While "B&W" simply was dull and arduous, B&W2 ended up being far too easy to handle with little reason to go through again as the opposite alignment.

If you find yourself in a charitable frame of mind, and can overlook the ridiculous story, one-dimensional characters, and hackneyed story elements, Trauma Center is a great twitch-action game.

Ultimately, Diplomacy is no fun at all when you are playing by yourself, but a bit better when playing with others over a network.

While Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness certainly has an improved tweaking of the battle system from the previous game, the story is insufferable and there's very little in the game beyond Lugia to justify picking it up over any other Pokémon title – and pretty much every Pokémon fan had that information in hand well before the game itself came out, really rendering this review pointless.

The races are simply formulaic and far too easy- if your horse matches up at all with the other horses, you are going to win as long as you can press the A button.

A well put together play that is a vast improvement over most other flight sims of the genre. Whether or not you buy it depends on how dedicated you are to flight sims, or to historical gaming in general.

It's easy to see that the DS was made for adventures like this, but I'm sad to say that unless they get better, we're going to see the point-and-click genre die out again. Trace Memory gives old-school gamers something to be excited about-- but only for a little while.

Sure Street Fighter II is here, but if you’re a hardcore gamer, you probably already own at least one version of that. That means the number of actual, playable classics on this disc is reduced to just Final Fight, Forgotten Worlds, and Mercs. Do you really want to buy this disc just for those three?

With games like Far Cry Instincts and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, it's quite obvious that developers are just now starting to truly take advantage of the Xbox, and it's kind of sad to see it go so soon.

Sure, it doesn't have 20 games like last year, but the quality of the ones included is considerably better.

The voice acting is a wonderful complement to the in-game movies and there were many times when I was laughing out loud at the onscreen antics.

This is one of those games that you’ll put in your CD jacket after its initial play-through, and one that will remain there, flipped-over many times as you look for a good game to play in subsequent months and years.

"Katamari Damacy" is still on my short list of favorite games of all time. It's an incredible game, and I'm not giving up my copy for anyone. But We Love Katamari has managed to beat it, hands down, in almost every single way.

Much like "Darkwatch," this is a game that you definitely want to play, but you're probably better off not paying for, at least not while it's $40. [Import]

Given that this came out less than a year after KUF: C, this game feels like a mere expansion pack or a patch with a full game price tag. There's not a lot of development in regards to the characters or story.

A wonderful title and well worth a purchase. While the visuals leave much to be desired, the rest of the game is well packaged. This is adventure gaming at its finest and includes a wonderful control scheme innovation that should be used for future games.

And so, we come to the conclusion, and that conclusion is a sad one: stick with Links 2004, Hotshots Golf 3, Hotshots Golf Fore!, or even Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005. At least those games had rewarding gameplay.

But, if you can get past the unnecessarily complex controls and obscene difficulty of said missions, you'll be rewarded with a rank based on the speed with which you completed your objectives, the damage inflicted on your enemy, and the number of letters you're gonna have to send home to your troops' families.

When the game manages to find its groove, it's absolutely hilarious and incredibly fun. But between those moments of inspired lunacy and brilliance are vast half-hours of monotony.

One of the worst games you could buy this year. Imagine someone took the Mission Mode out of "Soul Calibur II," and sold it as a separate game for $50. That's Urban Reign.

Hardly a vast leap forward for the series, but it's not a simple graphical improvement with a minor gameplay upgrade thrown in either.

Everything a great hockey game should be, but the presentation lacks the luster a license from Hockey Night in Canada should have had.

You have to play it twice (or save the game before a certain junction) to truly take in the entire dynamic story. Don't ever doubt the value of a good Japanese RPG...this is the kind of offering that will allow it to continue to shine as its own genre.

They claim actual dance moves (or at least dance footwork) can be learned from the game, and that the game is much more accessible from a dancing background. Here's the huge problem with this claim - Pump It Up does absolutely nothing innovative with its step patterns at all.

The game is worth a purchase if you're looking for a decent new party game, but it isn't anything more than a weekend rental if you're not.

An incredibly accurate simulation as to what pet ownership is really like.

An incredibly accurate simulation as to what pet ownership is really like.

An incredibly accurate simulation as to what pet ownership is really like.

For most gamers, this is a pass. There's just not enough value in the game long term in the 2 games to make this worth your money at a $40 price point, or even $30.

A good idea ruined by a design team that tried to get too cute. This game would have been a classic if they worked the upgrade system on your craft's gunnery into your planetside firearm, and gave you, the character stats and upgradeables as well.

