Yes, Flock comes with an intricate and powerful level editor for easily building new challenges and sharing them with others, which makes for easily building of the 50-level library that comes with the game.

A healthy mix of melee and gunplay, the stealth action is tried and true.

This game without the Godfather license could have been great, and they wouldn’t have had to have changed too much either to the core gameplay. But with the awkward-fitting pelt of Coppola’s murdered masterpiece on its shoulders, it will be hard for people to discover the really well-designed hybrid-type game underneath.

It features far too many—and poorly integrated—“quicktime” events, frustrating core combat and non-sardonic C-movie camp. There are bright spots here and there, but the fact that said bright spots still pale in comparison to those featured in Ninja Gaiden doesn’t help Ninja Blade’s cause.

While Dead Samurai’s gameplay could have used a bit more Dawn for it to truly shine, the visuals and overall presentation value makes this unique, indy-produced IP easily worth its 800-point asking price.

While Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office or Bust does succeed in the execution and delivery of its smutty script, it fails on nearly every other account.

The coolest offering is a Metallifacts overlay for all Metallica songs: When you play one, you get the in-game Metallica characters playing the song, but text comes up every few seconds to give you some trivia about the particular song, such as reminiscences from the band or inspirations for that tune or the lyrics. I’m not a big Metallica fan, but I was fascinated by some of what I read.

Even though FF2 could be stronger, it does come equipped, like the rest of the PopCap Arcade Volume 2 compilation, with co-op action and multiplayer party games.

The difficulty arises from the speed at which card arrangement this needs to be done. You’ll literally have seconds to anticipate what numeral/color will be thrown down before your turn and to arrange your cards in a logical order. This involves not only thinking very quickly, but also having pretty sharp hand dexterity since fast controller inputs are mandatory for said sorting purposes.

Even though Wheelman combines myriad genres, gameplay styles and presentation references into a single title, it actually pulls it off quite well.

Stormrise also does a terrible job of giving you information.

Beyond the licensing, WWE Legends of WrestleMania is a smartly-designed game that enables studio antics to be more approachable to the common gamer. The gameplay isn’t dumbed down to the point where hardcore wrestling fans will scoff at Legends either.

Wanted is an unfortunate disappointment to me, but not as much for its gameplay design, which is where a lot of games lose points. It has a nice control scheme, it has some grin-inducing comedic dialogue and more. The key argument against it is that there’s simply not enough of it—and that ends up drawing a big thumbs down from me.

The fact that Monsters vs. Aliens doesn’t miss the mark in every area already makes it better than over half of the movie games out there. You could do better for your action/platform dollar, but you probably wouldn’t make your kids as happy with the purchase of Prince of Persia as you would with a fifty-dollar copy of Monsters vs. Aliens.

EA Bright Light did about as good a job as a team can do when working with the classic games of many of our childhoods. It’s a delicate job, but HFGN pulls off classic-board gaming with aplomb, while at the same time adding more video game-centric modes to each title.

EA Bright Light did about as good a job as a team can do when working with the classic games of many of our childhoods. It’s a delicate job, but HFGN pulls off classic-board gaming with aplomb, while at the same time adding more video game-centric modes to each title.

EA Bright Light did about as good a job as a team can do when working with the classic games of many of our childhoods. It’s a delicate job, but HFGN pulls off classic-board gaming with aplomb, while at the same time adding more video game-centric modes to each title.

EA Bright Light did about as good a job as a team can do when working with the classic games of many of our childhoods. It’s a delicate job, but HFGN pulls off classic-board gaming with aplomb, while at the same time adding more video game-centric modes to each title.

If you can’t deal with the combat gameplay in the RE series (there’s a demo to save you potential naysayers a few bucks), then there’s a good chance that you won’t be buying what the boxed copy of Resident Evil 5 is selling. But if there’s even the slightest amount of indifference in your brain about the aiming and gunplay of RE, then RE5 is worth your time.

The game is incredibly colorful with a great mix of animation and sound to satisfy players of all ages—it’s not dumbed down for kids and it’s not loaded up with sophisticated gameplay concepts that only adults can take in. Most of all, though, it’s the combination of simple gameplay, challenging action and cartoon-like graphics that makes it highly appealing.

Okay, there are some compelling strategies at the heart of Crystal Defenders, so it might draw you in for a while—in one of those “Why am I still playing this game?” moments—but it’s such a dull presentation that it ends up dragging down the whole gameplay concept.

For the rest of the loony bracket heads out there—those that would never buy a retail version of a college basketball game but follow the tourney religiously—NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition is the best ten dollars that you could ever spend in the month of March.

Trivial Pursuit on the Xbox 360 is a pretty well-made digital adaptation of a board game classic. But its flaws are also rather glaring, especially the lack of online play.

