Despite quite a potential, Venetica takes elements from other different games mortifying all of them with a result that doesn't come even close to the quality level that an ambitious production needs to reach.

Superstars V8 Racing is a nice surprise, a good game with great visuals, that let you play in your own style, arcade or highly simulative. Unfortunately there are some flaws, like the handling, actually a little bit broken, and the usual game modes.

Seabass and Konami finally made big changes inside the PES formula, with many improvements in every aspect and a great atmosphere surrounding their production. It's a pity that the game is still limited by some automatisms that prevent it from being a real revolution, but this year we can surely look forward for the future iteration of the saga.

Medal of Honor is a great title, a realistic and epic take on the war in Aghanistan, but is too short, just 5 hours for an incredible experience, that will push you in a breathtaking journey in most dangerous valleys of A-Stan. It also has an interesting hardcore single player mode, and a well made multiplayer, but it's not as good as the ones in Bad Company and Modern Warfare.

Despite unsolved bugs and non-updated teams, PES 2011 has lots of novelties, excellent commentary and a great graphics.

Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light drops the cinematic look of the franchise for a much more traditional gameplay. It's an halfmade attempt however because many features are excessively out-of-date and players find theirselve struggling more against an unfriendly game-design than the monsters inhabiting the world of Brandt and his friends. With an excellent visual and art direction as its best feats, Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light is a JRPG which will appeal nostalgic players especially, but it is nowhere close to the quality provided by Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

Water is hydrophobia's main attraction. The problem is that there isn't much else to entertain yourself with. Still worth a try if you don't fear water.

Samurai Warriors 3 is a massive game, rich with contents and stuff. It is also a visually impressive title and in spite of a repetitive gameplay it is fun and enjoyable. Deep customization, multiple options and game modes, nifty multiplayer support: this 3D beat'em-up is certainly not a game which can appeal everyone.

Neversoft was able to renovate GH mechanics with a few good ideas which push Warriors of Rock lifespan into the stratosphere. Right after the first few hours you may realize that the core mechanics are almost the same, but still this is one of the most fun and accomplished episodes in the saga.

FIFA 11 is once again the best simulation around with small improvements here and there and the same freedom and perfect control over the players. The offline game modes and the atmosphere inside and outside the matches need many improvements tough.

Finally a next generation FIFA with its valid technical features is arrived on PC. Too bad for the bugged and bewildering play-by-play and for the absence of the innovations founded in the console version.

For a level 61 player, this is another unessential expansion that doesn't add anything besides some dull new missions on a not exciting environment. Only the much waited level 69 patch will give to this DLC some more sense, but it still will be a disappointing DLC for a fantastic game.

Darksiders looks great on PC, thanks to the greater resolution and the lack of tearing. The game itself comes with excellent graphics and nice artistic direction, but its strength lies in its gameplay: War faces hundreds of different enemies, using many different weapons, and there are plenty of puzzles to be solved in each level. Definitely a fantastic action/adventure game, an exercise in game design that can't leave you indifferent.

Codemaster's F1 2010 is a great game, not only for its visual achievements, but also for the way it puts you inside the cockpit of Formula 1 car. You don't only have to drive faster than others pilots, but you have to live a season completely, earning the trust of your team, defeat your teammate and bully stand in front the cameras after a race, in the usual press conference.

The new additions keep the traditional gameplay fresh and addictive while the work made on the engine and in particular on the UI helps to get the series closer to the newest productions.

This DLC is a must buy for those who loved RDR. IT has guns, horses and poker in it... what could you want more?

On the technical side Evochron Mercenary is outdated and the narration is really poor, but surely the fanatics of space free roaming will appreciate the opportunity to explore the universe without any limitation and a well-rounded multiplayer.

Halo: Reach is the Bungie's last goodbye to a saga that mostly made what Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are right now. And it's a lot of the things every Halo fan could have hoped for. It won't be easy for the new team to pick up Master Chief from where Bungie left him.

An original gameplay and funny carachters contribute to make a addictive formula that catches all-accomplished the gamer's attention.

An excellent narration and a first-rate horror atmosphere, in association with a great value for money, live down little bugs and a translation not so accurate. Probably one of the best independent games of 2010.

In a basic plot, the character of Jimmy with his mix of charisma and ignorance stands out and the presence of new targets boost the replaying of Mafia II. Too bad for the excessive bugs in the artificial intelligence.

The presence of well constructed brand new characters is totally eclipsed by an unsatisfactory finale and recycled settings.