With the laughably bad art and writing in the cutscenes, and gameplay clocking in at less than a day's worth of casual play, I would MAYBE recommend this at a half-price purchase. This is a definite rental. You definitely should play this, but you definitely shouldn't pay for it.

The story coupled with some truly unique game play elements easily pushed me to the very end despite some rather frustrating moments.

Without characters that you care about and with very little fleshing out, you don't have a compelling story. Without a compelling story, a lot of the flaws one could overlook due a more complete overall package, like Disgaea, become major annoyances.

As it is though, if you can get past the cheap humor that gets no laughs (even the mighty David Spade would have said "no mas" after 2 of the character designs.) the gameplay is good enough to make this a keeper.

Definitely a more realistic gladiator experience than that found in Shadow of Rome, but it comes off as being rather stale.

There's absolutely no reason to own this game. Even a shooter fan like myself isn't going to find enough reason to keep this game around any longer than 3 days tops.

If you are jaded from too many of the same old RTS games or even if you just want to play an innovative game for a change, then Darwinia is definitely one you should look into and with a demo readily available, there really isn’t a good reason to not give it a try.

The ball travels with the speed and solidity you’d expect on a real pinball table. This makes timing your shots a pleasurable experience. [JPN Import]

Like all open-ended games, the true strength of Pirates! is its near-infinite replayability.

If this is the way EA is going to approach the development of their sports games, then perhaps the next college football game they release should be "NCAA Football 08." At least it would save me $50.

Yeah, the art direction is incredible. While the story isn't particularly mind-blowing, it is serviceable and entertaining. But the control scheme is so awful and frustrating, clearing the game is more a matter of patience with poor layout than any skill or talent.

The elements of a fun and hugely successful game are here, Bandai and Capcom. You've just got to want to put some cash and effort into making it something more than a retread.

Meteos stands head and shoulders above very nearly everything available for the DS right now. Only Internet play could have made this game better, and to be honest, I fully expect a Wifi-enabled sequel at some point.

If you like RPGs and games that have a sense of humor you should get this now. You'll be happy that you did.

They tried to cram too many unusual features into the game, and though each is interesting and has potential individually, the resulting hodgepodge is no better than the average RPG.

All in all, the easiest thing for me to say is that it's not worth your time or money.

The music...oh please, don't get me started on that. It's like someone is playing a muted tape deck in the background.

This latest RTK game is the best yet, but the franchise long ago subscribed to the Madden philosophy- incremental changes to what is essentially the same game year after year.

I do see it shine at times with its immature, but cute humor; then I see how straightforward it can be in some parts and I quickly knock it down a few pegs.

Uninspired visuals, disgustingly easy gameplay, and a complete lack of any real motivation to play the game awaits any who dare purchase this title. It is tedious and boring at every level.

I can't definitively say this is the worst RPG I've ever played. But this does make my Worst 5 of all time.

This certainly is a different kind of game, interesting even. But, a blast to play? A must have? These are things that Kirby: Canvas Curse sadly is not.

The best dance game on the market today, despite its imperfections.

European Assault hasn't broken down any barriers or added much to the FPS genre, but the gameplay additions make it a small step forward and also a pleasant return to form for the series.

The gameplay is simple enough for casual gamers to like and filled with enough options for more serious strategy gamers to enjoy.

Bad controls, bad story, and bad code add up to make this is a bad game.

Combined with slightly above-average aesthetics and the chance to go through the game again as a different twin, The Sacred Stones is a solid and worthy diversion for the tactical fan.

There's only one group of people that I can think would be stupid enough to praise this game, and that's people who like to pretend that they're smarter than other people.

The game is just plain sloppy, and smacks of being rushed out the door to capitalize on Donkey Konga's popularity before it was too late.

The only gaming use I can find for this would be to in a museum display for the worst use of video game licenses, or as a cautionary tale about the woes of rushing a product to market.

There's just too much repetition and too little variety for me to just recommend Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee to everyone...especially at $40.

The graphics look excellent, sound effects and custom soundtracks are superb, the gameplay itself is rock-solid, damage modeling is present and accounted for, car customization goes even deeper than any game before it, the menu system is a god-send, and it's always ready to rock out on Xbox Live.

DSI secured a license that had incredible potential for a quality word game and put out a title that Chuck Woolery would be embarrassed to be associated with. Leave this title on the shelf and find someone to play a real game of Scrabble with.

If you've played or own any of the games in the NBA Street series there's enough new content here to offer a unique experience as well as plenty of familiar ground to tread while on the move.

Guild Wars is an incredibly immersive and addicting gaming experience, and with new quests being added to the game and the promise of expansion packs for the game, it looks like we’re all going to be hooked for a long, long time.

It's just too easy. That added onto the obstacle glitch in this game really kills the thrill of strategy, simply because there is none.

