Whirlwind over Vietnam offers a gameplay experience that is neither innovative nor executed well.

If you are a fan of Native American heritage or mythological events, or if you are looking for an excellent 3D platformer, this title certainly delivers. However, if you are looking for a long game with any replay value at all, or some modicum of difficulty, then Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer certainly isn't for you.

Full of quirky characters and solid gameplay, there is nothing that I can think of that would really prevent one from wanting to play this fun game. Be warned, however, that it lacks replay value and, as I've stressed repeatedly, has a few levels that just bomb.

If you're a gamer looking to whet your palate on something new or, worse yet, a casual gamer looking for something to play during a train ride, consider long and hard before putting down money for this. The sharp difficulty curve is enough to scare away all but the most devoted and patient of gamers, and the repetition will lead to the frustration and hand cramps.

The addition of a few extra areas does not make up for the massive amount of flaws, both gameplay and graphical, that turns a fun game into a chore.

Dollars aside, Guitar Hero II is a sequel that improves upon its predecessor in every conceivable way, and the Xbox 360 version sweetens the pot with additional songs and light online functionality.

While some of Prince's acrobatic movements are decent with the Wiimote, the combat — especially the Speed Kill — suffers badly, and overall, the game performed better with a tradition control scheme.

Truly an enjoyable game. Yes, it is mostly mini-games and simple card battling, and a lot of the game may seem childish, but it proves to be a fun time, especially for Final Fantasy fanatics who will appreciate all the of character references and song throwbacks.

In general, Made Man: Confessions of the Family Blood is a marginally passable offering, something to play if you've drained every last bit of enjoyment out of Max Payne and absolutely can't find anything else to play.

It would have been perfectly fine as a web game played with a mouse on some online game portal, but as a $30 portable game played on a system with no shortage of top-quality puzzle games, Honeycomb Beat isn't a contender.

Penumbra: Overture focuses on delivering immersive gameplay by providing an engaging storyline, a surreal atmosphere, and a very creepy playing experience.

A shining example of what a retro compilation should be.

With shoddy aiming, bad enemy A.I. and mission objectives vapid enough to induce a coma, the Medal of Honor series has seen better days.

As good as the single-player campaigns are, the multiplayer capabilities are where the game really shines. Going head-to-head against a human opponent doesn't involve a storyline, but victory is always more satisfying against a real person than against a computer opponent programmed to perform at "normal" difficulty levels.

There are about eight hours of somewhat-fun gameplay here, but given the weak multiplayer offerings, there is virtually no replayability.

Despite the gatekeeper glitch, and a few tolerable crashes at transitioning points, Elder Scrolls IV – Shivering Isles is certainly money well spent. Characters are well developed and the main storyline is interesting.

It all comes down to what you're looking for in a racing game. Test Drive Unlimited for the PSP has the potential to keep you playing for months on end, as long as you don't sit down for extended sessions.

From an objective point of view, it suffers so many technical flaws that I would normally caution against purchase. However, from a subjective perspective, I enjoy the setting and ambience so much that I recommend it despite the bugs and inelegant performance.

It has a great atmosphere and is extremely easy to pick up.

If you're a car lover, then you're going to drool over the detail and specifications of the vehicles in TDU .

The overall strength of Test Drive Unlimited on the PS2 isn't in its presentation — these sights and sounds are far better on other consoles — but the scope of what it set out to do in the first place, which was to really bring about the next evolution in the genre.

Despite the unique look and direction this takes on the RTS genre, the feeling of "I've been here before, done this before, and seen this before" pervades the entire experience.

Even with all of the setbacks plaguing it, though, this Wii port of Blazing Angels: Squadrons of World War II has it where it counts. It adds motion-sensing functionality without sacrificing the fun — it, in fact, manages to enhance it in some cases.

While there are a few stability issues, it's nothing that can't be fixed, and the gorgeous effects of the game outweigh the small bugs.

It's got all the ingredients for a successful hack-and-slash, but falls short in enough areas to discredit itself to all but hardcore fans of the genre.

