Lack of polish makes Cars a bit crude, but not to the point where it's unplayable. The handling is spot-on – the MX Unleashed guys know their physics.

For twenty bucks, it's hard to really slam MLB SlugFest 2006 for essentially being the same game as "Loaded." Removing the online play may irk some, but the Create a Player is an overall better feature in the long run.

The game’s basic concept, and IO’s commitment to give gamers a multiple paths to an ending while still pushing for “transparency” should be applauded. But a two year 47 hiatus and no real signs of an inventory system or A.I. improvement hurts like a 7.62mm round to the spleen.

The game's basic concept, and IO's commitment to give gamers a multiple paths to an ending while still pushing for "transparency" should be applauded. But a two year 47 hiatus and no real signs of an inventory system or A.I. improvement hurts like a 7.62mm round to the spleen.

Graphically, aurally, and from a production standpoint, STACKED with Daniel Negreanu is a bit of a mess, but don't let that gruff exterior fool you. If you scrounge around a bit, you'll find what every poker player is seeking; a real game improvement aid.

Fans of the movies will dig JAWS Unleashed for the most part I'm sure, but be ready to fight the controls as much as you fight the angry Amity Island residents.

If you're looking for a very good co-op game, or a well developed single player campaign with few issues, then Rogue Trooper would be a perfect choice.

Find another game that makes gamers anew to it feel like they’ve been playing it for years, and the masters feel as if they’ve never played before. This is the engine talking to you, thus making Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis a true triumph as an implement for having fun.

There's plenty for diehard fans of The Da Vinci Code to enjoy within the game, then again, there's a ton of stuff that will have the common gamer bored to tears.

Nightcrawler and his teleportation attacks are a definite highlight, but the majority of the game is a mundane romp from Point A to Point B, with a number of unintelligent enemies blocking the way.

Nightcrawler and his teleportation attacks are a definite highlight, but the majority of the game is a mundane romp from Point A to Point B, with a number of unintelligent enemies blocking the way.

While the graphics and audio don’t do anything to rouse the imagination, the gameplay in UNO brings plenty of fun to the table for those who enjoyed the original card game.

Games such as "Shrek 2," "Madagascar," and even "Scooby-Doo! Unmasked" all contain some level of camera control, and are therefore better choices than Over the Hedge when selecting a kid's title to enjoy with your littler one.

Luckily for us gamers Winback 2's strong point is also the most important: gameplay. The team dynamic changes things up from other third-person offerings, and the advent of the report card and timed missions – while they do take some getting used to – help to set goals for players to strive.

Close to the same game as OutRun 2, although the name is different.

A synergistic title that is virtually complete from stem to stern. There’s good gameplay, excellent modes, palpable pageantry, above average graphics and audio, and even sweet navigation screens. The lack of online tournaments is the biggest detriment.

There's good gameplay (aside from some framerate choppiness), excellent modes, palpable pageantry, above average graphics and audio, and even sweet navigation screens. The lack of online tournaments is the biggest detriment.

In the end, the decision to purchase and play FFXI comes down to whether you’re interested in being a part of an MMO with some sacrifices, or if you’re willing to wait (perhaps for quite a while) until someone else makes a fresh MMO that pushes the Xbox 360 to its limits and truly feels like a “next-generation” game.

This style of game lends itself to character development, which is something rarely seen in games today. We literally learned more about Zoë during the first fifteen minutes of booting up Dreamfall than we typically do by beating most games through to the end.

Those merely curious will likely be scratching their heads, wondering why they can't download this on their Xbox 360 (Capcom's route).

As a standalone video game experience Sentinel Crisis doesn't bring much to the table, but for a budget title, you could do worse…a whole lot worse.

The drive anywhere at anytime mentality that seems to be the driving force, just wasn't executed well enough, so instead the game remains a generic racer with a Hummer coating.

The fact is that it's just not much fun to play. The camera is a headache waiting to happen and the rest of the gameplay mechanics don't fare much better.

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.

If you’re looking for a chess match, you’ll probably be disappointed by what’s instead feels like the kind of war game you played with toy soldiers as a kid in the backyard - lots of bodies flying around willy-nilly and lying face first in the dirt.

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.

Real World Golf is stout enough in basic gameplay mechanics to make the entire package worth it, especially if you're and avid golf fan.

New pitching and hitting dynamics make this a fun romp, but its next-gen worthiness is in question.

Things like framerate and hit detection can sometimes be tolerated if a game looks spectacular, but Commandos Strike Force doesn't even have the beauty card in its hand.

New hitting and pitching systems add more intuitiveness to the two most important aspects of any baseball game.

The next-gen quotient could have been higher (the online area is fairly weak), as Top Spin 2 sometimes seems like a slightly better version of the original. A bit more thought put into the gameplay definition of “next-gen” would have paid large dividends.

The two-on-two gameplay and the drama-rich Story Mode are the aspects of NBA Ballers: Phenom that separate it from its predecessor. There's not a huge overall jump in this series, which is a bit of a letdown.

