The realistic puck physics and new goalie animations are the best additions, but certainly do not make up for the cheap computer A.I. and the Swiss cheese defense.

With a renewed focus on adventure and the inclusion of a less restrictive control scheme, Crystal Dynamics has managed to rekindle the fading flame of the Tomb Raider franchise. Although it is a bit on the short side, a multitude of extras and the tough Time Trial mode will extends the Croft experience.

A definite thrill ride from beginning to end that relies heavily on its Hollywood-style presentation more than true gameplay. Hindered ever so slightly by repetitive enemies and puzzles.

Sleeping dogs is a fantastic game that you need to play.

If you just want to play soccer with a bunch of no names, it's "Winning Eleven" all the way. But if you have even an inkling of playing with any of the pro world's best or any official squads, then you can't really go wrong with FIFA 06 Soccer.

A line will be drawn in the sand, and MotoGP 06 will sit right on it. Those that adored the previous iterations of the franchise will most certainly like the next gen version of their beloved. Those that hated the previous games will keep on hating; probably because they suck at it.

Simple, easy-to-use controls are marred only by the game’s sometimes atrocious handling of the camera.

It's always a good sign when the toughest decision you have to make is what game mode to start with; such is the case with MX vs. ATV Unleashed.

KSPS is different, its fresh, its fun! Sure, it has its similarities to the Tony Hawk series, but it IS NOT some simple rehash with a surf board. The game makes you feel like a surfer, even though most of us are sitting on our asses only wishing we’d know what that life would be like.

A must have for fans of the films and a great multiplayer game for shooter fans as well. Battlefront does suffer a few design flaws that include a weak single-player section, poor AI at times, and a lack of an underlying continuity between battles.

In life, you tend to move to the beat of your own drum, and with 0-D Beat Drop, you can play to that beat as well.

The controls are responsive, but the A.I. needs a serious overhaul.

It’s just a goofy contest with about three dozen puzzling levels to keep you occupied and entertained for a while.

Hoops stronger in presentation, graphics, and management but "Madness" being better in gameplay.

Tiger 08 gives you a ton to do, and offers lots of variety across these various events to reduce potential tedium—an effect that, unfortunately, really drags down the Skills Training section.

At two-thirds the price of Origins with about two-fifths the content, a return trip to the land of Ferelden doesn’t feel like the deal it seemed it would be.

While there are some issues with subtly repetitive gameplay modes, the difficulty level problem, and the occasional cheap computer AI, the overall game is an extremely solid first effort by Microsoft Game Studios.

If you love any or all of the following - RPGs, rich fantasy worlds, action games - Reckoning is a rich action RPG with a deep narrative, even deeper character customization, and plenty of content right out of the box. Go get this game.

Not too stressful or repetitive, but with a strong plot and graphics that'll satisfy most. Replay value is medium.

While the graphics are beautiful, the damage system is unbelievable, and the audio is right-on, the career mode is what really carries Pro Race Driver across the finish line. The amount of detail and attention Codemasters put into this mode is untouched by any other console racing game to date.

So, yes, the future does indeed looks bright for FIFA 09, but with UEFA EURO 2008 currently on the shelves, the future also happens to be right now.

A thoughtful and intriguing game.

NBA Live 10 shows continued improvement for the series. But in classic EA fashion, this feels incredibly iterative. The improvements of this latest iteration are impressive nonetheless, but it feels like a long road to one truly great basketball game to grace our consoles, a revolutionary and defining game of its genre.

The combination of an intriguing campaign mode and large-scale multiplayer action for up to 24 players is hard to mess with, at least in terms of the late-model combat stuff.

Gameplay is fast and smooth with very minimal lag. Of course, the greatest part of all is the ability to talk with your opponents, which essentially completes the experience.

Gives you a bit more "professionalism" than the arcade feel of SSX so it’s a nice blend of arcade fun and authenticity.

It is essentially the same game as last year operating with a few notable tweaks, but still delivers a rock-solid college basketball experience. Gamers who want to take their skills online will definitely need to snatch this one up.

The new focus on multiplayer expands the gameplay immensely. Duets are a real treat, while the "Sing and Dance" and Minigames don't live up to their billing.

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

A likeable mixture of wheel-to-wheel racing and extreme racing modes is sure to satisfy the Alpha-male motorsports fan. The A.I. is a bit suspect, however.

There have been few action adventure games that pull of the perfect blend of gameplay, storyline and presentation that Otogi manages to do. From Software did their homework in regards to the control scheme and overall gameplay mechanics.

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.

Its cutesy image may not appeal to the hardcore crowd, but the core game is nearly flawless. It’s a game that you’ll want to continue playing – it doesn’t feel like “work”. The characters are imaginative, the visuals are outstanding, and the game is downright fun.

