Within an hour, you've pretty much seen and done all the game has to offer.

Dumbing a game down for consoles is one thing, but it's another thing entirely to give the player so many advantages that the game is no longer fun.

Bundling both RE 2 and Nemesis would've been a very appealing package for new- and series-followers alike. Instead, you end up paying nearly full price for an old game.

Super Bubble Pop isn't super, but its soundtrack is.

Suffers almost out of the gate by a lack of game modes and the ridiculously tough AI.

This game feels like it could have been so much more if it had a better damage system, more single-player and multiplayer modes, and a new story mode to get familiar with the characters, and even take advantage of the TV show theme a bit more.

These games probably should have stayed buried in the time capsule from which they were pulled.

While Vexx eked out a win on the Xbox, its PlayStation 2 outing is held back by considerably worse graphics, longer load times, and stiffer competition.

Haven tries to go in several directions at once. Alas, rather than excelling, it ends up doing a fairly mediocre job of almost everything.

Despite some innovative new modes, it's how a game plays that matters most, and it's here where NBA 07 fails to grow. Thus, its appeal has shrunk. Either switch over to "Live 07," or keep your old "NBA 06" UMD close at hand.

If this title had come out before the console version, I'm sure we'd have been amazed by its accomplishments, rather than puzzled by its mistakes.

Prototype's combat and world traversal alone can provide more than a few hours of entertainment, I just can't get over how cheap a lot of the game feels. Whether it's the dated looks, its frustratingly difficult latter portion, or its awkward storytelling, Prototype often feels like a budget title that unfortunately doesn't have a budget price.

There's a core game here that could've been very enjoyable had it been paced a little better.

It's not necessarily the best wrestling game put out by THQ this year, but it's easily the most innovative.

Whether you see it as a fantasy-slanted Gears homage or a punched-up and streamlined dungeon-crawler, the end result is roughly the same: Hunted is an adequate diversion for co-op aficionados, but little more.

It's pretty much the perfect rental. Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is fun, action filled, and magnificently produced ride that's definitely worth experiencing once (just not for $40!).

The ideas weren't taken to their logical conclusions; the designers stuck their toes in the water, pulled them back, and decided they needed to gather a little more gumption before they could dive in. Maybe in Dark Void 2, in which a brash, headstrong pilot gets a hold of a jetpack created by an aging engineer and uses it to fight zombies, we'll see the full-fledged realization of this game's genuinely interesting designs. Until then, however, jetpack fans will have to settle for half-baked.

A weird uncomfortable reminder that computer games aren't really ready for this sort of explicit sexuality. Until it can be handled with a more nuance, I'll stick with the implied "Sims" stuff, thank you very much.

Soccer sim fans are still much better off sticking with "Winning Eleven" despite its lack of license power. However, for online players, FIFA 2005 is worth taking a look at because it removes a lot of the offline AI issues.

For a game designed to sell on the basis of its name alone, it's better than it has to be. There are still plenty of better games on the system, but this is a solid, if uninspired, title.

There's just not a lot of meat here, and after a single playthrough, you'll probably be ready to move on to the next big adventure.

The real killjoy – and potential deal breaker – is the horrendous UPlay system's draconian requirement that you be connected to the internet at all times to play.

Jurassic Park just feels like an iOS title, and it suffers on the PC because of it.

Surprisingly enough, TD: EOD not only satisfies these hedonistic tendencies, it also delivers an interestingly deep and accessible gameplay system.

Just don't let the complete lack of meaningful gameplay depth come as a shock.

It's too bad the core driving model is so flawed, since Juiced could have been a lot more fun with either tighter handling or more spacious course designs.

A reasonably solid action game with some extremely annoying but often fun elements. There's no doubt that with some ingenious multiplayer modes and some creative thought behind a better set of touch-screen features that Spider-Man 2 would have faired much better overall as an entertaining piece of software on the Nintendo DS.

If you've never seen the allure of the Mega Man Battle Network series, this latest installment isn't going to win you over. Even if you are a fan, the heavy sense of déjà vu might have you feeling a little apathetic by now.

A fun way to spend a few hours if you enjoy the television show. It's faithfully done, easy to play, and a showcase of pop-culture references and parody. You won't get many hours of game for your thirty dollars, but you will get some laughs.

Fans of the show may be able to put up with the sometimes ponderous gaming just to get a peek at an all-new adventure, but not many else will. Like riding a stationary bike for a half-hour to watch Yu-Gi-Oh! -- it's just not worth it.

I'm left wondering who Lego Rock Band is really for. It seems to be trying to cater to everyone, but it ends up simply unfocused, and occasionally outright sloppy. It doesn't actively offend, but it's nowhere near a must-have, even for serious music-game fans.

While unimpressive from a technical standpoint, and uninspired from a mini-games standpoint, the core Mario Party formula remains intact.

The more I played it, the less I enjoyed it. It's a rudimentary beat-'em-up game which borrows the combo components of "Devil May Cry" and the buy-a-combo system of "The Two Towers," and thinks those elements by themselves are enjoyable, which they're not.