The map editor has gotten a nice boost in functionality and the online multiplayer modes are sure to keep players busy for months, but how long do we have to wait until there is a true sequel for Far Cry?

Despite the addition of tag matches, Battle Royales, and Street Fights, there simply isn’t enough depth to keep this hopeful at the top of the ranks. The playability is high, especially amongst human combatants, but the single-player offering wears thin.

Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires benefits from the next generation hardware, but not as much as I had hoped. Yes, this is the best DW game to date, but it doesn’t really push any boundaries in the action/strategy market.

Provides much of the same fun that the original brought to the table with a more fleshed out feel, thanks to the added squad controls and the inclusion of tanks. For as fun as the single-player game is, it's the multiplayer that will attract.

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.

Graphic ho’s will also marvel at how Ubisoft Romania managed to make each frame of action look like a professional oil painting depicting the harsh but strangely beautiful skies of WWII.

The Follow Camera turns a decent game into a great game. Deeper multiplayer support would have been nice to drive home the "next-gen" quotient.

The game is just far too slow paced to provide any exciting moments, and the controls are much too sluggish to be fun.

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.

It's a ton of fun watching your gangster progress through the ranks. Some of the gameplay mechanics come off better than others but for the most it's a fun package that stays enjoyable throughout the saga.

With a world that is this big, the amount of choices and the sheer number of items to interact with, we can live with some slowdown here and there. So, as the biggest release of 2006 thus far, is it a potential game of the year candidate? Absolutely.

Something this title achieves that other "sandbox" style games tend to put on the backburner is a great story, which actually had us caring about characters and seeing their plights played out on screen.

Straightforward and simple even for a title of this nature, Ice Age 2 purchased a copy of Platforming for Dummies, and stuck to it perfectly.

The emphasis was put back on "one shot kills", but it is still too easy to run-and-gun with this level of enemy intelligence. Commanding squad mates is cool, but this just doesn't feel like the Rainbow Six we once knew.

The vehicle controls are a sticking point. Many of the maps in The Outfit are big, so vehicles are the main means of transportation. It’s so easy to zig in vehicles when you meant to zag - a major no-no with enemy A.I. this tough. The rest of The Outfit is a superfine romp that any action gamer should experience.

The game is relatively easy, and even with the additional challenges that pop up in each round, most will have no problem breezing through the game. Still, the experience is fun while it lasts.

Some of the best modern combat scenarios you’ll have ever taken part in. Ubisoft is not only kicking the door in with Advanced Warfighter, they are taking the whole damn building down along with it!

The "advanced warfighter" concept is a good one, but it is one that is truly fit for the next generation of consoles. Shanghai went fairly sim with Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter on the Xbox, and it doesn't appear that the hardware wanted to comply in a way that makes this one a "must have".

It’s certainly not so bad that it’ll ruin the series name for future releases and it does provide a fair amount of gameplay potential despite its flaws and glitches, but it will surely upset some of its player base who expected that the title would be a vast improvement—a next-generation title that pushed their system to new heights of performance.

The gameplay is as solid as its predecessors, the online support is some of the best out there, and the graphics and audio rival most other Xbox 360 titles.

For what it is, BLACK delivers one of the most exciting, explosive and intense FPS experiences we've had on the Xbox in a long time, but it's straightforward and repetitive gameplay also leave the overall impression a bit thin.

The game itself isn't bad in structure and gameplay, but the camera system pretty much dashes all of Final Fight Streetwise's hopes of being a decent title.

Better than last year's game but only because of the innovative use of the trick stick on offense and defense. A few hiccups such as the unavoidable juke animations hurt the experience a bit but it's still fun while it lasts.

EA has proven that they still believe in the original Xbox, as Fight Night Round 3 is a solid, full-featured title that is worth the money.

If you love anything with four wheels and an internal combustion engine, then you can't afford to miss out on ToCA Race Driver 3.

Both the environments and characters move fast, but while this is flashy and fun at first, it doesn't show the greatest legs for a long shelf life.

Fight Night Round 3 should be considered the first real sports game to grace the Xbox 360. EA’s other efforts were fine in areas, but it Fight Night Round 3 is the most complete next-gen sports game of the whole lot.

There’s a slight lack of presentation, continuity, and flow to the entire title, which unfortunately breaks Full Auto down to its core elements- combat and racing. While combat and racing are great together, most of us will be yearning for more from next-gen software.

The story is engaging, the action is more than varied for this genre, and the gameplay does offer up something both solid and new. It may not hold up to repeated finishes, but at 20 levels, and at least 15 hours of gameplay, the experience is worth the price of admission for gamers looking for this type of fix.

With its plethora of leagues, tournaments, and cups Rugby 06 should be any diehard rugby fans' dream come true, but in order to reel in the rest of the sports crowd the game had to bring more than authentic rugby teams, and it has done exactly that.

There's so much to love about Winning Eleven 9 it's almost a shame that it's such an aesthetically unattractive package. Once you dig a bit deeper and get past the crummy music and lackluster visuals and presentation you'll find one of the best sports games of the year.

