The storyline does an amazing job of slowly expanding in scope (though it does bog down a bit in the middle of the game, most of the stuff it trudges through stays relevant well after the scope of the game has outgrown the smaller conflict), and the twists will absolutely knock you on your ass, while battles are fast, interesting and offer a nicely customizable way to trudge through the grind of leveling up all your characters.

It's just evilly fun, and it'll kick your butt and you'll hate it for being so hard, but it won't really matter, because there's enough charm and downright fun here to keep you coming back.

Graphics whores or anyone with a penchant for experiencing truly surreal and wildly imaginative creations would do well to put this on their buy list.

Despite its goofy and, possibly to some, even tasteless look, HSGF! is one of the most enjoyable golf games on the market, and surely the finest I’ve ever come across in its field.

Anyone craving a good, serious scare and the kind of foreboding that rarely comes from games like this has only to snag a copy of this game. And who doesn't like a little freakyness now and then?

Good enough to be a solid rental, but anything else and you'll wonder exactly how many times you can run from room to room smacking broken record-voiced enemies over and over again to make things worth your $50. Trust me, even with the number of times you'll revisit levels and bust out the same combo chain, it's not enough.

Level designs that literally force you to try and retry an incredibly difficult section while fighting the controls and camera instantly suck any fun out of what could have been a nice attempt to mix "Prince of Persia" exploration and free-form 360 degree fighting (a la SCEA's "Rise to Honor").

There's literally no real reason to invest anything more than a 15 minute playthrough in the game.

The problem is, the pedestrian missions are endlessly repetitive...This is a definite rental (everyone should experience swinging around the city), but in about a month, you’re going to start hating yourself if you pay full price.

It’s the on-foot action that shows how busted the game really is. Aside from all the disgusting clipping issues (just about any part of any model’s body can poke through any wall with reckless abandon), the lack of animation tweening -- hell of any real animation at all, the on-foot game is just plain crap, plain and simple.

Refinements in story, level design and narrative pacing have helped the single player experience fall at least on par with the first game, but the addition of an evilly addictive multiplayer mode that plays differently depending on which side you choose makes it a must-buy.

If you’ve played "Front Mission 3," play Front Mission 4. There’s more game, more strategy, and a slightly better presentation, but done expect anything new.

Through innovative use of the nigh-ubiquitous Havok physics engine, a decent (if rather clichéd) storyline, and some impressively well fleshed-out game design, Midway has managed to create a game that offers something different, but more importantly, a whole hell of a lot of fun.

If you’re a die-hard HP fan… well, keep reading the books. If you’re looking for a decent Potter-tinged romp, this is the best one you’re gonna get – at least until the next movie comes out.

The pacing, boss designs and core gameplay are pick up and play easy, but with all the unlockable goodies doled out for replaying the game and finishing up levels with a dead aim and speedy trigger finger offer enough for those perfectionists to get the most out of the game.

Onimusha 3, if meant to be the series’ swan song, is as polished, refined, challenging, rewarding and just plain fun as a game of this type is ought to be. Stop reading this review right now (cause, well, it’s over) and get to your nearest store to pick up a copy of this game.

The problem is with the consistent near-perfection reached by the "Winning Eleven" series and EA’s "FIFA" efforts providing overwhelmingly solid presentation, it’s very, very hard to find any reason to recommend this game when the same chunk of change will buy you a more polished and frankly engaging experience.

In spite of a poorly constructed multiplayer scheme and the lack of online play, Worms 3D is a successful transition into three dimensions without sacrificing quality gameplay in the process. With the formula down path, hopefully Team 17 can deliver the perfect Worms console experience next time around.

The Lost Expedition is indeed noteworthy, if for no reason other than the fact that it manages to bite the style off of Metroid rather strongly but still injects enough humor to keep it entertaining.

CoN is as graphically polished and diverse a hack and slash as you can get and is easily one of the most visually impressive games on the PS2.

Yes, the addition of checkpoints eases the frustration, but only a bit. This is a series that can absolutely end up being great, but to get there, it still needs a better scope on varied (and, hopefully, jaw-slackeningly beautiful) level design and for the love of God, Sega, fix that damned camera.

Irem has, possibly more than any game they've made in recent memory, crafted a shooter that is at once faithful to the challenge of the original shooters that came before it, and utterly accessible to anyone experiencing it for the first time, and they've thrown in a remarkable amount of depth and just plain fun to keep both sides equally true to the source material. R-Type Final is a blast, plain and simple.

I’m not entirely sure where it happened, but somewhere during the development of the sequel, the magic that had permeated every refractive chunk of ice and rippling pool of water in the first game gave way to tired, monotonous trudges through vaguely different environments explored on endless fetch quests.

An absolutely fantastic game, and stands as one of the best ways to enjoy old-school flavor in a decidedly next-generation effort.

More focused on action than story progression and deep character development, Brotherhood of Steel comes dangerously close to being called a Fallout game in name only.

There's plenty of promise here, but it's buried under horribly unbalanced, cheap gameplay that all but ruins the overall experience.

Incredibly frightening -- so much so that it’s hard to recommend it to everyone. The game is rather short, but the goodies you can unlock on the title screen mean there’s a bit of replay value for those willing to run through the game on a harder difficulty level.

R isn’t a horrible game, and if you actually get a bit used to the controls it’s absolutely playable, but the whole idea is that you shouldn’t have to get used to a racing game’s controls unless it’s as rewarding as, say, "Gran Turismo."