It’s an incredibly repetitive game that has a lot of depth on the surface that becomes irrelevant once it’s put into practice. Fans of dungeon-crawling loot hunts should rent, but everyone else will tire of its shortcomings even before its brief campaign is complete.

It will scratch that itch if you’re looking for nothing more than some mindless gunplay mixed with dangerous doses of testosterone, but there’s nothing going on upstairs. And for a tactical shooter, that’s not going to cut it.

If nothing else, Ultimate Band proves that you don't need plastic instruments to feel like you're the second coming of Eric Clapton or Tommy Lee. The gesture-based controls are well-designed, fun to use, and contribute significantly to the experience.

It will scratch that itch if you’re looking for nothing more than some mindless gunplay mixed with dangerous doses of testosterone, but there’s nothing going on upstairs. And for a tactical shooter, that’s not going to cut it.

While there are certainly some things to like about The Sims 4 such as building a custom mansion, or being visited by the Grim Reaper, the entire experience feels like a starter kit for bigger things in the future. If you had The Sims 3 and its multiple expansions, The Sims 4 will feel stripped down. If you have never played a Sims game, it might be a better option to hold off until The Sims 4 flourishes into a more complete package.

Some might see it as an enjoyable co-op shooter with a sci-fi bent, some as an exercise of wasted potential. We imagine that it stands as a science experiment for if yet another unremarkable sixty dollar shooting gallery can sell - Insomniac’s solid track record points to a positive outcome, but this might be a case where the catalyst just isn’t strong enough.

Lego Star Wars III has some interesting, innovative concepts that sound great on paper, but they ultimately fall apart the moment the game gives you control. What you end up with is one of dullest entries in the entire series.

Sega Superstars would have benefited from a more diverse character lineup, as the roster leans rather heavily on a few select franchises.

By now, it's clear that the Kingdom Hearts series really needs to move into new territory instead of rehashing the same tired elements that are well past their expiration date. If you're new to the series, there are worse games than Recoded to start out with. Veterans, on the other hand, will be hard-pressed to find anything worthwhile here.

Game & Wario could come as a disappointment if you’re accustomed to excellent past collections that bare the Wario moniker. While there may be a few glimpses of really clever ideas, they’re overshadowed by the amount of uninspired games that don’t lend themselves well to the hardware. Sorry Wario, guess you’ll have to look for future funding through another Crowdfarter.

The time and effort they’ve already invested will keep dot-hackers from logging-out of this mediocre series, and while casual RPG fans may find some decency in the game, its repetitive elements and flawed content keep it from feeling whole.

Dragon Ball fans who just want to battle it out can stick to the arcade gameplay, but the main story mode that differentiates it brings far more frustration than enjoyment.

There was so much potential for Korra when you consider the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a developer like Platinum to work on the combat, but it seems like the Japanese studio’s B-team showed up for this project.

Blacklight: Tango Down offers an impressive amount of content for a $15 release, especially when you consider it's the going rate for a mere map pack in Modern Warfare 2.

Sega Superstars would have benefited from a more diverse character lineup, as the roster leans rather heavily on a few select franchises.

Plenty of important things happen and there’s a lot of action, but none of it carries the weight that it should. Instead, “In Harm’s Way” is mostly a bullet point list of zombie-story cliches without many of the excellent character interactions we’ve come to expect from Telltale. It’s certainly troubling when characters get killed and the only thing you feel is indifference.

In spite of its novel class-based combat and varied multiplayer, Operation Raccoon City can't shake its one-note campaign and fundamental mechanical problems.

The game's shorter than the protagonist's skirt and is filled with more cheese than a Hickory Farms gift basket. Despite its relatively shallow gameplay, Lollipop Chainsaw is worth checking out for its sheer audacity and outrageousness. At the same time, it's hard to recommend paying full price when taking into account the limited replay value.

If it’s a game you want, the Birdman may not be the best video game attorney for the job, but when it comes to cracking cases to go with funny bones Harv is a class act.

There's not quite enough meat on this bone to satisfy the appetites of starved 3DS owners, so resist the temptation to bite. Capcom's certainly capable of delivering a better game than this quick and dirty rush job.

With career mode and total team control M.I.A., it’s much thinner on the options than past games, but the perpetual left-hand turn never ends, and that’s just about all NASCAR fans ask for.

As a cartoon tie-in aimed at a very specific demographic, Transformers Prime does a pretty good job defining its setting an action. It just doesn't go far enough. A decent kids game that gets old a little bit too fast, Prime just won't quite measure up for Transformers fans that frankly have shinier, better toys to play with.

