Perfecting a true-to-life golf swing resembles an experiment in OCD, akin to trying to tie your shoes while turning the stove off six times. But it's nothing short of a tragedy that it doesn't live up, both visually and in approach, to what came packed in with the Wii at no charge.

It admirably bridges the gap between deep simulation and enjoyable "just one more turn" gameplay and would be a worthy addition to any strategy fan's game collection.

The game is still playable, although not without its frustrations. And seriously, why bother giving us an accuracy percentage when aiming is nearly impossible. That's like yelling at an arthritic waiter for spilling your soup. But the wonderful presentation COD fans have come to expect is intact, and the game visually translates unimpeded.

Aside from the half-functional multi-player and a brutal learning curve, there’s nothing about IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 that isn’t amazing. Superb aircraft flight modeling? Check. Amazing looking aircraft? Check. More than 220 different aircraft and around 200 missions? Check.

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.

Only fans of the classic genre will really find much to get excited over in The Sacred Rings. The story is forgettable, the characters are lame, but the puzzles are definitely challenging.

But assuming that last issue gets resolved in the coming weeks, Worms is a fantastic addition to your Live Arcade library

A scientifically fluid refinement of upgraded graphical sheen (PS3 has a slight edge over 360) and unprecedented stylish madness that will harvest some of your most enthusiastic hollers.

GRAW 2 doesn't blow its competition out of the water like its predecessor did, but it easily matches them. Not bad for a "rushed" sequel.

The biggest let-down? Easily the graphics, which are full of chunky shapes and primitive, basic textures and colors that wouldn’t look out of place on the original PlayStation.

If you missed it on the PSP (or just hated the controls), then it's absolutely worth grabbing, but don't expect anything revolutionary.

Dark Resurrection doesn't have all of the extra features you might expect from a console release of a Tekken game, but this is offset by the pretty fair price and the fact that you can finally play the game on any size TV screen you have and with an arcade stick (like, say, the Hori Fighting Stick 3), to boot.

A really nice change of pace from the slightly crusty arcade classics that have been hitting Live Arcade for the past month or so.

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.

Lumines Plus on the PS2 scores points simply for being a great game and cheap as balls, but alas, this is the frailest version we’ve ever encountered recently (single player, versus, time trial and puzzle mode - that's it), so you know we’ve got to dock it.

With its lengthy USB cord (around ten feet) and clingy plastic base, the control is incredibly stable and responsive, even on carpet.

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.

The developers needed more time to stroke you tenderly. Now you’re forever condemned to being on the verge of boo-yah.

Ultimately Empires continues Koei’s long-standing "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" credo when it comes to Warriors games. Which, when you've made the same game nine times in a row, has us adopting the philosophy "been there, done that."

Ultimately Empires continues Koei’s long-standing "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" credo when it comes to Warriors games. Which, when you've made the same game nine times in a row, has us adopting the philosophy "been there, done that."

It’s not quite baseball perfection - why the fielding buttons are different in the Career mode versus every other one is beyond us - yet The Show is a rollicking good time.

This ain't Baseball for Dummies - mastering your skills takes practice, but we like that. If it were easy, there'd likely be little reason to play for long. As it is, we're addicted to both our franchise and online play; 2K Sports' famously robust internet leagues and websites return to embarrass all other comers' usually feeble online offerings.

This ain't Baseball for Dummies - mastering your skills takes practice, but we like that. If it were easy, there'd likely be little reason to play for long. As it is, we're addicted to both our franchise and online play; 2K Sports' famously robust internet leagues and websites return to embarrass all other comers' usually feeble online offerings.

It’s solid enough and has depth aplenty, but the lack of spit and polish keeps it on the virtual bench. It’s worth a cup of coffee as a rental, but not quite a spot in the starting rotation.

Its quick learning curve and devilish AI seem designed to appeal to the hardest of hardcore RTS fans. But it's just these sorts of fans who may be most weary of this somewhat derivative - though surprisingly solid title.

