

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.

Get a friend with a PSP to pick the game up as well and you'll see why "Super Puzzle Fighter II" destroyed lives when it released originally.

It may not be revolutionary or technically stunning, but it is a lot of fun; and that's what games are all about.

We couldn't in good faith recommend this game for children or those with a predilection for mindless mini-games, but Sim gamers will probably enjoy what it has to offer.

In many ways, it's a by-the-numbers RTS, but a solid one, with a few imaginative mechanics built into it.

You're not really getting anything new, but you are getting a solid action game using a tried-and-true formula that's really difficult not to like.

Crash might be getting on in years for a videogame mascot, and his latest outing falls well short of classic status, but a few disarming new tricks prove he's not over the hill just yet.

The Xbox's advantage is, of course, graphics. Here the character models don't look as flat and the textures feature slightly more intricate detail. The world is still pretty blocky, but with a decent framerate and solid effects, we can accept that.

What it lacks in options and complexity, it makes up for with good old-fashioned mass destruction action. It's simple enough for anyone to pick up and get into, but it still manages to offer a lot to hardened genre fanatics.

Sonic Rivals 2 is a faithful return to Sonic's roots. Aside from a couple of speed bumps, this is one title that should be welcome in any fan's collection.

Midway's got your party covered. The included games are dying to be played in pairs or groups. In fact, many of them -- "Xenophobe" and "Timber," among others -- probably shouldn't be played solo.

The game is fairly repetitive, not bothering to bring puzzles or anything non-combat into play at all, but this is the nature of the genre, really.

For a lot of players, the excellent graphics and high levels of violence and sex appeal will be more than enough to keep Bloodrayne 2 spinning. It's really a shame that the A.I. is so daft, and even with all the acrobatics, the very linear levels don't truly captivate.

Its combination of tricks and pseudo-strategy is a bit underwhelming.

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.