While Ballers hits from long-range with pretty graphics and plenty of Cribz-esque intros and unique elements, it clangs off the rim a bit with its Chosen One storyline execution.

This is the sort of game you can enjoy well enough while you're playing it, but once you exit the program, you'll be in no great hurry to play it again.

Speaking of puzzles, most in the episode are easy and you should have no problem finishing it in less than three hours. Another annoying case of "adventure game logic" rears its ugly head towards the end of the game, though: Lee appears to have the magical ability to fit a full-sized blowtorch and gas canister inside his back pocket and climb up a ladder unaided. In the real world, getting this contraption up the ladder would've been a puzzle in itself. For a franchise that depends on realism to sell the misery and horror of something so implausible as reanimated corpses, that disregard for authenticity is a step in the wrong direction.

After years of living up to the name of evolving the beautiful game, Konami's latest Pro Evolution Soccer effort is an embarrassment for a series that has served as the dominant title in the genre.

The control is somewhat unwieldy, the camera is clunky, and there's not a whole lot of skill required. It gets old rather fast.

But if you're new the genre, you might want to know what you're getting into: a very, very demanding experience. Yes, it can be rewarding, and you might just make a lot of friends in the process.

A disappointment. It completely breaks with the first game in everything but gameplay, and even that is sabotaged by annoying, repetitive level design.

Extra grainy footage or not, and lame returns to the campaign to dig up cheat codes aside, this Medal of Honor experience is just good enough to romp through on a rental, should please fans of the series, but this is certainly not enough to justify a purchase.

The Sims 2 Pets expansion pack could be a good purchase for PC gamers, but buying it for $39.99 on consoles is the kind of choice that will only satisfy the kind of people who keep a place for their cat at the dinner table.

Though it's nothing stellar, Regeneration does have some nice things going for it -- a great sense of humor, nice visuals, and it captures the feel of the movies faithfully.

The additional content added to the original PSP game (including a series of enjoyable bonus challenges) makes it a stronger game on the PlayStation 2, but it doesn't have the feel of a true sequel.

A narrative-driven game demands a cohesive design, but mini-games are inherently schizophrenic, and Robin Hood is never quite able to overcome the contradiction.

You can make the argument that a videogame needs more action, but instead of building up any suspense that leads to action, the game beats you over the head with the action to the point of desensitization. That might work for a generic mob game, but when you slap The Godfather label on it, that raises the standards a bit.

For anyone who feels like hip-hop is more than the soundtrack to the suburban mall thug experience, the game is really a disservice to a rich culture that involves more than misogyny and violence.

While the inclusion of "Bionic Commando" should perk up the ears of even the most jaded gaming veterans, the inclusion of two games that haven't aged so well isn't enough of a deal to make the game worth dropping 20 bills.

Picky gamers will surely turn their backs, but Cake Mania is not designed for them: in the hands of a casual audience it can be enjoyed little by little, maybe going back to that particularly hard level after a few months or so, just to give it another try.

It does look good -- it's bright, colorful and the period art is great, as is the music -- but it's impossible to recommend for anyone other than the hardest of the hardcore. For those gamers, this is a no-brainer.

The package isn't incredibly fancy, but Sudoku Gridmaster offers an easy way for the uninitiated to learn the ways of Sudoku.

This game is good for a quick robot violence fix or if you happen to be a huge Gundam fan, but that's about it.

If you've never seen the allure of the Mega Man Battle Network series, this latest installment isn't going to win you over. Even if you are a fan, the heavy sense of déjà vu might have you feeling a little apathetic by now.

With a slow and chunky multiplayer component, there's not much reason to jump into the driver's seat.

A competent port of an iffy game in a good series, and the only game in that series available for Xbox. If you absolutely want some SamSho action and don't have a better alternative, then it's probably worth a purchase.

I think if they had a little more time to work on the camera and control issues (and improve the graphics), Dawn of Fate could've been a great game. Instead it's just a game that the publisher rushed out the door, and it's mediocre (at best) because of it.

Controls and lonliness issues aside, I did enjoy most of my time with SkyDrift. It's a well-produced budget racing game with a wide variety of racetracks, and a nice change of pace that doesn't involve dragons or terrorists. Just make sure to try the demo first to be certain you can handle the control weirdness.

This is simply an adequate basketball game. What's not so simple is justifying the price tag: $60 compared to $30 for the Xbox and PS2 versions, when you really don't get much extra for your cash.

Even with its various faults, the collection offers up more than enough to remind us why we started playing video games in the first place.

While Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters was a hoot on the PSP, the move to the PS2 has done nothing to improve the game in general and serves as a great commercial for the PSP version more than anything else.

When you're not being blazingly bored by the fighting, you'll be frustrated by the linearity of the thing.

Most importantly, the gameplay feels just a bit looser and less controlled. That's not to say it fails -- it just could have been better.

There were times when I was getting into the action despite the repetitive fighting. A lot of the levels are well-designed and if you're a Pirates fan, it does a pretty good job of transporting you into Jack's world.

Outside of diehard Godzilla fans, no one really needs to bother with Save the Earth in the first place.

Clearly missing some pieces, but the product may be salvageable.

