Gorgeous re-imagining of the original, lots of gaming for your buck.

Anyone who's been waiting for Peter Molyneux's latest epic will no doubt spend hours in front of Pub Games trying to earn cash, whether they like it or not. But on its own, it doesn't offer nearly enough entertainment.

Gorgeous re-imagining of the original, lots of gaming for your buck.

Flawless presentation, funny dialogue, great puzzles.

Braid is so much more than just another XBLA release. What you're paying for is a groundbreaking title that offers several hours of pure game enjoyment. Buy this game now, and experience some of the best this medium has to offer.

No continues or saves, no level selection, weapons aren't balanced.

No continues or saves, no level selection, weapons aren't balanced.

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.

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

The combination of clever, strategic gameplay with hopelessly niche subject matter almost guarantees cult classic status for this one. But Political Machine 2008 is definitely worth playing, particularly if you're a fan of politics -- no other game to date better represents our embattled system.

Sea Life Safari is just plain short. After 3 hours of play, I had access to all of the levels, had captured every species of fish in my log book, and had unlocked every Achievement except the one for finding all of the golden shells in the game.

Even without a story to speak of, Etrian Odyssey II does exactly what it was meant to do: It provides a ridiculous level of challenge coupled with weeks, if not months, of classic gameplay to an audience who still desires that sort of thing.

The team at Kojima Productions has at the very least set a new high-water mark for cinematic presentation that I wager any other videogame will be lucky to reach, let alone exceed, for the next few years.

Ultimately, the gameplay is a vast improvement over its predecessor, but the game is in most other respects dwarfed by more recent innovations in the genre.

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.

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.

$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.

$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.

In essence, if you're willing to suffer through some early balance issues, have a good guild to join and desire an MMO experience where you can kill other people to your heart's content, Age of Conan is the game for you.

Wii Fit feels very much like a version 1.0 trial run that's going to be made obsolete by a better sequel in six months. For now, it's absolutely worth giving it a try if you have a Wii, $90, and some extra pounds to lose.

Do yourself a favor: Steer clear of Myst DS and keep your memories pure.

Boom Blox does what so many Wii titles wish they could, by splitting the difference between casual players and lifelong gamers. You can pass the Wiimote to your grandma or a 5-year-old and they'll have a ball with its clever mix of brainy puzzles and satisfying explosions. But hard-core players like me will find a surprising amount of depth to the gameplay and a satisfying, addictive challenge.

[Mario Kart Wii's Battle Mode] is no longer a last-man-standing contest: Matches now last three minutes each, and if your kart takes too much damage, don't worry! You'll just respawn. Even worse, all battles are now played in teams of two. So while you can still have four human players, they can't all face off against each other -- and what's the point of that?

The game's audio is phenomenal. Throughout the game players are treated to a combination of Japanese-style blues, pop, techno and rock. Even those who have become tired of Japan's trademark stylistic alterations to American media will find the variety of tunes appealing.

If you're a Pokemon superfan, you'll undoubtedly enjoy chilling with the very creatures you've spent so much time trying to catch.

If you're a Pokemon superfan, you'll undoubtedly enjoy chilling with the very creatures you've spent so much time trying to catch.

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.

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.