If you can tolerate its quirks and incredibly strict gameplay parameters, The Nightmare of Druaga is actually quite enjoyable and satisfying. Just don't ever, ever die.

From here on out, next-gen games are going to be separated into two categories: those that have evolved, and those that have not. Even though N3: Ninety-Nine Nights gives us literally 1,000 onscreen opponents, I'm afraid it sits firmly in the latter section.

Perhaps the worst aspect of this mode is that the difficulty level seems unexpectedly bipolar. Each challenge is either trivial or unreasonably hard.

The crashes, lockups, and bizarro-world English really put a damper on things and lead to a lot of nerve bending frustration, and in the end it's just not worth the effort to fight through all the mess.

What starts off so promising at first glance ends up being a pretty shallow experience. It seems everyone's heart was in the right place -- if only the game could have followed them there.

There's a decent plot, and the game's fantastic graphics really make you feel like you're in Faerûn. And for a brawler, it's a very playable game. However, compared to other games, it's more like an interactive movie.

The cinematic cutscenes are completely uninvolving, with bored-sounding voice acting, the flimsiest of plots, and the most uninspired script imaginable. This would all be alright if the gameplay were strong.

SOCOM 4, like any new game in a series that has a near-and-dear fan base, is going to rub some people the wrong way. But it's really not a bad shooter; its biggest issue is going to be whether there's a there there, to quote Gertrude Stein.

It's incredible how nasty and trashy this gameplay looks, when something very similar looked so great. There are a lot of really nice touches here, but they're wasted on a game that feels like a high school talent show version of a great movie.

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.

If you liked the original, or are intrigued at the notion of dominating the one-on-one world, there's ample reason to pick this one up.

As is common with games from Square Enix, the story of Heroes of Mana (while maybe not terribly original) is surprisingly deep and emotionally engaging. While that doesn't completely make up for the tragic pacing of the game or the substandard AI, it at least provides something to motivate the long-suffering Mana fan.

While The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe does have some issues with the A.I. not being smart enough to help you out when you most need it, it's not bad enough to make this a totally horrible game.

I think we all kept focusing on the negatives because so much in D&D Online works so well, that it could have been absolutely great.

The lack of decent multiplayer and total lack of online play hurt the longevity, but if you absolutely need a racer to play at launch, you can't really do any better than this one.

An excellent example of a "slacker" game: it gets as little done as it can while making sure it fills its quota so it can be out the door for the day. There isn't a thing new here and it makes no attempt to improve the genre.

Though it's a fairly robust expansion, most of its content isn't immediately accessible, nor is it even readily apparent, especially for beginning players.

NFL Street 3 seems at home on the small screen. This game is best taken in quick bursts of fun, and the PSP is built for just that. Still, even Ocho Cinco might have trouble keeping up the trash-talking intensity after prolonged exposure to the same old Street feel.

If you can get it to run, there's a lot to like in Frontlines: Fuel of War, and it could provide for many late nights of multiplayer excitement. But for now, your best bet is to wait until the dust clears and hope for something, soon, that resembles a finished product.

The control scheme and bugs are by far the worst parts of the port, though they're not the only rough spot. Graphically, the game holds ground better.

On paper, it sounds brilliantly inventive. Nail-biting edge-of-your-seat conversation? That's practically unheard of in games. Unfortunately, L.A. Noire drops the ball.

Surprising in its quality, and fans should find this portable adventure to be the perfection companion to their Game Boy Advances as they sit in line waiting for the first showing's of the saga's epic conclusion.

It's a decent snowboard game in almost every sense... Maybe if EA licensed it, nurtured it, and turned it into a portable version of "SSX" we'd be onto something.

NFL Head Coach is a decent value when considered as part of the 20th anniversary Madden NFL 09 package, but doesn't quite do enough to merit a purchase for the standalone version.

This is a hard game. Despite the intended juvenile audience, keeping your demons alive through even a single battle can sometimes be a real struggle.

Usually a sequel improves on the original, but the graphics in OverDose are a little more bland and pixilated than they were in the first game.

Although the game isn't on the same level as its console counterparts, the DS version holds its own.

Although this game is influenced by two outstanding titles, the end result isn't so hot.