Although Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles does many things right, the semi-repetitive missions, frustrating save system, and lack of replay value won't impress the average, seasoned gamer.

How can a game this bland and uninteresting compete with the likes of "Excite Truck" and "Need for Speed: Carbon," let alone the scores of racers available on other consoles? Simply put, it can’t; and it should be avoided at all costs.

There's nothing groundbreaking here, and it provides more of the same, with few improvements, and therein lies the rub: NFL Street 3 plays it far too safe. The new features work and the new modes are entertaining, but as a whole, it is sometimes too close to the previous edition.

A feature-rich offering that can be both extremely entertaining and equally frustrating to play.

Though the game is gussied up with smooth visuals (and again, the Pussycat Dolls), the incredible ease of each and every event ultimately renders the game worthless for most seasoned gamers.

Pocket Racers was made for the holiday rush as a cheap, new game that could be shoveled out to parents, resulting in sad kids who have just become victims of the shovelware industry yet again.

Congratulations, Electronic Arts. You've made me want you to start making Madden games again.

While it's true that Eragon is not a game that will change your life or keep you hooked to your TV for 60 hours, it is a really damned fun co-op title where you and a buddy can wreak havoc on big orc-like critters with sick-looking neck-snapping and gut-stabbing moves.

The graphics and sound are average, and nothing really jumps out and grabs your attention. Gameplay is very linear and built around the same engine that brought you "The Two Towers."

For a game apparently seeking a younger audience, it can be far too difficult at times, and most children will probably even realize just how shallow the game's single-player experience is after 30 minutes.

I'd recommend staying away from Eragon, but if you absolutely loved the book or movie and would love to swing Eragon's sword or "fly" Saphira, then, and only then, should you give Eragon a try.

The title throws plot pieces at you seemingly at random and will confuse you if you aren't careful. Thankfully, the game manages to be enjoyable enough to make up for this fact, but in the end, Eragon is simply another middle-of-the-road offering.

If the developers give us some heavy handed code-bandages, I predict that one day this will be at the very least an enjoyable RPG, if not the epic and sprawling adventure it was supposed to be.

Fairly long at over 40 scenarios, the title also offers a choice of path splits, and three different difficulty modes. Even after you're done, it can be a fun experience to try a new team or to get a missing skill point.

At the very least, Eragon is tolerable, bug-free, and does not try to stuff the console versions into the tiny, low-power package of the GBA, thereby producing a distinct experience by licensed game standards.

Despite a few rough edges, I can say something I haven't been able to say in nearly a decade: I'm actually looking forward to the next Tomb Raider game.

The beautiful visuals and the turgid music and sound coalesce to create epic battles.

The ball-rolling stages alone are reason to knock down the score several points. However, for a family with kids around eight or nine years old, My Frogger Toy Trials is easily worth the $30 price tag more so than many of the licensed kids' cartoon games out there.

Between the up-and-down production values, the nonexistent storytelling, the strange shooting, and touch-screen funkiness, this game comes off as a cheap cash-in to make money off of the show’s second broadcast season.

Though I'll wholly admit that the game feels a bit soulless and overly calculated at times, I was pleasantly surprised by the overhauled career mode and the superb online play and integration.

Even though it's basically a port with some additional features, Blitz still has addictive and intuitive gameplay that you can pick up time and time again.

This is worlds beyond the bar set by The Guy Game, but not far enough to garner any respect. Stick with the fighting games, if you know what’s good for you.

It is possible to begin at level one and adventure all the way to level 70, without ever having left the continent of Faydwer. Perhaps it is for this reason that I find it to be the best of the content upgrades, it just seems so much fuller and well-rounded.

Much like Chicken Little before it, Ace in Action features rather large, surprisingly well-animated boss monsters, and just like Chicken Little before it, these bosses can be a downright bear with which to deal. Thankfully, in a game such as this, one is prepared for such difficulty, instead of it blindsiding you like in the earlier title.

Whether it is chainsawing or curb-stomping kids online, GoW is a fun game in all respects. I just wish Epic distributed their efforts more evenly because that would have pushed GoW that extra little bit to make it an all-time favorite.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent offers more of the third-person stealth action we've come to expect from the Splinter Cell franchise, and it adds a unique, fast-paced multiplayer format unlike any online game I have played before.

It's refreshing to play Every Extend Extra because it doesn't rely on a convoluted storyline, talking heads, and so on, and I want more of this sort of thing, but blowing yourself up and making chains isn't enough to stand on its own. Even the new boss fights, which flaunt wildly imaginative designs, don't make up for the lacking experience.

Other than a number of glitches and a currently unresolved online issue, the game delivers the same kind of intense experience that made the series a true next-gen contender.

It is down to the bare bones of the series, leaving you feeling like you're playing the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater again.

Tony Hawk's Project 8 marks the best entry in the series in five years, when "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3" found the creative and cultural balance that made it the high point for the entire series.

For those seeking good online play on the PlayStation 2, Combined Assault is the best there is, for better or worse. Anyone seeking a strong single-player game is strongly advised to look elsewhere.

Plays like the developers took all of the worst points of Grand Theft Auto - the frustrating, often counter-intuitive combat, the tricky camera, the ugly indoors settings – and made it into a game without including anything that made Grand Theft Auto a hit.

