There was a strong game in here - it just ended up half-baked.

While the story lacks the humor and extensive narrative of the Wii U sequel, Chase and the rest of the cast are still an endearing bunch.

Before too long though, it's a bit too easy to find yourself growing tired of the sheer volume of other cars to bash into and the constant eyeball-gymnastics required to track your lanes. There's a surprising amount of skill involved with doing well in many of these events, so the faint-hearted will grow weary too soon.

There's some really snappy and interesting combat hidden within Lost Soul Aside, but it can be hard to appreciate after its slow, dull opening and drawn out chapters. With a transforming multi-weapon that's also a dragon, combo possibilities can be really fun to explore, but you often don't have enough reason to do so.

A worthwhile purchase. Early on you may find it hard to justify, but give the game a chance - and a few online matches - and chances are you’ll soon be a fan. Can’t wait to download some of the impending expansion packs.

This is not a game that will score high with gamer girlfriends.

There's a boatload of game modes to keep you busy for months, whether you're an online guy or prefer keeping to yourself. Have no doubt, though, that it's very similar to its predecessor in most ways.

Muscle March is a lot of fun simply because it’s just so damn strange. It’s definitely worth a download, even if you only pull it to make your friends’ jaws hit the floor from time-to-time.

Contrast has a lot of heart, but its protagonist and environments lack some soul. It's not the best puzzle platformer you'll ever play, but it's far from the worst.

High Moon Studios has created not only one of the best superhero games, but one of the funniest games you'll ever play--period. Sure, it's low brow and a little heavy on the dick and fart jokes, but... wait, actually, that's not a bad thing. It's a great thing.

Outside of the dungeons, the racier half of Conception 2’s content will be the make-or-break point for most players.

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.

An easy, mildly entertaining grab bag of minigames and missions. Young kids will still undoubtedly enjoy the game, and their parents will find themselves sucked into numerous minigames as well.

Don’t get us wrong: there is fun here. It’s just that there isn’t much for the amount of money you pay to get it or considering the volume of work EA had to pull from.

Clunky and unimaginative.

Wandering back and forth through the same areas to collect one silly object after another will drive you "This is Sparta" raving mad, especially when you realize that you have to collect every fairy sprite and finish every last side quest just to see how the story ends.

Disappointment about the lack of groundbreaking invention aside, Gunpey is a fun and intellectually interesting workout for brain and thumbs alike. If you're sick of falling blocks, or just need some new challenge to wrap the grey matter around, give it a go.

If you're bored with what's currently on the table, the visuals (while not jaw-dropping) are certainly pleasing if you're into the whole dystopian future Russia fetish, the familiar controls are very easy to master, combat is fluid and fast-paced, and the customization options and wide range of player modes keep the game continually interesting. If you're not convinced, consider this: for all you get, it's really hard to argue with fifteen bucks.

My Saints Row experience was enjoyable and more than occasionally frustrating: at times it feels like Volition is on the cusp of a breakthrough in both social commentary and open-world game mechanics, while at other times it feels like it's upholding the status quo. I love the new cast of characters and what they represent to marginalized community members who will play this game, and the story is compelling enough that I persevered in the face of some irritating bugs. There's a solid game here, and plenty of fun to be had with the new Saints Row, but I find myself wishing the team had taken the concept and ran with it to the bank - before robbing said bank, of course.

The story mode is ridiculously slow-paced, and involves going to the mall, shopping, changing clothes, getting haircuts… yeah. There are non-music minigames thrown in, but they’re half-assed and the music minigames, which are semi-Guitar Hero-style, are fun, but there’s no way to access them outside the story.

The PSP's limitations - controls and AI - keep this from being a true knuckle-biting tactical shooter. In tense standoffs your opponents will always make it easier for you by sticking their heads out first. Although it's lacking deep planning or strategy, the game does work for a quick, fun and portable shooter that does its best to utilize the PSP's shooter potential.

In 2D, it's a damn fine platform game. In 3D, it's a surprisingly good showcase for the hardware. Put them together and you've got by far the best modern version of the game, with better controls than iPhone version and better graphics than the old DS.

While it doesn't reach the heights we wished it would, War in the North is still a solid experience with more than enough content to justify checking it out. The combination of action-packed combat, RPG elements, and iconic Tolkien vibe make it worth a look for anyone looking for a bloody good time, even if they don't typically care about the stories of Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the fellowship.

