The story is truly grand and most of the gripes could be forgiven separately. But with all of them combined I cannot recommend this game to anyone other than very hardcore RPG fans.

Dungeons and Dragons Tactics does a good job of trying to recreate those sessions where you get together with several buddies and eat junk food while rolling dice. Unfortunately, some of the rules are adhered to too well, and sometimes the game doesn’t allow you to do the things you can do in a regular game of D&D.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is a surprisingly good RPG that is deep enough for veterans of the genre and yet accessible for newcomers.

The good news is Rune Factory is long on farming, exploration, and relationships and short on the sillier aspects of the franchise. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the game is long, varied, and a great deal of addictive fun to play. Pick this one up especially if you have a long trip coming up.

This version has taken some strides ahead of '07, and it makes sense to have it.

You can tell sacrifices in controls and visuals are made to port this to the PSP, but if you can get past the few issues, the same excellent game we had on consoles a couple months ago can be taken on the road quite easily.

The hardcore simulations experts may not enjoy the usual advantage they have with experience in flying a plane with a realistic model, but they can still enjoy that they are "flying" and doing it with anyone whose company they enjoy.

With boring quests that really don’t make you feel like you are a part of saving the world, there isn’t any real excitement to the game.

PaRappa means “paper-thin” in Japanese. Unfortunately, that also could be used to describe the game in general.

Even a game with a bad story can be salvageable if the gameplay is fun. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.

While the gameplay is somewhat shallow, and the racing elements sometimes frustrating, there is plenty to say about getting a Transformers game with high production value and an all-star voice team. Activision and Traveller’s Tales have brought the new movie to life with a decent beat-em-up title that doesn’t succumb to the movie tie-in curse.

Transformers: The Game is like the Prom Queen from the nerd's perspective. She's really very beautiful and engaging, but trying to get your hands on her is a maddening adventure. If you do get your hands on her you can't share with friends (1 player only), and you might not want a second date after that first experience.

While the gameplay is somewhat shallow, and the racing elements sometimes frustrating, there is plenty to say about getting a Transformers game with high production value and an all-star voice team. Activision and Traveller’s Tales have brought the new movie to life with a decent beat-em-up title that doesn’t succumb to the movie tie-in curse.

While the gameplay is somewhat shallow, and the racing elements sometimes frustrating, there is plenty to say about getting a Transformers game with high production value and an all-star voice team. Activision and Traveller’s Tales have brought the new movie to life with a decent beat-em-up title that doesn’t succumb to the movie tie-in curse.

A simple concept that is so well executed that you can’t put it down.

The game is a lot of fun, but the blistering difficulty makes the game frustrating at first.

The small pitfalls of graphics and lack of modes (including online) could easily be overlooked if the controls held up, but they don’t. It’s so uneven and just plain laggy that you end up fighting the game rather than playing it.

While the spells themselves are of limited value with the PS2 controller, the game is really quite good.

The magic system is fun, but grows dull after a while since there are only so many motions and limited number of spells.

Strategy fans may like it more than I do, and that's fine, but I really couldn't get into the game at all.

Brothers in Arms: War Stories would have seriously benefited from some focus group testing, especially considering the fact that playing the game can bring on physical pain. It isn't a bad game, it just...really doesn't feel necessary.

The plethora of vehicles available combined with the multitude of different types of races, this game will keep you busy.

It feels like a product rushed out the door to accommodate a movie release.

Transformers: Decepticons feels exactly like what it is – a handheld multi-platform game that was rushed out to meet the deadline the film’s release date.

Transformers: Autobots feels exactly like what it is – a handheld multi-platform game that was rushed out to meet the deadline the film’s release date. It certainly taps into the nostalgia Transformers brings out in fans, but so does the movie itself, which is vastly more entertaining.

There is an addicting quality to Hot Brain to try to do better, in a similar way to Brain Age. However, Hot Brain also suffered in the same way that Brain Age did, in that I lost interest in it.

The concept is solid and new elements like sense of smell are great ideas, but the execution and lackluster A.I. just don’t add up to the cohesive product it could have been.

The AI doesn't allow people to enter the house unless you greet them, sort of like vampires, but they can still ring the door bell or call the phone a plenty.