The gameplay is uglier than Paul Bearer in the nude.

No matter how badly Capcom wants it to be true, the cast of Onimusha just doesn't cut it when it comes to this kind of game. This is primarily why Onimusha Blade Warriors feels so half-assed and contrived.

A mess of a real-time strategy game that's unlikely to appeal to either EQ loyalists or RTS fans.

Arguably the best game in the Myst franchise. It takes everything that made the original game a success and brings it to a new level.

Hardcore gamers will be put off by the lack of depth in the arcade sequences, and casual gamers will be put off by the degree of challenge in the strategy sequence.

And though its mishmash of gameplay elements quickly becomes tedious, there are moments of genuine fun that will keep you coming back in the short term, including a wide variety of vintage Playboy unlockables.

Lots of fun as you're mastering the unique strategies of Star Trek: Tactical Assault, followed by a crushing tedium once you realize that it doesn't really get any better, or even any different.

Sadly, with its major rules problems, only slightly improved animation (from the PS2 version) and host of omissions and gaffes, the lack of expected features, and most importantly, the under-optimized controls here on the Xbox, prove that NBA Live 2002 is just a rushed game.

For the hardcore military buff, ArmA's attention to real-world detail is unmatched; comparing it to something like "Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter" is like comparing "IL-2 Sturmovik" to "Combat." If this concept scares you, then run away: ArmA will eat you up and spit you out before you can figure out how to aim your M-16.

While it's not the deepest game, it's got enough in the way of modes, including the fairly tough Global Challenge Mode, to keep players going until the next FIFA installment next fall.

Sure, the core gameplay is still there -- and it's still fun -- it's just marred by shoddy visuals and a stuttering framerate. In a shooter, a sketchy framerate is the last thing you want. And that's not all -- the game's cool save system has been totally botched on the PS2 port.

There are much better fighters out there to spend your time with.

The action portions of the game can be fairly called a stripped-down version of the console game, and the strategic Mob Wars mode feels poorly balanced and hinges more on its problematic action sequences than on real strategy.

The gameplay and locales aren't particularly exciting, yet the pacing is taut, and the story and acting are above par for a game.

The purpose of parody is to comment on a topic, by means of humorous or satiric imitation, and Eat Lead manages to pull this off admirably. I enjoyed playing this game, not because it was a very good shooter, but because it made me think (and laugh) about the other games I play.

The problem with 08 is that it's not all that different from 07. Other than the chance to jump behind the wheel of the Car of Tomorrow or the ability to save races at any point -- which is cool -- there's not a whole lot that's shiny and new about it.

An ambitious, interesting game, but it's badly undercut by terrible AI and annoying and very distracting graphical glitches. They're bad enough to make the game feel like a chore.

While it's likely worth it for fans to get closure from Underworld, expect to trudge through a large amount of frustrating gameplay to get it. Suffering from a distinct lack of polish, Tomb Raider Underworld seems like it could have benefited greatly from a little more attention. If it didn't have so many technical issues, Underworld could have been a brilliant conclusion to Lara's latest trilogy.

Where "GTA" used humor, masses of distractions, OTT violence, and a giant game world with a real sense of space and depth to mask the unimpressive visuals, Driver is the opposite, using an impressive physics engine and city to hide repetitive and languid gameplay that's becoming increasingly difficult to enthuse about.

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

The kiddies will enjoy seeing more Robinsons goofiness, and you won't mind picking up the controller to help them through the occasional tough part.

It feels like we've traveled these claustrophobic corridors a million times before, and there's really nothing here to make you want to put down one of the far superior shooters that can be found on the Xbox.

You'll have to deal with a clunky interface and menu, silly single-player missions, brain-dead A.I., bizarre vehicle physics, horrible net code, dull graphics and sound, and more bugs than a Georgia swamp in June.

When you're not being underwhelmed by Sorcerer's Stone, you'll be infuriated by it.

A visually clumsy representation of the card game with an even clumsier and clunkier way to play against another duelist.

Sadly, a lot of the goodwill generated by Pariah is killed when the bugs come crawling out.

One frustrating game. It gets so many things right and it certainly looks the part, but fans of the genre -- especially those interested in Napoleon-era fighting -- will have a tough time getting around the game's lighthearted attempt at modeling combat.

Of all the versions of Tiger Woods 08 this year, the PS2 offering is the weakest, as development is clearly focusing on the next-gen consoles.

Granted, the snappy graphics are pretty boss, even in standard definition (and you'll notice a difference if you use an S-Video cable instead of the plain old composites), but that's just not enough to warrant the label next-gen -- not when you've got a machine as powerful as the PS3 flaunting its Cell processor.

There's no denying that serious stock car fans that own an Xbox 360 or PS3 will enjoy hitting the track with this racer; it's just a shame it doesn't crackle with the personality the real sport has been known for.

This is, in a nutshell, a piece of dung covered in gold dust.

Isometric platformers are just not the way to go; the tasks are monotonous; the level design is pathetic; and Bugs Bunny without jokes is like Arnold Schwarzenegger without the accent.

Though the game features several imaginative environments, the same can't be said for its pedestrian, trope-riddled story.