The first game that offers an honest-to-goodness single-player experience that uses the tried-and-true gameplay from almost a decade of games to reinvigorate dancing solo.

Pointless loading EVERYWHERE means the game just comes off as coded by monkeys rather than being something different. Stay away.

So long as you go into things understanding that this isn't really a console-level basketball experience and that it's uniquely designed for shorter, more portable games, you end up with a shockingly good basketball entry. If they end up adding in some of the fluff from the console versions next year, it's going to make things near irresistible.

Hands-down one of the best games every released. Not just on the PS2, but ANY system. Yes, it's that good.

The fact that 20 hours into the game I was still experiencing the same stuff I played 20 minutes after I started means it's not terribly deep. But it's fun and I can't deny that.

Unfortunately, more often it's a frustrating experience that often muddies what would have been an atmospheric, wildly imaginative peek into the darker side of misguided children.

The board game concept is novel, and perhaps with a few less randomization events, it could have been more engaging, but with AI that's absolutely relentless on the upper settings, mini-games that fail to deliver the basic premise on the first play-through, and a general sense that things were rather slapped together, Pirates' Carnival lacks the kind of fun you'd expect when you put those two words together.

It's sadly a little too short to be a really meaty experience, but while it lasts -- and for us non-perfectionist sorts, the first dozen or so levels that you try to get across-the-board perfects on -- it's so charming that you won't want it to end.

If you bought into the series not for the boobage, but for the hot man-on-man ass kicking, then you're probably going to find plenty to love here. The game is essentially the same, though in a few ways it's actually improved over the console experience.

They did it. Capcom sucessfully updated the series without destroying what was good about the classics. I'll always bemoan the loss of the Maximo team, as they actually translated things into full 3D perfectly, but this is a nice in-between.

The classic comedic saying that you should always leave 'em wanting more has never rung more true in an RPG. After more than a few missteps, Xenosaga recovers beautifully, and the result is one of the must-have RPGs for the PlayStation 2, without a doubt.

Slightly better controls, slightly worse framerate and equally blah adventure and mildly distracting party games leave this just as middle-of-the-road as the PS2 version. But hey, at least it's the same thing only portable, right?

There is no better value for your buck than getting a game that supports HUNDREDS of hours of play time, and Disgaea 2 does that. The sheer amount of character building and fantastic humor all make for a game that you WANT to play for that long too.

FlatOut 2 may not do much to improve the formula that the original created, but it refines it, deepens it, and adds so much stuff to do that you won't find yourself nearly as tired of things as soon as the first effort. It's not new, no, but it's a blast.

With only the puzzles of Challenge Mode and the Party Mode games to save it, SMBA would have been better off as just another puzzle game -- except it's not nearly as good as the puzzle games.

Though it's probably impossible to get a proper online fighting experience Dark Resurrection comes about as close as we can hope for -- and it's completely portable. Few games are this uncompromising, and every PSP owner needs this game. Yep, all of em.

It's certainly not a perfect game, and barely uses the license at all (which is probably a good thing), but for a portable shooter, something the PSP sorely needs, it works beautifully. If only those rough spots weren't so rough.

For as decent as the battle system and item crafting parts of the game are, they simply can't hold up the entirely mediocre or cliche other bits. The game is solid, yes, but I was hoping the first console-level RPG would be a little more, well, engaging.

Licensed games aren't supposed to be solid. They're supposed to be rushed, or look bad, or control poorly or not deliver the style of the source material. Monster House is none of these things, it's pretty, fun and interesting, just don't expect an epic.

Juiced is an underrated gem of a racer that gives you a completely different take on the overcrowded street racing market... on the PS2. On the PSP, this core is still there, but it's so rough around the edges that it's trumped by less ambitious racers.

I would have loved to see this as the sort of ReVolt-style update that nostalgic gamers could go nuts over. The concept of taking little racers and placing them in the real world is so rife with good material, but MMv4 never pulls it off convincingly.

Well well well, a licensed game that's actually worth the plastic it's burned onto. Hell, it's actually a decent fighting game. Shallow, perhaps, but still a great party game and solid enough that you want to explore the different modes.

Tomb Raider Legend is an amazing game, and EVERYONE should own it. They just shouldn't own it on the PSP. Though Buzz Monkey tried valiantly to replicate the console outing, either the programming staff or the hardware just wasn't up to the task.

Ignoring the tacked-on 9/11 vibe, Riot Response manages to be a first-person shooter with enough new stuff to make it a worthwhile experience. It may not be a looker, and some of the characters might seem a little cookie cutter, but it's still a blast.