Not even building an empire can keep Dynasty Warriors 5 from feeling archaic and shallow. We've been doing this same thing for something like ten games in a row now.

It’s almost heartbreaking how much wasted potential there is here, and lonely RPG fans are better off playing Tales of Vesperia co-op until a better competitive option comes around.

There's still not enough here to keep a kid, a parent playing with their kid, or childish adults engaged for very long, especially since there's so many better (read: deeper) games out there for parents to play with their kids: the Rabbids games, those various dance contests, or any of Nintendo's minigame collections. Sometimes, keeping it simple can be stupid.

Sure, Ninety-Nine Nights looks hot, but there's simply nothing there... and you'll undoubtedly tire of its frustrating mediocrity within minutes.

It's not complicated, but Frogger holds some serious reminiscence value for those old enough to remember the ancient quarter-muncher even if it doesn't maintain quite the addictiveness of newer casual games like "Zuma" or "Feeding Frenzy."

Episode II isn't an atrocious game, but poorly implemented mechanics and questionable design decisions consistently hobble its attempts to deliver the exhilarating speed that we've come to expect from the series.

An enjoyable hack and slash looter that plays well despite a sparse, repeating structure.

Our suggestion? Turn off the volume, and get your fingers ready to mash some buttons.

The very definition of mediocre. The storyline isn't integral enough to the gameplay experience to really snag fans, and the gameplay won't do much for anyone else.

A multiplayer game that required the turtles to co-ordinate their efforts and powers could have rocked so much harder. For that matter, so could a camera that chose better angles and thus caused to fewer missed jumps due to misjudged distances.

Although it may keep you interested for a while, and some of the classes offer some interesting challenges, The Guild 2 is even more rough around the edges than the original Europa, and not nearly as deep or even as interesting.

It has the double misfortune of being an incomplete port, and of being released around the same time as "Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror" (which does the same things, but better).

At only 400 MS points, it’s a great buy if you’re looking for a pick-up-and-play time killer while you wait for those gigantic files to download on Live Marketplace.

If you don't mind paying full price for an unchanged port, albeit of a classic game, then you're most likely already a Harvest Moon fan and know what you're getting yourself into. Everyone else, we recommend waiting for a better Harvest Moon title - one with gameplay worthy of the series and graphics worthy of the system - to come out on the PSP.

Take away its vast environment and The Crew is decidedly mediocre. But the enjoyable story and great sense of actually driving, whether alone or solo, means there's plenty of fun to be had all the same.

Class of Heroes delivers some quality dungeon crawling, which will wake up the back-tracking, corner-hugging, poke-at-everything completionist within you. Unfortunately, the game strays too far into the casual realm when it comes to combat. It’s simply too easy for its own good, which slightly sours what might’ve been an awesome JRPG.

The predictable and disappointing list of "seconds" in volume two muddies Reminisce’s otherwise unique presentation.

Broken Roads provides a strong draw with its Aussie take on the post-apocalypse and the philosophical strands running through its open-ended role-playing. Rather than leading to an interesting destination, however, these roads really are somewhat broken, with systems that don't feel properly integrated, bizarre leaps of logic and even bugs that lead you into dead ends.

If you're desperate to dunk on a desktop, a patched version of Live 07 likely won't offend your senses to the core, but you can do better on just about any other platform.

The humor, characters and, most obviously, the difficulty of Surf's Up are geared towards a younger audience, but the game is also fun enough for anyone to play, although the simplicity might keep it from having a very long shelf life in most collections.

Wandering back and forth through the same areas to collect one silly object after another will drive you "This is Sparta" raving mad, especially when you realize that you have to collect every fairy sprite and finish every last side quest just to see how the story ends.

A wildly entertaining creative concept makes Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League a captivating prospect, but repetitive mission design, a messy confluence of combat systems, and the drive towards a cooperative live service structure ultimately undermine the game's strongest qualities.

Where the game lacks in production values it makes up for in a lengthy story that fans of Japanese visual novels will enjoy (although it's not as static as visual novels).

StarDrive is not a bad a game, per se--but it's a lot like the games that came before it, and does little to differentiate itself from the pack. It has character, sure--what game with samurai bears wouldn’t?

