Too simple for its own good, yet somehow likable in the end. While the beat 'em up action is undoubtedly repetitive, it was just solid enough to keep me playing for another level.

The sheer pandemonium and brutal weapons can be pretty amusing, at least until the gimmick of all the explosions and rioting wears off. Unfortunately, that can wear off fairly quickly.

It's not that the game has the wrong songs, but that it has so few of them. For $50, you can't help but feel a little cheated when all you get is Guitar Hero III with a light coat of paint and barely half the songs.

A good title, but also frustrating because of its PS2-quality graphics.

Though getting through Ty 2 is particularly easy, it would likely be enough of a challenge for younger players to make this a good gateway game. The same humor, scripting, and play mechanics that feel childish to experienced players will be new and entertaining to those without experience.

Silent Hill: Homecoming is a very strange game, as its dual nature and oddly unsatisfying gameplay could likely turn both fans and newcomers away.

Unfortunately, without even multiplayer to redeem it, Enclave ends up as just another mediocre disappointment.

Black Gold's combination of intense real-time action, gorgeous graphics, and streamlined play make this one of the best real-time strategy games of 2001.

With the feel and look of many of the Super Nintendo and Capcom shooters like "UN Squadron," this is a sharp looking, entertaining flyer.

Weird, sometimes wonderful, and certainly unique.

Has a unique visual style, an involving storyline, and several dozen hours of intensely immersive gameplay.

In some ways, Guitar Hero: On Tour feels more like an experiment than a full-fledged game, as if Activision just wanted to see if it could be pulled off. Whether or not it succeeded is open to debate, as there are a number of issues that hurt the game.

If you're prepared to treat Metal Slug 4/5 as an arcade game and are interested in discovering secrets and alternate paths then you can get a lot out of this game.

The controls are tighter than they are in the 360 version and you will dig the Spook Meter, but the less impressive graphics and a clunky genetic-based leveling-up system may leave you wanting.

The difficulty level may have been cranked up a little too high for the average gamer to enjoy the single-player experience, but the robust multiplayer component of the game helps to make up for it.

Dedicated and studious players might be able to look past the limited information on how to play if they're familiar enough with the genre and don't mind learning by trial and error, but less patient newcomers will be left on the proverbial sidelines.

Despite all that's good with the game, NHL 2K8's innovations are a few years behind the times, making it feel like a cheap rehash of what's already available.

Combines great gameplay with entertaining characters and extremely pretty visuals for a surprisingly fun gaming experience.

Some nifty gameplay mechanics and nasty enemies keep it from being an also-ran, while a little too much repetitive exploration and a short story keep it from being a contender.

The experience of playing this game can be roughly compared to swimming through a pile of sewage to get to a diamond ring. There's a great game buried in the coded-up wreckage that comes out of the X3: Reunion box; it's probably not worth the effort to dig for it, though.

Takes a questionable franchise and turns it into something somewhat entertaining. Although it might not be as much fun as watching Gene Simmons and his famous tongue parade wildly around the stage.

If you don't own "Opposing Force," get it. If you do, then don't expect a repeat performance.

Anyone playing P.T.O. IV is much less interested in graphics than gameplay, and P.T.O. IV delivers heapin' helpings of the latter.

For the most part, Wario World offers little above and beyond the standard 3D platform romp, and what is offered turns out to be very short and repetitive. That's not too say that the game isn't fun while it lasts, because it is -- I just wish there was four times as much to crack.

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.

I'm left wondering who Lego Rock Band is really for. It seems to be trying to cater to everyone, but it ends up simply unfocused, and occasionally outright sloppy. It doesn't actively offend, but it's nowhere near a must-have, even for serious music-game fans.

At around 10 to 15 hours, The Bourne Conspiracy isn't exactly a brief experience, but its addictive and gratifying combat can certainly make it feel so.

A great game... that you should be playing on another system.