In some ways, Guitar Hero: On Tour feels more like an experiment than a full-fledged game, as if Activision just wanted to see if it could be pulled off. Whether or not it succeeded is open to debate, as there are a number of issues that hurt the game.

We wish the astonishing re-imagining of the Soviet-Afghanistan war that the comic began with was better represented, but the gameplay is more than capable of carrying this one. The art team did a bang-up job as well, and The Red Star even supports progressive scan.

rFactor2's innovative physics and ambitious new weather and track dynamics may keep serious sim racers like myself logging seat time, but that goodwill will dissipate quickly if some of these more glaring deficiencies aren't dealt with quickly. ISI's track record at this kind of stuff is solid, though, so I'm hopeful we'll see a good sim develop into a great one over the next year or two.

Combines everything you've ever wanted when it comes to moto-sports in one package...but there are a few things that end up costing this game overall.

Despite my gripes, there's enough good stuff in here to justify the purchase. Think of "Pit Fighter," "Spy Hunter II," and the like as elaborate mini-games that you can try once and then ignore forever.

It's certainly not as good as the early X games, but it's a giant leap in the right direction.

A markedly better game than its predecessors.

If you're partial to some good shooter action, then check out P.N.03 -- it's not the longest game ever made, but it's stylish and challenging nonetheless.

Flight intends to carve out a niche for pilots who want a more casual, friendly, and inclusive sim, and that's something that's never really been done before. In a best-case scenario, Flight could introduce this genre to gamers who typically have brushed it aside under the assumption that it's too hardcore.

It's a shame that Freedom isn't playable online, and there are a few awkward and unforgiving gameplay elements that hurt the overall experience, but determined hunters will find this quarry worth pursuing.

As was the case in Mystery Dungeon, it's nice to take another trip though this monster-infested world in a game that doesn't play like, well, 90% of the other Pokémon titles. I just wish that Ranger's gameplay didn't grow old so quickly.

It's definitely a solid title that offers fine gameplay and excellent replay value, but outside of the online play -- which is pretty barebones -- it isn't too much of an advancement over its predecessor.

Does your fighting game have to have serviceable online play? If not, you got yourself a winner here.

A handheld shooter that largely gets the job done, if the job is to mindlessly shoot, reload, and shoot again. It evokes the presentation of Resistance: Fall of Man effectively, save for the awful dialogue and voice acting.

It keeps everything that fans love about the series and adds more to the experience. Although gamers looking for a deep experience may find the game lacking in some respects, casual gamers looking for a refreshing adventure won't be disappointed.

Landroll is a great planet to explore. Opoona's design aesthetic is fantastic, and the world gives off a sort of Phantasy Star Online vibe.

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.

It's so darn stylish and such a great demonstration of the DS hardware. Unfortunately, it's over long before I want it to be, and there's not enough to keep me coming back to it after a few more rounds with it.

Gretzky '06 piles up some new features, does a better job of tracking franchise info, and has the AHL license for minor-league teams. It does not, however, come close to equaling the on-ice fun of "NHL 2k6" or "NHL '06."

Admirably ambitious, yet also a victim of its own ambition, suffering from information/feature overload and a less-than-stellar interface.

There's thus a decent and unique game hiding in Wizardry Online, but the failures of its presentation may prove impenetrable for many gamers.

For me, the biggest shortcoming of Amped 3 was the lack of any decent multiplayer gameplay. There's nothing happening with Xbox Live -- save for some cool, but basic score tracking -- and the offline multiplayer is limited to the rather disappointing co-op two-player sledding events.

It's just what a good puzzler should be: simple and addictive.

Even with its shortcomings, this version is still the best. If EA decides to continue moving forward with the franchise, it should definitely incorporate some of the features from the portable version into future console releases.

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.

A pleasant surprise. While its story elements are predictably clichéd and patronizing, the varied minigames and fun card battles make up for the annoying but easily ignored connective sequences.

If you don't own "Opposing Force," get it. If you do, then don't expect a repeat performance.

The sheer exhilaration one gets when watching horribly damaged walkers amble into an enemy base, exploding and taking out half the opponent's infrastructure can't be underestimated. Unfortunately, a poorly designed single-player campaign can't help but limit the game's appeal and the multiplayer, while awesome to play, has that Games for Windows LIVE nonsense tied around its neck like an anchor.

You are almost always riding the finest line between screaming along somewhat stably and totally losing it, and in that sense, Baja succeeds tremendously. Those kinds of stakes may not appeal to everyone, however, and the majority of people who tend to like finishing races may not need all of the incredible realism that an intense sim like Baja has to offer.

The animation is slick, and there are many appreciable smaller touches, but it's also tarnished by repetition and technical issues. If you've never been a fan of the series, this installment certainly won't change your mind. However, if you're a die-hard fan who was disappointed by Spider-Man 3, Web of Shadows should be right up your alley.

