I usually give bonus points for original concepts, but Lost in Blue is just too flawed for that type of consideration, and doesn't come close to achieving its goal.

With development teams like Criterion and Black Rock constantly raising the bar, it's unfortunate to see a racing game as passionless as Test Drive Unlimited 2. Ambitious map size and amazing architecture (seriously, some of the purchasable homes are incredible) can't make up for lackluster racing.

Legacy is a promising development for fans hoping the franchise's third installment will feature a return to the tactical gameplay of Dragon Age: Origins. Unfortunately, it's a bit too late for Dragon Age II, and Legacy's legacy is as a $10 reminder of the full game's shortcomings.

All the good intentions in the world can't make a game good, and shoddy craftsmanship and not-quite-there design afflicts just about every aspect of this one.

NBA Live 06 knocks the progress of this series back to the Stone Age. It sacrifices everything (dunk contest, Superstar Freestyle moves, Franchise mode) for next-gen graphics, yet ends up looking worse than "NBA 2K6" -- which kept all of its features in tact.

Warfighter was clearly rushed out the door to get the jump on Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and suffers for it.

The premise is good -- a game for wrestling fans who can quote every moment of past Wrestlemanias who want nothing to do with a newfangled control system. If the action was consistent and engaging Legends could have been a major success.

Unless you're very forgiving, impervious to frustration, or blindly love all things Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball Adventure probably isn't your idea of a good time.

The "move all over the grid" aspect is really fun, too, even if you do end up fighting the camera a lot of the time.

Undercover may push the nostalgia button for the NFS faithful. But substandard presentation and a host of nagging technical issues cause it to sputter across the line for a distant third-place finish.

You might get a few hours of enjoyment out of it, but at best, this Voyage is best saved for a short weekend; it's not one you'll want to take too many times.

When considered as a game separate from its good ideas, JTF comes up as decidedly mediocre. I'm a believer in deeper and more meaningful games -- just not at the expense of gameplay.

Perhaps if Grigsby makes a sequel, it'll be smarter and more manageable. As it is now, World at War is the work of an ambitious developer whose ideas are bigger than the capabilities of his game.

Genesis Rising is by no means a total loss and there's certainly some fun to be had, but its lofty potential is squandered due to some poor decisions and a rigid design that will only appeal to a select number of players.

It's astounding, almost like a train wreck the player can see coming, but has no power to stop. These unarmed dullards in Warrior do not stay behind their defenders.

The poor frame-rate combined with the shoddy online play and the occasional system lock-ups drag the game down into mediocrity. And that's a terrible shame for Xbox 360 owners who really have no other choice but to wait for an update from 2K Sports.

Ultimately, Animal Crossing: City Folk doesn't take any meaningful risks, sticking to essentially the same formula we've seen in the previous GameCube and Nintendo DS games. While those games were quite entertaining, and this newest version doesn't debut anything meaningful, we'd have liked to see something new from Nintendo this third time around.

Time Ace comes close to being a good game, but its blandness and obnoxious habit of steering innocent pilots into an early grave keep it from reaching its full potential.

Ultimately, though, its charms are outweighed by gameplay that lacks the tactics of the sweet science in real life. With better examples of video boxing on the market, Don King Presents: Prizefighter is a very tough sell.

At first, it's all very charming, but with the frustrations that come with difficulty spikes and often clunky controls, it gets old very quick. We don't play games for the same reason we go to museums, and RCR makes that frustratingly clear.

There is no single thing terribly wrong with Tork, other than the fact that it's extremely vanilla, uncreative, and by-the-book.

Just a sadly mediocre attempt to do something that really didn't need doing. Now, can we please have a real VF adventure, Sega?

Unfortunately, similar products have been around for years now, and unless you're not old enough to play competitive poker on an online gambling site (most of which offer free games as well), it's hard to justify picking this one up.

If you spent weeks building the perfect parks, unlocking new content, and wandering around as a guest [in the original], you'll get a little more mileage out of this expansion, but even then, you might find it a little skimpy.

It lacks depth, offers minimal incentive to continue playing past the first hour or two, and doesn't do anything with its online offerings that could convince you to neglect the countless other games that offer far richer multiplayer experiences. There's no reason to pick this one up unless you're desperate for something in the space milieu.

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

On its own merits, though, it's simple, fun, and fast, and this would be enough... if it existed in a void.

Another problem comes in how Conflict: Vietnam handles aiming. Whenever I drew my weapon in first-person view, a bulky rifle sight popped up and took over a good chunk of my screen. Making matters worse, the sight proved to be completely ineffective.