Vets of the franchise will likely be taken aback by how brutal it is to achieve a victory in even the early skirmishes, while newcomers won’t have a clue how to do much of anything. Heck, even the tutorials are rough.

Along with the gameplay, the series' normally hit-or-miss sense of humor is improving. Even though some of the political gags are a little stale, the Dr. Strangelove-style black comedy vibe won us over, as did Max's free-form, megalomania-tinged debates against a towering robo-Lincoln.

A mesmerizing, gorgeous achievement in interactive art, and should be experienced by anyone willing to open their minds as to what video games can be.

What you almost certainly won't appreciate is the fact that multiplayer is ad hoc only and requires both gamers to own the disc - understandable perhaps, but a lost opportunity nonetheless. Still, this is arcade history, perfect for portable play.

Meteos: Disney Magic will only sell because of the Disney name. Yes, it’s still Meteos, but the experience is shallow because of the diluted gameplay. Instead of being simplified, the difficulty is spiked and like most crack that's peddled, the Disney high wears off quickly.

The superhero powers and coop mode alone make Crackdown worth recommending. Next time, throw in some more structure - or at least some more gadgets and toys to wreak havoc with when there is no structure - and you'll have a classic must-buy franchise.

A scientifically fluid refinement of upgraded graphical sheen (PS3 has a slight edge over 360) and unprecedented stylish madness that will harvest some of your most enthusiastic hollers.

As long as you’re comfortable with a great degree of difficulty (and a bit of monotony), and provided you’re comfortable with your own mortality, Izuna offers a reasonable distraction.

Hardcore puzzle fans will be disappointed with Trioncube's lack of depth. But if all you're looking for is a quick, pick-up-and-play puzzle experience here and there, it's still worth the budget price.

An uninspired effort that does little to satiate football fans’ jones for a gridiron fix this winter. The combination of its eerie similarity to last year’s game with some framerate issues should dissuade all but the most dedicated Arenophiles from investing the $30 for this PS2 exclusive.

It's not like M.A.C.H. is going to set the world on fire. We're not saying that. But for a game that's pretty much gonna fly right into bargain bins due to zip awareness, it's a shockingly tight package.

We're particularly fond of the fantastic art direction. As if the eye candy wasn't enough, Monster Kingdom has a great soundtrack, devised by top-caliber composers.

For $19.99, it's a fun, easy to play game that demands nothing of its players other than pointing and shooting...at the aliens.

Besides these few little "WTF" gems of humor, Chulip as a whole is tedious and frustrating. You might enjoy a brief rush of adrenaline when you finally kiss someone, but it's only because getting there was so painful.

The best stories are the ones that you craft as you kick butt across the universe. Dark Avatar makes your space operas even more varied in tone and content than ever before.

For around five bucks, Paperboy is a worthwhile purchase. It’s still loads of fun. But like the newspapers our paperboy is tasked with delivering, the game has lost some of its appeal.

There's a lot to do - and by "do", we mean, "explode" - and that's exactly what the Ratchet & Clank games are all about.

A solid-if-not-spectacular entry, and fans will appreciate that they haven't been forgotten and will doubtlessly eat this up and ask for more. But anyone who hasn't already invested hours in the three previous Broken Sword games will have a hard time seeing Secrets of the Ark through to the end.

It's a damned impressive game by PSP standards, and if you're looking for a deep, brutal, high-quality PSP brawler with lots of variety and short load times, then you're not going to find one that's better than this.

If you're buying this for solo gaming, save the cash or just head to a friend's house - multiplayer's the only way to go with Wii Play, and even then you'll be satisfied within a week.

Gore-hounds might go into sugar shock, but if you enjoy light-hearted action RPGs, you’ll probably fall in love with Gurumin.

The biggest problem here is the dated feel of it all.

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.

We'd rather have, you know, access to a full emulator, but puzzle geeks can't deny the quality or value of Capcom Puzzle World. More classic coin-op compilations like this one, please.