THIS is the way Capcom needs to treat their arcade ports. We can always use more games in a collection, and the fact that the game is a little skimpy on extras (thus toning down the whole anthology aspect), it's still a killer collection done right.

If only to reinforce that this is not the way to treat a 2D game, don't buy this game. If that means Sony kills off 2D entirely here in the States, it will be a horrible thing, but if this is the kind of game that's going to get through... we'd be better off just remembering the good ol' days with the rose colored glasses of nostalgia.

It's a staggering amount of content to chew through, helped by a simple presentation and controls that feel dead on -- d-pad or analog nub -- and a fantastic way to overcome the PSP's digital buttons.

All hail the PSP, king of the retro compilation. Five games, all with options to make them easier and more newbie-friendly, crammed onto a UMD with CG clips and a jukebox? What's not to love here?

So the game looks a mess; it runs with the clunkiness of hastily-assembled quick-and-dirty port. It's still Liberty City Stories at heart, which means you get to rip around on a crotch rocket, you get to see some buildings before they were built in GTA III (or, blow some others up as the case may be), explore more of Shoreside Vale, and experience the formation of what would later be the world of Grand Theft Auto III from an entirely new perspective.

It's an odd place to be in; on the one hand, the racing bits, the core gameplay just doesn't feel as solid as it should -- and certainly not on par with Rainbow Studios' other projects -- yet the presentation manages to replicate the charm and looks of the source material so well, that it doesn't feel like a licensed game, it feels like something that was developed alongside the movie in terms of how it matches the big screen product.

Cars is good, but it's not great, and that's the problem. The one genre that the PSP has been very, very blessed with thus far is the arcade racer. Between "Burnout Legends", "Ridge Racer" and the amazing "WipEout Pure", there's just no room for good here.

The strength of STACKED's AI is what holds the game up. The presentation is lackluster, the audio basic and the character creation severely lacking. Even with all that, this is still the best poker game out there. It's just not a must-have.

Blood Money is, in every way, the best Hitman game IO Interactive has made yet. The missions are more open and the noteriety and upgrades systems give you more reason to go back and play through the missions again. Just ignore that feeling of deja vu.

Entirely average in all but the cutscenes (and even those are a little too plentiful for my tastes), Teen Titans just doesn't feel like the kind of game I know A2M can make, and it ends up feeling like salt in the wounds of fans of the cancelled show.

Rogue Trooper is so confident in what it's trying to do that it's a wonder Rebellion hasn't been able to pull this off before. The world is amazingly well throught-out, and the action just feels polished.

It's wonderfully balanced, nicely challenging, and things like the fog of war or stealth units are handled with plenty of confidence.

Online-enabled, visually updated, and PSP-tweaked gameplay for a game that has almost universal appeal. What's not to love? It may not be a PSP seller, but it is one of the best non-gamer-friendly offerings you can get after you've bought your PSP.

Brain-dead enemy AI, a story that does nothing to recall some of the better arcs from the comics -- especially around this, perhaps the most powerful storyline the comics ever saw, and an experience that isn't befitting of the development team all add up to something that's wholly underwhelming and reeks of missed potential.

What The Da Vinci Code the game does best is provide that sense that you're cracking some kind of ancient code. The devices used to do this are recycled, sure, but it doesn't make them any less fun.

I debated not even mentioning that the game has a nicely implemented two-player mode (if you're flying solo, you can switch between characters with a shoulder button press) because I didn't want a parent thinking, "oh, hey, I can play this game with my kid." No, no you can't, and nobody should be forced to even try.

At the end of the day, though, you're still going to have to have a real interest in the sport.

The perfect condensation of arcade themes, jaw-dropping visuals and old-school challenge come together in one of the most complete ports I've ever seen on the PSP. Buy this game, and buy it now.

The visuals will likely turn most off to what is quite honestly one of the most entertaining RPGs to hit the PS2, but a general lack of even casual steering towards the storyline does make the game seem aimless at times. Still, it's worth the adventure.

The Ace Combat games nail the rush of pulling g's and kicking on afterburners, that much will never change. But then, little else has changed too, and without an online component, it feels a bit too much like an expansion.

The World Cup format alone could have set 2006 FIFA World Cup apart from FIFA 06. Instead EA tweaked the gameplay and came away with yet another winner. Guiding any of 127 countries through qualification gives the game much needed depth.

