By no means a terrible game. It's just a very slapped-together title that shows that direct ports of handheld games to PS2 probably aren't a great idea.

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

Online is where NHL 2K7 possibly does its best work. Players with the know-how to stop "money" one-timers will put your skating and checking skills to the test.

While Abyss may not be an all-time classic, its charming characters and exciting battles more than make up for its little problems here and there.

An excellent expansion that does exactly what an expansion pack should do -- add in new stuff while improving the core gameplay. The game remains a bit over- reliant on micromanaging special powers and hero units, but for fans of The Battle for Middle-earth II's gameplay style, the expansion pack is a must buy.

A great strategy game. If you liked the original, there's more than enough here to justify the upgrade.

Diehards will love the reduced emphasis on checking, while more casual fans should enjoy the new skill stick moves and the ability to place your shot wherever you please. Best of all, every rule change has made it into the game.

The single-player game features some welcome additions (pipe bombs are a lot of noisy, nasty fun), while the multiplayer is even more fun than it was the last time out. This is undoubtedly one of the Xbox 360's best titles.

By itself Open for Business may not be a must-have, but paired with "NightLife," the two packs together will probably add hundreds of hours of gameplay to the series. Running a restaurant, building a trendy nightclub, creating a megastore, opening a cozy little coffee shop -- these kinds of challenges will keep you entertained for months to come.

It could have easily been a "great" game if more time was spent making the interface cleaner and less micromanagement was needed all around.

The attention to detail is unmatched.

Minor quirks and the length keep it out of the 90s, but FAKK2 is definitely an entertaining single player experience.

Very fun and very funny; it deftly satirizes "Grand Theft Auto" while being almost as entertaining -- and it even bests GTA with its instant mission restarts, superior in-game navigation, and more easily accessible collection of vehicles.

One of the best strategy games released this year.

Max Payne definitely deserves its M rating. Its story, tone, and language are miles beyond what most folks are used to from a GBA title. Happily, so is the look and sound of the game.

In fact, one of the worst things you can say about an expansion pack is true of Escalation: it feels optional.

If only Microsoft could have exercised a bit more of the gardener's patience and attention to detail, Viva Pinata could have been a bumper crop of gaming goodness.

No matter how you slice it, Kinetic gives back what you jump, move, and punch into it. Though it's not a replacement for an actual trainer or a full-fledged gym, it does provide a little more entertaining spin on the whole exercise idea.

A great package.

Lousy AI balancing and assorted cheap tricks constantly remind you that it's never quite a fair fight; the designers are always lurking behind the scenes, ready to pull the rug out from under you at any time.

A solid strategy game experience for GBA owners. Anything the game's presentation lacks is more than made up for by the intricacies of its gameplay.

It offers a lot of character interaction and an interesting storyline that will keep you guessing. Even a quirky camera system, a few minor graphical glitches, and flawed character logic can't bring this title down.

It will demand a lot of your time, and a lot of your patience. It's a game that becomes really fun game once you master everything.

A much better game than the original.

It plays like, looks like, feels like, and IS like Mario Kart, which is a good thing!

The online experience was definitely the most fun aspect of game as a whole. Over a broadband connection lag was practically non-existent, but the biggest hook is racing against other non-CPU riders.

It has all of the trappings of a bad RPG: extremely linear gameplay, over-the-top voice acting, frustrating camera angles, and a ho-hum storyline. What saves it, and what ultimately makes it a fun game to play, is the terrific combat model combined with stellar graphics.

Certainly one of the best racing titles for the system, even if there are no foolish spectators to mow down every time you slide a bit too widely around a curve.