Where the game really separates itself from the pack is the armory functionality, its visual style, and the super weapons that it gives to players. The gameplay feels wonderful, even new in parts, the visuals bring a new flair to a classic style game, and the multiplayer trimmings are just icing.

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.

For a quick-hit classic gaming experience via XBLA, you really can’t go wrong with Ms. Pac-Man. Sure, the game is way simple, but 1981 was a simple time; maybe not in terms of synth pop, but definitely in terms of video games.

Just be prepared for a game that screams “I’m simple” (as in “I’m mediocre,” not “I’m elegantly designed”).

An addictive mixture of fast-paced vehicular combat that combines a fluid arcade feel with vivid graphics, making it yet another worthwhile addition to the growing library of Xbox Live Arcade titles.

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.

In Mad Doc’s defense, space flyers are hella-hard to pull of right, and sadly, I can’t say this one was pulled off right enough for me to recommend it to those that aren’t Trekkites.

When running properly, Pimp my Ride is fun if you’re into the show, but it will do little for the gearheads who are looking for something a little different in the racing genre. Snatch this one up if you’re really into the TV show, Xzibit, or outlandishly customizing cars.

I found it to be a great-looking game that has some fun challenges—but more often than not ended up being unbalanced and frustrating.

While the retro-gaming experience is partially enhanced (in most cases) by the availability of the analog stick, the core gameplay of all titles remains the same. This is usually a good thing, but some titles should be totally scrapped due to poor design.

Small Arms looks sharp, sounds great and starts out being fun, but unfortunately doesn’t end up having sustaining gameplay - an issue that’s somewhat offset by the low price tag.

While surely not for everyone from just the title and subject matter alone, Cabela’s African Safari does serve up some decent gaming for a cheapy title focused on shooting something other than a human.

Thrillville is not for everyone, but it is perfect for those gamers that always wanted to try a simulation but were intimidated by PC keyboard overlays and Excel-like charts of data.

In terms of actual gameplay features, the sprawling city is amazing, but there’s little else to rave about here.

It's the game's multiplayer mode that will keep us playing Vegas for years to come. This isn't just the multiplayer game of the year, it may actually be the best multiplayer game in the whole Xbox 360 library.

There’s just barely enough new stuff to warrant a purchase from those who already took the plunge with 2K Sports’ NBA game. The atmosphere of a true-to-life college basketball game comes right through, both the screen and the speakers, perfectly.

It's a little disheartening to see how much the Xbox version is missing when compared to its Xbox 360 doppelganger, but I suppose that's what you should expect when you pay forty bucks less for a game.

You’ll play it for a few hours, then take it online, play for awhile longer, then you’ll be done with it. It’s fun for the time that it lasts, and will definitely last you longer than the more expensive value meal that you’ll be buying.

It gets stale fairly quickly, but Pocketbike Racer does very well for what it is.

Sneak King gets stale ridiculously fast. At least the achievements are easy.

The LEGO elements are just as fun as ever, and the advent of the masks provides solid variety.

Sonic’s long road to reclaim his former glory is full of potholes in the form of bad camera angles, poor collision detection, and excessive town wandering.

Sure, there are issue like the A.I., clipping, and sketchy hit detection, but for the most part, this game speaks to the legions of WWE fans out there- loud and clear.

Nearly every aspect of Eragon is a disappointment, from its straight-outta-the-current-gen graphics to its poor in-game camera.

After playing through the game, we couldn't help but wonder why Civil War: A Nation Divided wasn't released at a lower price point. The game features subpar graphics, no multiplayer mode, poor AI, and a fairly short single-player campaign.

Fun is the bottom line here. Arcade simple, but entertaining. A.I. is unscrupulous at times.

A nice game to look at in areas, but not overly fun to play. Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 is worth a rent to see what Team Ninja can do in the high-def age, but I won't be adding this one to my collection.

The most interesting thing about Viva Pinata is the fact that it's actually better suited for adults than it is for children. Managing your resources (er, your pinatas) can be a lot of work, and I'm actually finding the game to be more challenging than many real-time strategy games.

A solid addition to Xbox Live Arcade, but it is simply just not the version of the game most of us will expect and prefer. Instead of delivering the NES build of the game, we are given the coin-op version that is designed to take quarters from your pocket, meaning it’s quite difficult, and without the thirty-lives code it gets frustrating very quickly.

If you're a graphics whore, you absolutely, positively need to pick this game up. To say that Gears of War features "next-gen graphics" is a gross understatement. It's got the most impressive graphics ever seen in a video game, and the stellar art direction only makes it more beautiful.

If you've played one Call of Duty game, you know exactly what to expect from this one. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Tony Hawk's Project 8 needed to be absolutely mind-blowing for me to catch skate fever once again, and sadly, it just isn’t that spectacular... yet.

