When it comes down to it, Need for Speed Pro Street is a racing game that’s focus is entirely on one thing: racing. There are no cute little stories or “other” things to do.

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground does it again. The team at Neversoft has taken a great game and improved it like we’ve seen time and time before.

In the end, it appears it's going to be a long year on the bench for NBA 08.

For me, the role of handheld gaming in the industry is about fun. It’s about tuning out distractions, clicking off your brain for a few minutes and just killing some time. NBA 08 embraces that role by providing a fun alternative to the usual fare during basketball release season.

Perhaps the place where FIFA 08 shines the brightest is in what I am considering the revolutionary mode of online play.

After a bunch of games and trying almost every game mode, I can say without a doubt, this is my favorite baseball game of the year.

The series has “returned to its roots” in a way, beginning with the handling model. At the same time, it’s managed to incorporate very new features, throwing in motorcycles that feel completely fresh and weather that can change every race you run.

While there’s really nothing groundbreaking this year, it’s hard to argue with the formula that works.

NBA Live 08 is a game for the casual NBA video game fan that just wants to play a basketball game that’s fun and easy to pick up and play. This year’s version is a big improvement over last year’s game and while it’s not the best basketball game on the market, it’s a fun head to head game.

While you certainly can have fun with NBA 08, it’s hard to recommend it as a purchase.

Skate is a resounding success, a game that has complaints that are barely even complaints when compared to the rest of the product.

Bottom line—if you play online and like hockey, then NHL 08 has you covered. If you play offline and like hockey, then NHL 08 has you covered.

Unfortunately, NHL 2K8 made a decision to make a change that, to many people, undid all the good that they had done in other areas.

While Tiger Woods himself continues to reach new heights in his golf game, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise also made noticeable improvements in the last year.

From the completely lackluster presentation to the utterly uninteresting modes, Madden NFL 08 is a great game for a very short time.

With NASCAR 08, there is no doubt that they improved some aspects of the game in their jump to the 360. However, with bare bones modes, questionable AI and some obvious gameplay issues, it’s hard to justify the $60 price tag at this point.

It’s the best football game available on the Xbox 360 and a solid improvement over last year’s maiden Next Gen voyage.

Hot Shots Tennis is as fun and challenging as you want it to be.

In a nutshell...if you like playing online, and like 2K football, you can't go wrong with All-Pro Football 2K8. If you're primarily an offline gamer, it's questionable at best.

It is easily among the top sports titles available on the PSP.

Overall, The Bigs is a well executed attempt at your unconventional take on the baseball video game market.

MLB 07: The Show plays a fantastically realistic and remarkably fun game on the field - in fact, it's perhaps the best on-field baseball game ever created, and certainly the best one this year.

To my shock and confusion, I really liked the game. Why? Because I stopped thinking that I was supposed to be playing “a Tony Hawk game” and started realizing that I was playing a fun arcade racer that happens to have Tony’s name on the box.

While the Challenge mode is a nice addition and the Ultimate Team card game in pretty innovative to the genre, I’m not convinced enough has changed since the FIFA 07 release to justify the $59.99 price tag. For Champions League fans, it’s a no-brainer at any price.

It's a solid enough effort, but it doesn't really feel fresh at all, online play doesn't work, and its appeal seems limited to only a certain number of Champions League fans - preferably ones who don't already have FIFA 07 - and that doesn't seem likely to comprise a large number of gamers.

There's no delicate way to put it - this game is ugly. I feel awful saying so, but I've got to come clean - it looks like a first-generation PS2 game, not a game released for a four-month old system.

Probably the most entertaining and enjoyable sports game available for the Playstation 3. While the Homecourt Challenge mode gets monotonous, the offline multi-player is where this game truly shines.

I think newbies to the franchise will dig it. Unfortunately for the Burnout vets out there, Burnout Dominator will leave you with a half-finished feel because of the omission of Crash mode and online play.

The series is solid, but too little of this game is truly new, save for the functionality provided by the Wii's unique control scheme - and that doesn't quite work right.

The lack of a true Franchise mode is still noticeable, but aside from the disappointing frame-rate issue and exceedingly long loading times, there's a lot to like here.

When the dust settles, SCEA San Diego has done something that few have ever seen – they produced a follow up that was as good as or better than the original classic.

To say it’s an improvement over last year’s 360 release may be the understatement of the century. However, with all that has improved, there is a lot of room to do more.

It would be a shame if the decision on whether to continue with the franchise into the next-gen were based on the improvements from last year's product to this.

