Rock Band is the ultimate role-playing game - the only way to win is to completely commit as a guitarist, bassist, drummer, or singer and do your part for the fellowship of meta-musicians sharing the virtual stage. And if you can lower your shield of shyness to let the game in, you're richly rewarded as the collective joy of making music pours back out. Unlike other games, the Rock Band payoff isn't visceral or technical; it's emotional. [Holiday 2007, p.34]

If you're a veteran player, you're probably already grinding away at the new jobs. But for those of us who are sitting on the fence, there's enough here to make the jump worthwhile. [Feb 2008, p.77]

For our basketball dollars, pound for pound College Hoops 2K8 is the sure-fire way to tip off the '08 season. [Jan 2008, p.67]

If you played last year's "Avatar: The Last Airbender", you'll know pretty much what to expect from this sequel, although this time around the game looks cleaner, offers new combos, and has a larger list of characters, including Appa, Jet, Toph, Zuko, and Uncle Iroh. [Holiday 2007, p.82]

ProStreet might feel a bit thin without the open world and impulsive attitude of "Most Wanted", but it's still and exciting distillation that adeptly mixes arcade pleasure with realism for an absorbing day at the races. [Holiday 2007, p.72]

It's simply too tedious to work as either a game or as propaganda. [Holiday 2007, p.78]

Local co-op play requires constant communication and generates some small excitement, but isn't enough to make Shrek-n-Roll more than an overpriced novelty. [Jan 2008, p.69]

With better tuning, this could be a much more fun game. As it is, we'd strongly advise you to check out the game's finicky controls for yourself in the demo before you commit. [Jan 2008, p.66]

Part thug brutality, part capers and hijinks, the latest wild ride from the developer of "Hitman" has its fair share of rough edges--maybe even more than its fair share--but its epic missions are so thrilling that they'll sear away the nuggets of disappointment you'll ocasionally feel. [Dec 2007, p.68]

We still think you gotta play it (or at least rent it) because the good parts are truly majestic. Just go in with your eyes wide open, and listen for the snik! of the game’s hidden blade popping out to kill off any hope of this game living up to its full potential.

Still, controlling every moment of every fight is just ridiculously fun, and you'll be quite content while you wait for what should hopefully be the ultimate WWE game next year. [Dec 2007, p.74]

The button-pounding boss showdowns are challenging, and cutting a gory swathe through goons with the help of a half-dozen dim Thanes is crude fun, but you're likely to regret the expense than sing Beowulf's praises at the end of its eight hours. [Jan 2008, p.65]

At a full $60, there's absolutely no reason to touch this with a ten-foot-pole, especially with so many other, better shooters on the market in this record-settingly awesome holiday season. [Jan 2008, p.62]

Really, the biggest problem with Monster Jam is its price--for $20, we'd be all over it, but $50? Get over your bad self. [Mar 2008, p.92]

The one aspect of BlackSite that stands out from the crowd is its not-so-subtle political commentary — for example, every mission is titled with a Bush-ism, like “Stay the Course,” “Mission Accomplished,” and “Regime Change,” and the game leaves nothing to the imagination regarding its designers’ political viewpoints. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is up to you, but we just wish they’d woven it in a little better — no one likes being preached at when they’re trying to kill alien scum.

This is the kind of game Xbox Live Arcade was made for. [Holiday 2007, p.73]

Against similarly matched opponents, it's a tense, fast-paced contest, and it delivers an experience that's fairly unique to the digital format. For this mode, we'd pay the $10. [Nov 2007, p.94]

BGH feels somewhat real. [Jan 2008, p.69]

Bladestorm looks and plays better than "Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires", so longtime fans should enjoy this more next-gen DW-style title until "Dynasty Warriors 6" hits the battlefield next year. [Dec 2007, p.76]

If you're new to the series, this collection is a terrific way to get into it all in one huge, time-sucking package. [oliday 2007, p.82]

After just four or five enormously fun games of Scene It?, we’d racked up 27 Achievements worth over 600 points — great! We just can’t comprehend why there’s no online film festival.

