Cars has its flaws and frustrations, but it does a nice job of wrapping up a decent arcade-style racer in a very shiny package. Unfortunately, not even the crisp visuals, hopping cars and dynamic tracks help it pull ahead of the huge pack of racers already available for the PSP.

It’s pretty accessible, with simplistic interfaces and decent eye candy all around. But considering that those arcadey enhancements are what’s supposed to make this game unique, we can’t help but feel casual fans would be better off playing MLB 2K7 on easy difficulty.

Gyruss is still a bit of fun to pick up and play once in a while. But only those who have fond memories of the original game – not to mention extreme patience with extreme difficulty – will get any lasting value out of this Live Arcade offering.

It's acceptably action-packed, but if it hadn't been patterned after Quentin Tarantino's signature film, you'd probably have forgotten it exists by now.

Riviera feels like an RPG in more than just the sense that numbers appear over the heads of the bad guys you hit, which is becoming harder and harder to find these days.

The title is certainly fun, with a catchy soundtrack and a nice level of depth to its gameplay, but its short length and unusual premise make it difficult to recommend. Still, if rhythm games are your thing, Orgarhythm is a unique take on the style that will prove to be entertaining in spite of its shortcomings.

But let everyone, regardless of skill level, have the tables you’ve written on the back of the box with no strings attached. They paid for them.

It's simply frustrating that, even after several previous installments, the series has yet to improve significantly – even moreso since a lot of the issues holding it back seem easily fixable. As it stands, Rune Factory 3 is a solid game – just not a great one.

Supremacy? Hardly. Fans, enjoy the second helping of EEII. Everyone else, head onward and upwards to brand new conquests.

Shuten Order is a multi-genre mystery that can feel like a real celebration of its gaming legacy as you unravel a pleasingly head-scratching conspiracy. Switching genres, however, means each can feel like a light touch. Still, with wonderful art and plenty of narrative variety, this is a gripping yarn more often than not, though one that struggles to stick its lengthy landing.

Even with this lack of focus Deadlight is a fun game with wonderful fast platforming segments and magnificent art direction. But in the end the style stands tall, and the substance is but a shadow of what it could have been.

As a dance game, The Black Eyed Peas Experience is a decent title with good choreography and vibrant visuals to back it up. At the end of the day, though, unless you really really like The Black Eyed Peas (and we mean really really like them, as you'll be bombarded with BEP facts between songs) this game will be a rental at best.

Compared with prominent puzzlers on other platforms, Balloon Pop might seem a bit outdated, slightly repetitive, and lacking in unique charm. But until the Wii's software library offers better options for the price, it's a decent choice for genre dabblers and those seeking a simple diversion.

It’s all pulled off better than you’d guess, and strikes a definite atmosphere – whether that atmosphere is right for you or not is another question.

More successful as a single-player experience, which can be seen as good or bad depending on your inclination.

While it doesn't achieve universal greatness, its strengths outweigh its flaws and offers an original, addictive--if occasionally frustrating--experience.

There's a good VR game in Metro Awakening at times, but it feels pulled between its pleasing core combat and narrative ambitions it lacks the gameplay vocabulary to fully articulate. The lack of overall variety, and increased leaning on expositional filling over time, means that while it starts strong its impact fades with continued play.

Intentionally prioritising flashy fanservice over competitive play, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero provides the most complete series toybox yet. But, with simple enemy AI and repetitive fighting mechanics, it lacks the depth of its more serious competition to the point of becoming rote.

It still stands out as a decent music game, but it's no less shallow on the PS2, and just as easy and short.

As cliché shooters go, Payback is no "Black," but it's not bad either. If all you're looking for is a predictable, middle-of-the-road shooter - you know, like if you just beat "Mass Effect" and want to rent a couple hours of mindless mayhem - you could do better, but you could also do a lot worse.

Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite has a solid core and Infinity Stones make fights tactical. If only it didn't have to live up to the expectations set by its excellent predecessors.

The best thing to say about Dynasty Warriors 6 is that it's an easy way to kill quite a few hours, but that doesn't make it particularly good.

The Astro Boy coating is there so kids ask mommy and daddy to spend their holiday bonuses on it, but High Voltage Software felt nice enough to sneak in a fun game too. It’s like the whiskey Grandpa adds to the eggnog.

Because a large part of its charm is seeing all our favorite Pokemon in action, Pokemon Rumble Blast will only really appeal to Pokemon fans. It helps that it's pretty too, with or without the 3D turned on (the soundtrack is great too). The problem is that the gameplay itself is too simplistic for more sophisticated Pokemon players who love the series for its deep strategic gameplay. Younger, less discerning Pokemon fans will undoubtedly love it though.

