While it's a bit too wacky for its own good, its undeniable charm and pick-up-and-play appeal keeps it on track. [Holiday 2011, p.81]

There is, perhaps, no better group to mark for wholesale slaughter than zombies. [Jan 2010, p.84]

Boss fights are mundane affairs with no special mechanics, only larger health pools. [Oct 2009, p.82]

While decapitating enemies never got old. other aspects of North fall short. [Holiday 2011, p.80]

Tennis 4 is fun, without being so serious. [June 2011, p.84]

There's still some good racin' to be had here, but the wow factor didn't make it into the PSP's diminutive case. [Jan 2011, p.84]

Still, whenever we need a break from all the shooters out there, Hero of Leaf Valley is a charming way to sit for a spell and watch our crops grow. [Aug 2010, p.85]

Gamers who want an RPG they can dig into and play, however, probably won't have a problem. [June 2011, p.82]

Eight years after the fact, the game remains a curious muddle, but this time it's a curious muddle in high definition. [June 2011, p.83]

Woeful voice acting and poorly paced repetitive missions chuck a pigeon right in Birds of Steel's propeller though. [June 2012, p.81]

Simple, slick and sexily priced, this shooter has got game. [Jan 2011, p.85]

Ultimately, the zombie sections are to be stomached while we wait for beter bits to load. [June 2012, p.80]

Though there is some environmental repetition, Awesomenauts is fun, addictive chaos at a decent price. [June 2012, p.82]

The Move controls function well with this style of game, allowing us to duck incoming projectiles and pistol whip nearby enemies--something we never tire of. [Jan 2011, p.83]

Repetition does set in before too long, and holding a button and contorting your arm with Move controls to rotate an object is a bit annoying, but Create is kid safe and kid fun. [Jan 2011, p.83]

Kane & Lynch, like its characters, has issues. Most apparent are the graphics that range from good to near-PS2 quality. [Jan 2008, p.80]

While less engrossing--and therefore less essential--than its predecessor, echochrome ii remains a smartly conceived puzzler that offers fresh and innovative ideas, especially when it comes to using the PlayStation Move. [March 2011, p.76]

GST2 doesn't yet match up to its main tennis rival, but it still has game. [Mar 2012, p.85]

But combined with a lengthy and respectable single-player campaign, Brotherhood becomes a worthwhile Assassin's Creed 2.5. [Jan 2011, p.79]

This exploration-heavy dual-stick shooter features intriguing internal environments to motor through while zapping infectious robotic drones. [March 2011, p.77]

Despite the surprisingly solid gameplay, not all is perfect: Animations are stiff, close combat can feel clunky, and the voice-acting's more miss than hit. [March 2011, p.78]

But these are niggling issues; the franchise is moving up through the driving-game field and may finally be in contention for a podium position come next seasons. [June 2011, p.81]

Creativity shines through the chaos even when the on-screen actions hits a dizzying crescendo. [June 2011, p.80]

Jak and Daxter Collection feels more like a lightly upgraded historical document than a lovingly tweaked attempt to make these aging classics shine for a modern audience. [Mar 2012, p.81]

Still, the single-player is entertaining enough, with a lot off the fun of John Woo's original movie. [Jan 2008, p.83]

The steep learning curve may put off newcomers, but for those willing to commit to its complexities, Yggdra Union offers a truly refreshing strategy experience. [Dec 2008, p.92]

But despite this mild lack of polish, Web of Shadows makes Spider-Man fun, and fans and non-fans alike should enjoy the game's infectious action....sorry. [Holiday 2008, p.82]

Unfortunately, repetitive objectives and frustrating difficulty spikes mean this monster meal is more junk food than solid nutrition. [March 2011, p.82]

It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's simple fun for those looking for some self-made party-time entertainment. [June 2011, p.75]

For longtime fans, though, there's just enough here to satisfy. [Dec 2010, p.75]

The Aftermath is good, stupid fun to pick up and play, but it might rot your brain in the process. [Dec 2009, p.82]

It's entertaining when all's working as it should, but that just doesn't happen as often as it should. [Dec 2008, p.84]

This is easily the weakest link in the LEGO chain. [June 2012, p.83]