If you’re a masochist with a sick sense of humor, give God Hand a try, otherwise just watch the bizarre videos.

There’s a ton of wasted potential here, but by the standards of the movie game the third Pirates game doesn’t fare too badly.

Splatterhouse successfully exploits its grisly horror aesthetic by linking it to aggressive and cathartic gameplay, but fails to build a genuinely good game around this central idea.

Apart from a few brief glimpses of hope, Sonic Colors is a bit of a disappointment. Haphazard levels and unresponsive controls have been the bane of 3D Sonic games, and Colors does little to address these issues. It attempts to mask its shortcomings with shiny new trinkets that only briefly distract you from the glaring flaws.

Provides a unique and satisfying experience despite its flaws.

It would have made a nice pack-in, but package ends up feeling uninspired, relying on little more than the fast-fading novelty of motion controls.

The game definitely captures the frantic vibe of the later Potter stories, but there are still enough miscues to hold it back from doing the source material justice.

While Dungeons & Dragons Tactics has a lot to offer, the real enjoyment of the game lies in the details. Yet it’s such a hassle to pick up its intricacies that most players will stumble through the game and have a rotten experience.

As a standalone game at full price, we would rake Wii Play over the coals. But as a pack-in with the Wii Remote that basically costs $10, it’s a winner.

A gorgeous game with clever levels, but the abysmal controls make it all for naught. For all it does right, playing it feels like a frustrating chore, and no amount of affection for the Fable series will make its failings easy to overlook.

Sega Bass Fishing does a lot of things right. It's easy to pick up and play, yet tough to master, and it emulates the art of fishing quite well thanks to the Wii remote.

Fuzion Frenzy 2 is like a decent-tasting smoothie of low-calorie gaming activities with a disgusting cherry on top. The game improves a lot if you’re playing at home with friends or smack-talking strangers online, but like any party, it isn’t meant to be a solo affair.

Ghost Squad is fun while it lasts, whether you’re playing by yourself or with friends. The problem is that it lasts less than an hour. If you’re the type who plays to perfection and see yourself going back again and again for unlockables, it’s worth a look.

The odd thing is that while Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel is clearly not a well-executed game, it still manages to be fun with a friend. It's quick, stop-and-pop gameplay with carnage and explosions aplenty. Every awkward moment and terrible line of dialogue is a potential laugh -- or two -- so it's not the worst choice for a weekend rental.

Time Crisis is the undisputed champion of arcade rail shooters. Considering how irrelevant the genre has become, that’s not exactly glowing praise.

It’s a game torn between two personalities, and it shows. The new Strider is at its best when it’s delivering arcade-style action moments, but sadly these come too infrequently and too late for its own good.

Test Drive Unlimited 2's flaws aren't bad enough to keep you from being sucked into the vast amount of single-player content. The problem is that it isn't designed to be a single player game, and the online features meant to be its biggest draw have been broken for far too long.

APB's good points can't be ignored. It's got the best spread of customization features this side of City of Heroes, and the idea of a player-driven combat environment is certainly appealing. But the multitude of design and technical issues hamper the fundamental gameplay and make it hard to enjoy without some serious compromise.

The days when you could forgive RPGs of being deficient when it comes to gameplay are long past. Alpha Protocol's minute-to-minute action should have been on par with the traditional RPG stuff, but it's nowhere near close.

Superman Returns looks like a passable game, and it definitely feels like one when you first start playing it. Six or seven hours later, when you’ve done absolutely everything Metropolis has to offer, you’ll be shocked how little they’ve sprinkled over the obscenely huge environment.

There’s a ton of wasted potential here, but by the standards of the movie game the third Pirates game doesn’t fare too badly.

With career mode and total team control M.I.A., it's much thinner on the options than past games, but the perpetual left-hand turn never ends, and that's just about all NASCAR fans ask for.

It's not necessarily a bad game, it's just far too difficult to enjoy.

The game isn’t terrible, but it isn’t any more engaging or less repetitive than it’s been for the past five versions.

There's some stuff tucked in here that will please devout fans-particularly, some unlockable old school Transformers cartoon episodes-but most everyone one else will be ready to move on after a few hours.

Despite a few different fighting styles, matches tend to play exactly the same way no matter what environment you’re in or who’s doing the fighting. It’s like an album where every song sounds the same.

