The Red Star has a lot going for it, but due to the preceding problems, it falls well short of its ambitious goal. The complete lack of an interesting story, lackluster menu presentation, and spiking and erratic difficulty (along with no checkpoints) can make for an extremely tedious experience.

Fun, but it’s a bland, vanilla sort of fun.

In many ways, the technical achievement is high and should be praised. In other – and more important ways – it feels like an incomplete title.

Iridium Runners implements a few very cool gameplay mechanics and is actually worth the price of admission. If it were a penny more, we probably wouldn't recommend it, but given the originality and general entertainment factor, it's worth a look for only twenty bucks.

The control is fine, the gameplay as a whole is fine, the characters and atmosphere are acceptable and even amusing, and Gust does hit the correct note when it comes to presentation. But the Academy aspect of the game drags big time, the voice acting and graphics are sub-par, and although the Alchemy is involving, the overall depth isn’t as intricate as you might believe.

If you're going to play DICE, its short-subject, arcade-style gameplay makes it easy to get through in short bursts.

If you’re over 30 years old and grew up playing pinball, then Pinball Hall of Fame, at its current $10 price is certainly worth picking up. Unfortunately, the gameplay is limited due to the poor ball physics, lack of analog flippers, and questionable table selection.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified isn’t a bad game by any stretch, but it fails to live up to its predecessor. It has the aesthetic personality but it doesn’t have the gameplay personality. The control is fine, the music is a fantastic touch, and the fulfillment one feels after a properly executed mission is significant. But the story, despite glimpses of greatness, lets you down, and there’s just a general feeling of monotony that permeates the entire experience.

But NFL Head Coach 09 only caters to a very select group of gamers, and even then, there are obvious shortcomings that will frustrate even the most hardcore fans.

The title is severely devoid of polish, as its horde of glitches is some of the worst I've seen this generation.

Seemingly inaccurate platforming, a lack of direction pertaining to progress and puzzles, mediocre AI, and sluggish pacing. There's a lot of fun to be had and the longevity is high but we have to tolerate more issues…drop that "group" mentality for the next one, Traveller's.

Worth your $29.99? If you like the games on the "best" list above, sure. Otherwise, no.

With sub-par control, a story that could be great but gets lost in a sea of loose ends, and very uninspired, tedious, and infrequent combat, Rule of Rose falls well shy of the intended mark.

By now, you know what to expect; it’s just that there are other downloadable games that might be more worth your money.

If you’re curious, spend one of those new twenties in your wallet on some old favorites.

A competent action platformer with an appealing persona and style. The music is fantastic, the voices are pleasant, and the diverse gameplay does manage to remain somewhat interesting throughout. Sadly, the pacing is off, too many of the segments don't hit home, and the designers come up a little shy when shooting for the stars.

I personally could not overlook a number of glaring flaws, most importantly the horde of control issues, in addition to the annoying load times.

It's above mediocre. But it's just…blasé.

It just didn’t quite hit the necessary benchmarks for execution and the ultimate realization of the main concept.

"Monaco GP" and "Golden Axe" are broken to the point of being nearly unplayable, and the tandem of Tant R and Bonanza Bros. is a bonus that you'll rarely play because of how simple both games are.

Blackgate isn’t the top-tier AAA portable production I was hoping for. The map is borderline useless, the repetition and fetch quests get tiresome, the rewards for diligent exploration aren’t high, and that 2.5D perspective is definitely problematic in certain combat situations. Still, if you’re a big fan of the old-school side-scrolling style of game, and you’re a big Batman fan, you should give Blackgate a whirl.

It's almost always fun to reminisce, but how can you reminisce when you never experienced it in the first place? ...get what we're saying, Taito? If you're an old-school gaming fan, you should probably check it out, but examine that list above first. That's really the only requirement.

I really do understand the intention behind the franchise's overhaul but sadly, it just doesn't work as well as it could've. I'm just not sure who they're going to satisfy. The strategy/RPG fans won't touch it with a ten-foot cattle prod and the action fans don't usually flock to mech titles, which dominate the Japanese culture but aren't as big here.

There are several great ideas here, but they're sort of mired beneath the weight of a generic shooter. The multiplayer isn't overwhelmingly great, either, and despite a really solid story with a lot of potential, a few compelling characters, and an immersive, challenging environment, Spec Ops: The Line doesn't make good on its lofty claims.

It's fast-paced, it's accessible enough, there are plenty of moves for the casual gamer, and it's got plenty of unlockable fanservice extras.

A passable title, due entirely to the depth and relatively accurate race physics. Unfortunately, despite all the tuning and customizing you can do, the depth doesn't translate to a full-on simulation experience, especially because the physics aren't quite that realistic.

Ultimately, it's impossible to recommend Juiced when games like "Burnout 3" and "Midnight Club 3" are out there doing everything it does, and more, in much better fashion.

It’s just nothing special, that’s all. But if you want some simple, straightforward, fairly well done FPS fun for only ten bucks (and you don’t have to go anywhere to nab it, either), feel free to give it a shot. It’s a surprisingly fast download and you’ll be blowing away baddies before you know it. Just don’t expect too much.