While the game itself is technically proficient, nothing about the gameplay pushes it above and beyond that base level of proficiency. Its biggest problem comes from a clever premise with poor implementation. There's some replay value here in the multiplayer and the collection of data cells, which unlock the weapons from the campaign in a weapons testing area, but even those can get old very quickly. Once you get past the limited use of the terrain deformation you'll find yourself searching for anything new or exciting in Fracture's take on the sci-fi third-person shooter.

While the game itself is technically proficient, nothing about the gameplay pushes it above and beyond that base level of proficiency. Its biggest problem comes from a clever premise with poor implementation. There's some replay value here in the multiplayer and the collection of data cells, which unlock the weapons from the campaign in a weapons testing area, but even those can get old very quickly. Once you get past the limited use of the terrain deformation you'll find yourself searching for anything new or exciting in Fracture's take on the sci-fi third-person shooter.

The biggest problem with Wipeout HD is repetition. Eight tracks is a fine start, and a decent value for a game that's being sold for $19.99, but after running them forwards and backwards dozens of times, they can get old, though it's nothing that some DLC couldn't cure. Either way, this is more of a nostalgia trip than a reinvention of the wheel, but it's a well-produced one that might just snag a few new fans along the way.

One of my favorite things about Hell's Highway is the fact that you can spend as much time commanding your squads as you do actually shooting enemies yourself.

One of my favorite things about Hell's Highway is the fact that you can spend as much time commanding your squads as you do actually shooting enemies yourself.

Pure looks great and runs fast. You'll get a good sense of speed on the ground and you'll get to see enough of the surrounding environment to make those huge jumps look positively majestic. The rider animations are perhaps a bit stiff, and the crashes are cut so short that they start to look a little weird, but overall, it looks terrific.

Pure looks great and runs fast. You'll get a good sense of speed on the ground and you'll get to see enough of the surrounding environment to make those huge jumps look positively majestic. The rider animations are perhaps a bit stiff, and the crashes are cut so short that they start to look a little weird, but overall, it looks terrific.

For as many times as I had to replay certain stages, Wario Land: Shake It! felt kind of brief, though there were aspects that managed to wear out their welcome before it was over. Still, a 2D game with this kind of detail is enough of an anomaly that it can be enjoyable for that alone, and despite some structural issues, it shakes up the usual platformer formula enough to be interesting.

The story is the main thing that I'll remember about The Force Unleashed--I found it to be more satisfying than the last three movies combined. Though you go in sort of knowing how it has to end, since it has to lead into Star Wars, there are plenty of significant events occurring throughout. It's enjoyable to watch it all unfold. That said, it's unfortunate that the game isn't a bit more even, because the constant flips from too easy to too hard really drag things down and prevent The Force Unleashed from being great.

The story is the main thing that I'll remember about The Force Unleashed--I found it to be more satisfying than the last three movies combined. Though you go in sort of knowing how it has to end, since it has to lead into Star Wars, there are plenty of significant events occurring throughout. It's enjoyable to watch it all unfold. That said, it's unfortunate that the game isn't a bit more even, because the constant flips from too easy to too hard really drag things down and prevent The Force Unleashed from being great.

One of the best parts about Crysis Warhead is the price. With an expansion-minded retail rate of $29.99, Crysis Warhead is inexpensive enough to make many of its issues feel very minor. Taken with the optimizations that may make it a friendlier game on more hardware configurations and its action-focused pacing, it's also much more approachable than the previous game.

It's a much fuller and funnier experience than the first episode.

It's a much fuller and funnier experience than the first episode.

It's both a must-own for fans of the genre and a great place for new players to get started.

Samurai Shodown is a great series, and as far as I'm concerned, SS2 is the best installment of the bunch. Between that and the game's online support, I'm well satisfied with this release. If you have fond memories of '90s arcades, I'd guess that you'll be satisfied, as well.

It's a solid first step. With some iteration, more content, and more vocal contributions from more members of the TNA roster, a sequel could be just as viable of an alternative to the SmackDown! series as TNA's brand of wrestling is to WWE's.

Spore's most positive traits are so uniquely satisfying that it's disappointing the gameplay which underpins them isn't more engrossing.

Trouble in Paradise offers everything the first game did--literally--with a heap of new content and enough streamlined gameplay mechanics to get even an experienced gardener's green thumb back into action. And if you never tried the original game, first of all, shame on you. Second, go play this one.

That Mercenaries 2: World in Flames isn't better seriously bums me out. Even in its current state you can see so much potential for breakneck, anarchic fun, which makes its laundry list of problems that much more frustrating.

While you could say that there's nothing quite like The Last Guy--well, beyond the Work Time Fun minigame that the whole thing was based on--its unique feel doesn't make it a great purchase at $9.99.

The only things really holding Castle Crashers back are some unfortunate technical problems, but they're not enough to entirely suppress the game's gleeful abandon for both hacking and slashing.

As a Mario game, Mario Super Sluggers feels kind of cheap; as a baseball game, it fails to capture the finer points that make the sport interesting in the first place. Its accessibility is probably Mario Super Sluggers' most well-realized characteristic, but what you're getting access to simply isn't much fun.

It has all the same elements as the original, but it just doesn't deliver the charm and appeal.

As a game following in the footsteps of the Galaga legacy, Legions doesn't do a very good job. Other than the ability for ships to capture other ships, nothing about this game feels much like the original game.

If anything meaningful happens in this game aside from establishing a villain, it was lost on me. The only way I got anything interesting out of it was to start searching for web pages devoted to Baldur's place in Norse mythology to see how many liberties Silicon Knights is taking with its fiction and to see what sorts of things could lie ahead in the next games. As a game, the action is a little too straightforward for its own good.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is terrific in almost every way, revitalizing a classic but long-dormant game in an exciting way that stands on its own, but also serves as a potent reminder that there's a new retail sequel on the horizon that'll bring all this crazy swinging to 3D environments.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is terrific in almost every way, revitalizing a classic but long-dormant game in an exciting way that stands on its own, but also serves as a potent reminder that there's a new retail sequel on the horizon that'll bring all this crazy swinging to 3D environments.

It's slightly less offensive as a Fable II preorder bonus, but it comes nowhere near justifying its 800 point ($10) asking price.