The strong cast of characters, each of them with their own unique look & feel, really gives KOF XIII a certain appeal. Fans of Anime will absolutely adore the artwork.

Its simplicity is what boosts its addictiveness. This isn’t a game about complex strategy and well timed precision; it’s a game about kicking ass and having tons of fun with your friends.

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.

Although the fielding needs some work, the hitting and pitching mechanics are excellent, as are the “big play” moments.

While not as bare bones as "Madden NFL 06," NHL 07 still could use a bit more substance to back up its innovative controls and killer graphics and sound.

While the game's definitely not perfect, it introduces some interesting gameplay mechanics to keep the action steady from start to finish, and it sports some truly excellent graphics. It's not going to win any awards for its storyline (I still don't know who some of the characters are), but when viewed as a series of standalone missions, it's a blast.

Those that take a chance on Otogi 2 will find a unique and beautiful hack-n-slash title that sprinkles in plenty of variation thanks to some limited RPG-like upgrades, diverse playable characters, and a challenging story mode.

It manages to take inspiration from known quantities in the puzzle and rhythm genres to create something that feels distinctive and, more importantly, is a lot of fun. That the bulk of your money is going to charity is a feel-good bonus for a game that deserves your time regardless.

Though the game has some interesting features—including educational facts that relate to Chopin—the alternating running and combat gets tiresome.

While the Xbox 360 version doesn’t pack the same amount of features or overall depth that the Xbox version does it’s still a truly next-gen football offering that is definitely worth your time and money. The visuals alone, as long as you’re playing on a solid HD set, are worth the sixty bucks at times.

Has enough great looking textures to knit a quilt. You will be able to make out the grass, and even the line paint on the grass. The turf looks like turf, not just a brighter shade of grass.

It's tough to recommend GUN at its full sticker price for what it is, and that is an excellently told, eight-hour story wrapped up in the guise of an action videogame masquerading as a Western.

Take every cool martial arts weapon that you wanted as a kid, and add to it many of the killer utensils from medieval times– that pretty much sums up the weapons used by Soulcaliber characters. And, instead of keeping character types of a consistent ilk, Namco went all over the board– from reptile to Asian Elvis– in order to keep us coming back. We’re talking about some of the most highly-regarded fighting game characters of all time.

I had a lot of fun playing the dunk contest in "NBA Live 2005," but I couldn't really get deep into the actual games. This is not so in NBA Live 06. I'm thoroughly enjoying the actual season games this time around and I have to attribute most of this love to the Freestyle Superstar system.

If I have to pick a gripe it would be that the game wasn't designed primarily for the Xbox then stripped down for other consoles, but the addition of 2 levels and an extra villain make it a worthwhile effort.

The relationship dynamics could have felt a bit more natural, especially when opponents overreact to the slightest bump and teammates take the offensive when they claim to be working together.

Let’s face it: there’s only so much you can do with a simple Xbox 360 controller. I think EALA has really taken advantage of the peripheral in question, and has also tweaked the gameplay enough so that micromanagement is less of a need.

There are very few games that showcase this kind of creativity combined with a protagonist with a believable reason behind their cause.

Xbox’ers are getting the strongest version of this unique product by far. Kudos to the team over at Mix Max for creating such a thorough application that is also totally user friendly.

It is definitely a game that can be likened to chess in that to be really successful, you’ll need to plan 2-3 moves ahead.

This is an incremental update with a lot of fresh paint.

The ability to play versus, mix-matched style with characters from various coin-ops is a great twist to a classic compilation, and the chance to do all of this online makes the pie that much sweeter.

A massive step in the right direction for the series, and helps repair some of the damage done to the brand's reputation over the past few years.

Gladius is by far unmatched in terms of character control in the strategy/RPG genre. The only thing I would have wished for is more ability customization for characters in between class types.

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.

It is really Dan Paladin’s creativity and skill as an artist that makes you want to continue on in Alien Hominid, not necessarily the gameplay.

For whatever Ghostbusters: The Video Game is lacking purely as a game – and really, it’s not that much – it more than makes up for it in the production. We should hold it up as a model not just for movie into video game translations, but as an example of how you treat a beloved institution right when making a video game about it.

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.

The new mechanics that it adds to the first-person shooter genre will be remembered for a long time to come, and they certainly help differentiate it from the rest of the pack; something that isn’t so easy to do these days.

There are plenty of methods in which to wreak havoc and weapons like the Land Shark Gun are fun as hell, but no matter how you dress things up, Armed & Dangerous is simply an above average third-person shooter.

Straight console junkies may find it a bit vapid, but the rest of the world’s gamers- those of us who have gamed in arcades before, will most likely find OutRun 2 invigorating.

While the fact that the game can be completed in 7-10 hours may turn off some tastes, it is still an enjoyable 7-10 hours.

If gads of dialog, characters that ooze personality and freer form combat sounds like an RPG delight to you, then order up Tales of Vesperia pronto.

