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 may have a very repetitive gameplay mechanic and even when you know something is lurking around the corner, yet it still manages to unnerve the player due to the game’s overwhelming atmosphere composed of great graphics, sound effects, and a demented storyline.

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.

While the developers definitely misfired with the Lock-on D mechanics, the new animation system changes the gameplay quite a bit, as does the ability to learn how to run plays on the fly. The game's lasting legacy may be the introduction of an emotional element to the Association mode.

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.

It has charm and polish that elevate it beyond a simple Diablo clone to something special in its own right.

An almost perfect blend of great control and deep gameplay that will meet any college hoop fan’s criteria.

If you're looking for some explosive fun on Xbox Live, it is hard to go wrong with Renegade Ops. The gameplay is tight, the experience polished, and the game plays out like a 80s action movie.

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.

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.

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.

Easily one of the better looking fighting games out there and by far the prettiest MK in the series.

The graphics continue to sizzle with eye-catching particle effects, excellent crowds and decent player models.

While this year's iteration fell just a bit short of greatness, we'll just have to wait to see if the game strikes the Heisman in during its junior year.

Buy it, live it, enjoy it. This is where gaming started people, and with a cheap price of admission, plenty of history on each title, and some of Capcom's better works all on one disk, there is no reason not to pick this title up.

Fans of collectible card games will feel right at home with Phantom Dust's gameplay style and they will appreciate the game's pace.

Other franchises do an admirable job of capturing the spirit of fighting, the spirited back-and-forths of a good brawl. But with Virtua Fighter, you get the very essence of fighting, the true artistry in martial arts. And it's a total knock out.

Most of MLB 2K5 feels next generation; only small bits of the AI and physics engine need any pine tar.

One of those rare gems that stands the test of time, thanks to its near-flawless gameplay. And while the temptation must have been huge to overhaul the game for the next-gen release, it’s great to see that the SWOS developers didn’t cave to it. While the game may not be the prettiest game on the Marketplace, it’s certainly one of the most fun.

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.

If you're looking for a competitive tower defence/strategy hybrid game, Toy Soldiers: Cold War is tough to put down.

Assassin’s Creed has a rich spread of activities with hours of gameplay. Unfortunately, it gets extremely repetitive about midway through—and then it unsatisfyingly turns into a tedious, combat-heavy game.

It's all been done before one way or another, but the new style and story helped this score.

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.

With the addition of rivals mode, gamebreaker, and the advent of the shape stick there's enough to keep players occupied at least until the release of the Xbox 360 despite some of the visual shortcomings of the game.

This XBLA game signals a shift into something more hardcore video gamers could get behind: an action game that requires an itchy trigger finger to complement an itchy brain. With some exciting shooter action, solid strategy gameplay and a uniquely satisfying art style for the overall presentation, Toy Soldiers is proof of what XBLA was meant to do: bring us casual games in a hardcore games package.

Solid gunplay combined with powerful but balanced Nanosuit abilities, plus plenty of replayability thanks to the open nature of many of the game's levels.

While the game doesn't necessarily introduce any kind of ground-breaking gameplay elements, what it does is perform some tried-and-true FPS staples (and some newer concepts too) at a very high level, and hits the mark an overwhelming majority of the time.