Yes, Watchmen is worth…well, watching, due to its outward beauty, but its essence doesn’t lie in the gaming medium. Maybe the movie will prove something similar—that Watchmen’s mid-’80s comic book-series brilliance cannot be outdone.

Halo Wars is undoubtedly fun; one just worries if it’s not enough for one group of gamers and too much for another. If you’re part of that middle ground like I believe I am, then you’ll love Halo Wars as much as I did.

It’s quite often entertaining and challenging, but often frustrating and boring as well.

Want a better baseball video game experience? Unfortunately it’s on the PS3 with MLB The Show. Xbox 360 gamers are stuck with this rough-hewn and frustrating game that could have otherwise been a gem. Instead, that no-hitter in the bottom of the ninth got broken up by a grand slam.

The cover system is actually pretty good. The rest of the game, completely rote.

There are moments in Stoked when you’ll feel like it’s going to become that niche snowboarding game that all of the hip, young X360 players are going to play forever; like SSX back in the day. At other moments, though, you’ll feel as if you’re back on the chair lift awaiting the next run.

The visual style and animations, brilliant level design and well thought out puzzles equate to an overall gem of an Xbox Live Arcade game.

The Last Hope is for those that don’t consider waiting a part of battlefield etiquette. If you consider yourself a free-form fighter—a free-form star fighter perhaps—then Star Ocean: The Last Hope is your key to the JRPG universe.

It’s fantastic fun for a same-screen multiplayer game, and could foster the kind of trash talk we like our games like that to elicit.

No frills racing action that isn’t quite as enjoyable for those that like the console bells and whistles.

Sixty bucks is a bit steep for a ported arcade game fighter, but you can look at it this way: You’ll be buying a reworked piece of pop culture history; similar to plopping down ducats for a hard-bound The Dark Knight Returns novel or a professionally-framed Lichtenstein print.

Sets an amazing standard for what downloadable content can do. It doesn’t just extend the GTA IV experience, but actually builds upon it while feeling fresh and different. If you’re a GTA fan it’s a must-play.

Varying levels of seriousness in the users that gather to play 3 on 3 NHL Arcade in ranked or unranked online matches creates a fresh, party-style atmosphere that works within the confines of XBLA.

Minesweeper Flags is well-crafted and easy to play, and the Flags Mode played with others might just be the fresh enough to add replayability to the fundamental gameplay, but it’s just not as smooth as the original, though thankfully it won’t cost you much if you want to verify that for yourself.

A solid game, with some decent gameplay. But it’s not going to light your soul on fire like other shooters hopefully will, and might bore gamers who’ve played every single shooter out there and are looking for something new. It may not feel new, but it definitely feels polished and solid. If not very scary.

It’s clear that there was a lot more programming manpower put into jiggly girl parts and gouts of blood than in the rest of the game design.

You can’t ignore that R-Type Dimensions offers another taste of classic gaming, with some enhancements to make it more attractive and contemporary, and that’s playable from the comfort of the living-room couch.

While skin-deep beauty may work for the video medium, the word “game” in “video game” means that software needs to be more substantial in order to entertain the majority of its audience. With that said, the stylized souls—perhaps those that can look past the dysfunctional side of haute couture—will have a hard time disliking Afro Samurai.

A poorly designed excuse to cash in some more on 2K’s MLB license.

Skate 2 continues to raise the bar for skateboarding games, but it just wasn’t enough for draw the kinds of raves offered for the first game in the series.

Roll The Maw’s gameplay, visuals and audio together and you have one very tasty yumyum, not to mention one of the better original IP’s to hit Xbox Live Arcade in awhile.

Fans of LotR or team-oriented multiplayer masters should pick this one up—sooner than later if possible. But for those thinking that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest’s core gameplay is like Ninja Gaiden with chain mail…this ain’t your “precious.”

This is certainly a caveat emptor type of purchase, with a run at the trial version being is smart move.

It’s not going to win any Game of the Year prizes…in fact, it’s not even a great game. But it’s worth the attention of Xbox 360 owners, and hopefully something we’ll see happen again for how it involved the community.

Fighting, when you get to do it, is good – there are a lot of moves to try out. But the constant shuttling during missions blows.

The blocks are appropriately vibrant, the launching effect is cool, the backgrounds sci-fi-ish, and the momentum-driving music never grows too repetitive—a significant achievement for a puzzle game.

It might not pick up an award for its revolutionary graphics or voice acting, but it should put a smile on your face at times and give you a teeth-gritting grimace at others.

Smooth moves like this are paramount for a platformer, which probably explains why Banjo-Kazooie, even ten years after its release, is still a solid player for both the pick-up-and-play crowd as well as the serious jumpers out there. There’s enough comic relief and clever level design surrounding the slick team-up moves and animations of Banjo-Kazooie’s leading animals to pull it all together into one of the better classic console platformers to grace Xbox Live Arcade.