It might be tough to pinpoint one single aspect of the game that shines above the rest, but it's an overall functional package that will help the pain until the big show comes back in town next season.

Crystal Quest tries its hardest to bring a slower variation of the style and substance that Geometry Wars so expertly crafted but it falls short of delivering the overall fun factor that other XBLA games have.

What you're getting in Torino is the ability to play through a small set of Olympic events that feel more like field day events at an elementary school. There's no weight or gravity given to the situation and thus the majesty and the intrigue of the Olympic Games is completely sucked out of this horrendously ill-advised videogame.

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.

If I was limited to one word that described Samurai Shodown V, it would have to be unique. From the character designs, to amazingly thematic music, and unique twist on combat, this is a 2D fighting series that may not have gotten the crappy Hollywood movie like some other games in this genre, but it deserved a look then and warrants one now.

No matter how you slice it, the lack of an official pro license (in a sport where the following of the pro level is strong) for this year's MVP holds this title back a bit.

It's not that 25 to Life is bad, it's actually just awful. Terrible in fact. There is not a single aspect of the game, less the soundtrack and Xbox Live play, which should be copied by another game.

Put simply, Dead or Alive 4 is the best fighter Team Ninja has ever put together and it is easily the best looking game to play on the Xbox 360 in it’s early stages.

There’s plenty of nostalgic, and newly added, fun to be had in Robotron: 2084. Both those who have played the original to death and those who have never blasted their way through the game will have tons of fun with the added multiplayer features.

The four player action and quirky storyline makes this one unique, making the downloading of this title a no-brainer for platforming fiends.

Intuitive combat system is smooth and offers many attack options for each character. Lack of camera movement hurts in areas. Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows honors the origin coin-op in many instances- a nice touch.

There isn’t anything “wrong” with Hardwood Backgammon, but the fact that there really isn’t much to do beyond the standard backgammon game is a real letdown.

Die-hard fans of the game will like the easy-to-read cards and varieties in the game types; all that a heartthrob needs in any convenient, downloadable format.

Don’t download this one expecting anything more than a handful of variations of Spades, a cache of useless fooms, and a new age soundtrack that even Enya could hate. But if you like Spades enough, the quirky details of Hardwood Spades won’t matter much.

A fine blend of platforming and combat. Silken-smooth control set makes you want to play until the fingers are raw.

The game is a lot of fun, and even though you can play with unlimited continues, Game Achievement challenges are fairly interesting – although a few are very difficult, if not impossible.

Aside from difficulty lining up the long shots, Bankshot Billiards 2 is an extremely fun title for all ages, and one that can be enjoyed via Xbox Live or solo-style.

For those who found themselves addicted to the PC Flash game, Bejeweled 2 might be worth the full download for hours of gem matching fun, but for others the free PC download may still give players their fix when necessary.

If multiplayer coin-op games that can be played over Xbox Live sounds appealing, then Gauntlet is surely worth the few bucks it costs to download it. I’m warning you know though: Gauntlet isn’t really about skill - it’s more about having enough credits to finish the entire game.

Certainly more of a twitch/action game than the likes of Tetris or Lumines, Geometry Wars is hard to put down.

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.

The game doesn’t offer up a lot of variety in terms of it’s challenges, but its simplicity is also part of its appeal.

Although you’d have to be a real top-down blaster fan to own Geometry Wars and Mutant Storm Reloaded, it would be hard to pick between the two. Mutant Storm Reloaded is possible a bit more well-rounded, although it’s hard to argue with Geometry Wars’ TRON-like setting.

Unless comical mischief is disallowed in your household, Outpost Kaloki X is a great family game that can teach the kiddies about resource management and making (instead of spending) money at an early age.

For roughly about $10, this is a no-brainer for puzzle gamers.

The "is it so bad it's funny, or just that bad" vibe runs rampant throughout this title, from the ridiculous "fighting" engine, to horrendous visuals, and absolutely laughable dialogue.

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.

The Snowblind engine is as solid as ever, but when transferred to a timeframe where enemies use guns and are able to shoot you from way off screen, the gameplay crumbles pretty quickly.

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.

Rock-solid gameplay engine artfully recreates the college hoop experience.

Keep in mind that QUAKE 4 for the PC laughs at most computers, but runs virtually without a hitch on the Xbox 360; a no-brainer when taking into account the price of admission for this level of PC-quality gaming.

A solid arcade racer; perhaps the best that has been released on a console. But only you will know for sure if $60 is a worthy asking price for such a simple game.

The co-op mode shows flashes of brilliance, and the number of options provided for online play is astounding. The core game plays much like any other FPS – a VERY pretty one at that.

Infinity Ward has created a PC game for the 360 (with better graphics than the PC version to boot) and managed to include not only next-gen sounds and graphics, but also gameplay features that were basically impossible on the old hardware.

The ability to create a soldier, tweaking various elements in both a physical and mental capacity, and then raising him through the ranks is great, but the actual gameplay is hurt by a lack of fluidity.