Incessant loading screens and a bit too much repetition hurt the game's long-term appeal, but taken in three- or four-hour chunks at a time, this is an incredibly rewarding (and unique) racing experience.

Avoid this game like the plague. There's just no reason to even get into the changes that were made because they all deteriorate into needless tedium. Go buy a copy of "MR4" instead; it's infinitely more fun.

Great controls (except for those stupid motorcycle parts), amazing graphics, a solid storyline and wonderful vocal performances add up to not only a reinvigoration of the series, but the best Tomb Raider game yet, and a worthy purchase for everyone, not just the fans of the series hoping for a real sequel.

It’s doubtful we’ll ever get another UMD so loaded with extras. Interviews, movies, hidden clips, a slideshow, music videos. There’s a ton of stuff to find here, and most of it is directly related to the games themselves.

By far the game's biggest fault is the graphics, though. For what it was trying to do, there just wasn't enough detail and subtlety.

There's enough core racing here to entertain for a while, but unlike Gran Turismo, there's not enough universal appeal to make it a buy to anyone but serious riders.

Hitting and pitching controls are excellent, but improved defensive movement and base running control are still needed.

An amazing technical feat, a vast improvement in key areas of the last game, and just a bit too much forced rehashes to keep it from being perfect.

Right now, all we're left with is a great controller and a set of lackluster songs.

Dungeon crawls live or die by their longevity, and sadly this is not a game with staying power. It's fun, yes, and markedly improved since the last game, but the combat has to be more varied and visceral, and the presentation just a little more refined.

It does the film justice, working you into the storyline in a convincing way and then leaving you with just as much to do after the movie is over. For that EA is to be commended, particularly the Redwood Shores studio, which I never thought would get it together.

This is portable Katamari, and it's fun in small spurts. Under the surface, though, there's an inescapable feeling that the series is losing some of its magic.

This is not a game worthy of the Splinter Cell title. It feels rushed, forced and, worst of all, like a quick cash-in on a franchise that's move into the next-generation of consoles.

For gearheads and RPG freaks, this is absolutely worth a look, and for everyone else, the creativity and holy-hell-they-make-a-game-about-that-stuff aspect might just make it worth the purchase price.

It's made for the Midwest and the South, and that's exactly the type of crowd that will eat this game up. Just don't expect it to go over well with general partygoers expecting Top 40 tunes.

It's more action-driven, the setting feels more natural, and the gameplay has been refined enough that I think it could seriously hook MGS fans looking for something tide them over between Metal Gear Online matches or kill time until "MGS4" finally arrives.

Too many changes seek to make the game frustrating rather than something new. The ideas are sound, but the execution just isn't there.

Great wireless online play, wonderfull offline missions, a decent story, solid presentation and better-than-PSP-ought-to-have graphics and sound make for one of the best experiences on the PSP yet. Buy this game.

Sure, the improvements to the heat level are fantastic, and it’s great to have a game that has really solid handling and physics, but it would have been nice to see the series break a little more new ground.

Sure, the story's nothing to call home about, but this is still the finest platformer to grace the PSP yet.

Both online and offline are perfect, plain and simple. This is a must-have title that just oozes quality from every pore. You are cheating yourself out of one of the best experiences on the PS2 if you don't own this game.

Without a doubt, one of the best RPGs to hit the PS2. It's quirky, hilarious, loaded with enjoyable side quests and manages to tug the heartstrings just enough to round out the whole experience.

For what it is, Pursuit Force certainly accomplishes all it set out to do, which may not have been especially lofty. It's a pure action movie boiled down into a game, and at that it succeeds very, very handily.

Better than the games that came before it, and I don't make that statement blindly. The move towards an action RPG with more characters, a more twisty storyline with more threads and action that helps refresh the stuff that was starting to feel just a little stale in the past games (though slicing demons never really gets old) all add up to an adventure that I'm grateful actually happened.

An action movie given digital, interactive form. It's a relentless, constant barrage of sensory input, and it's done in a way that no developer thus far can match. Immersive, beautiful and a blast to play, BLACK is a must-have.

I have no idea why I seem to be loving games more than everyone else right now, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a damn fine beat-em-up, and it's a perfect, mindless, meaty bit of action that the genre sorely needed.

It's the exact kind of game -- if not the presentation of it -- that the PSP is hurting for so much right now, and in all honesty, once you're a few hours in to the game, it's fairly easy to overlook the loading screens and lose yourself in the action.