A really pure gaming experience that will undoubtedly split gamers on the issue. Some will hate the controls, others will love them. Some will be bored with the game’s repetition, others will be enthralled by it. Some will love the voice acting, others will be on the right side of that issue. No matter. Prince of Persia is a gorgeous piece of work that may just pull more people into gaming by being as fun and easy as it is beautiful.

The strongest part of the game…and, that said, it’s not all that strong either, with the weak elements poisoning what should have been more fun.

If you’re looking for a great warm-up before Street Fighter IV is unleashed, look no further than Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

Massive, multi-party battles don’t deliver the strategic pop that hardcore RPG fans are looking for.

I appreciate Team Sonic’s effort to mix the old with the new, and there’s definitely some potential in the alter-ego mechanic. Unfortunately, they don’t blend especially well in Unleashed, an experience that had me alternately stoked to get to the next traditional level and a bit disappointed every time the sun went down.

If you’re into strategy games, you might find A Kingdom for Keflings a bit light on your abilities. Just the same, even the best strategist could enjoy a fun workout like this, which is often more like a Rube Goldberg machine that needs constantly changing parts to be integrated in for it to work correctly.

For every moment that Tomb Raider: Underworld shined, there were two or three where I was extremely disappointed. The fact that it feels at spots like a big movie broken up by interactive segments, rather than a deep game with cutscenes to give you a brief respite from the action, was one of the biggest offenses.

Those minigame levels are the most fun you’ll have with Bolt. The rest of the game is a buggy mess, full of bad framerates and full-on game crashes at times.

It’s a fun game, but pales in comparison to other current music games for the number of playable songs and entertainment value.

It’s so immersive and satisfying to sling lead at an infinite number of creepy, crawly zombies! It’s not particularly deep, but there are far more moments that’ll make you grin goofily and move tensely to the edge of your seat.

While Need for Speed Undercover delivers in the areas of cinematic production, audio, visuals and through its sweet vehicle roster, it falls a bit short in the realm of top-tier, arcade-quality handling models.

The revamped NCAA Basketball 09 does a nice job of giving bracketheads what they want, despite some freshman jitters with its new engine. Even though NCAA Basketball 09 may not be a Final Four lock, it’s clear that the franchise has a winning road ahead of it.

I know there was good intent that went into the making of the game, but, in all honesty, it turned out to be a very glitchy mess.

It may not be a “Flawless Victory” with its here-and-there hiccups and T-rated combat, but Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is the best pure MK fighter that the series has produced in years.

Shaun White’s not the best, nor the worst, snowboarding title we’ve ever played. And its greatest moments are occasionally dragged down by imprecise controls and a sometimes fun-siphoning story campaign.

I wish that Mirror’s Edge was more like a rock-climbing course (or like the climbing mechanic in "Assassin’s Creed") that gives you numerous ways to reach the spot you need to reach, though with the occasional stumper that gets you scratching your head to find the solution. Instead, I found myself frustrated by the do-it-again-until-you-get-it-right gameplay, which was more tedious than challenging—much like the platformers of the NES era. Those old classics were designed that way because of cartridge-memory limitations, but Mirror’s Edge can’t use that excuse.

Whatever small fun that can be gleaned from Red Alert 3 is not worth the hideously poor attempts at humor and bargain basement production values that envelop the final product like a shroud.

The main issue is that there are a ton of games out this holiday season that are fun from start to finish, while Nuts and Bolts will probably take most of you up to a point before you lose interest in the Lego-like construction projects and the pursuit to beat all of the challenges.

Pick up Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 if you are a huge fan of the series or need a fresh football fix. Everyone else would be better off snatching up a used copy of "FIFA 09" from the preowned rack.

Call of Duty: World at War was a surprisingly satisfying experience all around. Developer Treyarch really showed that they could be trusted with the keys to Dad’s car, and made a game that could be compared favorably to anything Infinity Ward has done.

Yuke’s really stepped it up for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, with the pay off being the finest wrestling game for the HD systems to date. There are a few base gameplay anomalies that keep WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 from being a true champion, but the sheer quantity and quality of SmackDown vs. Raw 2009’s content, not to mention its WWE-perfect grandeur, makes the decision to grant the title belt to Yuke’s latest effort an easy one.

It’s not perfect, to the hardcore or others. But it is good enough to give you an experience you won’t regret.

All of the multiplayer, both co-op and competitive, completely makes up for any that was lacking in the first game. For those that thought that Gears just wasn’t suited to multiplayer gameplay, that it was too tactical and slow and was better suited to a single player experience, prepare to eat your words. It’s fantastic, and rounds out the complete package that is Gears of War 2...Gears of War 2 is about as close as you can get to the perfect gaming package.

