The Armored Core franchise will never be something for the casual gamer. It simply requires more thought and creativity than most people want to employ for a videogame.

It just doesn’t bring the same level of excitement as its predecessor.

While Transformers is a great game, the replay value is surprisingly low. This is mostly because it consists of just a single player campaign mode. While increasing the difficulty level will bring different and more challenging combinations of enemies, the strategies remain the same.

A classic example of how to go above and beyond the expectations of a budget title. At $20, the game is an absolute steal, especially in comparison to the dismally limited "World Championship Poker."

The learning curve is low and the atmosphere engrossing enough for this game to be the perfect introduction to the adventure games genre.

It is a little light on the value side, and you're going to have to put up with a couple of doozies in the way of missions.

Within its current price range it's one of the best games around outside of the Greatest Hits titles, especially for anyone craving a good action game that happened to slide under the radar.

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.

This game would smoke "Tokyo Racer Extreme 01" off the line. But, "Initial D," "Auto Modellista," and "Gran Turismo 4 Prologue" are all better.

It feels more along the lines of an expansion pack to the original game as opposed to a new game, and the heavy use of recycled environments does nothing to mitigate the fact that it's basically the same game.

Not a bad addition to the ranks of dance games; it is simply as unpolished as one would expect from a company's first entry into the genre.

If you don't like Penny Arcade, or the humor that their strip usually relies upon, the odds are good that you won't find much here to justify the price tag; Precipice's story does little to bring the player's character into the universe as more than just an observer or someone along for the ride.

If you're going to buy a copy of the game and can meet its intimidating PC sys. requirements (128 mb video, need an Nvidia FX 5700 or better, or the Radeon equivalent), get that. Otherwise, the X-Box version is probably your next best bet.

The game just doesn’t scream “play me” after the first time or even after a few hours. The interesting little hooks are just too few and far between.

For some reason, I could not tear myself away from playing this game...I got through the game in about six hours under the normal mode.

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.

May not be the best Banjo Kazooie, nor is it very long, but it's sure to be enjoyed by BK fans and any person who is looking for a fun little game to play on their GBAs. If you didn't like the first two games, then chances are you won't like Grunty's Revenge.

There's no doubt it's a fun game-- after all, who doesn't like hopping in a plane and making a rain of lead-- but its flaws make it a bit inaccessible to someone new to the style of play.

Nothing spectacular here, but it'll do.

Like a really hot looking Mercedes with only an AM radio, no cruise control, and cloth seats. It looks great, and it's fun to drive for a bit, but without all those sweet extras that are offered with virtually every other luxury sedan out there, it loses its charm rather quickly.

The repetitiveness of the game got to me quickly. With similar level designs, background music, and graphics, the single player mode made me feel like I was playing the same three or four levels over and over again.

If all you really wanted out of life was to be able to roll up new objects and read what someone writes about them when they've been given the go-ahead to be as wacky as possible, Me & My Katamari might be enough to keep you satiated.

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.

Anyone who has already played through one of its predecessors may as well leave this on the shelf.

In terms of a remake compared to the original, Final Fantasy V Advance manages to faithfully reproduce the experience of the original game. The biggest problem with that is that Final Fantasy V was never a great game in the first place.

The rest of the game looked markedly sharper than the cutscenes, and that really bothers me.

Its story is masterful, woven by an absolute master of the genre. However, the graphical flaws and awkward missteps keep this from being a truly great game.

A resoundingly average shooter. It has its flashes of brilliance, flashes of idiocy, but overall, it rounds out to be a run of the mill shooter. It does have a bit going for it in the likes of running smoothly and without much error beyond clipping issues when your bad guy dies a static death, but still a fully average title on the whole.

I can definitely say that it does add to the lifespan of DW3, and that it is definitely worth a rental if you have the original and enjoyed playing it, maybe even worth buying if you can find it for under $20, like I did.

Still, those who loved the original GoldenEye may find the improved controls, unique weapon set up and hectic environments worth checking out, at least as a rental.

If there's to be a Gradius VI, please, Konami, ditch the insistence on the six power-ups. Give your weapons a lot more variety, give the multipliers options, too. Equip them with say, rate of fire and damage boosts, maybe even so AI so they stray and stay locked on to the boss when the player gives the order. Anything but the same maps, system and enemies we've fought before, only in 3D.

While the combat is simplistic and the game doesn't take a lot of risks, it does make for a solid enough package that like Arc the Lad: Twilight of Spirits, is slightly better than the sum of its parts.