This is a really good game for not only kids, but for adult gamers who want to share gaming with their children. If you’re a 21 year-old college kid looking for a game to play between keg-stands, this isn’t the one. If you’re looking for spot-on, photo-realistic NBA action, skip it. My daughter and I loved this game for the experience. It’s not about the AI, the graphics, or the animations. It’s what gaming should be about – fun. And when it’s family fun, well, that’s a huge bonus.

MVP 07 NCAA Baseball plays a solid game of baseball...One can't help but be underwhelmed.

Even with those changes, the game doesn’t come close to the competition.

I can only suggest Total Extreme Wrestling 2007 for the hardest of hardcore wrestling fans. I consider myself a pretty big wrestling fan, and at times I found this game to be confusing, cumbersome and frustrating. However, if you are willing to work through the clunky menus and handling of minutiae, you could find yourself immersed in this game.

At a very affordable price tag of less than $20, my first instinct is to tell people that it is worth a look. However, for experienced simmers, you’re going to be disappointed with the game and how it plays.

For $20 you get a variety of games that is far beyond anything else that I’ve played on the PS2. The game plays well if you don’t feel like you have to have a deep and detailed story mode.

If Harley-Davidson was looking to release a game as a marketing tool, they need to realize that other companies are doing it better and cheaper. Burger King jumped into the gaming world and moved a ton of units at $4.00 a piece.

The most realistic and enjoyable basketball game on the market.

Sure, they could have done more with the two-year development cycle since the last release, but the game is worth a look for fans of the series and rookies alike.

If you passed on the PS2 or Xbox releases last year, Blitz: The League is definitely worth a look on the 360. If you’ve played the game already, there’s not enough new here to justify a second purchase.

I won’t sit here and tell you that the game is perfect. It’s close, but there are still holes. I thought the create-a-skater function that went with the Career/Story mode was painfully underdone.

There’s a heck of a lot more competition out there. But, what they do, they do very well. It’s a fun arcade racer in single player and a blast of an arcade racer online.

A really solid single player game with a great Story Mode, some of the best graphics on the PS2, and an ultra-hip look and feel. If that’s what you’re looking for, it’d be hard to find a better game for you.

It’s the best game of soccer available on the “next-gen” console and one of the best soccer titles to date.

A good game of golf. A beautiful title on the Xbox 360 that should be used to sell HDTVs. A fun and deep experience on Xbox Live.

I can, without a doubt, say that the more people you have huddled around the PS2, the more fun you’ll have.

FIFA 07 will continue to make me a bigger fan.

I’ve just had so much fun with this game that it’s practically renewed my interest in PC racing single handedly.

Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball MAX’D made me do three things that I didn’t expect when I slid it into the PS2. First, I found myself watching some tournament paintball on ESPN2 last weekend. Second, I started the ball rolling on getting my softball team to sign on for a pre-season paintball outing in March of next year. And finally, I kept playing the game after I had enough time in to write my review.

It appears that the new foot-planting technology destroys the flow and look of the game when in motion.

I’m going to make this really simple: this is the greatest basketball game I’ve ever played. This is also the greatest one year leap I’ve ever seen in a series.

They’ve improved very little on the court or in the Season mode, but they still tell a nice story. Playing this game still keeps me optimistic that the franchise will continue and could potentially thrive.

It has a great single-player game to partner with the online experience. Plus, the Digimask technology is really showcased in this title, making it a must for Xbox Live Vision camera owners.

The AI, as mentioned earlier, is really poor. The animals do not behave anywhere the manner you would expect, and even the hunters themselves all seem to be asthmatic couch potatoes based on the breakneck speed in which they fatigue.

While I’d still like to see more options on and off the ice, such as being able to increase the playing time by individual minutes rather than increments of five, the series appears to finally be heading in the right direction.

The best sports title on Xbox 360 so far. It’s exciting when a company actually uses the year in development to bring us a year’s worth of progress.

What is my biggest complaint with NASCAR 07? Simply put, if you've played "NASCAR 06: Total Team Control," you will likely be bored with NASCAR 07.

Without a bustling online community, Test Drive Unlimited is a pedestrian entry in the racing genre, but for those who are willing to invest the time into it’s multiplayer world this could turn out to be the most bang for your buck the Xbox 360 has yet seen.

I give ProStroke Golf – World Tour 2007 points for innovation. You know me; I’m a sucker for trying new things in sports gaming. But, the new controls do not come close to making up for what is essentially a poorly-made game.

I give ProStroke Golf – World Tour 2007 points for innovation. You know me; I’m a sucker for trying new things in sports gaming. But, the new controls do not come close to making up for what is essentially a poorly-made game.

Sure, the game comes with some minor quirks, but for such a low price, it’s hard not to recommend this quality title.

