Skydive offers a chance to experience what it’s like to fall from the sky without the fear of splattering yourself all over the ground below.

Section 8 also offers a lot of customization options, with players able to tweak their weapon loadouts, tools (like healing abilities and various flavors of explosive), and even a whole slew of buffs and perks called “passive modules.” Best of all, racking up kills nets you points that you can use to buy deployable gun turrets, hard-to-drive tanks, or hulking mech suits.

It's goofy, deeply involving fun.

Aside from the odd cut-scene, the game basically has no story, and the four campaigns essentially differ only in their starting-territory distributions. [May 2006, p.84]

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]

Gangstas is a grand time reminiscent of the main game. It's not a must-play, but it is a good way to keep the Saints Row fun going.

Warp's upgrade system isn't explained or implemented well: you're never reminded to use your currency at the innocuous upgrade stations, and we still don't know how we earn skill points. Plus, physics become a greater enemy than the puzzles in the final stage, resulting in a lot of frustration near the end.

If you're hoping to truly break into the higher tiers of fitness, as exemplified by the pro athletes who make video cameos during the game, you should seek real-life options instead. This one's best suited for NikeFuel addicts and people who just need motivation to work out.

The game's biggest addition - including Tails as an aid in single-player mode - gives the perfect level of balance to correct mistakes made at mach speed.

Mind-bogglingly inconsistent difficulty. [Apr 2012, p.74]

Watching friends take a club in the teeth while you rack up a nine-kill-combo is immensely satisfying. [Feb 2010, p.85]

It's not for everyone, but with patience, Uprising can become an incredible experience, with plenty of giant bosses and insane, over-the-top action set-pieces. [Jan 2011, p.74]

Its enduring strength...is its simplicity. [Nov 2009, p.84]

Nexuiz can't hold a candle to full-priced war games, but its mix of constant speed and occasional silliness make it just the thing for when you've got only 10 minutes to kill. [Apr 2012, p.80]

Winning Eleven may still be a more joyful celebration of the sport, but FIFA 07's beauty and fluidity mark it as the early champ of the next generation. [Holiday 2006, p.74]

Age can't turn lead into gold, but these games are still enjoyable - and at $10, this bundle's a real bargain.

Hardcore realism and all kinds of cool real-world weapons and vehicles. [Holiday 2005, p.83]

Ground Zeroes' story feels a bit skimpy for the price, but it excels as a breathtakingly pretty stealth sandbox, and as a chance to try out Phantom Pain's gameplay in a smaller, more intimate open world.

You don't hear "digging" and think "Oooh, fun!"--but somehow, Dig Dug makes you crave it. [Holiday 2006, p.86]

With 30 tracks and only a few dance locations, The Black Eyed Peas Experience feels lightweight compared to the similarly priced Dance Central 2, plus it's not breaking much ground. But once the beat dropped, we couldn't help but dance like fools and have a lot of fun. And damn if those songs aren't catchy.

But for now, you're buying what feels like an early beta test. [June 2011, p.77]

We do recommend Baller Beats to anyone hoping to increase their b-ball acumen or try something new. If noise and space aren't an issue, it's definitely worth a shot.

You may tire of the basic gimmick before you're skilled enough to succeed on elaborate, brutally competitive four-player online maps, but Half-Minute Hero's charms still last a surprisingly long time.

Ultimately, you either think giant stompy robots are rad or you don’t; if they’re your thing, and you don’t mind its split single-/multiplayer nature, Armored Core: Verdict Day provides an enjoyable stage on which to both rock and sock ‘em.

As long as you don't mind that manual targeting is a twitchy mess, and that Joanna slides around like she's on skates, 10 bucks buys you at least as many enjoyable hours stealth-killing thugs and perforating your pals. [Jun 2010, p.81]

Ultimately, Virtua Tennis 4 tries to please everyone by walking a fine line between sim and arcade, but regrettably, it never commits to either camp. [June 2011, p.80]

After spending most of your time in Dragon Age II confined to the cramped, dingy corners of the politically scrambled seaport of Kirkwall, the wide-open greenery and lush palatial estate of Mark of the Assassin are refreshing.

Strong enough to be a no-brainer for ardent fans, but other music-game junkies may find this $60 pill very hard to swallow, especially with Rock Band 3 lingering on the horizon. [July 2010, p.73]