Win or lose, though, you're guaranteed to have a good time with the experience. Who knew that an XBLA game would ultimate prove ol' Gordon Gekko right? Greed, at least in this case, is definitely good.

The single-player campaign is as intense as we've ever played on the Xbox, although it doesn't last too long (anywhere from 7-10 hours depending on your skill level). The multiplayer component can hold its own with the "Halo 2"'s and "Rainbow Six"'s of the world.

I honestly didn’t know much about Carcassonne before I played it on XBLA, but the cozy format and computer control makes it a lot of unfettered fun. Sierra also promises that it’ll add some of the board game’s expansion as inexpensive downloads soon, which will extend the gameplay that much more.

The contrasting abilities of Sphinx and the Mummy make this a true two character game and not simply the same character with a different model and textures.

Guys and gals that got off on "T.H.U.G." will also find a lot of gameplay value here since they will be able to dig deep into the lengthy Career Mode. Gamers jonesing for the return of the motocross track editor, a la "Excitebike," will want to check it out as well.

Just as solid as the gameplay in Assault Heroes is the way in which it looks. This is what an arcade-style shooter on a next-gen platform should look like.

But the experience of playing Perfect Dark for XBLA definitely feels behind the times.

The more players you can get in a game, the more fun it becomes, but single-player is no slouch either, especially with all the extra modes.

While the atmosphere might not be all there and while the hitting might prove to be intimidating, those who learn to master the nuances of the game will be in for an enjoyable baseball experience.

Chessmaster isn't for all Xbox'ers, but it is highly recommended for anybody event remotely interested in learning how to play chess or wanting to become a better player.

There are big monsters, countless enemies to place the hurt on and an epic adventure to go along with it.

EA has made a lot of strides with NHL 06, especially on the offensive side of the ice. That being said, the AI is still a problem area that prevents the series from reaching its maximum potential.

OutRun raises the bar for the series, with better visuals and more functionality than its disc-based predecessors. While OutRun may be more like “drag” racing than road racing for those who have experienced its cars and roads before, it’s easily worth the asking price to new fans of the series and to those who plan on exploring its multiplayer modes.

The pitching and batting mechanics are solid once again, and the fielding has been greatly improved.

A good buy for any sports fan, especially because of the excitement, but be warned that you will probably be tired of it before you could say “USA soccer is about to become a power.”

Part puzzle game, part platformer, and part competitive multiplayer action title, Marble Blast Ultra is a good value for players wanting a quick dosage of fun without getting tied up into a marathon gaming session.

A solid battle system is flanked hour after hour by attention-grabbing cutscenes and cinematics. Fun to watch, fun to play.

This game features so much fun, revolutionary gameplay I am only praying that this is not the developers last game. Throw in the damn mature rating and this game is a surefire winner.

The Party Mode is a welcome addition and support for up to 16 player tournaments online makes Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 arguably the best game of the long running series. It's more of the same, but that's a good thing in our book.

If you like puzzle games that require quick reflexes as well as mental acuity, then Roogoo is definitely for you. Honestly, I think the whole cutesy setting is an add on to keep you from getting too furious at the game.

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.

Story and presentation are arguably two of the most important parts of a role playing game besides the combat system, and Lost Odyssey, most of the time, handles both with grace.

The single player missions aren't nearly as engrossing as the original story, but the map editor and Xbox Live playability make up for this nicely.

A schizophrenic experience for me. I really liked the story evolution, though on occasion it did drag a bit, but I was severely put off by how the developers chose to challenge players and, I guess, keep then engaged (meaning not finishing the game as quickly).

The single-player Bad Fur Day is platforming genius, although it still slightly suffers from a few of the same issues that plagued it on the N64. The multiplayer modes are incredibly fun once you get passed frustrating learning curve.

The one thing that’s missing from the package is a multiplayer mode which, while not as important as in other Xbox Live Arcade titles, would have really been icing on this already attractive cake.

The gameplay has a moderate learning curve to it and might not appeal to some, but if you stick with it you’ll find Crimson Sea has a lot to offer.

On one side you have a truly engaging experience that makes the gamer think about their actions and study the environments in order to be as efficient as possible. The AI is great and the replayability factor is high. On the other side of the blade you have a cumbersome inventory system, suspect character control, and perplexing animations.

A little rough in terms of transition from scene to scene, but otherwise solid. Both platforming and fighting systems are easy to learn, but tough to master.

But if you’re like me and want a good old dose of nostalgia, you’ll get it in Bust-a-Move Live…with a side of newness, too.

The best way to sum up the graphics of James Bond 007: Nightfire is to say that this is a game that is developed cross-platform, but looks as though it could be an Xbox exclusive.

The Campaign mode is worth the ticket into the stadium, and there's enough attitude here to keep you occupied well into the fourth quarter.