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.

This title does a great job of adding familiar elements of platforming and first-person shooter titles to an intense fast-paced action game.

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.

Flows like silk. The action is fast paced and high scoring.

Worthwhile additions such as Trick Stick control, enhanced Gamebreakers, and a Dunk Contest show that EA wasn't resting on their laurels in the offseason.

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.

One of the best reasons for buying a game like Catan on XBLA—which comes with a cost of 800 Microsoft Points or about $10—is that you don’t have to know the rules and procedures that well.

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.

A little sluggish in the graphical department. While in no way is this game painful to look at there are just some minor things that kept it from being a visually stunning title.

It’s nice to see a classic remade instead of simply repackaged, especially when a great deal of respect has been paid to the original game in the reconstruction.

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 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.

With gads of planes and missions, a moving story mode, and total multiplayer functionality, Heroes of the Pacific sets it apart from the competition and puts this into the "worth owning" category.

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.

The "grudges and alliances" mode alone makes the game above and beyond any racing sim out there in terms of AI.

The multitude of gameplay options also makes this one of the most customizable racing/driving games available.

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

Whether you are looking for some great single player combat, cooperative gameplay or a ton of detailed multiplayer modes, Ghost Recon 2 Summit Strike has something to offer everyone and it will only set you back thirty bucks to join in on the action.

MX Unleashed, however, has a lot more tracks available for those who don’t want to make their own. The nod for gameplay goes to MX Unleashed as the controls are more responsive and the overall play is more fun.

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.

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.

It’s another one of those high-score hypodermic needles – you get addicted on getting a higher score so you keep repeating it over and over, working out new ideas for drone placement each time. It’s like a chess game at 100 mph, challenging and twitchy, all at the same time. On that point, Galaga Legions ranks up there with the best of them.

Eurocom has done a fantastic job of bringing back one of the multiplayer experiences of all time – which was not an easy task. Reloaded has the power to stand on it's own as a engaging first person shooter and play with the big boys. It's just a shame it had to be released right between two of the biggest boys of the year.

The presentation style in Wrath suits the storyline and characters almost perfectly.

And when everything settles, it's clear that Dust is a labor of love that stands out as one of the best downloadable releases of the year.

This is a game that breaks the mold and forces players to think, react, and interact with their environment unlike any other game to date.

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

It's a well crafted, story-based experience that goes beyond anything we've seen from Rockstar in terms of storytelling. It sheds some very important light on the events that transpired before the time of the film while still staying true to the original for the sake of the fans.