Ditching the lengthy matches of Mario Party's past in favor of shorter options makes sense, and it makes for more manageable experiences. But it's still saddening that the longest game of Island Tour that you'll ever play should wrap up in under an hour.

There, however, is one thing that sets Raiden III apart from the shooter pack: it's single-player mode enables you to control both warplanes at once, essentially playing co-op with yourself. It's simple, really - the left analog stick and shoulder buttons control one ship, and the right analog stick and shoulder buttons control the other.

It may take a pretty thick suit of armor to fully embrace Legends but if you can stomach many, many defeats you'll be rewarded with the particle-laden powers of witches, wizards, magical nights and fire-breathing dragons.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 is still very much a Dynasty Warriors game, warts and all. Yet the light tweaks and enhancements – plus giant robots and an attractive new cel-shaded look – really make the repetition a lot more enjoyable than expected. Gundam 3 still stumbles in bafflingly silly ways, but for the first time in a while, the thrill of singlehandedly charging into battle against hundreds of enemies has a flickering spark again.

A decent diversion for the casual fan, though hardcore players are likely to find it a bit on the short side.

Besides some seriously bad camera angles where you lose sight of the action briefly and a skimpy wireless multiplayer mode, Brothers in Arms DS is a solid WWII action experience. It lacks the high gloss HD-ness of its console counterparts, but makes up for it in cinematic quality and pacing.

Rage 2 has a fun core gameplay loop, but everything around it falls flat on its face.

The gameplay gets a little too frustrating, the graphics too soulless, and the story too weak to keep us going in for too long.

All this administrative juggling also takes its toll on a story that's hard enough to follow even when it has your full attention. With a cast of characters that can be difficult to tell apart, crucial details buried in reams of documents, and a penchant for surreal interludes, it takes some work to keep up with the haunting undercurrent of Signalis. At times it does seem worth the effort, because there are intriguing themes burrowing away behind the scenes. But then you find a key that prompts yet another trek across the current area, and perhaps it doesn't after all.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 is still very much a Dynasty Warriors game, warts and all. Yet the light tweaks and enhancements – plus giant robots and an attractive new cel-shaded look – really make the repetition a lot more enjoyable than expected. Gundam 3 still stumbles in bafflingly silly ways, but for the first time in a while, the thrill of singlehandedly charging into battle against hundreds of enemies has a flickering spark again.

There are gobs of customization options for each of your squad (and lord knows you'll need 'em), but there's not much variety to the goings on, and the whole Grand Prix affair won't take you much more than 8 hours or so. Multiplayer offers some extended usage, but not enough to keep it a long-term rotation.

So in the end you have a fairly decent racer swimming a lake polluted with a metric ton of collectable refuse.

A highly polished iteration of Smash Bros. that plays great on its own. But when you're afflicted by latency problems in local multiplayer, you'll suddenly become painfully aware of the 3DS version's critical shortcomings.

More than anything, Astro Boy is a great surprise for what many would assume is simply some child’s Christmas present. The Astro Boy coating is there so kids ask mommy and daddy to spend their holiday bonuses on it, but High Voltage Software felt nice enough to sneak in a fun game too. It’s like the whiskey Grandpa adds to the eggnog.

Only the hardest of the hardcore need send in their application for this college edition on the PS2; this year, it's next-gen or no need.

Playing Madden NFL 07 on the Nintendo DS is akin to coaching a high school chess club in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers... it's a playable experience and your team's got heart, but you're going to have to work through a few broken limbs on your way to victory.

But Generation of Chaos is too chaotic and takes an entire generation to play. Most folks will opt for something faster and easier to love.

It has flashes of brilliance, but overall presents a shallow experience with gameplay unworthy of the 360's potential.

Strategy fans will dig this game's effortless online experience, which alleviates the need to travel around town with a small vinyl briefcase full of checkers and dice, looking for fresh backgammon challengers.

'Little Nightmares 3 nails the mood and atmosphere series fans are expecting, but in most other respects it's a let down with clunky pacing and awkward puzzles. Co-op, rather than breathe new life into the series, ends up feeling more like a burden than anything. A little nightmare indeed.

It could have been a contender, but The Science of Evil is merely above average, and leaves a sour reminder that the cynicism we harbor toward licensed games isn’t exclusive to the people playing them. It’s a real shame.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox could be a great game, but it's let down by its own confused execution.

But its arcade heritage is just a little too strong, so be sure to ask yourself if a game that wowed you a quarter at a time 20 years ago is worth $30-40 today, with only a mild evolution.