Armored Core 4 delivers more of what the series is known for: fast-paced, arcade-style mech action with highly customizable robots in which to fight. It does this with some very nice visuals to boot, although it fails to be really great with the extremely short campaign, forgettable missions/story, and a clunky user interface for the garage and shop.

It's simple and frankly quite fun, but it's just a bit too short for a $60 game, and it can easily be finished in a day.

Every time you think you've seen everything this game has to offer, you'll come across something new.

It's got a low learning curve, and once you get past the admittedly slow-going first couple of stages and pick yourself up a real plane, it's a sonic-booming good time all around.

At its worst, however, Cooking Mama is enough to make you want to throw your Wiimote at the screen as the game struggles to recognize the commands that you give it.

There are a decent amount of races, events and courses to keep you occupied, but there's not much to it, gameplay-wise, to keep you playing for long, as everything is fairly basic and by-the-numbers.

Puzzle Quest is truly a masterpiece.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords has a truly unique concept and includes the ability to appeal to both role-playing and puzzle fans alike.

It's gorgeous (if you have a high-end system), it's fun, and it has some truly unique features that set it apart from the pack. With time, there might even be some patches that clear up the remaining oversights, like the interface and the auto-save.

Objectively, it's not hard to tell that Earth Defense Force 2017 is poorly made compared to the vast majority of 360 titles, although the localization is quality work on D3's part. What makes it so compelling to play, despite its many obvious flaws, is that the gameplay formula is by itself amazingly addictive and satisfying regardless of the graphics.

If you've beaten it on another system, however, pass on the Blackhand Edition. The changes are fun, but they're not enough to justify buying a lackluster game twice.

The type of game that the Wii needs more of. It's instantly accessible, yet there are times when its genuine challenge and excellent design can cause the player to pull out his or her hair. Hudson needs to make a sequel to this ASAP.

Fun but extremely basic. There is lots of speedy platforming coupled with a simple beat-'em-up fighting style, which makes for a brief but mostly unsatisfying experience.

While it was definitely on the right track to restoring the brand to its former video game glory, the surprisingly boring and simplistic gameplay absolutely kills it.

No matter how frustrating things get, the next comic sequence — which is often comic in more than one sense — makes you feel better.

Wing Island is just not fun. It's close to intelligence-insulting in its attempts to pander to "all ages," it's needlessly difficult, suffers from exceptionally poor controls, sounds ridiculous, looks unexciting, and offers basically nothing for anyone.

A lackluster sequel. It adds only a handful of new characters, makes no significant changes to the basic gameplay, and barely even updates the graphics.

The experience would be improved if you did not have to take care of your fellow castaway or if the statistics didn't decrease quite so rapidly. In the time it takes you to explore a bit of the island and get to where you were the last time, you have to double back due to thirst and fatigue.

If you're a fan of simulation games or enjoy creating theme parks or managing funds, Theme Park is an excellent port from the original PC game, and it plays amazingly well on the NDS. Despite the lack of true new content and any form of multiplayer, Theme Park proved to be simultaneously challenging and interesting.

Too difficult for newbies, but lacking too many cards for old-hat masters, the game finds and neatly settles into a perfect niche among newer yet established fans who like working with what they're given and/or don't necessarily have the money to buy the game's infamously costly booster packs.

After playing for a while, you'll realize that Tetris Evolution may have been better suited as an Xbox Live Arcade game priced somewhere closer to $10. There is no real evolution to be seen; it's the same classic Tetris you've played for years, albeit with a handful of different game modes and a few more graphical options in an attempt to stir up the experience.

QuickSpot is charming, short, simple, and – best of all – affordable.

A diamond in the rough. It is apparent that a great deal of research and design went into the creation of this title, but unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the documentation and tutorial.

With its cheeky sense of humor and immense visual appeal, Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle can be a good time for adventure gamers with a taste for the wacky, enough so that it could renew interest in the original title. Unfortunately, the more esoteric puzzles will leave you scratching your head, and the linearity of the gameplay will sometimes require that you take missteps before the correct solution will be accepted.