Feels like it's held back by the need to incorporate the different features of the Vita, ultimately over complicating a package that would have benefited from some simplification.

Fans of the series will gobble this one up, and if you haven't tried out any of the previous PSP installments, this would be the one to consider. Otherwise, there are several superior anime-style fighters on the market that eclipse Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3.

There’s no denying the strong Pokemon influence, but it fails to be as engaging, intuitive, or fun as Nintendo’s blockbuster series. With an awkward battle system, and tedious spectrobe collection this is one fossil that’s best left buried unless you’re a Poke-maniac looking for the next fix.

Despite a few different fighting styles, matches tend to play exactly the same way no matter what environment you’re in or who’s doing the fighting. It’s like an album where every song sounds the same.

The franchise mode is one of the deepest you’ll find and it has extensive online play options. Unfortunately, the on-ice action and sub-par presentation serve to overshadow the good.

While it certainly isn’t the most polished product, Monsters vs. Aliens offers a colorful and vibrant palette. A few too many erratic cuts interrupt the flow of action, and the low polygon count looks are of Wii quality, but there’s not enough to truly call foul over.

What originally looked like another throwaway movie to video game tie-in is a surprisingly well conceived horror story. The combat is Saw's biggest weakness, with the replay value a close second.

With its high-production values, there's nothing else like it. Provided you don't approach Asura's Wrath as you would a typical game, you won't be disappointed.

Dungeon Siege III should best be considered a distant cousin to its predecessors that's ultimately half as well-wrought as those older games, and a third as ambitious.

There's just no finesse required to overcome the overwhelming odds the game throws at you. You can definitely add quite a bit of flair to the slaughter, but in the end, there's no disguising the routine, monotonous action at the heart of the game.

Wet has some good ideas, but it falls just short of being a good game. Like its aesthetic, the game feels slightly dated and rough around the edges.

MySims Racing is a perfectly adequate kart racer that plays it far too safe in a genre that is associated with thrills and spills. While the car customization is a positive step forward, the courses, power-ups, and play modes don't do anything substantially new or exciting.

There are some great ideas in Sniper Elite V2--they're just buried under a few too many bad ones. Asking you to stomach the poor game that exists between the solid sniping sequences is frankly a tall order.

Soul Calibur Legends isn’t a particularly bad game, but it does absolutely nothing to separate itself from the piles of generic action games on the market.

For a game that is rated TEEN, the latest One Piece doesn’t provide the flare that a teen’s attention requires, unless you’re a rabid fan of the television series.

The developers took a gamble in revamping their wrestling series, but it didn't quite pay off. Fans will love the expansive roster, variety of match options, extensive customization features, and the assortment of painful looking strikes, signature moves, and submissions. Yet the imprecise reversal system, online issues, and cheap A.I. will irritate everyone else.

The game isn’t terrible, but it isn’t any more engaging or less repetitive than it’s been for the past five versions.

It's rare that such a great concept is sabotaged so savagely by poor execution, but Web of Shadows is a stark reminder that it takes more than a solid idea to make a great game.

Easily the best NCAA basketball option out there. It does so much right that even the frustrating scoring issues can’t really kill the experience.

For a game that is rated TEEN, the latest One Piece doesn't provide the flare that a teen's attention requires, unless you're a rabid fan of the television series.

As far as Kinect dancing games go, Dance Central is still the better ticket, but if Dance Masters' distinct Japanese feel and set list move you, it may be worth a look.

The Crew can be enjoyable for some casual cross-country joy rides, especially if you have some friends to drive along. However, it comes up entirely short of most of its goals, and makes a wreck of car handling and competition for the sake of lackluster MMO mechanics.

FIFA Street 3 is action-packed, well-balanced, and fun for multiplayer sessions, but its lack of content and simple play mechanics stifle the long-term prospects.

Jazzpunk ends up being scatological and surreal, but it’s not sublime. Like Meatloaf says, two out of three ain’t bad. But when’s the last time anyone listened to Meatloaf? Jazzpunk is funny in its own peculiar way, but that’s about all it is.

All in all, this eagle has landed on some seriously shaky ground. Short, boring, and reeking of “been there, done that,” this first episode in the series feels like a poor value as a one-off $9.99 purchase or as part of $29.99 season pass.

FIFA Street 3 is action-packed, well-balanced, and fun for multiplayer sessions, but its lack of content and simple play mechanics stifle the long-term prospects.

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory has a lot going for it in the game options department, as well as presentation and weapon variety, but it fails to back any of that up with decent gameplay.