F.E.A.R. Files delivers two standalone micro-campaigns brand-new to the 360--the new Perseus Mandate and the previously released PC expansion "Extraction Point". [Holiday 2007, p.80]

Simply put, Call of Duty 4 does everything right and nearly nothing wrong. But where it elevates itself above even the best 360 shooters is how all of the good stuff is ludicrously good. The campaign never lets up, while multiplayer is a triple-A affair in itself. [Dec 2007, p.36]

Whether you're flanking foes together or dodging gracefully in a solo session, Empire is a fast, well-designed blast-a-thon. [Nov 2007, p.94]

With your $60 on the line, however, it's only multiplayer that rescues TimeShift from the throes of average-dom. [Holiday 2007, p.74]

But here it is: the finest version of the finest fighting game series, and with spot-on Xbox Live play. [Holiday 2007, p.64]

Ultimately, it's one of the best, deepest, and most eye-candy-packed animation crossovers to land in the 360's lap. [Dec 2007, p.81]

Party's certainly not as deep as its predecessor, but it features some of the most engaging mini-games on 360 to date. [Holiday 2007, p.80]

Giving us the option to bypass the mini-games and get straight to the story would've made this charming visual treat even tastier. [Holiday 2007, p.73]

The Simpsons Game is wittty and well-written, and it intelligently plays into the nerdy sensibilities of gamers; really, only the by-the-numbers gameplay sometimes comes up short. [Holiday 2007, p.68]

But the expansion pack-sized experience--we completed it in just a single day--also retails for 50 whole dollars. [Jan 2008, p.69]

Ultimately, GHIII succeeds as a polished technical workout for top-tier shredders, but the game's magic was never really about pressing buttons anyway--it was about making the player feel like, well, a guitar hero. Now, we just feel unworthy. [Dec 2007, p.64]

At 800 points, Battlestar is cheap, but in a sky already patrolled by the superior "Wing Commander Arena", these toasters don't stand a chance. [Holiday 2007, p.81]

The protagonist can feel a bit slow to respond to your commands, but between the unique art direction and 120 boards of imaginative confusion, Exit delivers just enough pleasure to sweeten its pain. [Jan 2008, p.69]

High-concept and high-action from beginning to end, Jericho is far closer to "Gears of War" and "Painkiller" than to "Condemned", but it's darker and gorier than all three combined. [Holiday 2007, p.66]

But overall, the affair is a tad bit low-rent on the production values. [Dec 2007, p.75]

The dogfighting, though, feels aimless unless you're playing with people who really know what they're doing: We predict it'll be the stomping ground of the uber-hardcore pilots. [Nov 2007, p.88]

With three "episodes"--two story episodes and Croft Manor--the price tag is easily justifiable: Anniversary offers a respectable four to eight hours per slice. [Holiday 2007, p.76]

E4's only major flaw is that it can get WAY repetitive. [Holiday 2007, p.70]

Still, even the subtle control lag that crops up online can't diminish the ham-fisted charm of each vicious contest, so retro fans shouldn't think twice about dropping 10 bucks on Speedball 2. [Oct 2007, p.81]

It clearly aims to include everyone and exclude no one, and that's just plain refreshing amid a holiday season stuffed full of deadly serious, high-learning-curve me-toos. [Nov 2007, p.96]

The revolution, this year, belongs to EA's "Skate", but evolution remains Proving Ground's domain. [Holiday 2007, p.76]

The Orange Box packs so much quality content into one $60 title that it sets an almost dangerous precedent for all other developers and publishers. [Dec 2007, p.58]

Costly though it may be, Puzzle Quest is an undeniably and deceptively addicting hybrid. [Nov 2007, p.92]

It's certainly no "Dirt"--Codemaster's off-road racer is still in a league of its own--but Sega Rally Revo's uniquely interactive terrain and unrefined bounce-me-off-the-walls driving dynamic help compensate for its thin venue count and constrained physics. [Dec 2007, p.73]

Moderately challenging and entertaining, Acme Arsenal is nevertheless far from memorable. [Nov 2007, p.99]

Another year, another FIFA--and consider us happy. [Dec 2007, p.78]