It adheres very strongly to the concept of, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it," perhaps to the point of excess. It is a well-designed game, with terrific level design and a smooth, excellent combat system, but it also doesn't particularly bring anything dramatically different to the field.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 brings a fairly deep, albeit slightly flawed, control scheme to the table. When combined with the large quantity of game modes and unlockables, the game's replay value remains high. The graphics are somewhat disappointing, there are a number of bugs, and the title lacks online play, but it still provides the best golf experience on the Wii thus far.

Not overly complicated or time-consuming to learn, and it was actually incredibly fun to play. The uncluttered interface and visually pleasing design seems to help reduce the information overload that is often associated with this genre.

It's highly unlikely you'll be able to find a steady group for the title's very formulaic multiplayer, and the single-player campaign can be completed in less than six hours on the normal difficulty setting.

It's really difficult to recommend this game to anyone since Sid Meier's Pirates! has everything that Tortuga does, and even manages to do it better.

Overall, Prostroke Golf: World Tour 2007 isn't a bad game, although it's below average when it comes to golf. It gets so caught up in trying to faithfully recreate the sport that it forgets what it means to have fun in a portable video game.

Fans of the adventure genre will enjoy The Sacred Rings because the puzzles and challenges are just that good. Just be warned – if you enjoy a good story, character development, or choices about anything at all, you won't find them here.

Overall, I would recommend Carol Vorderman's Sudoku without a moment's hesitation to any PSP owner who likes, is interested in or would like to know about Sudoku. The transportation of this puzzle genre to a handheld system borders on flawless, and experienced players will really appreciate the depth of the options that are presented.

Spectrobes seems to fall short because of its monotonous method of collecting and the poorly designed battle system.

Def Jam: Icon is undeniably stylish, sporting wondrously surreal next-gen visuals and bumping the latest and greatest of mainstream hip-hop. But for all its flash, the fighting engine disappoints, coming off as sluggish and unrefined.

Ultimately, there's not enough to do in the game to keep you occupied for very long. The Build a Label mode only offers a maximum of six to seven hours of play, and the bare-bones online mode isn't going to give you much more than that.

Feels both overpriced and unnecessary in the modern marketplace.

One of the best racing games currently available on the PSP.

If you did not play GRAW, GRAW2 will astonish and amaze you. If you played GRAW then GRAW2’s impact will be very much diminished.

Just about every aspect of the game has been polished.

Some frustrating puzzles and dark environments certainly take Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened down a notch or two, but the incredible story, terrific presentation and super-fun investigations are more than enough to make this title an easy recommendation for any fans of the adventure genre.

Rising Star has its share of flaws, with the dated graphics and decent, although limited, audio palette, but at the same time, the game is rather endearing and is entertaining for both a quick-play session and those marathon times when you keep playing for "just one more gig."

This idea may well have worked on the PS2 with the additional horsepower, but not on the PSP.

Not the significant evolution I was expecting from the next generation of DDR. Though it sports fantastic visuals, the surprise-free soundtrack and half-baked Quest mode fail to improve the formula.

The one biggest failing of the Marvel Trading Card Game is one that no programming magic could fix — namely, that the game will be overlooked simply because the Vs System is less known than its competition, and tragically, that makes finding other people to play against that much more difficult.

Hats off to Cavia for twisting the concept of a third-person shooter and making a game that is enjoyable in spite of its flaws.

Chili Con Carnage is a game that doesn't take itself seriously, which is definitely a good thing. The problem is that the slipshod controls make you not want to take the entire package seriously. When 90% of your game is about shooting, the shooting and aiming mechanics had better be dead on target.

Its tricky control scheme is likely to be a divisive element, but those willing to spend considerable time with the tutorials should find SSX Blur to be a rather solid experience.

It has well-balanced gameplay, and the fishing and gardening allow your Sims to finally relax and enjoy the great outdoors instead of constantly being in motion. Unfortunately, with all of these new features come even longer loading times.

You can play Empires, which features great graphics and incredibly dull gameplay, or the original version, which features fantastic gameplay and inexcusably bad graphics. This is a situation that's frustrating to say the least.