The major issue plaguing Madden 07 is this: at it's most basic, there is no fatigue whatsoever. After the excellent implementation of fatigue in "NCAA Football 07," it's a mystery why this fundamental aspect of football is absent from the pro version.

For the Madden fans that want a good football game on the road, there isn't a better game available. Speeding up the franchise mode would help out tremendously, as well as programming the AI running backs to see - and hit - the hole better.

The EA team made their off-season adjustments and released a solid product. Maybe not groundbreaking or innovative, but certainly a step forward.

When all is said and done, the most important thing that can be said about FlatOut 2 is that it is fun.

The most important part of any sports game - the on-field play - is smooth and solid, with some breathtakingly realistic animations adding extra spice.

I would give NCAA 2007 a perfect 10/10 based on the gameplay and the amount of fun I had with it. However, I'm knocking a point off for the lack of ESPN integration, the status quo on online play, and for not adding to the pre-game intros.

Every Grey Dog Software game is extremely deep and while Wrestling Spirit 2 is no different, I still walk away from this game thinking that there could be more.

It's fun and clever blended-arcade approach to the sport worked for me, and the variations in game play are welcome.

I'm not sure that I will or would ever export my coach or team to Madden, but I think there is some exciting potential.

I'm still blown away that they removed online play, seriously cutting a ton of replay life out of the title.

Stacked lacks a playable interface and simply does not do enough with its modes to set itself far enough apart from the competition.

If you are a baseball fan and don’t mind the lack of graphics or the fact that you can't control your team’s every move, this is a must-buy.

You can breeze through everything it has to offer in less than a week, which is probably the game’s biggest downfall. However, if you’ve got some friends to enjoy it with, or plan on spending some extensive time on Xbox Live, then the $40 dollar price tag that accompanies Rockstar’s Table Tennis is a steal.

If you have played the original, then Rebound will likely feel a bit stale, a bit empty, and more than a bit slow.

To be honest, this game has a stubborn American like me excited to watch the World Cup next month. That's an accomplishment, EA!

In the final tally, holding a PSP with World Poker Tour is like holding the video-game equivalent of the ace-king "Big Slick" - it's not a sure-fire winner, but you're likely to have a lot of fun playing it just the same.

Major League Baseball 2K6 makes solid contact at the plate, but in the end, it's a routine one-hopper to short.

While it certainly is not a replacement for getting out on the course, nor will you learn the same valuable lessons that you would from a Golf Pro, it is real enough to call Real World Golf, well, real and, more importantly, fun.

This remains a game with an awful lot of potential, but not much execution. It's still glitchy - this review doesn't cover more than a fraction of the issues I've seen - but underneath it all is a set of baseball ideas and mechanics that could easily produce a fantastic game in the future.

Major League Baseball 2K6 is chock full of issues. For every good thing that I found, I found three things that hurt the game. If this is their best effort, it's not good enough. Gamers deserve better.

This game is listed at $39.99 - which is twenty dollars less than most Xbox 360 games. If you are a tennis fan, you have no reason to not pick this game up.

The two-year development cycle between the original and this release passed by with no significant improvements to add to the total experience. That can't happen again for this franchise to survive.

Stunning character models, simplistic controls, and fluid gameplay usually result in a instant classic. However, the wrestling genre is, and always will be, dominated by a licensed product. Rumble Roses XX is a enjoyable pick up and play alternative to other wrestling titles, despite its fictional characters and lack of gameplay options.

The depth is unlike anything that most sports gamers will ever experience. There are so many different ways to play and enjoy this game, it is almost as if there are five or six different games all rolled into one.

Since the features are pretty much identical to the current-gen versions of the games, I find it hard to suggest that someone pay 30 dollars more for what surmounts to a graphical upgrade.

It might be time for EA to let the Burnout field lie fallow for a year or two, before one of the most exciting titles of the current generation becomes a tired has-been in the next generation.

The greatest baseball game of this console generation.

If you're a sports fan with a PSP, my advice is simple: Buy MLB '06, bring it home, pop in that UMD, and enjoy real baseball excitement all summer long.

As with all of the games I've played in the EA Street series, you'll eventually start to realize that this is a game based on the amount of trickery you can pull off, rather than the real sport of soccer, which results in a stale and monotonous gaming experience.

The quintessential sim racing experience available on the PS2. Time will tell if this is the release that pushes the series over the top into mainstream acclaim.

It’s the best looking Xbox 360 game to date and the in-ring action is the Fight Night series' best ever.

The Rival Challenge mode is a blast, and it's perfect for blowing off a little steam and killing time in the process.

This franchise has legs and could be a welcome spring football fix for year’s to come.

The lack of gameplay options, presentation, and the simplistic gameplay are just too much to look past.