But Zelda: Phantom Hourglass goes the opposite extreme, and turns sailing into a boring and utterly joyless exercise in line drawing. Basically, instead of controlling the ship directly, you'll merely draw your route on the touchscreen and watch your ship travel to that destination.

Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol tries its hardest to find its niche, but while it has a subject appropriate to the Chibi universe and a concept fittingly original, it is held back in too many places to claim to live up to the standards set by Skip in the earlier title.

Overall, though, it's still a step in the right direction for the 'hog, especially considering where he's been lulling over the past couple of years.

Nevertheless, Nancy Drew: Deadly Secret of Olde World Park hits the spot surprisingly well, rather than dwelling in "girly content" that would've made this game just as insulting as Acclaim's Mary Kate and Ashley line-up.

Overall, though, Jam Sessions is different and enlightening enough to be worth at least a mild recommendation, especially if you're in the same boat as other aspiring guitar players around the world.

In the end this Donkey Kong probably won't strike anybody as a instant classic, but it doesn't need to be in order to be very fun to play.

Drawn to Life has a color and personality far beyond the majority of platformers, and is a perfect fit for the DS functionality to boot, already giving it a good headstart on its competitors quality.

With online options, fun gameplay, hilarious presentation and a can-of-worms full of extras, Open Warfare 2 shouldn't be missed by anyone.

If you loved the first Monster Hunter Freedom game or its PS2 counterpart, you're going to love this.

But it has to be mentioned, forever again, that what is here was a game brilliantly executed on many fronts.

Here it is, the pen and paper classic Dungeons and Dragons represented in videogame form on your PSP. The deep ruleset makes the transistion largely intact, and the campaign itself is impressive in its length. It is what it is. That might have been the best that could have been said of it. If only the results just worked with some kind of grace and style.

In all, Tomb Raider Anniversary scores points for not taking the lazy route. Sure, it seems like a straight-up conversion of the PS2 game with no bonus modes or multiplayer of any kind, but at least it wasn't a half-assed port with no brain power put behind it.

Overall, Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars has its flaws, but remains a smooth running ride, one that'll certainly satisfy fans of the series and newcomers alike.

The battles are stale, the storyline is boring, and the graphics are fairly weak; what more does I have to say to make you avoid this title?

The battles are stale, the storyline is boring, and the graphics are fairly weak; what more does I have to say to make you avoid this title?

The battles are stale, the storyline is boring, and the graphics are fairly weak; what more does I have to say to make you avoid this title?

It's a great game to be sure. Extremely playable and thankfully portable, it can have you going for hours on end. But seriously, I wouldn't mind if they tried to break out of the JRPG mold a little more.

In the end, Alien Syndrome could've turned out a lot worse than it did.

More games should take a look at Tales of the World to see how pleasant a streamlined experience can be.

If you absolutely, positively hate Breakout, make a note to skip Nervous Brickdown entirely. However, if you could tolerate a few plays of it or are just experiencing it for the first time, this is a must-buy.

In the end, Touchmaster should happily suit those who can't play the games at a tavern or seek out something a little derivative on the old attention-span.

It's hard not to be cynical about a game like Hoshigami. It tries so hard to be ignored in so many aspects of its design that it's a quest just to find the game's heart.

Transformers: the Game needed to transform into something -- ANYTHING -- better than this sub-licensed garbage.

This is a game specifically for fans, and even then I'd mention specifically fans of the new Transformers... or Peter Cullen.

The simple fact is, if the idea of building a dungeon tailor-made to lure in specific mobs, then rushing in and killing those mobs sounds appealing to you, then Dungeon Maker is most likely right up your alley.

This is a game specifically for fans, and even then I'd mention specifically fans of the new Transformers... or Peter Cullen.

Puzzle Scape is not a great game, but is a game that should be purchased by enthusiasts only.

In the end, Hot Brain doesn't do enough to change your life, but it's a quirky little addition to the brain-training scene that deserves a look out of sheer boredom.