From the very start of the game, it becomes quickly apparent that Rush'N Attack has nowhere to go but down. The visuals are ugly and look dated, it borrows the majority of its concepts from other better games and it simply is no fun to play.

There's arguably some creativity in the souls-as-power-ups bit, but having to switch into spirit mode, grab the proper color orb (assuming the tapping works; it's erratic), and sling it at DJ's feet in order to heal is a cumbersome chore.

In the end, despite the inkling that the designers had a couple of good ideas rattling around in there somewhere, Winter Voices simply fails to be much fun. Perhaps later iterations in the series will polish the AI, make combat more exciting, and fix the writing… but we doubt it.

An aggressively mediocre FPS. Any decent ideas suffer from bad design decisions, and so the shallow multiplayer is a hollow experience that even the most hardcore Frank Castle follower will want to skip.

Kids probably won't mind much, and they're definitely the target audience here. Pirates' Carnival isn't spectacular in any one sense, but the solid mini-games and well-used license are enough to put it near the top of the distinctly uncompetitive party game genre.

Sonic Free Riders can offer some real fun when everything comes together and works properly but those instances are rare and the rest of the time the game can be very frustrating. The lack of content also makes it quite a steep purchase.

Spectral Souls is a true sob story. There's a perfectly serviceable game here, buried underneath one crucial problem.

Even the multiplayer comes up short by supporting just four players, though we assume the game would likely collapse upon itself if tasked with anything more. It's a shame to see such a sloppy effort from a stellar independent studio.

A textbook example of how to screw up a sure thing, the Nintendo DS version of LEGO Star Wars II is easily the 'must avoid' release of the year. Other systems get a stylistically pure and super fun title. Meanwhile, the DS is saddled with a buggy, incomplete letdown that wastes your money and good will, deeply tarnishing LucasArts' reputation.

Some boss battles are absolutely thrilling, and the plot, while somewhat convoluted, definitely feels like a proper X-Men story, but the dull, monotonous battles and lack of polish hamstring the game.

While games like "Time Pilot" aged gracefully, this side-scrolling space shooter feels old and inflexible, a crusty gaming battleship dragged out of drydock. All you can do is stare and go, "Wow, that's old."

Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal offers some fun platforming and treasure hunting moments, but its tedious mazes and poor story ultimately make it a drag. This one needed more time with a level editor and less time spent forcing players to repeat content.

If you don't have a multiplayer posse, you're left with a functional, but easy and uninspired PSP game that's functional without being pretty.

This is a true classic - it just isn't a lot of fun to play.

A huge step back for the series, ditching all of the elements that made it a party staple and offering little in the way of variety, or support for any previous SingStar games.

We'll give Major Minor's Majestic March credit for a creative concept, but this middling rhythm routine should have been a WiiWare release or half-priced budget title. And until the latter occurs, we can't help but think you'd be better off marching to your own beat.

In the end, it’s a cool experiment, but it quickly goes horribly wrong.

The Hustle might aim to be an affordable budget diversion, but even a bargain price can't make this deeply flawed game worth buying.

While the graphics are not as shiny and sleek as the cars are in real life, and there are no damage affects, this game is great for its price. You can’t find a better deal on a new game; 20 dollars for all these options and challenges should be considered grand theft video game.

While annoying, the lock-ups don't really do much to dampen how outlandishly fun the game is. If you like the Hulk and you enjoying destroying things, you'll enjoy your time with The Incredible Hulk, even if you have to reset the system from time to time.

The lousy last-gen graphics murder what compelling plot there is.

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.

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.

There's no good reason to have this game in your home.

Solo gamers will find very little in the campaign to keep them interested for long, but the title is at its best when you're playing it with friends. If you can pick it up at a discount, and can round up a couple of people together for a gaming session, you'll be in for a riotous time, but there are better options on the system to get your multiplayer fix.

Plays more like a kind of arcade light-gun shooter with legs, and feels like it needed a better script and about six more months of development time.

We liked the setting, liked the gameplay but ultimately there wasn't enough to keep it in our console for a very long time.

Ultimately, everything in ToL can be learned and mastered in a matter of hours, which is perfect because that's about the maximum amount of time it can be fun for.