If you're looking for an intense shooter that will occasionally scare the living crap out of you, F.E.A.R. is exactly what the doctor ordered. Thanks to some excellent visuals and sound design, this is one game that will have you peeking around corners and stopping in your tracks every time your flashlight's battery dies.

For attempting to satiate the entire racing game populous with a single title, EA has done a pretty fine job. Would a super-mega tuner game have been a better move? Would a follow-up to the pursuit-style racing of "Most Wanted" have made more sense? Maybe and maybe.

Those looking for the most complete and best playing soccer game this year will still want to grab FIFA Soccer 07 for the big black box.

Phantasy Star Universe seems far too content to wallow in its mediocrity. The story kind of lumbers along until its conclusion, and while there’s fun to be had with character progression, the plotline never really grabs hold of you and demands your attention.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is a feature-packed game; one of those rare birds that feels like arcade gaming, but with that next-gen edge that helps to justify $400+ dollars of hardware.

It’s not an elaborate game, but it does grow on you as you try to progress further through the levels.

There are some redeemable moments in Reservoir Dogs, including the bullet festivals and signature moves that each of the characters possess. The rest of the experience can feel a little clunky and undercooked, with plenty of weird little mishaps that blemish the game beyond the point of salvation.

Prowling the shadows in search of your next victim has never been more fun, thanks to the plethora of gadgets and maneuvers at Sam's disposal. However, the online multiplayer modes leave much to be desired.

Licensed audio tracks ands voice acting from the movie makes the audio worth listening to.

While it's still a far cry from the arcade, playing Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 with friends is a blast, especially once you know how to pull off some of the crazier moves. Now, Microsoft (or Nyko, or whoever), get working on that arcade stick!

It takes a bit of getting used to, as most puzzlers of this kind are, but before long you’re rocking and rolling with it. And your friends and family might not be able to pry it out of your hands until you drop from exhaustion.

Even though you won't have the staggering number of gadgets and gear at your disposal, you'll likely still have a blast. Even those of us who were huge fans of the multiplayer action in Chaos Theory came around after a few games.

With its emphasis on realism and the upgraded graphics, it’s the best Tiger game to date, but it fails to trump many aspects of "Links," which is several years old now.

Snowblind has pulled off a fairly successful translation of the comic books that we know and love, but the action gets stale pretty quickly.

A welcome addition to this version is two-player, split-screen co-op. It lets a second player drop into the game at any time, thereby doubling the destructive potential.

In this game, most of the 12 achievements offered are for snagging the fruit in each level, with the others being for slamming two enemies with a single rock, dispatching four creatures with a single rock and (the nearly impossible) clearing a whole level’s soil.

With puzzle solving taking a backseat to the action, battling enemies becomes the highlight of A New Beginning. If the nonexistent A.I. and poor camera angles were fixed, completing the adventure would be much more fun.

As the series' last hoorah on the Xbox Tiger Woods 07 succeeds with flying colors. For the first time in sports gaming history, it's actually acceptable to bring gamers what they've had before.

From the story, to the combat situations, to the amazing cast, you'll be hard-pressed to find another title that does a movie license (an extremely heralded movie) so much justice.

I've been a die-hard "Winning Eleven" fan for some time now, but my allegiance to Konami's famed series has taken a hit. FIFA 07 Soccer is the best EA soccer game to date, coming very close to the refinement of the WE series, and even eclipsing it in many areas.

It’s one of those situations where I felt the potential wasn’t close to being met—what looked like it was going to be a big sandbox of exciting jungle warfare quickly revealed itself as a fairly small rubber stamp. Too bad.

At the time this was released, it blew people's minds and nearly everyone played it. The innovation doesn't hold a candle to today's games, but it carries over nicely as an Arcade title.

Tuning the numerous parts of your car provides for some decent variation, but you’ll soon figure out that the actual gameplay just isn't very good.

It was just so damn disappointing. For a game that laid such a promising foundation last year, there really hasn’t been as large a leap forward as we would have liked.

This is <I>the<I> basketball game to own this season...Only a few hiccups here and there stop this game from being perfect. The level of realism in the animations is astounding, but you can still have a fast-paced and fun basketball game.

A decent physics and handling model, not to mention a solid damage model.

The AI players choose to push hard with some strange hands that’ll keep you off-balance, but there’s lots to do in the single-player game, and all that fun playing others in multiplayer.

It’s not a perfect game by any means; heck, it doesn’t even perfectly deliver its core story, but it does deliver a fun and deep campaign for you to play through.

The progression in the career mode is interesting, and trying to bag a moose from a down-town one-shot-kill is just plain intriguing.

There’s nothing here in Samurai Warriors 2 that we haven’t seen before. The fact that the shop is the single largest addition to the gameplay should be a good indication where this game is headed, straight to the bargain bin.