You could do worse with silly, weapons based driving action, but it may not warrant purchase if Mario Kart DS already has a place on your shelf.

Even though the game's pacing and long-winded conversations don't always make for the most ideal portable gaming experience, this is still a really solid adventure.

Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is the least evolved Evolution yet, and ironically, in literal comparison, probably the best. It's still the only game GR's UK staff plays every lunchtime and talks about all day.

It's pretty easy to enjoy what’s here - smooth and intuitive gameplay with innovative controls and plenty of depth. Once you train your brain to use the sticks and love the "ping", you'll be joyfully rounding the bases.

Longtime addicts that have kept up with the series and crave more of its rare gameplay will eat it up. Gamers that have never cared about or have never heard of the series don't have any reasons to give it a whirl. There's really no getting around it. Either you like this style of game or you never will.

"Final Fantasy" followers might be looking for more. Even so, at times tonelico conveys more energy and thoughtfulness than most big-budget RPGs even attempt. It's primarily for the hardcore audience, though any gamer looking for another fantasy outlet should take a look.

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

The world that it all takes place in is amazing on terms of size and beauty. However, this is a hardcore MMO designed first and foremost for devoted players with lots of time to invest - just to get to level 10 will take you a few days, whereas you can hit that level in "WoW" in a long afternoon.

The amount of content is staggering, the art direction is stunning for a PS2 game, the oddball cast is likable and this might be the first RPG we've ever played in which the gameplay was way more interesting than the story. The flat, formulaic plot and mostly monotone voice acting drag it down a little, but overall Rogue Galaxy is a stellar effort.

For all the undeniable pleasure of skimming at zero feet in a rickety torpedo bomber towards a hulking metal monster, we’re left with something too slight to sustain us. Expect cult-multiplayer status, and pray for a sequel.

Every installment has us hoping for a return to glory, but each one further craps on the hedgehog's legacy. The redeeming qualities here are few and far between, and it's just plain not fun.

Trust us. Cheaper, deeper stuff than this can be bought on Xbox Live Arcade. Unless you're truly desperate for an old-school party game experience, or you plan to be so drunk that anything will amuse you, we suggest you save your money for something else.

It's a little too short and a little too easy, but its tale of freaky mobsters, crooked gamblers and evil teddy bears is still a good time while it lasts.

The resulting storyline isn't quite Final Fantasy quality by any means, but series devotees will find plenty to admire here. Still, given the constant interruption for battles and the heinous dungeon layouts, we suspect that none but the most devoted fans of the series will care.

The world, while beautiful, isn't any different then the past two games. And the music, although it very badly wants to be important, won't be anything you find yourself humming after putting down the PSP to practice sword techniques.

The art style is flat-out amazing. The sepia tones and hand-drawn characters perfectly complement the game's mood and 1970's setting. The film noir themes that occur throughout the game are perfect, never over-the-top or cheesy.

It's a port of a damn fine game - losing very little in translation and lending itself perfectly to a handheld frame of mind. Additionally, it retails for quite a bit less than your typical PSP release.

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

This season it doesn't quite have all the fundamentals down pat, but another semester's worth of schooling and polish should help the next outing. Ultimately, it's a solid (if unspectacular) hoops title that deserves a look.

Heavy Weapon is the type of brief, brainless fun the service is built for, without looking and feeling like a crusty old arcade game. It's easily one of the 360's best downloadable games yet.

Lush and vibrant, it is everything an expansion should be: a furthering of a much loved and honored world. We found ourselves barely able to stop playing long enough to write this, and plan on delving right back in as soon as we can.

The charm and clever logic puzzles are still here, and the cases deliver the same charge-back-from-the-edge-of-defeat rush that made the first game so cool.

Going solo will end fast (maybe a couple of hours), but grab up to 12 people and you've got the definite Wii party experience.

URU has promised an evolving story line that will unfold as you venture deeper into the Ages. We didn't really see it yet, though, and we have our avatar's fingers crossed that Cyan adds more features and evolves the storyline, and that more players will flock to this new breed of MMO.