The worst thing is, there was tremendous potential here. The art style is fantastic, and the campy, B-movie concept is golden. And the way you make new weapons out of garbage you find – sticks, needles, broken shards of glass – is really fun. But once you add the gameplay in there, ugggh. Mushrooms grow where living things have died – in this case, the underlying corpse belonged to fun.

Without the AI and stealth problems, it might be a decent, if extremely derivative, shooter. As it is now, you're better off skipping this one.

Ghostbusters: SOS will break you down, challenging your patience and your goodwill toward the franchise. Even if you're a diehard Ghostbusters fan, don't let yourself be duped: this game is a waste of your $10.

There's not nearly enough meat on its bones to warrant a stand-alone game, even mercifully priced $20 less than most new next-gen releases. Frankly, it belongs as a mini-game in Madden.

Chances are that your average Joe Racer won’t be able to make heads or tails of D1, as mastering the punishing controls may lead to insane rage.

Three or four years ago, this game would have been brilliant. Unfortunately the unexciting combat, ho-hum level design, and unimpressive graphics make it a poor alternative to the more recent champions of the hack and slash genre.

Bond's latest shooter is barely kept afloat throughout the five-hour-long campaign, but while it has a smattering of good ideas, they're buried beneath concepts so tired, you'll have a hard time caring. It's a game filled with occasional highs and frequent lows--and you'll be thrown between them so quickly and haphazardly that you'll be lucky to make it through 007 Legends without whiplash.

We know that plenty of people will look past the monotonous gameplay, poor voice acting, unimaginative level design, lack of online play, etc., but our advice is to hold out for the next movie.

Mr. Driller on Live Arcade also marks the first time players can go online and compete or cooperate in a couple of different gaming modes. Unfortunately, as of this writing, the online play is spotty at best, suffering from lag and other issues to the point that it’s unplayable most of the time.

Realistic? Yes. Fun? Not one bit. What's worse is that you have to sit and listen to the other fake players talk smack at the tables with the same four lines of speech. You'll be wise to quickly run to the Options menu and turn the sound off.

Its slow-paced combat and exploration, weak visuals, and plodding plot leave a lot to be desired.

We fall in the middle of the two camps and found Troy a welcome, but ultimately underwhelming attempt to evolve the franchise beyond its thumb-numbing roots. If Koei Canada can further refine the combat, add some multi-player - this game screams for co-op - and polish up the presentation, we're willing to plunge our bloody sword into a sequel.

State of Emergency 2 deserves a spot right next to 25 To Life, 187: Ride or Die, and Final Fight Streetwise as another title that's an urban nightmare for all the wrong reasons. Stop buying them, and hopefully they'll go away.

This is the absolute nadir of the series. Harry Potter has finally devolved into a total cash-in and we can't score it low enough. Honestly, if you're a fan of the movies, avoid this and just go to the theater. Don't spoil the end for yourself with this half-baked mess.

An interesting blast from the past, but much like the visuals of the original film, it really doesn’t hold up over time.

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.

Between these random inadequacies and the shabby controls, there's just not enough reason for non-hardcore Godzilla fans to bother with this. Too bad. The King of the Monsters deserves better.

This is middle of the road gaming at its finest. Ultimately, Beowulf won't entertain the average gamer, but fans of the film might want to rent it to play while they're waiting on line to see the movie for the ninth time.

Destined to line bargain bin bottoms. It has its hacking and slashing moments, but like so many movie-licensed titles, it reeks of a truncated production schedule and a too-heavy reliance on a story intended for another medium.

It’s a sound idea that’s torpedoed by poor design and bad play mechanics.

We’ve seen some competent shooters on the DS in the past, but C.O.R.E. barely fits the “competent” category. It works (more or less), and some will enjoy it, but its flaws are just too frustrating. With several other, better FPSes already on the DS, there just isn't much reason to go for C.O.R.E.

The graphics are fair, but like the fighting, they grow redundant too quickly, and the story couldn't get the game noticed even if it were drunk, topless, and the only woman in a bar full of sailors.

I know I sound mad when I say the lack of content doesn't kill it, but it truly doesn't. I can tell I'm going to be coming back to this for months, even without the extra tracks. This is a surprisingly fun game and I'm glad it exists. Good ol' Ridge Racer.

Ultimately, it’s a niche title that won’t bring any new fans to the cycling table - and doesn’t even try to.