Very clever puzzles and fun action sequences will take you through the course of the Original Trilogy. The vehicular battles, especially with two people, are a real highlight.

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 animations and physics are vastly improved, there’s too little else to like with this series. A general art direction overhaul seems to be in order, plus, a bit of A.I. tweaking could cut down on all-world goaltending occurring on any difficulty level.

Very clever puzzles and fun action sequences will take you through the course of the Original Trilogy. The vehicular battles, especially with two people, are a real highlight.

The golf is challenging-not an arcade-like game that makes it easy for you to whack the ball at the flag with every swing.

If I were a NASCAR fan, I'd be happy with the advancements and give this one a go.

The online and offline integration is well done, the car lineup is solid, and the graphics are above average. There’s also a good amount of gameplay jammed onto the disc.

It’s not even in the same stratosphere as Oblivion, but it does offer a futuristic, far Eastern flavor that Elder Scrolls lacks.

There’s not much you can do screw up a poker sim, though the AI players make erratic and strange plays regularly. Also, if you don’t want to play all the variations of poker, you might have to work your way around the career mode.

Had it been released as a slimmed-down Xbox Live Arcade title, Bomberman Act: Zero would be a surefire hit, right up there with Zuma in terms of addictive, stage-based gameplay. But instead, Bomberman Act: Zero is a $49.99 standalone title that you simply shouldn’t buy.

The single player campaign mode has a somewhat abrupt ending that doesn’t exactly lend itself to replay value, but there are still tons of activities included in the game, not to mention those that you create for yourself. The multiplayer modes are the most significant innovation in Saints Row.

It won’t push your skills or teach you the finer points of Hold’em, but as a bargain product, it does an okay job.

With a bit more attention to in-game fluidity and detail, and the inclusion of core extras such as online leagues and co-op, Madden NFL 07 could have been stellar. It’s good for sure, but Madden NFL 07 isn’t a lock in this gamer’s Hall of Fame.

The core gameplay elements of this SKU are down-pat, which makes the extra features such as Superstar mode that much more enjoyable. I can overlook the lack of online leagues or dazzling graphics for a stout basic foundation, which this title certainly has.

I left the battle bloody from the knuckles to the fingertips and didn’t really feel that satisfied. Was something lost in translation? Could be. But I’m convinced that the button mashing genre needs to grow up a bit before invading the Xbox 360 again.

The visuals may not be stunning, and the audio won't put any surround sound system through its paces, but Xyanide still packs some nice punch, especially when playing with a friend.

The racing just isn't innovative or special enough to compliment the car lineup, and the Career mode is just too bare bones.

This is definitely the Pac-Man we've all come to know and love, from the very first fruit to the attacking ghosts, but control issues take away from the overall "fun factor" as needless deaths occur far too often.

The astounding level of variety that is packed into the game is wonderful to see.

Another very cool and nostalgic online treat is the Quarter Match mode that allows players to relive the days of lining up quarters waiting to take on the winner of any match in “I got next” style competition. The online lobby displays a coin/icon for each player along with their Gamertag and the order in which they are in line to play.

The actual racing is not quite up to the level it should be in the year 2006, but the Stunt area is binary crack.

The combination of a single player game that is deep in levels and even deeper with enemies, solid multiplayer offerings, slim Xbox pickings, all rolled up into a $40, makes this a game that deserves a look on down the line.

If you're a gamer that has not made the leap to the 360, must have a new shooter, and don't mind playing with idiotic bots, this game would offer the chance to run through the FPS basics and nothing more.

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

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.

This is the most complete football game that we've ever played, and it really feels as though the NCAA Football series is truly hitting its stride.

For a small outlay of MS points, Frogger captures that old school feel that will bring many a gamer back to the quarter stacking days. The controls are tight, the updated graphics are snazzy, and the online options are pretty nifty.

HOUND building is borderline therapeutic. Slow in areas, but never for trivial reasons.

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.

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.

A complete and total waste of your time from any and every perspective imaginable.

The gameplay variety just isn't there; the production values are weak, and the ability to score strike after strike popped up after just a short bit of practice.

Being a modern military aircraft lover, I can easily look over the sketchy graphics, the odd interfaces, and the brief missions and just enjoy the impressive lineup of birds. While it’s still hard to justify paying sixty bucks to fly a MiG, Eagle, or Raptor, this is as close as most of us will get to the real deals.

Although maybe not pulled off with aplomb, Crusty Demons takes advantage of a developer's decent gameplay engine and musters up an entertaining extreme experience.

From a video game standpoint, there are things that the game does well, like the strategy and motivation of your players, and things that it doesn't, such as the barebones online showing and the absence of any offline multiplayer.

By around the fourth level of Urban Chaos: Riot Response, it was clear to us that we were thoroughly enjoying this title. Despite each level not be drastically different from the next, we loved the execution of the high-octane action.