A game aimed squarely at the hardcore SRPG fans out there, misses out on capturing the mass appeal by a LONG shot. It might be the PSPs first RPG, but it seems to echo the first efforts on the PS one and PS2 in that it's only mildly amusing.

This is a solid buy for hardcore soccer buffs that want something different, and certainly a rental for anyone interested in the sport, but it's not a universal must-have like "NBA Street" consistently has been.

Street Supremacy keeps the basic concept of Genki's big brother console racers intact, but a lot of the superfluous stuff that immerses you in the world is lost, THEN the game starts beating you over the head with loading screens. Good, but not great.

The load times are absolutely horrendous.

I swung back and forth so many times on Riders' gameplay that I nearly had an emotional breakdown. The game can seem impossibly difficult until you learn all the shortcuts and master every turn. If that's your cuppa tea, get all over it. If not, rent it.

DC Studios deserves a pat on the back for at least bringing the game up to the level that the original should have been. That doesn't mean they made a great game, but it's certainly good enough to be entertaining for the window of, say, a rental.

There's so much failed potential here that it makes me sick. Sure, Ecko and The Collective may have a stiffy for 1984, but there's really nothing wrong with that. It's the forced stealth and the hideous combat that killed the game, not the atmosphere.

Torino's biggest problem is just that it doesn't try very hard. When it does, like during the speed-skating or downhill skiing sections, you get some nice graphics and a solid framerate. It's just that whole gameplay thing is lacking.

Nothing about 35 To Life makes it stand out -- save for perhaps the fact that we had to sit through a delay to get this product. It's not terribly fun, the storyline is pointless and the gansta tone is utterly unnecessary.

A poor showcase for the hardware and a sloppy attempt to cash in on the pick-up-and-play fun of mini-game collections like Wario Ware, AAA is anything but a top-tier game. Stay away from this one.

It's the best Ape Escape game in the series. Sure, it borrows most of the weapons and tools from the previous games, but the morph gear outfits and level designs are both great, and there's really no reason why everyone shouldn't give it a try.

As a compilation, this is a nicely rounded collection of classic games, presented flawlessly and filled with just enough bonuses to satisfy the hardcore fans. Not all the games are great, but the total package is well worth the price.

Do not buy this game. Period. Your money is better spent on The Two Thrones, trust us.

A very solid $20 offering. It's nothing that will sell a PSP, but as a impulse bargain buy, it should keep most very, very happy -- provided they like pinball. REALLY like pinball.

The best PoP yet, simple as that. A kick ass storyline and gameplay that fixes the mistakes of the past game while building on the strengths of it and the original, this is an experience that everyone should partake in.

A nice value for the price. Getting two games for the price of one stretches the experience out into something that feels console-length, but was made portable.

If you're serious about getting fit, this game will absolutely help you with that. There's still overcoming the mental blocks and motivational issues, but the fun factor eases these problems in a fantastic way. This is the reason the EyeToy was made.

This is a wonderful game. Hampered by a bit of overuse in some of the core mechanics, yes, but still a fantastic way of delivering an experience that you can only get when a great game designer and attention from the movie's director come together.

Seeing as this is an add-on, it's a little much to expect it to have the kind of extra content that a full game would have, but what's here is certainly worth the $30 -- provided you haven't gotten tired of the series yet.

A bit of imbalance here is a bit ironic considering the themes of the game, but it's true. The storyline does help lift things up to the point of being better than your average RPG, but that doesn't mean the game isn't without significant faults.

Bizarre localization conundrums aside, this is a solid game through and through. It has more charm and character than a vast majority of RPGs being released these days and gives us a fresh new take on an already-innovative game from years ago.

As you can appreciate the humor and enjoy pure arcade shooting, there’s really no reason not to pick this game up.

This was absolutely worth waiting for, and credit must be given to Squenix for releasing a game that bravely sticks to its guns in the face of all these ridiculously complex additions to the formula that Dragon Quest got right all along.

Blitz did contribute some nice personality into things, but the underlying gameplay is so generic that it’s a wonder Namco would even allow a game like this to be published. It’s not that it’s bad, just that a hallmark of video games shouldn’t be allowed to sink into mediocrity, and that’s sadly what’s happening here.

You can tell the development team dug the source material, and in some ways they did it justice, but overall, the levels are too uneven, the difficulty spikes to pronounced and the action a bit too repetitive to stay fun for long.

Unless you're dying to drive around in a reasonably well-crafted digital version of New York at 20 frames a second, there's just no reason to force yourself through this storyline. Too many things are broken from the outset, and the rest aren't any fun.