To a jaded, seen-it-all gamer like yours truly, it seems like a good idea that didn’t get executed to enough of an extent. A completely redesigned Vigilante 8 game with next-gen graphics and physics would be super awesome, if you ask me. But probably not appropriate for Xbox Live. This one is definitely meant for those who truly can’t let go of their childhood.

Knowing full-well that real time strategy games are but faint blips on most console gamers’ radars, Ubi Shanghai knew it had to go big if Tom Clancy’s EndWar was to have a fighting chance on the Xbox 360. With a fully functional voice recognition system and solid, console-centric RTS gameplay Shanghai has succeeded in an attempt to give the strategy game its just due on the console.

Accept that Legendary won’t wow you with the gameplay polish of a budget-busting title, and you’ll likely have a good time fighting to shut Pandora’s precious package.

As a whole package, Quantum of Solace doesn’t quite cut it. It’s a decent game held back by the constraints of its license, which should be the thing that elevates the product. Treyarch did their best with what they had, but it’s not enough to elevate this game to superspy status.

Despite all this chafe in the wheat, Namco Museum Virtual Arcade is a pretty decent package for the price.

When people talk about deep, immersive video games, Fallout 3 can stand as a reference.

MotoGP 08’s physics and handling engine does give us hope for the future, however, but it’s clear that Capcom and company have some work to do to in order for the Xbox version of this series to reach its, um, climax.

Simple, accessible fun for everyone, including all your non-gamer friends and family. Perfect entertainment for the upcoming party-packed season.

For its first band-in-a-box release, GHWT does a good job of getting on the map. In my view, though it does some things better, it doesn’t quite reach the sheer playability and enjoyment of Rock Band’s two releases and its broad DLC catalog. Close, but not right alongside its competitor.

I can’t imagine the emptiness your life has been up to this point without having experienced the joys of the Companion Cube or the awesome song over the end credits. Portal: Still Alive is your chance to set your life right.

Strangely, I’ve been having more fun with the game since I finished it than I did when I was trying to. Maybe that says something about the game, maybe that says something about life. But now I have all the time in the world to sleep with whores, buy properties, explore lost dungeons and sign autographs for kids.

Unfortunately, a video game’s success primarily comes down to the quality of the gameplay, and Dawn of the Dragon felt clunky and unpolished through the majority of my time playing it.

As a Spider-Man fan, I was really hoping to see a revival of him as a video-game hero, but this wasn’t that vehicle. There are moments of fun to be had and an awful lot of gameplay, if you choose to do all of the optional missions (some of it that I found pretty tedious), but mostly it played as uninspired and disappointing for such a big-name brand.

If map modding, PC-worthy tech and the ability to make your own magic happen in a game (rather than waiting for the game to reveal its tricks) sound like you, then Far Cry 2 is the only way to hang-glide this holiday season.

So, if you’ve worn out a few dance pads in your day, you’ll probably want to skip this trip to the digital disco. However, if you’re brand spankin’ new to the DDR universe, you won’t find a better place to start your rump-shakin’ career.

In Midnight Club: Los Angeles’s case, the engine behind its essence—Rage—is good enough to make this title a standout, even though it isn’t particularly packed with genre-inspiring features. While this may be a letdown for those early-adopting, cutting-edge types, those who rank “go” above the “show” in the list of their racing-game prerequisites will consider Midnight Club: Los Angeles a real cream puff.

Age of Booty not only looks good, but it plays solidly enough to back up its aesthetic worth. If you’d like to first get your feet wet before diving into the raging sea that is the RTS genre, Age of Booty is the right vessel for the job.

You want players to be entertained and you want them to be challenged, but you don’t want them uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Rock Revolution frequently made me uncomfortable.

Although Golden Axe: Beast Rider honors its roots and does a nice job of storytelling, it fails to deliver on the all-important technical side of things.

Creatively, it’s all good. And you couldn’t have asked for more things to do in a game. It’s like a ginormous buffet of junk food. So bad but so good. I think I’ve found this year’s ultimate guilty pleasure. Funny thing is, I’m not feeling that guilty about it.

Thanks to Dead Space, the horror/survival genre is brimming with excitement. Dead Space’s release also marks the first time the RE series has looked vulnerable within its genre. Hmmm, maybe the term “extinction” is more than just some movie’s subtitle.

But grabbed by the scruff of the neck, Blitz: The League II has the tools to deliver an extreme experience that’s pretty much off the charts when compared to what else is out there. In other words, if the basics of football spliced with the raucousness of studio wrestling matches your personality type, then you can’t go wrong with Blitz: The League II.

A game for the soccer die-hards and for the general gamer looking for that breath of fresh air within the sports genre. There’s room for improvement, of course, but it’s easy recommending FIFA 09 to pretty much anyone.

Even with some signs of the major league’s style of repetitiveness, MLB Stickball is still one for those that have been waiting for mindless baseball fun in convenient, XBLA packaging.