Still, Red River is so far removed from what we currently associate with the FPS genre that. despite changing very little from Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, it's a revitalizing reminder of the originality these games can offer. [June 2011, p.74]

To the game's credit, the core gameplay still fundamentally works--quite well at times; even Warrior's lame attempt at cosplay couldn't change that. [Dec 2010, p.82]

The game, though, stumbles throughout. The combat is at best serviceable, as are the puzzles. [Dec 2010, p.84]

Again, it's not revolutionary but it's damned fun. [Feb 2008, p.87]

So, baring the possible glory or failure of Raging Blast's online mode, this is a rather predictable entry in the tale of Goku and Gohan. [Holiday 2009, p.77]

While the game's concept and execution are commendable, the horrendous load times constantly interrupt your experience--but if you don't mind waiting five second to access your inventory (or twenty to change zones), you'll find some humorous sandbox fun. [Holiday 2007, p.77]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Beauty is only skin-deep - gameplay goes a lot deeper...It should have opted for a bit more corrective surgery to go with its cosmetic enhancements. [Mar 2010, p.70]

Never quite delivered. [Mar 2010, p.74]

It's mindless fun, but fun nonetheless. [Holiday 2009, p.83]

If you have no friends, the game's visual pitch display may help improve your singing, but your social life will still be flat. [May 2008, p.73]

In short, if you like non-fiction, history-based RTS games that require lots of thought, planning, and strategizing, this game will be awesome-sauce for you. [Mar 2008, p.78]

Where the Wild Things Are is basically Prince of Persia in footie pajamas. [Jan 2010, p.85]

Sluggish combat drains a bit of the excitement from the game, so fast-paced action junkies may look elsewhere, but the hilarious and irrelevant dialogue, paired with solid visuals and a unique replayable game structure, make the quirky Kenka Bancho a worthwhile experience for PSP owners seeking something truly original. [Jan 2010, p.87]

Fortunately for those craving a new portable RPG, those flaws aren't game-breaking, and if the dungeon-building concept piques your interest(you can share the dungeons you create, too), the game's shortcomings are easy to ignore. [Apr 2009, p.81]

A bit of refinement and this could have been something special. [July 2012, p.80]

The core racing experience makes the misstep of celebrating failure rather than making the actual winning of races definable fun. [Dec 2008, p.90]

Brink is essentially a mess of interesting ideas that fail to amount to anything larger. [Aug 2011, p.86]

The puzzles become a little more complicated as Fracture goes on, but that pretty much sums up the highlight of this otherwise generic third-person shooter. [Holiday 2008, p.74]

Several years and numerous iterations of Tony Hawk have passed, but the series' progressive innovation appears to have slowed. [Holiday 2007, p.75]

Every vehicle slides around every turn with an alarming lack of control. [Nov 2008, p.79]

Hack-and-slash antics fuel the fire, but the game's health system makes extended fights an exercise in frustration. [Sept 2010, p.81]

For a $5 download, there is some morbid fun to be found, but the flaws can be quite rage inducing. [July 2012, p.85]

At game's end, all I was left with was a gnawing feeling of dissatisfaction in my gut, instead of a grin on my face. [Aug 2009, p.74]

Babel Rising can be fun and looks great, but needs a lot more refinement before it reaches a biblical level of gaming goodness. [Sept 2012, p.87]

I'm not saying it's not fun, because it is, but as a sequel, a few opportunities to really push the franchise were sadly missed. [Jan 2008, p.85]

The game looks and plays well enough but isn't particularly engaging(unless you're a Jeremy McGrath fan). [Sept 2012, p.87]

Even for the niche-y, nerdo ranks of no-frills strategy titles, Iron Triangle is not for the weak. [Apr 2009, p.85]

Yakuza also suffers from an almost debilitating yappiness. [May 2010, p.76]

It features an engaging mix of levels. [Oct 2008, p.85]

The game nails the atmosphere but fails to implement a single original idea. [May 2009, p.82]

Combines a mix of good and bad design elements to create a flawed but memorable adventure. [May 2010, p.84]

Based upon the gory horror movie franchise, SAW is a remarkable good puzzle game with a license that it actually doesn't need. [Holiday 2009, p.74]

LEGO Batman 2 on Vita plays like more traditional LEGO games, sticking closer to the standard formula than the console version. [Sept 2012, p.83]