A fun, if a bit too samey, game which try to push the Spidey games formula forward. Still, it's a fan reccmomended game. The others may grow tired a bit too easily.

NHL 11 is mere evolution of previous year effort from EA. It's still the best hockey simulation around.

In its Nintendo DS version, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions confirms the good idea of taking three different Spider-Man, each with unique powers, and put them into the same game. Packed with nice graphics and sounds, Griptonite Games' last effort comes as a very good action game for all the Spidey fans out there.

As far as good looks and presentation are concerned, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a fine game, but it's way too simple and easy to appeal to an experienced audience.

Team Ninja is not Nintendo. This could be the perfect description for Metroid: Other M, a competent action game that simply lacks the quality and the level of polishing of the "real" Nintendo games.

This game is a little gem in the XBLA catalogue. A must have title especially for those who are planning to buy the sequel.

Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island is not the best adventure made by Bill Tiller and has flaws, like the terrible ending, that show a lack of polishing. That said, the nice art direction, a world rich of details and the possibility to switch between three different characters make It good enough for all the fans.

It's hard to rate Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack without looking at it through the eyes of a nostalgic. The pack contains two very old lightgun shooters which have nothing to do with the several nice titles of the same genre released for Wii in the last years, and it's not gonna be sold at a budget price.

The narration is audacious and amusing, the direction is bright and perfect. No matter how easy are the puzzles.

Lots of bugs and some major gameplay faults do not permit Ship Simulator Extreme to be anything more than a whole of many boats and missions.

Great promises, bad realization: too many bugs, an unplayable multiplayer and lots of slowdown. Disastrous.

Mafia II has a good plot, rude, violent and with a wonderful narrative. But Mafia II is also a good action where the adventure and the free roaming create the perfect gameplay mix all together with the fast shooting and the realism of the driving sequence.

Like its PC counterpart, And Yet it Moves on Wii is a brilliant execution of a good idea. More than that, the controls of the Wii version make this game fits perfectly on this console. The only flaws are the simplicity of the gameplay and the shortness of the game overall.

The game is not so long-lived, but an intense story mode and the great attention to the technical features make the gameplay solid and involving.

A strategic game polished and satisfying, suitable for gamers with great patience and discipline, which approaches famous series such as Cvilization or Total War, but less striking in graphics and audio.

Too derivative from previous games, especially the Nintendo DS ones, and too much multiplayer oriented.

Peculiar challenges and a good managerial dimension have to compare with a poorly detailed graphics and an excessive selling price.

After twelve years StarCraft still dominates the RTS genre, giving players a campaign full of contents and perfectly paced in addition to a virtually endless, involving multiplayer that will entertain till the release of the second chapter.

Hurtling along wiht a Lamborghini is more than amazing, but the excessive arcade style and the insufficient artificial intelligence of police men make Need for Speed World a little bit boring and insipid.

Beautifully crafted environment and a special feeling throughout the game are the main positive aspects in Dive: The Medes Islands Secret. With exploration in its purest form, the gameplay is a little too oversimplified but for a relaxing experience in the deepness of the sea this game can be a good choice.

This 4th episode of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse is the easiest and the plot flows without any upheaval, but a superb finale and the exhilarating couple of Sam & Max are capable to increase the expectation for the next chapter.

Graphic elements and the general atmosphere are good, but the lack of online multiplayer combined with an incredible slowness and a lean strategic front make the global experience unsatisfactory.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky is absolutely packed with content. Despite the lack of an unique plot and defined characters, fans of the genre will be pleased with such a polished gameplay. The visuals are brilliant and cheerful, probably one of Level 5's best efforts on Nintendo DS. Without any doubt the best RPG of this summer and on the system itself.

Blacklight: Tango Down is a good concept and game limited by its average quality maps' level design and by some issues with weapons balancing and respawn spots.

Like The Conduit, Tournament of Legends feels like a wasted opportunity: the graphics are pretty good and the controls are ok, but the game itself is a mediocre no-brainer beat'em up, which also lacks an adequate amount of content.

Gameloft keeps with the copy & paste philosophy with a nice Castlevania clone, deeply lacking in personality but with a good gameplay and some pretty nice graphics.

Good controls and visuals are the bright sides for Pearl Harbor Trilogy: 1941 - Red Sun Rising. Given the fact of the small price and the lack of competitors on Wii, this game can be interesting for lovers of the aerial combat shooters, but its flaws in terms of gameplay and level design can be very restraining also for the most firm virtual pilot.

