It's not as polished or flashy as the NBA equivalent, but for a first effort NFL Street is a damn good time, with better multiplayer than anyone else.

The screeching of the monsters when they're getting shot and killed is piercing to the ears. Coupled with believable voice acting and excellent moody music, The Thing will be music to your ears.

It's remarkable that EA has managed to catch up to the incredible effort from Sega in a single generation, and if it weren't for an overly trying physics engine on the ice, the two would be in a dead heat.

The most troubling thing about Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight is that it's priced like a full game rather than the "add-more" expansion pack it really is.

Despite such minor setbacks, the overwhelming characteristic of the game is high-speed action of the fun (and generally not too frustrating) variety.

Once the initial shock value wears off, you're left with a very challenging and rewarding video game. You might, however, want to keep a barf-bag handy just in case.

The strongest of the dragon's GBA appearances. Thanks to the large number of challenges you're presented with, the game plays a lot freer and more open-ended than most platformers -- handheld or console.

Adds a great deal to play with, despite occasional frustrations.

An impressive product that's only a patch or two away from true strategy game greatness.

With its diversity, engaging style, and sly sense of humor, Startopia has plenty to offer.

A fantastic game -- it's easy to pick up and play, has great character and depth, and is even better with a friend.

PopTop steams onto the scene with a product that's nearly everything a strategy game needs to be: easy to pick up and play, but deep enough to engross players for hours and months on end.

An incredibly deep game whether your playing alone or online.

A good game with very cool camera options and great use of a 3-D engine but it could have used something a little more original in the gameplay area to truly set it apart from the rest.

Most of it is done really well, but there simply aren't enough great moments to offset the repetitive gameplay seen throughout much of the game.

It's beautiful, it's well-designed, and I can't wait to spend more time in it.

With its well-designed levels, fluid pacing, and hyper-violent combat in eerie locales, The Suffering is a fun way to safely tap into your dark side.

The balance between pleasing hardcore gamers while pleasing Joe Gamer is astounding.

A successful translation from 3D action with great GameCube interactivity.

It is the near-seamless integration of the ESPN look and feel that sets this game apart.

The game's Achilles' heel is its lack of any online play. But if you're more about the single-player game than about smacking some faraway Kansas or Duke fan, it's hard to find much not to like.

It's got a nice open-ended style, a character that fits the gimmick, and plenty of violence.

The two-player mode doesn't deliver the goods. At times, the competition feels more like a festival of yawns than edge-of-your-seat action.

Too bad it's so short, but there's plenty to do in the city of L.A. once the story is over.

Don't expect to find radical gameplay changes or innovative open-ended mechanics here. Instead, come armed with a belly full of courage and a clean change of underwear, because I can't even remember when a video game has shoved this much grotesque evil down my throat in one serving.

Despite its daunting start, in the single-player mode, MMZ2 plays very much like an enhanced version of its predecessor, which is a good thing.

Think of Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004 as being like the latest version of "Madden."

With no multiplayer modes at all, there's little reason to play after completing Max's rampage the first time. If this particular flaw doesn't bother you, however, Max Payne manages to deliver some of the best gunplay around, and is an involving and intense festival of urban decay, ultra-violence, and slow motion cinematic blood shed.