The peculiar marriage of Scribblenauts and your favorite comic book heroes makes for an entertaining weekend plaything, but it quickly falls victim to the pitfalls beleaguering the rest of the games in this imaginative yet flawed series.

There's no forward movement that evolves Scribblenauts. This is a collection of craziness, laser sharks, and silly robots all clamoring for happiness, and you can certainly oblige them--but don't expect a real challenge.

And though the characters are all chiseled hunks of manhood who pause to talk smack way too much, the graphics themselves couldn't outwrestle a 100-pound bank teller. But this is still a better game than you might expect, given its relative out-of-nowhere-ness.

If you have a soft spot for the Atelier series, you probably will enjoy Meruru quite a bit. But if the series hasn't impressed you yet, this entry surely won't change your mind.

Spider-Man 3 is so by the numbers, so average that we just can't muster much enthusiasm. Comic fans'll hate the inconsistent power levels while hardcore gamers will balk at how routine it feels.

It's short, clocking in at around four to six hours long, but this isn't a slapdash effort - the plot might be lame, but the action, level design and graphics are all pretty impressive for a DS title.

Skylanders Superchargers is a competent sequel, but it lacks some of the charm of its predecessors by focusing too much on its collection of vehicles.

So the developers have crafted a very playable puzzle game with a decent multiplayer aspect and screwed it up with a tiny bit of bad programming. Go! Sudoku is nearly scuttled by this strange bug, which is a real shame.

The rampant nostalgia is incredibly endearing, and it'll be very appreciated by lovers of that period in American pop culture. But games like Bit.Trip and Meat Boy are better than Retro City Rampage, and it's because they don't just emulate classic games, they move past them. RCR instead submerges itself in an ocean of retro references, but forgets to come up for air often enough to make the game all that fun to play.

And the world is huge. If it was more packed with opportunities for us to use those tools and stunts, this could have been a GTA-killer.

It’s pretty accessible, with simplistic interfaces and beautiful eye candy all around. But considering that those arcadey enhancements are what’s supposed to make this game unique, we can’t help but feel casual fans would be better off playing MLB 2K7 on easy difficulty.

Before this could get too gamey sitting on store shelves, the publisher wisely dropped the price to $20, which is where it should have started.

We’re absolutely in love with The BIGS 2 on consoles, but just don’t feel it on the PSP. It could’ve and should’ve had more to do, especially in the multiplayer arena. When it comes to baseball on the small screen, you’re better off sticking with the sublime Show.

These are some of gaming's all-time classics, and they still deliver. It's just that, like a swimsuit model who just happens to be wearing muddy, chicken crap-encrusted overalls over her bikini, some of the magic of the original games is concealed by adjustments that were made but not needed or needed but not made.

A decent game - it just doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from all the other games like it. And while it's true that those games don't blend martial arts with duck-and-cover shooting, Conspiracy's approach to both of those things is just too shallow and repetitive.

There's still an intrinsic fun to being Spider-Man--but this is too close to what we've played before, only with less going for it than games like Web of Shadows or Ultimate Spider-Man. This does the trick if you’re dying for more action as Peter Parker or desperately need a new Wii U game, but a more fitting title for this would be "The Acceptable Spider-Man."

The final topper is how pulled-back and choppy the graphics are in comparison to the first Rearmed. The camera is farther out, making everything feel less substantial, and the overall fluidity is noticeably less smooth.

Though Luxor is addictive, it ultimately lacks the oomph, variation and a multiplayer mode that would help to make it an all-around great game.

A well-designed and enjoyable puzzler. However, control issues, repetitive music and a lack of tactical freedom mean it's unlikely you'd choose to play this over real Hitman on your console.

This is a great building game with impressive puzzle elements, but its main strategy components, tarnished by unpredictable wind-up-and-go gameplay and exploitable elements, cause it to trip and fall a few times. It's a game with plenty of potential, but it definitely has its share of weaknesses.

Metrico has interesting visuals and creative mechanics, but getting stuck brings your enjoyment to a full stop.

If the control wasn't so sloppy and loose, Total Destruction could easily have been a much better game. As it stands, this is just like every previous entry.

We don't feel that all the pieces are in place just yet.

Unfortunately, there's just not enough here to keep you coming back. Once you've finished the campaign once, you can play through online modes or take a shot at an even more difficult campaign, but more than likely you'll follow the Bond-film route and call it quits.

It's disappointing drop in quality for a series that we'd held in high esteem, but 'Catch a Ride' does enough to make sure that the next episode should be considerably more interesting.