A partially fun, partially frustrating escapade for Phoenix. Once again, the puzzle construction is likely to send you running for a FAQ when, if it was done right it should have you yelling "Take THAT!" at your digital legal foe right along with Phoenix.

"Rave Mode" looks cool, but offers little "wow" factor after a few minutes, and the "create-a-club" mode that was supposed to be deep just wasn’t. It just felt like a whole bunch of promises that were never fulfilled.

Just an average game. It started out strong, but then it simply lost steam toward the end.

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.

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.

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.

Combat is frustrating noce you get multiple party members, basically because they don't do what you want them to do.

As far as replay value is concerned, Def Jam: Vendetta has absolutely none. Zilch. Once you run through the story mode with the four playable characters, that pretty much ends it.

Wade's too easy to figure out, and it just doesn't have the staying power to be able to go toe-to-toe with the best of all time. It has the feel of the champ, but just doesn't have the heart of a champion.

While not a very good fighting game, a very minimal puzzle game and a boring RPG – The total package is truly more than the sum of its parts.

It doesn't have as much as its esteemed cousin, Brain Age, but what it does offer is fun. You will quickly find a favorite game, and spend some exasperating moments trying to best your top score.

This title lacks the coherence and the qualities of a confined, scary space that helped to make the first part of the series so great.

The core gameplay is enjoyable enough, and would be more so if it weren't for the run marking bug, but there is little about the game that makes it seem designed for a handheld platform.

It had the story, humor and graphics worthy of a Monkey Island sequel. Unfortunately, the game included several tedious and repetitive tasks, as well as a very frustrating arcade sequence, all of which managed to destroy the joy of playing and negated all good that the game offered.

I have to say, in terms of presentation, Okami by far is the bet game I’ve ever seen...However, games are meant to be played. And honestly, between the humor that falls flat at times, the worst plot twist I’ve seen in a game since college, and the sheer lack of challenge in the game, Okami falls well short of greatness.

Odama is the third-best console game that involves rolling a giant ball over people. This is not the faint praise that it would initially seem to be, but neither is it the best of recommendations.

What disappoints me so much is that in the end, the game could have been done so much better, just by applying some of the last five years' worth of gameplay innovations to the tried-and-true formula-- namely, obscure origins for its creature roster and maybe throwing a couple mini-games in.

All in all it's not really much of a replay incentive as the levels are fairly simplistic and very linear. However, it's worth hanging on to the game solely because it can be hard to find, and also because it's a unique experience on the PS2.

This game needed to get a big kick in the pants in the gameplay and graphics area, and that plot seriously needed to be worked on. This could have been a lot more fun...but it definitely needed a lot more work.

Kim Possible: Kimmunicator is short on replay and originality, but it is still a solid platformer for the next generation of gamers. The variety of levels and moves makes it more enjoyable than many similar titles.

It does, apart from the lack of options and jumping puzzles, have solid gameplay, decent graphics, and excellent sound, but the lack of originality and poor story keeps it from being really worth anything more than a casual rental.

It is a shame as the game that I was actually able to play was really damned good, but the absurd overuse of cut scenes, terrible voices, and ridiculously clichéd storyline destroyed the potential that was within.

"Gun-porn" turns out to be the most accurate descriptor anyone slapped onto the game. I mean, how many times can you rewatch the same bit of pr0n before you're completely unstimulated by it? It's intense for the first experience, but completely diminishing returns every time after that.

Now that it's over, however, it's obvious that the game will disappoint people looking for an RPG on the 360 that's truly on the level of Final Fantasy.

Card game fanatics who are willing to accept that victory or defeat is often out of their control will probably enjoy the game a great deal. However, those of you who wish to have a greater hand in your own fate will likely be frustrated by the sheer randomness of it all.

Completing missions and putting together issues of the magazine were a lot of fun at first, but because there was so much repetition, they became more like chores rather than a pleasant diversion.

Project Sylpheed has just enough there to feel like you're about to get your need for another good Wing Commander game satiated, and then it doesn't.

For every new innovation, solid gameplay design, and visual accomplishment, there’s another half-hour of gameplay that seems just like the last.

First and foremost, the amount of shots it can take to kill your enemies is absurd. It's so inconsistent that not even a headshot will always drop your enemies, and I have a HUGE problem with that.

Sure you can play 3-player ad-hoc, but why pay for 3 copies of what basically amounts to each one of you getting the side of the cabinet with the busted controller?

This game is available for multiple systems, but if you happen to have a Wii, then that is the system on which you need to play this game.