Just skip the plot (filled with hyper-cool words like "rendezvous" and "amnesia") and you'll be stranded in bug-blasting, giant robot heaven.

If nothing more, this mostly broken game exists purely as a way to cash-in on the latest CG snoozer not starring anthropomorphic animals. At least the packaging has glitter on it. Really, it does.

The Shield has some unique things going for it, but the spotty enemy (and friend) intelligence and monotony keep it from achieving anything close to greatness.

If nothing more, this mostly broken game exists purely as a way to cash-in on the latest CG snoozer not starring anthropomorphic animals. At least the packaging has glitter on it. Really, it does.

It's fair to say that Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol is simply Karaoke Revolution with a layer of American Idol paint. That's not a bad thing at all. The karaoke gameplay is tried and true, while the popularity of the show will help the game reach a new audience.

There's just nothing particularly great about it. The only incentive to sink any major amount of time into it is that most of the achievements on offer require the best cars in the game to attain. But it's highly unlikely most people will be able to stay interested for even that long.

Situation: Comedy is where the Sam & Max series starts to really pick up steam - partly because it reveals the first hints at an overarching plot for the "season's" remaining four episodes.

While the graphics and interface make the world hard to interact with, the story and complexity of Anarchy make it worthwhile to put in the time - with pillow-punching breaks to release the frustration.

Wii games use the Wii controller brilliantly. Old arcade games simply don’t, and shoehorning them into the latest innovation/gimmick feels awkward and robs the game of its fun. Dig out an old GameCube controller – that’s the difference between enjoying Metal Slug Anthology or simply remembering how much fun it used to be.

A solid shooter, and comes complete with three different difficulty levels and both single-system and online co-op play. It's definitely worth the $10 price of admission.

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.

Repetition and control issues aside, Elebits still manages to entertain in a very primal way. There's something so visceral about completely demolishing an entire house and then not having to clean it up.

If the GameCube could handle Metroid Prime's environments and beasties so beautifully, there's no reason the superior Wii can't deliver a first-person shooter worth remembering. Unfortunately, Far Cry Vegeance sure as hell isn't it.

We had trouble getting enough planes into the air, though when we did, the mode shone out as one of the better additions to this otherwise serviceable flyer.

This four to six hour play-through isn't worthwhile the first time; what's worse is the developers expect you to replay this multiple times with different characters.

The game's greatest feat is adding strategy to the first person shooter and getting the player - whether working alone or with others - to occasionally stop, forget about the gun and just think. You'll be amazed at how well it works and at how good it feels.

The control mechanics feel more like the real thing than anything on a console that's come before and the presentation, while over-the-top, is just the kind of thing people look for on a Nintendo system.

While a few of credits shy of an A, it's a good value at $20 even without the bonus content. Unless you've already got NBA 2K7 and an empty wallet, College Hoops NCAA 2K7 deserves a spot in your rotation.

A direct port of a game clearly designed for the Wii to platforms that don't even support the core appeal. It's sad now that the bunny that demos the Wii's controls before every event is replaced by...empty space.

While it's got a couple of nagging problems - the animation quality drops when there's too much action going on, for one - it's pretty clear that Battlelines is one of the better early PS3 titles.

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.

Very impressive - it is, after all, a portable version of a great PS2 game with some of the usual compromises developers make when porting to the PSP. Sure, it has its flaws, but the sheer breadth of stuff helps make up for that.

This is one of the biggest expansions that EVE has seen, with some far-reaching changes. However, we can’t help feeling that it was delivered now for the sake of bringing in some new content, when really it could have waited a few months for something more comprehensive.

As an action game, it suffers from poor controls and awful fleet (read: wingman) commands that gum up the works. Still, wearing down the shields of those dastardly Romulan vessels and finishing them off with photon torpedoes can be satisfying, sometimes elevating Legacy ever-so-briefly above mediocrity.