It plays well, but it feels like Activision is going overboard by not marketing it as DLC instead of a new retail-box release. Also, developer Beenox did a good job, but didn’t add anything of note to the gameplay components to spark interest.

A schizophrenic experience for me. I really liked the story evolution, though on occasion it did drag a bit, but I was severely put off by how the developers chose to challenge players and, I guess, keep then engaged (meaning not finishing the game as quickly).

The best golf game that an MS console has ever seen. Could still use a few engine tweak, however.

The world of video games seems to have moved beyond games like this a while ago, making this futuristic shooter seem somehow unforgivably antique.

Blowing stuff up is one of the cornerstones of this game, and it’s made especially more enjoyable by the advanced physics engine Volition uses. You’ve read about it in every single preview of the game to date, but in actual practice, the Geo-mod engine is quite impressive.

While it’s clear that Asobo spent ample time in perfecting the tech that’s needed to enable a speedy racing game to run smoothly for hundreds of (no-load) miles on end, more attention needed to be paid to the fleshing out the Career objectives and tightening up the overall presentation package.

The issue becomes whether you’ll try to fight through the hurdles (natural and unnatural) to milk some fun out of it. It’s in there, but it doesn’t seem as if it’ll sustain you for very long.

It feels a lot like what the Wallace & Gromit short films do: compact movies that make up for in quality what they lack in run time.

It had the potential, but anything that showed flair was quickly buried by more clumsy dialogue or stilted character movement.

Our main gripe is that Blazing Birds is just so…flat.

Once you realize what the game is and a bit on how it’s best played, the gameplay really picks up. Gel does have a fairly steep learning curve, but it’s one that becomes more rewarding quickly once you understand how to best play it and formulate a strategy of how to optimize your scoring. Some of the challenges will push you to the edge of endurance and puzzle solving.

While it’s easy to find other fighting games that do a portion of their action better than Undisputed, not many games are as technically solid across the board, while still delivering some type of feeling or visceral dynamic. Hmmm…sounds like a UFC contender to me: Strong in many disciplines, weak in few areas and filled with a burning desire to be the best.

A less-than-premium price would have nearly made everything better. This is a fun movie game that simply doesn’t have the legs that it ought to for 60 dollars.

Did GRIN do the original game justice? Definitely. GRIN has put Bionic Commando back on the map—with both of its titles, actually. Now let’s hope that Capcom keeps the cyborgs a-comin’. Two decades is too long to wait for a follow-up from such a compelling franchise.

As an avid poker player, it was fun to see a twist on the game offered on XBLA. And while Texas Cheat ’Em isn’t going to be a blockbuster hit because of its niche-like following and gameplay redundancy, it’s a fun contest for those who are familiar with poker or would like to mess around with a poker variant that has a devious side.

Even with some flaky ship-control dynamics, Star Trek D-A-C is pretty enough to make for a decent XBLA purchase.

Battlestations: Pacific speaks to the ten-year-old in me who pored over illustrated coffee-table books about WWII weaponry and watched “Victory at Sea” instead of “Sesame Street.” For a military-porn aficionado like myself, Battlestations: Pacific is like heaven, despite some of its rather glaring flaws.

I think there was the potential for greatness, and clearly a lot of time was poured into making it what it is, but the end product is ultimately diminished by its shortcomings.

Very primitive, with few options for making it look better.

Four player co-op is the proper way to attack Zombie Wranglers, giving it that Gauntlet feel of adventurism. Even the competitive multiplayer action, which is a race to out-zombie goo your friends, is more enjoyable than running through Wranglers as a solo, mini Dr. Venkman.

While it’s abundantly-clear that SIE is an ode to the original, it’s also thankfully apparent that its creators did their homework on what makes a successful modern video game, too.

In addition to the welcome multiplayer action featured in Arkanoid Live!, Taito also included a rule set different than original coin-op version.

I was surprised at how much I liked this game. Hand it to Raven Software for building a movie-based game as a game first and then worrying about the tie-in later.

The problem I had was with the game’s radical inconsistency.

Banjo-Tooie is a no-frills ROM port that is a slam dunk for those looking to relive some of gaming’s past glory without having to pull out past consoles.

The various battlegrounds of Virtual On are just as well modeled as the Virtuaroids and are pretty expansive for a mid-’90s video game.

I think the old-school gameplay shines through in its new packaging. And for about a quarter of the price of a regular retail release, it’s still a good deal in a trying economy.

True fans of the Gundam universe will surely get their money’s worth out of Gundam 2, as will longtime followers of Omega’s Dynasty lineup. The rest of you will be better off with a rental at first, as the novelty of controlling a mech in large-scale, strategy-oriented skirmishes wears off quicker than one might imagine.