The puzzles kept me intrigued for days, the storyline was irresistible, and the e-mails and Internet research were a joy. Sadly, the ending left me cold and put a damper on the whole story, and some of the puzzles were so annoying they ceased being fun long before they were complete.

Fans of the comic-book series certainly won't want to miss it as the game's brilliant art design and voiceover work come as close as any game ever has to putting the player inside a comic-book world.

The ability to play as both the Prince and Farah is an interesting addition, but in practice it devolves into standard "you stand on this switch and I'll stand on this one" gameplay. The resulting balance leaves the replay value quickly sucked dry once you've had your fill of the game.

A strange beast. While the visuals and sounds are immaculate, I quickly found that after a few hours of playing -- including messing around in all the different modes -- I was a little bored. There was simply too much repetition involved.

The storyline is laughable and not always in a good way. On the other hand, you get a pair of entertaining multiplayer modes to entertain those friends with a single PSP in addition to those with a network connection and a system of their own.

It's just what a good puzzler should be: simple and addictive.

It's essentially the same game in a prettier engine, mowing down waves and waves of enemies with the all-too-infrequent vehicle sequence or boss battle to break things up.

The best PS2 golf game out there.

The best-looking baseball game ever.

This brilliant re-creation of the Robotech universe is a dream come true for fans of the animated series -- but it won't appeal to many others.

What really breathes longevity in Agent Under Fire is the bot support, something missing from the PlayStation 2 version.

The graphics won't amaze you and you may be under whelmed at the multiplay, but it'll put a smile on your face and give you something to do while you wait for the dude from EB to call to tell you your PS3 pre-order is in.

It's definitely fun and easy to get into, but the game lacks any real technique that will keep you coming back to it after the initial thrill has worn off.

What we get is an amalgam that is best labeled "Battlefield Warfare" -- an admittedly entertaining concoction, but one that tastes awfully familiar.

It succeeds as a conversion. It succeeds as a more mature racer. And it succeeds as a pure shot of vehicle-fueled adrenaline that you can take anywhere.

One of the best things about the earlier games in the franchise was the feeling that you could be taken out at any time by a hidden terrorist, which made player approach each situation much more carefully. With the addition of the heartbeat sensor, you can simply scout out every room before you enter, allowing you to easily pinpoint enemy locations.

After such an uneven effort, there can be no other assessment made: the game gods must be displeased.

Fans will eat this game up, obviously, and everyone else will find it to be enjoyable if not terribly involving.

When all is slashed and looted, Radiata Stories is an unremarkable RPG whose stabs at innovation end up feeling rather inconsequential. It's perfectly playable and is not a bad game, but it lacks any real hook or draw.

The only major problem, and I'm afraid it's a big one, is the control. The PSP D-pad is not so hot, and it's particularly poor for inputting the fast, precise commands required by a 2D fighting game.

If you're looking for a profound single-player experience, you'll be annoyed by the issues with the artificial intelligence, but if you plan to play with a friend, this game is well worth checking out.

No game has this sort of RPG/RTS mix, and I got just as much a kick out of getting a new spell or a new suit of armor as I did in guiding my hordes into battle.

Typical sneak/shoot-'em-up action that relies too heavily on remade content and brittle gameplay. Although it was novel four years ago, games have come much farther than this.

It takes far too long to get good.

While I wish the multiplayer offered more, as it would no doubt extend the title's replay value, it's just not exciting enough given the current number of quality online action titles on the Xbox. The single-player experience is enjoyable, if not revolutionary.

Despite my gripes, there's enough good stuff in here to justify the purchase. Think of "Pit Fighter," "Spy Hunter II," and the like as elaborate mini-games that you can try once and then ignore forever. No matter what your gaming tastes, you'll get your money's worth.

It's just a shame that the multiplayer options weren't fleshed out further, as playing this with seven other guys online would have probably resulted in a much more attractive package.

Despite all its strengths, it's just much too buggy and unpolished to recommend wholeheartedly.