Combining the cutesiness of a Pixar flick with the depth of a theme-park tycoon game, LucasArts' Thrillville series smoothly transitions onto the Xbox 360 with Off the Rails, a souped-up and entertaining follow-up to last year's Xbox release. [Dec 2007, p.76]

Crash of the Titans makes a solid, if uninspiring, choice for younger fans of the series, but everyone else should head for more enjoyable all-ages fare like "Beautiful Katamari" or even--yes--"Surf's Up". [Holiday 2007, p.82]

Dropping collectible fish in a handful of environments feels hopelessly extraneous; luckily, you can disregard the aquatic nonsense and enjoy timeless gameplay in a reasonably attractive wrapper. [Dec 2007, p.65]

Destruction is simply more fun than obsessive tuning, assuming you've got a few screws loose to start with. [Nov 2007, p.84]

In a crowded holiday season, however--and in a year when racing fans have already been satiated by the stellar likes of "Dirt" and "Forza 2"--this more-or-less "do over" of "PGR3" is a bit disappointing, despite how good it actually is. [Dec 2007, p.72]

The gameplay follows a predictable pattern: Spidey and a sidekick(friends, like Black Cat and Iron Fist, or foes, like Doc Ock and Sandman)enter an area, Venom-ish enemies teleport in, and you have to clear the room of bad guys to open the door to the next area. Repeat ad nauseum. [Dec 2007, p.62]

It's the full package, with enough new goodness to justify an upgrade from last year's excellent iteration. [Dec 2007, p.62]

You might think calling NBA Live 08 "much improved" is a backhanded compliment, but its first two years on 360 really did leave it no place to go but up. [Nov 2007, p.84]

Though long interrogation sequences are tedious, the stories are wonderfully macabre: every character is guilty of something, and only forensic science can separate the red herrings from the incriminating evidence. [Dec 2007, p.65]

If you're going to play poker with fake money, Activision Value's latest is the best way to do it on Xbox 360. [Holiday 2007, p.78]

And while the game is generally fun, it's strictly for casual, arcade racing-style fans. [Jan 2008, p.69]

This 10 is based on the fact that Bungie has successfully raied the level of what to expect in future shooters and how much stuff you can cram into one game with a high level of polish and expertise--and not as an afterthought or as padding. [Nov 2007, p.50]

Otherwise, expect to get bored rather quickly with collecting spilled spheres and waiting for floating cube-movers. [Dec 2007, p.66]

Though the real world environments aren't ugly, this Cabela's, ptarmigans and all, is simply pterrible. [Jan 2008, p.69]

It may not share the same rarified air as Microsoft's genre-leading "Crimson Skies", but Blazing Angels 2 elevates the franchise a helluva lot closer. [Dec 2007, p.66]

It's the current best of the "Warriors" bunch, and long-time fans will eat it up, but everyone else should keep expectations in check. [Nov 2007, p.99]

If you're predisposed to cuteness, level-grinding, and some outright earnest, sweet-tempered madness, ditch all disbelief and consider Sonata your match made in heaven. [Sept 2007, p.70]

While Juiced 2 isn't the smoothest-driving Xbox 360 racer on the market, it's definitely one of the more filling. [Nov 2007, p.97]

Skate finds the sweet spot between boring simulation and hyper-realism--then totally owns it. [Nov 2007, p.98]

Yes, NHL 08 can feel challenging and hard, but it rewards you with the sport's best representation in videogame form that we've seen yet. [Oct 2007, p.73]

For longtime gamers and those who can stomach the blocky graphics and touchy controls, it's great retro fun. [Dec 2007, p.78]

It takes a minute or so to get used to controlling your hovering, weapon-packed F1 Speedster, but once you do, it's a snap and the entertainment kicks in. [Nov 2007, p.97]

You'd think it would be hard to mess up a samurai game, but developer Genki has managed to deliver a royal swordplay stinker with Kengo: Legend of the 9. [Dec 2007, p.76]

Throw in more responsive skating and a brilliant new face-off system, and we definitely dig how NHL 2K8 shakes and bakes. [Nov 2007, p.92]

