That single playthrough is an entertaining one to say the least, which is more than can be said for most movie adaptations. Despite the game’s failed combat system, the overall experience is one that’s faithful to the franchise and well worth playing to any fan of the movies.

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.

NBA 2K10 matches up well to Live when it comes to presentation and the standard expectations of features. But when it comes to basic on-court mechanics, NBA 2K10 wins this one in a laugher.

Despite its less-than-thrilling presentation, it doesn’t change the fact that the Bass Pro Shops: The Strike bundle with the controller is actually the best fishing experience you’ll find on the X360.

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.

It seems as if the developers have done everything they can to make the experience authentic for nostalgia-starved fans of the original. The rest of us just see a dated game, with dated graphics, providing us with a solid, yet un-evolved take on the turn-based strategy genre. It does what it does great. The question is, is that what you want to do?

So, if you can get past its many flaws—or you just enjoy repeatedly having your ass handed to you—there’s quite a bit to do here for 800 Microsoft Points (about $10).

It’s a unique game, both visually and in terms of gameplay, which is impressive considering how derivative it seems at first glance.

Its arcadey action, solid visuals and addictive co-op play make it one hell of a slaughter fest for just 800 Microsoft Points (or about $10).

A fantastic game that reminds us of why Halo was so great in the first place.

The tables are near perfect re-creations of the Williams originals—not only in look and feel, but in how they play. I was stunned at the quality and entertainment value.

If battling with (or against) attack dolphins and scantily clad lady snipers wasn’t already your thing, you’ll want to steer clear of Commander’s Challenge. However, if you’ve been a supporter of this silly-meets-strategy series in the past, then, well, we probably had you at “psychic Japanese school girls.”

Just when you thought the third-person action/shooter genre was running thin on style, Wet has come along and shaken things up for the better.

Need for Speed: Shift is excellent in concept and flawless in execution. It’s nothing less that the next great racing simulator to grace the Xbox 360.

NHL 10 has a ton of gameplay modes, and the action is slick. Not perfect, but it does have a good flow and it’s fairly comprehensive in covering the sport.

I can put aside the historical inaccuracies, the tie-fighter-style flight modeling and all the other things that make Heroes Over Europe inferior. And maybe if I hadn’t just played and greatly enjoyed IL-2 Sturmovik, I might be feeling a bit more generous. But unfortunately Heroes Over Europe comes across as not much more than a budget title.

Things like the Zamboni Races are fun, but it’d be better for 2K to concentrate on its core components before spending its resources on fringe offerings.

If you’ve played any of the myriad action/RPG/brawlers starring superheroes culled from the Marvel universe, such as the X-Men Legends games or the original Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, then you’ve played Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.

While the story had potential for creating a cool juncture between history and science fiction, there’s very little flexing of those muscles in the actual product.

Harmonix did a great job in crafting a fitting tribute to the Beatles, clearly one of the most significant bands in rock history—but, perhaps more importantly, dramatically raised the bar in the music-game genre.

There’s lots to do and that includes side missions that you can skip if you’re immersed in the main story path. And it’s fun in a basic way.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, viewed generally as a piece of software, is finely crafted in every way, and it shows a great carefulness on the part of its developers to do right by the subject matter.

Don’t be deterred by the subject matter if you think you don’t like racing games. Dirt 2 is charming, fun and exciting all rolled up into one big ball.

The pinnacle of design for tower-defense games, and not just because of its fancy Gamebryo-powered 3D graphics. It’s challenging and complex without breaking the same simple rules that all tower-defense games follow, even the most unsophisticated ones. Taking a simple yet classic game design, then adding depth and polish to it, is probably the purest way to make a great game.

There’s no question that Activision and Neversoft aren’t content to sit back and just release new songs—or release new major titles in the GH franchise that have trivial or negligible feature offerings.

An entertaining game, but one without a ton of variety.

The idea behind NBA 2K10: Draft Combine and the way it complements NBA 2K10 is a great one, and I hope to see more sports games do things like it. I’m looking at you, Madden.

Between the Story Mode, Challenge Rooms and myriad hidden items (that are more compelling than in most games), there’s a lot of entertainment in Arkham Asylum.