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.

DO NOT buy this game if you are looking to play just that multi-player/battle mode because you will be $40 poorer and you will probably be throwing your GBA against the wall. But, if you like Pokemon and Bomberman, then by all means, pick this game up.

It had the best story in a game in a long time and an incredible voice acting effort. Unfortunately, the worst engine coding I’ve seen in a long time, along with simple quality control issues, bog it down.

With some better graphics and sound this could have really been an impressive title.

The game is inconsistent. I'll nail the ball perfectly, taking lie of the land and wind speed into consideration; yet the results are never what they should be. What I'm saying is, is that playing with the "auto" is much more productive than "playing for real". This really disappointed me.

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.

A great game for the beginners to start out with, however I can’t really suggest to purchase the game unless you’re a fan of the run n’ gun type games.

The camera angles were enigmatic and frustrating. The action on the screen was great when we were fairly close to the fighting, but once scaled out became chaotic. The personal feel of smacking each other around when close was decent and enjoyable; but once the action panned became impersonal and out of touch.

Is it worth the twenty-bucks? Without hesitation I say "yes". Is it the same value as a "Serious Sam"? Nopers.

A pretty good job porting the game, but if you don't get into this game for the sake of make a run at the top of the leaderboard, or if you're not a shooter aficionado, you're probably not going to be to enthralled by this game.

The graphics are good and the sound/voices are good, but the gameplay is sorely lacking. Between not knowing I could wall sneak because of the wonky activation of the A button and constantly losing my beans, I became increasingly frustrated with the game.

Super Mario Strikers both surprised me and disappointed me at the same time: it looks good, it plays good, and it takes the dreadfully boring sport of soccer and makes it somewhat enjoyable.

This is an incredibly short game... and short lived. I'm all for games that are a romp to play, and is classic "renter" material. But, for their flagship release; I question the integrity of Nintendo.

The sad truth is that after playing the first level, you’ve already seen everything that the game has to offer. The game’s unique take on the typical shooter is interesting and well executed, but it isn’t enough to justify Kill.Switch’s decidedly one-dimensional gameplay.

Donkey Konga's Tarukonga feels flimsy. The drums are too small to give a solid thump with your hand and so the layer of abstraction that's supposed to be formed there (i.e. you feel like you're playing an instrument, not hitting buttons on a controller.) is VERY quickly peeled back.

Forgettable but playable. With few faults, fans of the first who want more of the same should check it out. Otherwise, with so many great platformers to choose from on the GBA, I suggest N-Tranced only to the kids who have never experienced the joys of Crash on the bigger screen.

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

Too many of my experiences with this game were about boredom and annoyance.

If you have a friend on your list who enjoyed "Katamari Damacy," but hasn't played Incredible Crisis yet, and you're looking for an new zany challenge for them to mess with, you might want to pop over to your local game store and see if they're got a copy of this used.

The one shining ray of hope in this game is the hopefully more game companies will seek to utilize more Asian heroines with British accents. Come on, LucasArts...it's the least you can do after this stinker.

A good way for Sega to make up for the whole "we canned the Dreamcast because it wasn't popular in the US, but we had some really good titles on it that the US liked" thing.

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.

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

NCAA Football 07 for the Xbox 360 adds a layer of high definition polish to a franchise that was beginning to feel a bit to familiar year-to-year on the Xbox and PlayStation 2.

Incomplete, plagued by gameplay bugs and experiencing more technical difficulties than any other game since the infamous "Pool of Radiance 2."

Overall, this game really surprised me. I had initially picked it up during a deep sale and didn't expect much but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The combat system is especially well done given how complex it is. Still it's a bit dragged down by the mangled plot scenes and the sharp increase in difficulty.

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.

Due to the game being a budget title, I am willing to overlook the bad voice-overs, weak character animation and technical problems. However, the game fails when it comes to balance.

Repetition, bad AI, and bad localization absolutely kill this game.

It seems like every EA Big sequel nowadays is just the previous version of the game with more ads, different licensed music/MCs, and a new "skin" slapped onto the game. This is getting really, really, really OLD.

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.

Republic is just the latest victim of a gaming epidemic: a very original and entertaining game, completely obliterated by a disastrous interface and useless features.

I realized that in addition to a good interface, story and puzzles, I needed a matching presentation to fully enjoy the game. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and Black Mirror thus ranks barely above average.

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.

In a decent little package, Microsoft has managed to gather a nice little bundle that will no doubt be the beginning of a series of “Scene It’s.”