This game's title is a massive misnomer. You don't "create" anything – you mess around with preset environments and then slap stickers all over it. You want to get the Create experience and save a few bucks? Buy a coloring book.

Not that it's terrible, but we can only watch Kim Possible gyrate for so long before folding up our dance mats and moving on.

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.

Takes nearly every complaint we had about the original and fixes it or gives us something better. We finally feel like a proper, force-wielding one-man army. It's still short and doesn't take us on a truly grand tour of the Star Wars universe, but the storytelling holds up in quality and fits right in to the existing mythology.

Revenge of the Fallen lacks the polished sheen and balance of some of its competitors – its looks are average, and the level design and mission parameters are painfully typical. But when the Transformers themselves are freed from silly plotlines and allowed to stand or fall on their own merits, as they are in the multiplayer modes, their distinct set of abilities make them truly engaging.

Despite the appearance of finesse, it’s surprising how quickly everything devolves into frantic button mashing and rote flailing.

Ragnarok Odyssey Ace learned its tricks in the school of MMO fundamentals, and though character customizations are initially fun, the shine quickly wears off in the face of levels and battles as repetitive as they are unrewarding.

Its addicting zombie-slaying action, dozens of interesting weapons, and immersive qualities far outweigh its dull story and occasional technical hiccups, the latter of which pale in comparison to those of the original. This outshines its predecessor in almost every conceivable way--and once it sinks its teeth into your time, Riptide is a hard game to put down.

The atmosphere of Theresia, as well as its convoluted story, just doesn't scare us, but instead makes us want to stop playing, or failing that, kill ourselves.

We’ve rarely been so conflicted about a baseball game, but MLB 2K9 is a paradox. It’s undeniably fun and accessible, offering plenty of addictive options for hardball fans. It also suffers from too many gaffes that are impossible to ignore.

Modern Warfare 3 is one of the most underwhelming entries in Call of Duty's 20 year history. A lackluster campaign can't distract from the tired multiplayer formula. Decade old maps, messy progression, and misaligned changes to mobility and gunplay leaves MW3 lost trying to find an identity to call its own.

While the individual minigames offer varying degrees of entertainment, they all nail the controls - or lack thereof - pretty well. There's definitely a bit of a learning curve, and the inherent limitations of the designed-for-the-living-room tech means lag issues occasionally pop up, but overall Adventures succeeds in effectively immersing you in its gamepad-free fun.

Need for Speed Payback successfully returns to its Fast and Furious roots with aplomb, but a focus on the grind and a beautiful but empty world means it ultimately falls short of greatness.

By the time you hit the halfway mark, you’ll be sick of spinning in circles.

Hellboy Web of Wyrd does a fantastic job of drawing you into the dark, sullen, and highly strange world born by Mike Mignola, but the roguelike structure that underpins this brawler's progression and structure doesn't offer enough challenge or variation to become truly compulsive. A solid first effort in need of refinement and iteration.

Honeycomb Beat’s pretty damn fun for what it is, but can also be maddening mostly because the difficulty spikes about halfway through the Puzzle Mode. Still, it’ll give your brain one hell of a workout without having to shout "Blue" repeatedly into the DS’ mic.

Fable: The Journey is a game that should deliver magic, but instead, the spell fizzles.

It's a charming game, but you'll spend less time fighting the grotesque foes that make up Zenozoik, and more time wrestling with poor game design--if only punching that in the face would solve its problems, too.

A darkly humorous action RPG with entertainingly fast-paced combat, Drakengard 3 is a unique experience marred by long load times, minor technical issues, and lackluster world design.

With limited continues and a good level of challenge, this game definitely won’t be a cakewalk. Just don’t expect anything that spectacular, either.

The fighting is fast-and-furious enough to keep Naruto nuts occupied for a good while, especially if two friends make it a point to jam together, but we still think they should've included a character building mode and online play through Nintendo's WFC service.

Those four minigames join the singleplayer offerings to provide an underwhelming experience, even if the game is launching at a low price.

We absolutely found ourselves drawn to Marvel Trading Card. It's just that the intense complexity and cramped screen real-estate kept it from being the accessible, instantly lovable smash-bang, super hero-em-up that the comics themselves are.

There's a fun game lurking underneath the surface here, but lazy voiceover decisions, overly-dry, didactic lectures between missions, and wall-punchingly frustrating ally AI keep the bright qualities of the game from shining through.

