The battles themselves are chaotically free-for-all, allowing up to four monsters to grapple hand-to-hand and even rip up handy lampposts, buildings, and cars to bludgeon enemies.

Stealing the best gadgets and characters from the movies, NightFire lets you decide how to topple the requisite megalomanical villain: Use stealth and gizmos (like Eurobabe-revealing x-ray specs—thanks, Q!) or go in guns blazing.

We don’t like how the pesky pedestrians always manage to dodge your cab, but the graphics of the San Francisco–like city are amazingly detailed.

It’s about time someone used an SUV for more than hauling brats to soccer practice.

To hell with lame gunshot wounds and other gang violence. This game’s fatalities include creative beheadings and dismemberments that would make Hannibal green with envy.

We could have done without the ads for Toyota (what is this, a movie preview?), but the slamming soundtrack and retro touches-the 1995 version of EA's game is included-should help bring the league one step closer to atoning for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Executing gravity-defying jumps and mean combos in the well-rendered environments is a piece of cake, though a longer game would have iced it for us.

Electronic Arts is keying on the sport's blocking, defensive strategy, and teamwork with NASCAR 06-the closest to "Madden" car racing can get.

True to its name, this punishing game takes some of the wussiness out of baseball, and we’re not just talking collisions at the plate.

Verbose cut scenes threaten to stall the mayhem, but two elements save the day: playable legends like Andre the Giant and "bra & panties" matches featuring such divas as Stacy Keibler and Trish Stratus. A little thong goes a long way.

Your all-terrain vehicles come equipped with oil slicks, smoke screens, and acid bombs that are so fun to use that it's hard to tell if it's more fun to use contraband or smuggle it.

Eye-popping.

The game play is so tedious.

Improvements in puck physics means that hard shots can bruise your opponents, while last year's overly aggressive defense has been scaled back to realistic levels.

Twenty-four long trails and endless noodly bike upgrades add variety.

If you’re the kind of guy who likes to chop his prey into Sizzlean before he gets a whiff of your bad man musk, then the ninjas of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven are right up your dojo.

And even though the graphics look like anime, fans of the original will be relieved that the classic's side-scrolling game play has been left untouched.

Fanatics will tweak tire pressure, suspension, and build dynasties, alliances, and sponsorships; rookies can learn the nuances of drafting, passing, and holding position on dozens of real-world tracks.

Ignore the nonsensical story—centered on Mordoc, the vampire king, and his Onyx Tower of Eldritch—and stay on course with your barbarian, dwarf, cleric, or elf, traversing time and eerie environments.

Incredibly atmospheric (it makes great use of flickering lights, icy landscapes, and foreboding corridors) without skimping on the screams, The Thing is a terrifying battle to the finish.

Playing as heavily-armed rodents or goose-stepping teddy bears, up to 16 people can torch each other. It's more of everything you loved.

Incredibly atmospheric (it makes great use of flickering lights, icy landscapes, and foreboding corridors) without skimping on the screams, The Thing is a terrifying battle to the finish.

Our only regret is that George Foreman isn't in the game. Apparently he's too busy hocking his new grill to bother bringing his fat ass into the game for a good ol' fashioned digital butt-whuppin'.

Stealing the best gadgets and characters from the movies, NightFire lets you decide how to topple the requisite megalomanical villain: Use stealth and gizmos (like Eurobabe-revealing x-ray specs-thanks, Q!) or go in guns blazing.

Crave a purer form of pigskin, where painkillers and cheap shots aren't just overlooked but encouraged? Then give this ballsy baller a try.

For the casual player, this is archaic stuff that’ll provide about an hour of nostalgic fun.

The creators get points for keeping the combos, juggles, air attacks, and instant-kill fatalities, not to mention the chopsocky feel and cameos from familiar faces like Baraka and Reptile.

Improvements in puck physics means that hard shots can bruise your opponents, while last year's overly aggressive defense has been scaled back to realistic levels.