Thanks to its branching era structure, you'll be able to play this one over and over again, and perhaps one day you'll build that perfect city for the ages.

Hard-core economic simulation players looking for the next spreadsheet to conquer are likely to be disappointed by the game's easy style and shallow economy. Multiplayer fans or just those looking for the model train set they always dreamed of as a kid will definitely get a kick out of Sid Meier's Railroads!

Young players will immediately point at the lack of some "obvious" features such as a full multiplayer mode (the current mode only consists of visiting other players' parks without any real way of interacting with them).

I can understand why Modern Warfare 3 has changed so little in the last four years, given that so much money is resting upon its shoulders, but that doesn't make this developmental stasis any more forgivable.

Hardcore Sonic fans will definitely want to check this one out, as it offers a strong storyline and entertaining writing that's on par with the best fan fiction.

MvC3 tends to emphasize flash over substance... and that's totally cool, for some folks, as MvC3 is going to divide the fighting game audience, including series faithful. Some will like that it's more accessible (if a bit stripped down), while others will decry the dumbing-down of their favorite series and its lack of arcade sauce.

It's not exactly a a slick, accessible piece of entertainment, but anyone with decent reflexes and the ability to learn should be able to get deep enough into the system to enjoy what it has to offer -- namely technical, thumb-numbing martial arts action and satisfying, hard-fought victories.

TDU is all about driving fast in expensive cars through gorgeous locales and that's exactly what it delivers. It's not a sim, so don't expect GTR2-level realism.

MvC3 tends to emphasize flash over substance... and that's totally cool, for some folks, as MvC3 is going to divide the fighting game audience, including series faithful. Some will like that it's more accessible (if a bit stripped down), while others will decry the dumbing-down of their favorite series and its lack of arcade sauce.

It has a less-than-inspired storyline, but the creative and visually fun ways that you can dispatch of the countless number of enemies keeps things from becoming too ho-hum.

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.

Instead of a true stealth engine, you have awkward "hide spots" to accommodate the free roaming. Combat is either too easy or too hard, lacking the brilliance of a dedicated action title. And the free-roaming, bound as it is to mission objectives that would be fine in a more linear game, is just unsatisfying. Each element of the game is individually interesting, but as a whole the package feels incomplete and patchwork more than innovative.

It doesn't fix the fundamental design issues that marred Empire at War, but all the fun new stuff it adds and the strategic wrinkles it introduces might make it worth the effort to get past them.

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).

Sweet in that the title boasts a massive, fully destructible environment with an impressive arsenal of weaponry and some really fantastic and innovative multiplayer. Sour in that the single-player experience grows repetitive and boring over time, and the broken vehicle mechanics really drag down gameplay.

While many aspects of it are excellent, the gameplay is flawed enough to occasionally frustrate and sometimes make Magic Pengel feel less like a game and more like a chore.

For the most part, Wario World offers little above and beyond the standard 3D platform romp, and what is offered turns out to be very short and repetitive. That's not too say that the game isn't fun while it lasts, because it is -- I just wish there was four times as much to crack.

One of the best-made games you can get on your PSP, far better than a simple port of an arcade game, yet hindered quite significantly by the handheld's design flaws.

Despite Fracture's promises of altering the gaming landscape as we know it, its aftershocks will likely be nearly imperceptible.

Being able to carry around so much gaming goodness is a boon, particularly since playing in small chunks is so rewarding. It's too bad that gamers looking for a great online race will have to search elsewhere.

There's not much here to differentiate the PS3 version from current-gen consoles besides the sweet high-resolution graphics (and in the case of the Xbox 360, not even that), but if you have a PS3, there are worse games you could play on it.

It takes some getting used to, but in the end, Fallen Enchantress largely fulfills the promise of its genre-blending premise.

Wii owners have been waiting a while for a top-notch FPS to call their own, and although the single-player mode has its faults, The Conduit's multiplayer experience helps to lessen the pain.

The historical sweep is fascinating, as is witnessing the advances and growth of your prospective civilization, but it's truly unfortunate that your participation in all of this couldn't be more involving and challenging.

The only major problem, and I'm afraid it's a big one, is the control. The PSP D-pad is not so hot, and it's particularly poor for inputting the fast, precise commands required by a 2D fighting game.

The bugei gimmick is really clever, and kept driving me to play more. I can't say as much about the actual gameplay and story, however.

For a first attempt at a new idea, this is a pretty solid game, and worth a look for most RPG fans. The worst part? You just know any sequel's going to have a lot more than 396 spells to remember. End the madness!

A sequel that's good but not great. It's got mini-games that will hook you immediately, a stronger emphasis on group play, and some genuinely hilarious moments. It's also got some bad mini-game mechanics that are recycled throughout the experience that drag it down.