Enemy AI is dim as hell (foes will often run right by you to attack a comrade as you shoot them in the back of the head at point blank range), the wonky cover system often has you shooting bullets into nothingness even when it appears they should be hitting your targets, and there's no way to pause the game.

In the end, it’s a cool experiment, but it quickly goes horribly wrong.

To be fair, there’s also a sandbox-like, “just suck it all up” mode that unlocks when you’ve beaten each level, as well as a two-player versus mode that finds you racing to suck things up or change the color of crystals (which earned it a bonus point in our score below). But Tornado still just doesn’t have the suction to hold us for long.

An ambitious effort that does not come together quite as well as it could have, Enemy Front is an entertaining experience that offers a wide variety of action in locales rarely visited.

See, as the puzzles get bigger, you're actually forced to scroll them onto the screen, which will slow you down even more. Save your $10 for something more worthwhile. This isn't even a decent time-waster.

Devil’s Third is not a hateful slog in the way that Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is, but even after – or more likely because of – half a decade and four game engines, it’s shoddy and ill thought out.

Fans of the series might find it entertaining to rescue kidnapped kids while battling the Seven Demon Kings, but most people will find precious little to enjoy.

It's possible Armored Core 3 may well have offered something during the PS2 generation, but whatever relevance it might've had seven years ago - especially given its inelegant transition to the PSP - has long since passed.

We might be able to forgive the game its sin of unoriginality and consumer whoring, but we can’t forgive them for taking the fun out of shaving a sheep. Tacked-on, twitchy controls; lousy graphics and all-round dull gameplay fraught with mindless minigames tank any hope a would-be virtual farmer might have of actually having fun on a farm.

One more thing: the swearing. Normally we don't mind, but the script for Streetwise sounds like it was written by a grade-schooler who'd just discovered cursing. Obscene language is overused to the point where the effect isn't gritty at all. In fact, it's just laughable.

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.

So the mechanics, narrative, and modes are poorly executed, but the very concept of a mobster strategy/tactics game can’t be denied. It’s a fantastic idea, and the novelty of feeling sort-of-almost-not-really like a mob boss will make the game enjoyable on occasion. Unfortunately, there’s not much here beyond a concept that you can only hope someone, someday will make a great game out of.

Ninja Gaiden Z is a disappointing entry in the Ninja Gaiden series filled with repetitive enemy encounters, cringeworthy pervy jokes, and frustrating, unbalanced gameplay. This is not the ninja game you're looking for.

We jumped online on several occasions and it appears there are so few people playing online that we found the same dudes in a lobby on totally different nights. It’s little wonder though why there are so few soldiers playing; in this game, being a soldier sucks.

Can’t Sega even be bothered to finish making the game before trying to pawn it off on us? Placeholder graphics, unfinished textures and sloppy physics are just a few of the sadistic treats this game has to offer - and the suck doesn’t stop there.

We suspect that control scheme would work better if it emulated that found in games like Robotron 2084 or Geometry Wars - though that wouldn't be as authentic, it could make Tron a fantastic Live Arcade game. But as it is, this just doesn't work.

The only way you'd really want to play this game is if you're a diehard fan of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash and you don't mind beating up stupid robots for hours on end in dull levels.

While far from the worst Transformers game, Rise of the Dark Spark's interesting ideas are eclipsed by bland action and frustrating design.

It's a £39.99 inferior remix of a £2.99 iPhone game with bad sound, bad graphics and shockingly slapdash collision logic. Not only is it the worst game of the 3DS' launch line-up, it's a contender for the title of 'worst launch game of all time'. Worse than Pen Pen. Worse than Tama. Worse even than Altered Beast. Do I really need to say it? Avoid.

The on-court gameplay doesn't look very next-gen-like, especially when compared to its NBA 2K14 counterpart.

The DS version is by far the worst iteration of the bunch, which is sad considering none of them are that great.

We're not decrying simplicity as a general design element, but too many of the included games feel tossed together, while the few notable ones offer only seconds of unique play.

Enemy AI is dim as hell (foes will often run right by you to attack a comrade as you shoot them in the back of the head at point blank range), the wonky cover system often has you shooting bullets into nothingness even when it appears they should be hitting your targets, and there's no way to pause the game.