You could plunk your money down for worse titles from Nanco, but that honestly isn't saying much this year. When someone figures out how to put together an actual game with depth, challenge, and uses the touch screen as more than a gimmick, get back to me.

Aside from the actual soundtrack, on the pitch noises are quite fine. Commentating is good and keeps up rather well with the action.

Just a hair's breadth from perfection. The only real flaw comes in the form of the difficult to locate figments littering the levels. Everything else was incredible. The gameplay was smooth and responsive, the audio presentation was beyond impressive, and the visuals display a rare artistic value not seen in many games these days.

Deluxe Series is no more than baby steps beyond its predecessor, and is only recommended on the theory that the card games selected for the package lend themselves better to a portable format than the console versions.

I am seriously begging you to not buy this game. Playing it doesn't even make you feel dirty, it literally makes you unclean to the point that dirt has bonded to your skin and you can't scrub it off no matter how hard you try or how many bars of Zest you go through.

If you're waiting for the Xbox to get a true RPG, well, you need to keep waiting. This is about as action oriented as it gets.

While its core concept and educational fluid dynamics demonstrations earned the game a couple tenths of a point extra in the Overall category, it unfortunately commits the two cardinal sins of a puzzle game. No replay, and no learning curve.

Overall, after playing this game one time through (ugh, tell me about it), I can confidentially say that I will never play this game ever again and never look back. This game is awful, plain and simple.

It's hardcore gameplay from beginning to nigh-impossible end...just the way it's supposed to be. When you beat a game, you're supposed to feel as if you've accomplished something.

The best thing to come out of the prequels, since the films thus far have not stood on their own.

Resurrection of Evil even failed to match the atmosphere of the previous title and is little more than eye-candy without any flavor. Do yourself a favor and pass on this one.

Superficially, this game looks incredible, but digging deeper will spell out otherwise. Doom 3 is by no means a bad game, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was lacking.

Basically the same as the Star Wars Lego kits. You'll complete it in under a day, and then put it up on the shelf, never to be played with again.

With a slick story, great visuals, awesome multiplayer possibilities, and a style that is unmatched, Chaos Theory does not disappoint.

I found the gameplay elements in Head On to get stale, even with the infrastructure gameplay in place.

From the elegant battle system to the beautiful graphics and excellent sound, everything just comes together beautifully to grab the player from the very beginning and not let go until Ares has been sent to Hades.

Aside from hearing what decently cast voice acting sounds like and hearing Michael Madsen give an excellent performance in 6-10 hours of bad gameplay, there's absolutely no reason to touch this game, even at $20.

I think we're getting to the point where we're going to have to start paying Sega NOT to make games on their own.

I was hopelessly addicted from the first race. Unless you hate racing games or the Ridge Racer series, I'd highly recommend this one.

While Lumines is far, FAR from a killer app, it's a must have game for the PSP. It has a simple design that hooks you for hours at a time without you even realizing what happened. That, my friends, is the hallmark of a classic puzzle game.

My only real complaint is that this entire game is dull. Even with the option to play this with 3 other people, I hardly see any area of this game that multiplayer would make more enjoyable.

It's not a bad game, it's just nothing new or mind-blowing. It is, most certainly, still a truckload of fun.

It's nice to look at, and the simple gameplay and quick story progression allow you to get into it pretty quick. It's just that there isn't a whole lot that you would want to keep it around for.

On the outside the game has everything going for it - beautifully stylised visuals, atmospheric sound and an interesting storyline - but on the inside it's riddled with bad design choices that could have easily been avoided with a bit of extra thought from the developer.

Pokémon fans have had to endure plenty of indignities...But nothing compares to the plain, heaping amount of compost that is being passed off as Pokémon Dash.

If only the game weren't so expensive, the added cost of the bongos notwithstanding, I'd be able to recommend it in a heartbeat, but the relative brevity and light difficulty keep me from being able to recommend Jungle Beat as anything other than a solid rental.

While I typically do not give a whole lot of credit for sports game that cram worn out music tracks, I have to admit the MLB 2006 sound track is pretty diverse in terms of music styles, which is good for representing a player's at-bat music.

The worst fighting game of all time. Worse than "Vs," even worse than Evil Zone. If you play it...I'm afraid you may lose your sense of taste.

The game just never...builds into anything more than an average video game experience.

The graphics are gritty and realistic, the sounds will make you nervous as hell, and the immense feeling of accomplishment that comes with successfully executing a good strategic assault both in the single-player campaigns as well as multiplayer is overwhelming.

Flourishes offline but falls apart when trying to take it Live.

An extremely average first person shooter.