Unfortunately, there's just not enough here to keep you coming back. Once you've finished the campaign once, you can play through online modes or take a shot at an even more difficult campaign, but more than likely you'll follow the Bond-film route and call it quits.

For gamers who like things categorically insane, you're looking at a go-to, button-mashy party game.

It doesn't quite match its rival "College Hoops 2K7" on the court or the price tag (it's $10 more).

Full Frontal Assault isn't as much of an evolution of the series as it is a fun experiment with its mechanics. Unless the support is there for more maps down the road, it might not be in your regular rotation for more than a few weeks or so. Still, it's a pretty good bang for your buck whether you're a longtime fan or not.

The targeting system sucks, often sticking to the enemy you just knocked down (and therefore can't attack until he gets up again) while another is bashing you in the back. The final aggravation is the camera, which constantly gets stuck on things in the environment, so you can't always see your foe.

Even if The Life isn't perfect, what with gobs of unbearably long load times, it's a unique twist that no other hoops title offers. So it doesn't have much, if any, true replay value - that's OK. It's compelling, and the best part of a game that is otherwise mostly overshadowed by its counterparts.

Basically the same game as the first Corner Shop, with different shops and minigames.

Rani and Becks are an appealing duo to share adventures with, but they deserve something more exciting than The Gunk has to offer.

Rain is packed full of interesting ideas and themes: the visual aesthetics, the characters, the metaphors being woven, the mechanics. All of these are pleasing in their own right and could have warranted their own small title, but ultimately their sheer number overwhelms and muddles the delicate nature of the story trying to be told.

Despite a solid set-up and the joys of disc-throwing and lightcycle action, Tron: Catalyst ends up being more style than substance, failing to truly build on predecessor Tron: Identity. It's fun while it lasts, and is visually gorgeous, but an overly repetitive structure drags things out with a story that ultimately falls flat.

The presentation of Project Poseidon also leaves much to be desired, with awkward and simplistic texturing, not to mention some downright asinine vocals.

There's just not much to do. The story is dull, the game is short, the voiceovers are horrible and - thanks to the on-rails mechanic - there's nothing to explore. The gameplay is there, but with a total lack of depth, most gamers will get bored in about two hours (if they haven't succumbed to carpal tunnel by then).

We really wish you could battle using multiple dinos at once, but in the end, the combination of paleontology and Pokemon won us over.

It may take a bit of imagination and willingness to suspend belief on your part but the premise is fresh and that's worth a lot these days.

Repetitive, formulaic, and downright strange, Biomutant suffers from an abundance of problems that get in the way of great ideas.

So despite high production values, highlighted by another stellar turn by Ironside, there are too many frustrations for anyone but the most staunch Splinter Cell fanatic to try and stomach.

While it's nice to hear the voices of the various captains (especially Shatner and Stewart), it never feels like a Trek adventure. As an action game, it suffers from poor controls and awful fleet (read: wingman) commands that gum up the works.

When stacked against some of the PS3's other launch titles, Genji certainly looks impressive, but it almost feels more like a polished tech demo than a robust hack-and-slasher.

The grown-up Buzz! games might make you feel smart, but this makes us feel evil. And sometimes, that's way more fun.

If you like the idea of flying a cool-looking helicopter in a 2D action game that makes you think, Choplifter HD is totally worth checking out. When it works, it's old-fashioned and yet not quite like anything else out there currently. If the chopper had controlled just a bit more nimbly, it's possible all of the game's problems would disappear or at least be reduced to much more tolerable levels.

Is it as good as the console versions? No, and the audio problems make this a hard game to recommend if you're interested in the story. Plus, even if the controls are great for a Wii game, they're still not as good as a regular controller.

If you can stomach grinding through hundreds of dungeons, then there's dozens and dozens of hours for you to enjoy. If you're waiting for the next great Pokemon adventure, however, keep waiting. This isn't it.

But after blazing through the episodes in less than five hours, we've modified our original query to: Where's the gameplay? Call it Phoenix Wright for dummies - the formula has been streamlined and simplified so much that the resulting point-and-click experience is largely devoid of challenge.

As potentially deep as it is, though, Shinobido 2 still feels weirdly antiquated next to the rest of the Vita's launch lineup – and while we didn't opt for much grinding, it only took us around seven hours to play it from start to finish.

GoldenEye lost some charm moving from being one of the few first-person shooters on the Wii to the shooter heavy PS3 and Xbox 360, but there is something here for Bond fans with a variety of gameplay modes each with something to offer – if you can get over a few bumps.

The gameplay is nothing outstanding, but it's fun enough while it lasts, and overall it looks pretty slick.