It's impossible to recommend Venetica to anyone when there are so many other better action-RPGs out there. You might be tempted to pick it up because it's only forty dollars, but don't do it... unless you've already played every other RPG on the market.

Romance Dawn is a game even an anime aficionado couldn’t love. Its systems are bare bones, and boring, unvoiced text conversations dominate most of the time you’ll spend with Luffy & Co. Turn back now.

From a gameplay perspective, Star Trek is hindered by its unpolished character animations, clunky controls, and repetitive hacking minigames. While it can be entertaining to experience the return of the movie's cast to their roles as the beloved Star Trek characters, it's difficult to get past the gameplay's shortcomings.

One of the shortest full-price console games in our memory. Despite impeccable voicework, the subpar visuals and dreadful combat controls forced us to dump it unceremoniously under a bridge in Jersey - never to be spoken of again.

Compared to Imageepoch's decent track record of niche RPGs, Time and Eternity is a resounding disappointment. And that's compounded by the game’s promising 2D visual concept falling short. As there is nothing especially remarkable with the game's world exploration, battles, or anything else for that matter, the only audience that would appreciate Time and Eternity is the one that buys anything publisher NIS America releases. Even then, this one's a hard sale.

From the dysfunctional camera to the bland and uninspired combat, it's an absolute chore to play through this game. It doesn't matter how great it looks on the outside - Bloodforge is rotten at its core.

The art design is solid, though technologically, the graphics don't impress at all. At press-time, the chat is nightmarish, and the user interface a pale shadow of other MMOs' well thought systems.

Our disgust was solidified near the end of the six-hour campaign, as the PS2 version's final boss fight is astonishingly cut short to insert an hour-plus of new fetch quests. We understand padding the game a bit, but lazily dumping these bland challenges within seconds of what should have been the conclusion shows a total disregard for the players who slogged through hours of sloppy programming to get to that point. And if the developer doesn't care, neither should we.

Turning Point's minimalist approach to everything - from its stale levels and sticky controls to its thin plot and absent character development - killed what could've been a really unique and engaging shooter and will disappoint hardcore fans of the genre across the board.

Though it starts out with what appears to be grand narrative ambitions, Clan of Champions quickly abandons any pretext that it's anything more than a brawler with robust customization options. More variety and ambition would've been nice, but Clan of Champions is still worth a look if your inner warrior has been feeling neglected.

Turning Point's minimalist approach to everything - from its stale levels and sticky controls to its thin plot and absent character development - killed what could've been a really unique and engaging shooter and will disappoint hardcore fans of the genre across the board.

As a final insult, some players are experiencing game-killing programming bugs that lock doors or remove crystals, making it literally impossible to complete the game. That is inexcusable.

Rock Revolution is inferior to its competition in every single possible way. If you absolutely have to try it, we urge you to think of it as a track pack of guitar-only songs for Rock Band or Guitar Hero and buy just the game (instead of the drums-included bundle).

If you have some disease that forces you to buy everything green and ninja-like, go for it. But then get help, man - digging this disaster is the gaming equivalent of eating donuts out of the garbage can; it just isn't healthy.

Xiaolin Showdown is a bad game, plain and simple. In a genre where speed and chaos is an important part of gameplay, Xiaolin Showdown’s fights are out and outright tedious.

Our main problem with History Great Empires: Rome is that the historic elements are only surface level and the strategy elements aren’t much deeper than that.

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.

Rugby 18 is a dire simulation of the sport, with a paper-thin selection of modes, and relentlessly poor presentation.

To make matters worse, Iron Man 2 can be shockingly ugly at times, especially in the cut-scenes, which spotlight terrible effects, fuzzy and slow-loading textures, and choppy animations.

The biggest trouble of all is that Khemia borrows too much from earlier Gust games.

While Crash & Dash may look like a racing game, it’s really more of a party game in a racer’s clothing. It has a few moments of fun, but is plagued by its dreary, repetitive minigames, questionable controls, and fundamental lack of strategy.

Without addictive, refined gameplay in its short-lived play sessions or a worthwhile single-player experience, Puzzle de Harvest Moon comes across as a glorified minigame.

The soundtrack is a shocking state of affairs, the cars sounding how you think mud would sound if it could talk and in the background is a Europop house soundtrack.