The new Pitcher Confidence Meter adds a psychological twist: paint the corners a few times, and your control grows sharper...but if you're consistently outside, your insecurity will sink you—just like in the bedroom!

But for the crimes of middling graphics and dull-as-dirt game play, we sentence Dredd vs. Death to eternal burial in the discount bin at Costco. Court adjourned.

The result is an action fighting game that sometimes feels as slick as a disco showdown—after all, style counts just as much in the underworld as it does in the fashion world.

Gamers with short attention spans will likely find all the squad management tedious, but we think it adds a much-needed dimension to a very stale genre. Plus it includes the best video game quote so far this year: "If you see something, shoot it; if it screams in German, shoot it again."

But for the crimes of middling graphics and dull-as-dirt game play, we sentence Dredd vs. Death to eternal burial in the discount bin at Costco. Court adjourned.

But for the crimes of middling graphics and dull-as-dirt game play, we sentence Dredd vs. Death to eternal burial in the discount bin at Costco. Court adjourned.

But for the crimes of middling graphics and dull-as-dirt game play, we sentence Dredd vs. Death to eternal burial in the discount bin at Costco. Court adjourned.

You’re not going to get a more realistic driving experience without nicking the keys to dad’s Delorean. Is GT4 more fetish than game? Probably. But if this is a fetish, then put a leather hood on us and whip us till we bleed!

Combo moves and minor upgrades notwithstanding, Konami has done little more than create a mediocre "Double Dragon" rip-off populated with epilepsy-triggering robots.

Despite its replay value, this is little more than a restructured stroll down memory lane. Next time, let's hope Nintendo enters the 21st century and puts this puppy online.

We're used to crappy stories. What we're not used to is disorienting camera angles and lousy controls that have the lithe, lean, fighting machine Nina plodding around like the bastard love child of Kirstie Alley and a three-legged Clydesdale.

Over 100 hours of game play through 50 levels of sword-swinging, spell-casting combat, thousands of new weapons and equipment, and two new characters (the fighting furry Vah Shir and the lizardman Iksar) will keep you huffing at trucker speed through the wee hours.

Although it's dogged by Commodore 64–quality music and selective licensing agreements-Manchester United is simply Man Red-this new edition more than compensates with killer graphics, new tricks, and an improved dribbling system.

Although it's dogged by Commodore 64–quality music and selective licensing agreements—Manchester United is simply Man Red—this new edition more than compensates with killer graphics, new tricks, and an improved dribbling system.

This intentionally kooky bounty hunter simulator-playing it is like watching an episode of Cops while huffing bleach fumes-is easily the most original game we've played this year.

It's not all brutality. The Punisher is also one of the most immersive strategy games ever created. Aim for the head and enjoy.

It's not all brutality. The Punisher is also one of the most immersive strategy games ever created. Aim for the head and enjoy.

It's not all brutality. The Punisher is also one of the most immersive strategy games ever created. Aim for the head and enjoy.

Fun as this game is to play, the best moments come when you just sit back and observe. Wonderfully acted, written, and directed motion-capture cut scenes play like the Snatch follow-up Guy Ritchie should have made, further evidence of the narrowing gap between video game and movie production values.

Be afraid. The intelligent, fast-moving fiends who stalk special agent Leon Kennedy will almost make you yearn for the embrace of old-fashioned brain-hungry cadavers.

Missions full of vehicles to wrangle and people to off feel like a cross between "Grand Theft Auto" and "Metal Gear Solid," with a dash of "Contra" thrown in for spice. Destroy everything and get paid; this is foreign policy at its finest.

Missions full of vehicles to wrangle and people to off feel like a cross between "Grand Theft Auto" and "Metal Gear Solid," with a dash of "Contra" thrown in for spice. Destroy everything and get paid; this is foreign policy at its finest.

More immersion, more espionage, more metallic gear!

Choose from over 179 field layouts across 19 tournaments to test out the game's hair-trigger controls in surprisingly fun online seven-on-seven team showdowns.

The single-player adventure is every bit as time-devouring as the first Metroid Prime... But the multiplayer split-screen mode, while fun, is straight out of 1997. Plus, there are no online and no 16-player matches.

Halo 2 completely lives up to the hype. An improvement in every way over the original, particularly in terms of playability and graphics.

So good that it even drew Axl Rose out of hiding (he’s the DJ on the classic rock station, one of 11 listening formats), San Andreas cranks out even more action than "Vice City" as you engage in those wacky gang-related adventures you've grown to love in disconcertingly authentic versions of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.

Unfortunately, figuring out how to work the controller is absolutely infuriating, meaning you go into firefights against stealthy Charlie with no knowledge of your environment, opponent, or weapon.