Those with a sharp pair of eyes who like a decent visual challenge will find Mystery Case Files to be a worthy commute companion. It's not as challenging as most puzzle games and constantly uncovering hidden objects grows tiresome, so we only recommend it for the terminally bored.

There isn't much to explore in Steel Diver's shallow waters. There are better ways to showcases the new hardware, even among the 3DS's sparse launch lineup. Only the most dogged would-be Nemo need apply.

The Toyota Camry of PSP RPG’s.

While the jump to a more unique style of game is a nice step forward for the Naruto license, bad design choices and by-the-numbers action keep the game from being that much better than previous titles in the franchise. It’s still fan service, if above average fan service, and doesn’t offer anything that will bring new players into the fold.

Rise of the Triad has its heart in the right place. How often does a game give you six different rocket launchers? But goofiness doesn't remedy the multitude of bugs. Hopefully Interceptor will address these issues, but right now, Rise of the Triad is less of a triumphant comeback and more of a fun diversion.

In spite of some strong individual elements, it ends up feeling like a sloppy and ultimately pointless conflict. Focusing on superficial distinctions that add nothing to the game, Warfighter lacks a convincing reason to fight, and there's no reason anyone should pick up the banner apart from brand loyalty or sheer boredom.

Despite bugs that seem to pop up around every corner, Haze isn't an awful first-person shooter. It's just not a very good one.

Facebreaker tries to revive the arcade boxing glory achieved by classics like Punch-Out!, but with its punishing difficulty, minimal gameplay modes, and humor that falls on its face, it doesn’t come close. Creating your own boxers can become addictive, and it’s not a bad option for a casual party atmosphere, but for serious players it lacks the depth to pick itself up off the mat.

While all of the events offer glimpses of the Kinect's potential to enhance sports games, they're too basic and imprecise to satisfy fans looking for a new way to control their favorite athletic events.

Though Naruto: Ninja Destiny doesn't quite earn high marks with its fighting system, this solid freshman effort is a footstep in the right direction for Naruto games on the DS.

Heatseeker is a decent choice for fans of aerial combat who don’t want to have to monitor 20 different gauges at once. There are plenty of fighter jets to unlock, and it’s nice that it’s accessible, but it also has its share of issues, and fails to doesn’t bring anything new to the genre.

Aside from the focus on its namesake license, there's not much to stand out in MotoGP 09/10. It is fairly challenging, but the lack of variety and poor presentation ultimately make for a dull, monotonous experience.

Heatseeker is a decent choice for fans of aerial combat who don’t want to have to monitor 20 different gauges at once. There are plenty of fighter jets to unlock, and it’s nice that it’s accessible, but it also has its share of issues, and fails to doesn’t bring anything new to the genre.

The game is fun, at least it starts out fun, but repetition eventually morphs into boredom and killing demons changes from a guilty pleasure to a chore. By the game's mid-point the joy of combat has faded, the humor has worn thin and the characters and storyline aren't strong enough to carry the game. Shadow Warrior does stay true to its 1990s roots, but never truly moves past them.

Aside from the focus on its namesake license, there's not much to stand out in MotoGP 09/10. It is fairly challenging, but the lack of variety and poor presentation ultimately make for a dull, monotonous experience.

Leveling up dragons and replaying for ranks and leaderboard score might be enough to garner Crimson Dragon a cult following, but for most people the bungled core mechanic is a deal-breaker. This dragon might fly, but it never truly soars.

With a story that feels half-told and an execution that's barebones in every way that matters, it's difficult to recommend Blood Stone.

The HD visuals in Re-Shelled are a nice touch, but the aging formula, coupled with too few options and modes, makes for a repetitive and lackluster trip down memory lane. There simply isn't enough here to make you want to come back more than once or twice.

The end result is a game that feels unrefined as a whole. You can certainly power through it if you're determined enough, but it drags the experience down nonetheless.

The Viva Pinata Universe is a creative one, and has loads of potential. Party Animals doesn’t really harness all of that, but it does provide a somewhat shaky foundation for a much better sequel.

Slender: The Arrival is an atmospheric package relying too much on one admittedly terrifying trick that overstays its welcome far too early in an already short series of events.

The bright colors and karate chops may be enticing, but this is one impulse buy you can safely pass on.

Akiba’s Trip is largely a wasted opportunity. For as much as it tries to honor the Electric Town, the attempt is undermined by severely limiting exploration. It’s amazing that a game about tearing clothes off can be so consistently dull.