So yeah, Stranglehold does a great job of aspiring to the qualities of Woo's movies, but unfortunately, it just doesn't aspire to be a truly great game. [Nov 2007, p.86]

Sadly, Cyberball 2072 doesn't live up to our feelings of nostalgia, and a couple of design choices by the dev team leave this port on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage. [Dec 2007, p.78]

Fatal's look hasn't exactly aged well, and SNK has done little to update the graphics. [Dec 2007, p.78]

It's single-player may be mediocre, but the online play will put a big exclamation point on the end of your summer. [Oct 2007, p.72]

All told, the addictive, approachable gameplay that made "Puzzle Fighter" a cult hit feels as fresh as ever, and the HD Remix is arguably the series' best incarnation to date. [Oct 2007, p.76]

Disappointed with "Double Dragon"? Want a good 2D brawler? Here's five bucks well spent. [Dec 2007, p.78]

A very lengthy, beautifully wrought, and next-gen 1998, but 1998 nonetheless. [Oct 2007, p.82]

It's probably a game best played in small doses, as the relentless pursuit of perfection can often wear you out. But if you inner Evel Knievel just yearns to be free, Stuntman's your ticket. [Sept 2007, p.78]

Aside from replacing ancient Chinese warlords with robots from the all-pervasive classic anime series' mythology, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam changes as little as possible. [Oct 2007, p.81]

It packs enough pure dazzle power to keep you trudging through the lows in pursuit of the sweet, sweet highs - and that's the stuff that great golf is made of. [Oct 2007, p.68]

These small potholes aside, you won't find a better two-wheel racer on any gaming system. [Oct 2007, p.79]

Odds are, if you can stomach Two Worlds' first hour and get into the meat of the gameplay, you'll enjoy what it has to offer. [Nov 2007, p.90]

From its mind-bending control scheme to its smorgasbord of play types, Street Trace's learning curve hews closer to "Catan" than "Hexic". [Aug 2007, p.81]

With incredibly poor visibility(apparently by design)and a thumping electronica soundtrack peppered with sophomoric sound effects, Space Giraffe offers a generous 100 levels of damn-near-unplayable technoslop. [Oct 2007, p.74]

Play it, talk about it, experience it--a game like Bioshock won't happen again for a good long while. [Nov 2007, p.80]

Hexic 2 deftly expands every concept that made its freebie predecessor the star of Live Arcade's launch. [Sept 2007, p.74]

Sure the graphics are dated, but the game is just as fun--and frustrating obtuse!--to play as it was then. [Nov 2007, p.94]

Pound for pound, this is the Madden you've been waiting three years to play. [Oct 2007, p.80]

Basically, Madden 08 is just an 07 redux. [Oct 2007, p.81]

This limping Track & Field deserves no medals, let alone any of your Microsoft Points. [July 2007, p.81]

On the surface, there's not much to Spyglass Board Games. [Aug 2007, p.81]

Marathon is certainly interesting for aspiring game designers and historians who want to observe Bungie's roots. But as a $10 offering in 2007, it just doesn't hold up very well. [Sept 2007, p.74]

Between equipment variety, handling differences, respawning pick-ups, and the cunning nooks and crannies of each map, the emergent strategic possibilities deliver surprising depth. [Aug 2007, p.72]

Old-time arcaders will dig the ramped-up challenge: Super's tough even with a partner, and we had to lower the difficulty and hoard the spread gun - our sidearm soulmate - to beat all five levels solo. [Sept 2007, p.76]

NASCAR 08's driving model is so demanding that you should probably stop diddling with those half-inch thumbsticks on the stock controller and buck up for Microsoft's wireless wheel. With physics this good, it's a worthwhile upgrade for NASCAR fans. [Sept 2007, p.77]

A full-service Bomberman experience - Live Arcade is the perfect platform for it, and $10 is a fair price. We just can't resist. [Sept 2007, p.73]

No paint job can obscure the fact that connecting blows don't register more than half the time... Worse, basic movement is neither consistent nor natural. [Sept 2007, p.76]