Considering Assassin's Creed Brotherhood as a total package, it's just barely worth full price. There's a decent quantity of content, but the amount that's recycled from the last game is stunning, a purely cynical ploy to squeeze out more money in lieu of preserving any semblance of artistic integrity.

$20 might seem like a bit much for a little over five hours of gameplay, although there's a lot of content packed into this first installment: Four largish 3-D environments, a dozen or so main characters, and reams of funny dialogue.

A giant leap forward for Sega's mascot. It represents the first time in more than a decade that I have enjoyed a Sonic game.

How much you enjoy this sequel will depend almost entirely on your feelings for the first Under the Knife. If it left you wanting nothing more than another set of operations to tackle, you'll be in heaven. If you were hoping for a vastly improved scenario, you're out of luck.

EA Sports Active has its issues, but it’s a major step in the right direction.

$20 might seem like a bit much for a little over five hours of gameplay, although there's a lot of content packed into this first installment: Four largish 3-D environments, a dozen or so main characters, and reams of funny dialogue.

Yes, it's true that at no time while playing Prince of Persia did I feel any of the frustration that I felt on a regular basis in "Mirror's Edge". But neither did I ever feel the joy of doing something right, of stringing together a perfect series of vaults and wall-runs and feeling like it was based on my own skill.

Coordination between teammates seems to be pretty important, but otherwise I felt like each match hinged on whether or not teams could get momentum early and shut buy upgrades quicker.

Considering Assassin's Creed Brotherhood as a total package, it's just barely worth full price. There's a decent quantity of content, but the amount that's recycled from the last game is stunning, a purely cynical ploy to squeeze out more money in lieu of preserving any semblance of artistic integrity.

A ballsy take on literature that worships at the altar of God of War.

I enjoyed Shooter 2 enough to recommend it, but I don't see myself replaying levels in order to find all the secrets, like I did for the first game. At least not without help.

In attempting to Sim everything, Spore tries to be all things to all people -- a strategy that never quite works out the way it's supposed to.

Brütal Legend does a lot of things wonderfully: It’s a technically adept, graphically beautiful game with a surprisingly good story and a great soundtrack. The hybrid gameplay just doesn’t meet these high standards.

I wouldn't unhesitatingly recommend Ring of Fates to anyone who's not already a genre fan, but if you're like me, you need to play this one.

Better break-time puzzle rounds and a story that's not throwaway filler would make a truly excellent game; this is merely a fun diversion.

I've never played anything quite like Red Steel 2, which lets you use swords and guns simultaneously, switching back and forth between wild swinging and precise aiming.

So while it falls short of greatness, Operation Darkness can content itself with being merely a fun game with an amazing premise.

It does exactly what a game is supposed to: It entertains throughout its duration, it flexes the muscle of both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and above all it squeezes your testosterone gland just enough to make the gaming experience enjoyable.

Wii Music is Wii's "Nintendogs." It's not a traditional videogame with challenges and goals, it's an interactive playground. While some gamers will "get it" and have some fun with it, they'll likely abandon it after a little while. Most hard-core gamers will stay far away.

But even the best programming can't save this game from the flaws in its design. There's nothing horribly wrong with it, but it also fails to bring anything remotely new or original to the genre.

Were it not for the Nintendo DS' low-res graphics, Peggle Dual Shot might well be considered a definitive version of the game. Packed with a great deal of content, it's a great time-killer that can make hour-long bus rides pass in the blink of an eye.

Patapon is a clever spin on the rhythm genre, and the tiny characters are simply adorable. Leveling up your warriors can be quite trying, but the game's charm and refreshing adaptation of established mechanics make such transgressions forgivable.

If the goal was indeed to create a game that could appeal even to the rawest Transformers newbies, then High Moon has succeeded.

Brütal Legend does a lot of things wonderfully: It’s a technically adept, graphically beautiful game with a surprisingly good story and a great soundtrack. The hybrid gameplay just doesn’t meet these high standards.

The obscure names and redundant dialog can reach levels of absurdity, and sometimes you'll want to yell at your characters to just shut up and get on with the adventuring, but the puzzles and presentation make the complex plot worth slogging through.

But even the best programming can't save this game from the flaws in its design. There's nothing horribly wrong with it, but it also fails to bring anything remotely new or original to the genre.

It does exactly what a game is supposed to: It entertains throughout its duration, it flexes the muscle of both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and above all it squeezes your testosterone gland just enough to make the gaming experience enjoyable.

The elements added to Assassin's Creed: Revelations do make it feel like a more different and occasionally surprising experience compared to Brotherhood, which felt like an expansion pack. But at its core, we're still playing the same game for the third time.