The U.S. version, on the other hand, features too many one-hit wonders that could have been easily eliminated without anybody mourning them: how many times do you want to sing Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping" or Spin Doctors' "Two Princes"? The novelty is gone after the first time.

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.

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.

JF4 introduces several leading edge innovations into the genre that set it apart, yet at the same time it manages to crash and burn when it comes down to just the basics.

If you can say that you're looking forward to having ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week than this is a great title for you. If, somehow, you're totally out of great DS and Gameboy games to play on the go, Galaxies makes for a passable time killer on the road.

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's definitely fun and easy to get into, but the game lacks any real technique that will keep you coming back to it after the initial thrill has worn off.

It’s more lethargic; full of AI cheating, slowed down gameplay and ultimately causing frustration.

The ability to download existing leagues, cups and tournaments from the console game to the PSP is a fine addition to the core gameplay, which is fundamentally the same as in the last two games.

The single-player modes are really lacking, which is really astounding since the multiplayer is so much fun.

Still, the single mode and the tiny useful areas of the massive maps make Primal Carnage a bit of a one-trick dinosaur. What's there is terrific, there just needs to be more of it. Here's hoping it doesn't go extinct before it evolves into something really great.

Character and story are two vital parts of RPGs. The Third Age fails in both departments.

Combines great gameplay with entertaining characters and extremely pretty visuals for a surprisingly fun gaming experience.

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.

The graphics in Rumble Roses are astounding, and are every bit as good as the fare put out by Tecmo or Namco in its fighting games. I'd even go out on a limb and state these lasses are more attractive than the cast of "DOA," and they easily show more personality.

Lacking innovation, the repetitive gameplay will only appease fans of the series, but the multiplayer mode makes it worth a look.

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.

All in all, we recommend Tomb Raider: Legend to fans and non-fans alike, but you might be better off picking up a copy of one of the console versions. Either way, it's nice to see Lara back in action, and we're hoping that we'll be seeing more of her tomb-raiding exploits in the future.

Ultimately, it's the die-hard Fallout 3 fans that should enjoy this new chapter in the series' history, and those same fans who may end up slightly annoyed after the fact. Operation Anchorage doesn't answer many questions regarding the lead-up to the big war, but it's an interesting piece of the puzzle that fits into the overall game without feeling out of place.

If Call of Duty let you run free in the playground, then United Offensive keeps you on a short leash and yanks hard when you don't do things the right way.

While Universe doesn't do anything to reinvent the wheel (or the dance pad, as the case may be), the game does a great job of bringing the total experience to the next generation of consoles.

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 the original game didn't originally hook you, Forged Alliance won't do much to bring you into the fold, but it's a must-have for those who spent 2007 fighting the Infinite War.

While it may not be the best boxing game on the market, it's definitely a huge improvement over the original. Rocky Legends does an excellent job of making the player feel like a part of the Rocky universe.

Finding all one hundred of Dewy's friends, known as the Eaus, on every level is a real challenge, so the replay value is there.

A pretty fun game. And with a 15- to 20-hour main quest that you can play through with three different characters (and again in co-op play), you'll definitely get your money's worth.

You'll get more of a physical workout with the Wii version of the game, but this is a perfectly fine way for you to get some of that Olympic spirit without having to break a sweat.

The franchise has always been a strong one on the PSP, but it looks like development might have done a little coasting this year.

What it does, it does quite well, adding 17 new scenarios and over 250 new elements to the game. Unfortunately, that's all that gamers can expect in this expansion, there are no tweaks, adjustments, or fixes to the game at all.

The nicely crafted dialogue, which often leads players through each level, is a good extra, as it keeps the story moving at just the right level of consciousness.

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

Just like some of its zombies, this game lacks meat.

I would imagine that most people will finish and grow bored with Kororinpa in a couple of days. Still, it's one of those games that you really enjoy while it lasts -- it's just a little too simplistic for its own good.

A solid sendoff for the console that made it great. Just be sure to bring a few friends with you when you sign up for this tour of duty.

A love-it-AND-hate-it title. The presentation and story aren't quite as elaborate as "DOOM 3," and things bog down a little in the second half, but the new weapons and gadgets provide a nice boost to the core gameplay.

Of course, the combination of sim and action game is sometimes a bit jarring, making the game seem like it doesn't really know what it wants to be. Regardless, Thrillville is a fun game, and if you're a fan of sim games on the PC, this would be a good way to introduce the genre to a child or younger sibling.

At the end of the day, rugby lovers will love how far this franchise has come since last year's version.

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

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.

If you're looking to get a few more hours of fun out of your aging black box, Need for Speed Carbon isn't a bad way to do it.