After tons of really good adventures, TellTale tries to make something different with this Layton's clone that fails because of a lack of depth and gameplay diversity.

ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead comes with a nice single player campaign, a series of stand-alone missions, a nice online multiplayer mode and lots of weapons and vehicles. Unfortunately the AI doesn't work good, the characters animations are poor and the controls are the antithesis of immediacy.

This is probably the best game in the Lego saga, adding even light rpg elements to the mix. If the concept hasn't grown old on you, this is surely one to go for.

Singularity takes lots of ideas from other shooters, mixing them in a way that does not really invent anything new but offers hours of entertainment and a compelling gameplay.

APB should have been the same game, just better. The main gameplay mechanics are here as well as the third person action and the persistent world, but despite some fun moments, the lack of polishing compromises the whole experience.

It may not be a memorable 3D platformer, but Jett Rocket succeed in what is, in the end, the main aim for a game: entertain. Quite short and often derivative, this game is nevertheless one of the best titles lately released on WiiWare, mainly thanks to its brilliant level design and the everlasting charm of the 3D platform genre.

It's quite funny that one of the most hardcore games of this year appears on the most casual console available; but if you have grown up with scores and 1up's, this is something like a true nirvana.

The first hours you'll spend with naughty bear will fly by, the only problem is that after those there won't be much else left. Good ideas ruined by a less than average execution.

Despite the lack of narration and poor shooter moments, Sniper: Ghost Warrior shines from other City Interactive products thanks to some really good sniping scenes and nice graphic.

A worth addition if you are a real BF BC 2 fan, but keep in mind that it's expensive for what it's giving to players.

Transformers is a funny "rail shooter" with nice graphics and four different weapons you can use to shot your enemies during two available campaigns. The problem is the game is way too easy, as you can finish it in a few hours. It also lacks any form of progression or power-ups.

Transformers: War for Cybertron on Nintendo DS is a nice action game, with a good combat system and lots of enemies to face. It's also really deep and challenging. Definitely, it's worth a try.

Transformers: War for Cybertron on Nintendo DS is a nice action game, with a good combat system and lots of enemies to face. It's also really deep and challenging. Definitely, it's worth a try.

Lost the appeal of the previous episode, They Stole Max's Brain mixes good and less fun moments, challenging puzzle and boring ones. It's not a bad game at all but not even the best TellTale's product.

Even if Pro Cycling Manager is complete and realistic as usual, this edition may result a little bit tricky for newbies and a "déjà vu" for the veterans.

Duels of Planeswalkers is the perfect digital version of the Wizards' card game. But it's really bad at the same time you can't create your own deck and the PC version doesn't have any new feature respect the one-year-older Xbox 360 version.

We can rate Green Day: Rockband with a 6 just thinking of fans' love or of those looking for an easy game to begin with the series. But we need to warn those who loved The Beatles episode that its magic and creativity is nowhere to be found in this game.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker delivers the classic gameplay of the MGS series, love it or hate it, but the experience on PSP becomes even more cumbersome due to the lack of a second analog stick. It's a "hardcore game", no doubt about it, but all the Snake fans out there shouldn't miss it.

It is undoubtedly the best golf simulation available on all platforms: it makes a masterful use of the Motion Plus and offers a whole lot of content, and even if it's basically the same game as last year, every golf addicted should pick it up.

Joe Danger is the most "Nintendo" of the not-Nintendo games; a statement that clarifies the awesome quality of this wonderful PSN game.

The game is not lacking of faults (collisions and surrounding elements are the graphics' weak spots), but the technical features are valid and online updates are frequent and massive.

While fun at first, Backbreaker has got problems on the long run, due to its limits and the absence of official licenses and making Madden the best choice for NFL fans.

Alpha Protocol is a strange game. No matter how good and deep is the rpg part, with a well told story, it's almost completely broke when it's time to shoot and sneak. The A.I. is so cheesy and ramdom that completely make you forget your class and skills.

The new expansion of The Sims makes us work. To achieve the ambitions of our Sims as firefighter, tattooist, ghost hunter among the others is fortunately always gratifying, as being able to finally follow the Sims while their working. A must-have integration for all the fans of the series.

The Insurgency Pack is a must buy for Conviction Fans who love to play online, both in coop and versus. Troubled IA spoils a bit of the fun but still this is a really well crafted DLC.

This is an homage to one of the most famous fps in history. Improvements are only about the coop mode and the joypad adaptation. Ask yourself if you are ready to play Doom II.

