On its own merits, though, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is an excellent shooter, with some of the best controls and gunplay on any shooter.

Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz is another fine trivia game and a great addition to the Buzz! franchise. If you’re a movie buff or like movie trivia, you’ll love the game.

As a single-player game, the AI flaws begin to add up in an annoyance, so it is strongly recommended that you play with another player in split-screen or online

God of War: Chains of Olympus is one of the few PSP games that deliver a console experience while tweaking the formula for the PSP.

The polished graphics, new missions and classes, and multiplayer mode are all icing on the cake for a game that is genuinely funny and provides a rather unique experience.

The polished graphics, new missions and classes, and multiplayer mode are all icing on the cake for a game that is genuinely funny and provides a rather unique experience.

Ninja Reflex is definitely worth playing but unless you’re planning on making extensive use of the game’s multiplayer mode, there isn’t enough content here to warrant the $40 price tag.

MLB 08: The Show easily wins the “most improved” award but it may very well be the best PS3 baseball game. It plays well, looks amazing, and really showcases the power of the PS3.

However, on the PS2 and PSP, Sony San Diego was able to bring over a lot of the gameplay and AI improvements, making MLB 08 one of the best playing baseball games on either platform.

However, on the PS2 and PSP, Sony San Diego was able to bring over a lot of the gameplay and AI improvements, making MLB 08 one of the best playing baseball games on either platform.

Major League Baseball 2K8 is a great baseball game. Kush Games made plenty of improvements to the core baseball engine, most of which are wholly welcome.

Patapon is a wonderful experience. It’s a rare novel idea that only comes along so often and shows the potential of the PSP.

Conflict: Denied Ops isn’t going to set the world on fire. The game isn’t worthwhile by yourself (mostly because the little friendly AI issues add up and the enemy AI’s annoyance factor is multiplied when you’re dealing with it alone), but if you’re going to play it with a friend, it provides a guilty pleasure.

Conflict: Denied Ops isn’t going to set the world on fire. The game isn’t worthwhile by yourself (mostly because the little friendly AI issues add up and the enemy AI’s annoyance factor is multiplied when you’re dealing with it alone), but if you’re going to play it with a friend, it provides a guilty pleasure.

Overall, the gameplay is stale and the presentation is below average.

As mentioned above, Turok isn't perfect (decent but not great human opponents, too few checkpoints, sometimes repetitive waves of enemies) but if the prospect of man-versus-dinosaur appealed to you, then Turok doesn't disappoint.

Battle for the Pacific's presentation isn't bad but it's gameplay has too many flaws to be recommendable. These flaws become even more apparent in light of the increased FPS competition on the Xbox 360. Skip this.

Rock Band is certainly the most ambitious music game yet and largely succeeds.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is a solid heist game and a solid co-op game. The premise is very interesting but some of the core gameplay isn’t as polished as some of the other shooters you’ll find this holiday season.

So, is Assassin’s Creed perfect? Not exactly. The main game will run around 20 hours but you’ll see most of what the game offers in the first few.

All in all, Smarty Pants is a very fun trivia game for the Wii. It has great topics, many questions and good (if light) use of the Wii Remote.

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 isn’t going to win awards for being groundbreaking or innovating. But if you’re a Wii owner looking forward to running down some Germans using your new Wii Zapper or just want a good, old-fashioned run-and-gun shooter, then this is your game.

Is Soldier of Fortune: Payback a bad game? No, not really. It's a rather enjoyable (if simple) and good looking shooter. It's just that there have been so many amazing playing and looking games in the past few months, that Payback can't compare in comparison.

On the PS2, the game isn’t helped by an equally mediocre dancing component. It isn’t horrible by any means, but there are cheaper, better karaoke alternatives available on the PS2.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare shows that you don’t have to revolutionize a series to invigorate it.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare shows that you don’t have to revolutionize a series to invigorate it.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare shows that you don’t have to revolutionize a series to invigorate it. The move to modern warfare has enabled Infinity Ward to deliver the most frantic, chaotic shooter ever.

The Bee Movie Game is obviously aimed at younger players and those who are interested in the movie. But even older gamers will find plenty of humor and solid gameplay to enjoy in the game.