We like the LEGO games a lot, but LEGO Indiana Jones 2 is the weakest of the recent pack by a wide margin. [Jan 2010, p.85]

We'll hope that this either gets improved and rolled into the main "MLB 2K" game, or fully revamped for its sophomore effort. [Mar 2009, p.76]

The technology driving Rocksmith is awesome. Unfortunately, the software just doesn't compare. [Dec 2011, p.81]

Despite their past success, Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory make for a less than impressive HD package. [Dec 2011, p.77]

Those with a taste for the unusual will likely enjoy Datura, as it's contemplative and slow and builds surprising tension at times. But ultimately, it's just an interesting yet flawed experiment. [Aug 2012, p.86]

A few game modes and a neat Autolog feature that allows us to challenge friends to score-based competitions keep things interesting for a while, but Crash gets quite stale after a few spins around the block. [Dec 2011, p.77]

As a portable game, Burning Skies is adequate. But as the Vita's first true FPS and a member of the Resistance family, it's a conventional, predictable disappointment. [Aug 2012, p.84]

Still, for a budget title, Time did manage to keep our attention longer than we anticipated. [May 2012, p.85]

Which is too bad, because beneath the sluggishness, Mana Khemia: Student Alliance offers an absorbing school experience with quirky characters and a fun story. [June 2009, p.83]

If discovering, collecting, and equipping oddly designed loot is your passion, then Phantasy Star Portable is your type of game. [June 2009, p.81]

It's a functional squad shooter, but it's one that's probably best suited for series diehards. [May 2012, p.82]

Don't get us wrong--watching Juliet dash across the battlefield, chainsaw in hand, was entertaining in its own right. We just wish more emphasis was placed on making it fun to play and not just fun to watch. [Aug 2012, p.75]

Despite the mechas' new,smaller stature(roughly two-thirds the size of those in previous titles), battles felt sluggish. [May 2012, p.81]

We'd definitely pick the PS3 version over this, but when it comes to kicking the afterlife ass on the go, Dante's Inferno is a reasonably solid option. [Jun 2010, p.79]

More frustrating than funny. [May 2009, p.84]

Thought not a terrible tribute to the series, Downpour seems to tone down everything we loved about the earlier games, leaving only an average shell. [May 2012, p.78]

But ultimately, EndWar is a complex turn-based experience marred by its lack of technical polish. [Feb 2009, p.75]

It never pretends to be a serious game, and though it might be a little too pricey for dumb entertainment, it does provide some fluffy sandbox fun. [Oct 2012, p.85]

Straightforward, aerial combat. [Holiday 2009, p.85]

Consider Grave Danger a guilty pleasure, enjoyable more for its tongue-in-cheek tone than for its actual gameplay. [July 2008, p.81]

Nice enough for retro fans, but not so much for new gamers. [Jan 2012, p.81]

For all its creation-packed bells, whistles, and hood ornaments, ModNation Racers on PSP is like the Batmobile fitted with a Prius engine: Lots of show, lacking go. [Aug 2010, p.83]

We occasionally encountered some control issues. [Jan 2012, p.81]

Maybe we'll get what we're craving from the next Bond game. [Jan 2009, p.72]

An improvement over its predecessor in almost every way, but it still feels undernourished. [Jan 2012, p.81]

A bundle tailor-made for diehard Tekken fans that'll leave the average gamer feeling hoodwinked. [Jan 2012, p.84]

It may not be a game for racing purists, but it you're looking to introduce stock car racing to a child, look no further. [Jan 2012, p.81]

Fold in an uncomplicated multiplayer mode and lots of silly cutscenes awkwardly trying to tell a sentimental war story, and Evolved is pleasant, accessible junk food for mecha fans. [Nov 2010, p.81]

This may be a well-made rat maze, but a rat maze it is and that's all. [Holiday 2012, p.73]

For nearly every aspect of the game, awesomeness comes with a caveat. The shooting mechanics are responsive, intuitive...and annoying as hell. The run-and-gun style works just fine - as long as we never let a bullet touch us. [June 2010, p.66]

One Piece and Dynasty Warrior diehards will find plenty to love; anyone else will be bored after about two missions. [Holiday 2012, p.76]