Blur succeeds to perfectly mix Mario Kart and Wipeout in a strong and peculiar way, with an addictive multiplayer, a long career, and first and foremost a well balanced and and well devised power up system.

ModNation Racers is a great title, with many excellent modes and an awesome online implementation in terms of multiplayer and content sharing. The graphics engine, which in the beta raised more of a concern, has been properly optimized and now delivers fluid and fast races on spectacular tracks.

UFC 2010 Undisputed confirmed that this franchise is the best of the mixed martial arts simulation genre. With in depth fighting system that rewards practice, addictive and lengthy career mode, UFC Undisputed 2010 is a must-have for MMA fans especially for the new additions to this year's version have been made exclusively to the hardcore gamers.

Tetris Party Deluxe promised to provide a wider multiplayer experience than every other Tetris game, but it's true only while playing locally with a couple of real friends. Through Wi-Fi Connection, Tetris Party Deluxe is essentially the same as Tetris DS, with the only difference that the last one is more inspired and stylish.

Given the quantity and quality of ideas in the first Super Mario Galaxy, the general feeling was that the sequel would have brought more or less the same things, maybe developing certain concepts and adding some new stages. We were instead surprised by the numerous new features, both in terms of gameplay and in terms of variety, with many completely new galaxies and powers.

It may not be a masterpiece, but Alan Wake is one of the best games we played on Xbox 360 in the last six months. Stephen King fans will love it.

Offers a vast amount of great things to do, seasoned by a non-trivial story and ends with a crescendo.

Offers a vast amount of great things to do, seasoned by a non-trivial story and ends with a crescendo.

Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands is a welcome comeback to faster and tighter gameplay mechanics in the series. It's just too short and too easy to be a AAA title.

It's somewhat rough around the edges, but Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a good action game which firmly stands in the middle between tradition and innovation: even so, its substantial lack of challenge might disappoint long-time fans of the series.

Touch controls are well done, and even level design isn't that bad: simply, they aren't made to stay together, and this is the real, enormous problem of this game. Auto-jumping works in Zelda, not in an action-oriented platform game like this. A low-budget and incoherent project that could have been far, far better.

The Tomb of Sammun-Mak is a really polished, innovative adventure that adds some brilliant ideas to a too often immobile genre. This second episode of the third season is one of the best ever delivered by TellTale.

Very funny at first and technically impressive, Split/Second: Velocity is a very addictive game that brings you adrenaline constantly. It's a pity it has some balance and multiplayer problems tough.

Shrek: Forever After - The Game is, with no shadow of doubt, a title for all the young Shrek fans out there. However, it delivers a solid gameplay and some nice graphics that make it feel enjoyable by adult gamers as well.

Beyond the mere retro-chic, Bit.Trip Runner is a fast paced and addictive running game that is able to wake up the original spirit of a videogamer, through its simple concept. Sometimes frustrating but definitely something to try.

Thanks to its numerous and brilliant puzzles, Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands in its PSP version stands as a great homage to the classic game by Jordan Mechner. Unfortunately some situations suffer from the sometimes unresponsive controls, that make Ubisoft's last effort more "hardcore" than it really is. Definitely a brief but intense experience.

Heroes of Newerth is a multiplayer RTS based on the classic DotA scenario for Warcraft 3, so it comes with a classic gameplay, a great number of characters and hundreds of items that you have to know and try in order to win a match. It can be a very though experience for all newcomers, as they need to play several matches only to know how to use some heroes.

Lost Planet 2 is a really good game if you are looking for a solid multiplayer experience. Storytelling and the single player campaign are a bit on a thin side if you are a lone wolf.

If you never played a skate episode before, this is probably the best skateboarding game around. If you already bought a previous chapter, keep in mind that this is just an update of an already great game.

Two years after, a new world for Age of Conan, with adventures and mysteries under the shadow of the Great Wall.

Although it once again comes as the typical Naruto tie-in that fans should not be missing, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 for PSP offers only one "real" game mode, while the classic arcade mode has been eliminated. There are plenty of available characters, but the gameplay is getting old.

It probably will not surprise you, but Iron Man 2 is a mediocre game. We appreciated the presence of various elements of interest in the first episode, elements that unfortunately have not been developed (or included at all) in this sequel. Better luck next time?

Iron Man 2 is a decent action game, with nice controls and hundred of enemies to eliminate. Graphically, the armor of Iron Man is well done and the frame rate is fluid and stable, but the stages are poor and lack in detail. Fans of the superhero will probably appreciate.