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.

But buried underneath the sometimes slopped-on content is fairly competent strategy game. It's challenging enough for serious gamers, but forgiving enough that you can go ahead a use your favorite Sorceress even if a goblin Warrior would be stronger.

Just more of the same thing: simple dungeon crawling. It's fun online; it's not fun offline. This is a hard one to rate, as it's pretty convoluted.

Stripped down from a car-crime game into a bizarre action-strategy hybrid, The Godfather: Mob Wars actually works pretty well, provided you're not expecting much exploration or any driving. If you've already played through any of the console versions, though, the repeated missions and cutscenes are guaranteed to get tedious.

Unless you really, really dig old-school shooters that will take no more than a day to completely finish, this game isn't for you. Unfortunately, for what Platypus is, a thirty-dollar asking price is hard to accept.

A slower, less colorful Age of Empires. None of the research trees make much sense (you need to go through multiple steps just to get a spearman) and by the time you get to the cool weapons like scythed chariots and elephants you won’t care very much.

Lucidity is an interesting experiment, a beautiful indie-flavored game and a welcome addition to the Steam and Direct 2 Drive libraries. Gamers who appreciate metaphor and meaning will certainly find much to enjoy here. It’s just a shame that it isn’t more fun to play.

FIFA Street 2 just isn't much fun to play, plain and simple.

Various lures like to be jerked and jiggled at different speeds, but it’s still pretty easy for any gamer to pick up and start snagging bass in only a few minutes.

After several years in the wilderness, NBA Live is back and it means business. While it’s not yet ready to take on its 2K rival, Live is a fun game of basketball that’s easy to pick and play.

So, basically, you have a pretty average, simple golf game, with a world online that's enjoyable enough to play through with fellow golfers.

There's no denying that Rule of Rose is extremely pretty, atmospheric and disturbing. Unfortunately, it fails on just about every other level. The gameplay is tedious, the scares are nonexistent and Jennifer is such a cringing, passive non-entity that you'll likely identify more with her malevolent (but strangely endearing) tormenters.

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

Our favorite part of Pac-Man Party was definitely the minigames, which were unique, fun, and challenging. Coupled with variety in other aspects of the game, it would've been a great game with fantastic replay value. However, as it exists now, the game will quickly grow dull even if you're playing with three friends and a few drinks.

There is some fun to be had from time trial, challenges and the tracks that work properly. And with the penalties switched off, it almost passes as some crazy, incident-filled version of F1. But if you're after an authentic racing sim on 3DS, best wait a little longer, cos this most certainly ain't it.

There's still life in this old Rogue Trooper yet, but the limitations of its time makes Redux a fun but inessential addition to your library.

From the game-stretching fetch quests to the clanking camera to the clumsy cliffhanger ending, Hydrophobia just doesn't feel like a finished game. The water is truly unique and special, but everything else feels too much like a soggy, overblown tech demo.

The bottom line is that diehard Avatar fans will probably be disappointed with the superficial storyline that lacks the charm of the original show, and newcomers will have trouble finding interest in the loosely tied-together missions.

CCP has a history of making their games better over time. But if you’re playing in the hopes that DUST 514 eventually delivers on the promise of a completely player-controlled galactic struggle, it’s likely to be a long wait--one tinged with equal parts frustration and fun.

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.

From the Abyss isn't a terrible game, but it offends us with its pure mediocrity.

It's worth checking out, but please, don't let yourself work in this Tamagotchi sweatshop too long.

Armored Core: Last Raven isn't a broken game, and it's actually one of the better titles in the series - it's just that this series has been tragically underwhelming for years now.

HDTV nuts note: the 360 version also goes to 1080i resolution, while the PS3 is limited to 720i. But ultimately, like an import tuner with fuzzy dice and neon running lights but no steering wheel, you can't help feeling that some of the most important parts are missing.

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.

LEGO Battles: Ninjago will satisfy gamers looking for a change from LEGO's popular action-adventure titles and don't mind looking at shabby graphics.

Perhaps it's the drab atmosphere, ordinary visuals, linear paths, and repetitive dialogue that kept us from loving it. Wanted Corp is decent, but not nearly decent enough for a recommendation this holiday season when there are already so many great titles to choose from.

It’s also worth noting Defiance’s death mechanic, which fails to elicit much from the player. You periodically get the ability to revive exactly where you died, but generally you’ll need to "extract," which pulls you just a little bit farther out. Even so, you will rarely revive anywhere that's not in eyeshot of where you just were. In other words, you can always just respawn--and the experience and gold penalty to do so is negligible. It’s too forgiving, and a significant part of what makes Defiance an oftentimes flat and emotionless experience.