The combat, while repetitive, is easily approachable and manageable with the extras added to the PC version. The narrative is excellent, with enough plot points and well-veiled twists to make it a beautiful thing to watch.

Though the gameplay is still saddled with recurring issues, the next-gen visual enhancements make the game much more atmospheric than any previous hardball sim.

Endlessly recycled NPC models, horrid camera angles, and the failed lock-on system turn what could have been a really good action/RPG game into barely playable mess.

The only major issue I had with the game was the inability to garrison units inside buildings. While the title may bring more similarities than innovation to the genre, it is certainly a high-quality offering with a solid multiplayer portion and excellent replay value.

The gameplay feels a bit outdated in comparison to newer RTS offerings such as "Company of Heroes," but the game still utilizes some unique features, such as the reinforcement system, that make it quite challenging.

Although the terraforming can become a bit tedious at times, the campaign missions are engaging and challenging.

Metal Slug Anthology was supposed to be one of the portable system's A-list titles. Instead, due to reasons that probably couldn't have been helped, it ends up being one of the system's biggest jokes.

Sadly, I can't even recommend this as a sequel to the original game, as the changed features are going to be upsetting to anyone who was a die-hard Meteos fan. However, as a children's game, Meteos: Disney Magic succeeds admirably.

Virtua Fighter 5 is a deep, beautiful fighter, but the depth of gameplay is undercut by a shallow offering of modes and a complete lack of online support. The Virtua faithful will likely swoon over the expanded roster and move sets, but the casual crowd may be disappointed with what is largely an incremental upgrade rather than a full-blown evolution of the franchise.

It has points where you must grind for levels much like an RPG. It’s also not for people with short attention spans, and its difficulty at times (just a touch below Sonic Riders’s learning curve—you’ll have to practice stages over and over to get them right) makes it not for people who give up at challenging games easily (poor folks). Still, none of these points makes this entry any less valid.

Games like Crackdown are the cornerstone the 360's passionate user community is built upon, and why the 360 is developing an increasingly deserved reputation for being the next-gen console of choice.

You may not be worthy of playing Izuna. Chat with the Oracle a few times, and maybe you'll figure out if you are.

If you can't get into the simple gameplay, no matter how cute, then Trioncube is not for you, although one cannot reasonably expect this title to last for much more than a few days of serious play.

Supreme Commander is intelligent, polished, complex, and difficult. For many, of course, this will be reason to avoid it. The user manual is 70 pages long and probably the thickest of its kind that I've seen.

Road to Glory comes across more as an obligation to a contractual agreement than a worthwhile video game.

It lacks longevity, has some gameplay flaws, and has no personality whatsoever.

Alien Shooter: Vengeance doesn't deliver anything fancy or new to the table, and it certainly doesn't win any awards fro graphical realism. However, the game does present solid arcade-style gameplay that is relatively simplistic but pretty fun at the same time.

If you can look past the mediocre graphics and lousy sound, Dreamlords really has a lot to offer. Multiple play styles, an extremely friendly community, and the constant forward progression of the game make for an overall enjoyable experience.

The A.I. is the most intelligent opposition I have ever seen in a strategy title, and the tech tree is vast enough to offer a plethora of various strategies to employ. The lack of multiplayer is ameliorated by the fact that there are so many options and ways to play the single-player portions.

A blast from start to finish, offering up an excellent portable iteration of one of the best console franchises of the last five years. It may end a little shorter than expected, and the online play is unlikely to draw a significant following, but the single-player adventure is well worth the price of admission.

Sadly, even hardcore Ghost Rider fans will be immensely disappointed because after about a half hour of gameplay, you've experienced all there is to the game.

Feel free to stick with the good action games, and leave Ghost Rider to his burning fate.

It's not a masterpiece, but it's hilarious, brilliantly moody, and worthy of attention from any fan of adventure or humorous games - or graphics effects nerds.

The ability to play through the story mode with a friend is enticing and is only one of many features that makes it worth the price to add to your collection. Where else can you beat up everyone around you, loot, steal car radios, mug, and graffiti complete neighborhoods with a $5 can of spray paint?