There’s not much else on the DS to challenge MX, so if you’ve got to fill your mud-spraying fix, it’s a decent enough choice, but don’t expect a whole lot of variety in the experience.

The real breaking point for this innocuous title is the price tag. Yes, Watchmen is one of the best looking downloadable games we’ve seen (even if the lighting takes the murky color palette to nearly opaque darkness), and yes, the voice acting and production values are impressively high-end. Still, paying $20.00 for such a shallow experience just doesn’t seem right.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge could have been something special if it had gone for more creative and risky co-op elements, but instead it plays it safe, which leads to something that feels only vaguely cooperative.

Both immensely satisfying and somewhat frustrating at the same time.

It’s almost heartbreaking how much wasted potential there is here.

What you're left with is a basic game that follows in the horde of footsteps of the series that has come before it: it's serviceable but uninspired, and won't do much for you unless you're a big fan of either of the source materials. Predictable, right?

Ugly, last-gen visuals further dampen the fear factor. Muddy textures and low poly counts cause scenery and monsters to blend together into a murky mess.

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.

Read that last bit again. “Dress up Mama to your liking?” Has there ever been a creepier, more Freudian feature in any game, ever? No, we do NOT want to put cute clothes on Mama.

Drag x Drive makes a solid case for the Nintendo Switch 2's mouse control scheme, but it fails to make one for these wheelchair basketball matches themselves. Elegant steering doesn't mesh well with comparatively imprecise and messy tackling and shooting systems that range from too tricky to far too simple.

Sonic Rivals 2 would have been a lot more fun if the racing was more polished and there were more tracks. Instead there are too many other aspects of the game that spoil the essentials.

Baroque is obviously one of the most hardcore RPGs you're ver going to find, a real level-grinder.

Jikandia is a visually distinct, charming game that has the potential to be fun in small doses – but since the game design actively discourages you from playing like that, it simply turns into a somewhat-better-than-okay experimental platformer.

Despite smooth gameplay and fancy visuals, this game is handicapped by a distinct lack of courses and players, leaving it feeling incomplete and rather bland.

Mind Over Mutant is a lot better than Crash of the Titans and the world is probably a slightly better place for its existence. But it’s not quite slick enough underneath all those pretty visuals to earn essential status.

But even as a flawed game, Murder on the Orient Express still manages to draw you in with lush environments, a stellar score and top-notch voice acting (which manage to make most of the protracted conversations at least marginally interesting).

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.

Some people may find that kind of oppressive difficulty refreshing, but most folks, including the game's intended audience, are apt to find it frustrating.

For the most part though, this game is all about gradually building up parks by yourself in the free play mode and relaxing with your creations. If that sounds fun to you, then you'll dig Zoo Tycoon 2 DS.

Fort Solis starts strong but quickly struggles to circumvent its shortcomings. Despite the strong visual identity and drive towards absolute immersion, this narrative-adventure ultimately suffers due to its glacial movement and finicky controls. There's promise in the concept, but a lack of refinement is palpable in the execution.

Puzzle Scape isn't terribly original in either concept or presentation, but it's enough like the great games it's copying to be well worthwhile.

An incredibly pretty game with some impressive ideas, and it's going to surprise you with its engaging story and weighty combat. The short campaign and repetitive battles hold it back from greatness, but it's a journey through Rome absolutely worth experiencing, if just to see exactly what the console is capable of.

This game's title is a massive misnomer. You don't "create" anything – you mess around with preset environments and then slap stickers all over it. You want to get the Create experience and save a few bucks? Buy a coloring book.

Secret Saturdays is for the most part an enjoyable experience for fans of the show and preteens that need something to do on their DS. The rest of us might be better off with Pokemon and Bionic Commando elements in their pure forms, however.

The main character’s name is SONIC – it’s a reference to how fast he can run. Why must the game include all this other random crap, especially when it isn’t all that polished anyhow?

If everything would have worked as well as it could have, Jurassic Park: The Game would have been a successful experiment into creating a new type of cinematic game.

ProStroke in a nutshell: A devoted wannabe who shows potential - and who certain golf nuts will probably applaud - but who needs to keep polishing his fundamentals before he can take one from the sport's seasoned pros.