Though there are a few classics missing from the group, the compilation is a nice mini-encyclopedia of games that still carry appeal more than a decade later, and is a good deal at $20 for Sega fans and old school gamers alike, with a few added unlockables granting it a bit more value.

It creates a new sense of fun that allows non-gamers and gamers alike to come together in harmony and rock delight.

It, in fact, accomplishes roughly 95% of what it set out to do, and with style besides. If you've ever liked Dragon Ball Z, even just as a kid growing up, then this game should automatically be added to your collection.

Avoid this title like the plague. Not only are you sparing yourself the discomfort of ham-fisted preaching and shoddy game mechanics, you’ll also be doing your part to ensure that this obscene mess of eschatological flotsam and apocryphal jetsam never sees a sequel.

Battlezone treads a well-worn path in almost every respect of gameplay but still offers hours of enjoyment to any gamer, from the hardcore, who want to master their friends, to the casual, who can easily dip in and out of the pick-up-and-play control system.

Lumines II may not reinvent the wheel, but it takes that vaguely attractive wheel, gives it a facelift, and turns it into a beauty queen. The new visual style and the addition of streaming video make Lumines II an even more immersive game than its predecessor.

The graphics are amazing and definitely deserve special recognition, as does the sound. The multiplayer seems a bit slow at times, but taken with the pros and cons, the pros definitely win out in this game.

With a robust and varied Job system that adds countless customization options, new dungeons and Jobs, and the portability of a handheld, Final Fantasy V is sure to keep even series veterans busy.

Yet another cutesy game that is veiling the usual raison d'etre of video games — killing — and isn't anything new. Peanuts characters should soften the blow of the dropping biplanes, but really, maybe you should pick up a later volume of those complete Peanuts collections, and show your children a true work of art.

BMX Challenge is not interested in style, quality, or progress. It feels like a lost project from the "me too" era of five years ago, when every other company was looking to break into the genre.

If you can get past the tedious first stages, the game really begins to pick up although the infection meter limits exploration a bit too much for Scurge to recapture that special magic, but for those holding out for a classic Metroid game on the DS, Scurge may be exactly what you need.

FFXII has my vote for Game of the Year for 2006, and I'd even go as far as to call it my personal Game of the Generation.

Based simply on the pack-in module, I can't recommend Neverwinter Nights 2 enough to RPG fans and those who follow the table-top gaming systems.

A must-own title that is definitely worth playing. Everything is great, and I really cannot think of anything I would change about what could be this year's greatest hand-held game.

Yet another capable classics contraption, but it falls just short of being a must-own for the average gamer.

Fans of realism in the sport may enjoy it, but even for them, it's basically a retread.

At the end of the day, though, the collision detection is enough of a problem to dock it a few points.

In parallel with a near-perfect shooter experience, F.E.A.R. develops a hue of eeriness through subtle storytelling and powerful emotional immersion within its environments.

In the end, Konductra just isn't worth the time. With lackluster gameplay and difficult controls, it's not fun for hardcore gamers or those looking for a quick way to waste time, especially at the far-from-bargain price of $30.

Ultimately, despite the new setting, storyline, and structure, Carbon does not represent a major departure from its predecessor. Sadly, the few major gameplay additions hurt the core experience, especially the poorly executed crew system.

It’s hard to rate this game, as it is meaty, contains a gameplay formula that people are used to (despite its lumps), and contains just enough good to counter the bad.

Every aspect that "works" has a few that just don't, to the game's overall detriment.

A decent dungeon crawler. If you’re a fan of these kinds of games, this is a good one, and if you’re not, this will not be the one that changes your mind. It’s a well-done take on a relatively standard formula.

It's slow-paced, repetitive and a bit unbalanced, the lack of variety in combat really hurts the game, and the lackluster graphics really can grow frustrating at times. The two campaigns are fun, but they're a bit too easy to give the title any replay value.

With so many options and the incredible multiplayer, this easily ranks as a must-play for fans of racing and its console counterpart.

Phantasy Star Universe was designed to be a console game, even more so than Blue Burst was, and doesn't relent in that position even slightly.

Gameplay is paramount, and I would say that PSU is a better game than the original, but not necessarily up to the same level of quality.

Gameplay is paramount, and I would say that PSU is a better game than the original, but not necessarily up to the same level of quality.

Not a run-of-the-mill RPG, if it is an RPG at all! It is a graphically glorious, murderously marvelous first-person fantasy action game that no self-respecting FPS fan should overlook.

Yet another cutesy game that is veiling the usual raison d'etre of video games — killing — and isn't anything new. Peanuts characters should soften the blow of the dropping biplanes, but really, maybe you should pick up a later volume of those complete Peanuts collections, and show your children a true work of art.

One-third of a complete game, and it really feels like it. Despite the fairly large variety in things to do, all of it feels like setup for something that is going to happen later on.

With great multiplayer fun, epic boss battles, tons of unlockable content and strong online play, any comic fan looking for a party game would do well to pick up a copy of Ultimate Alliance.

This is definitely the greatest example of comic book fan-service ever conceived, but the gamer side of my brain has too many issues with the title to let it off the hook for those reasons alone.

A great game for skaters on the go, or fans of tricky, point-based play.

The Consortium changes the way the game is played and adds a bunch of replay value.

Those players who grew up wasting their time, energy, and no lack of their parents' money in places like Token Joe's, where the lights never worked but the monitors still glowed, this collection will hit just enough right notes to justify the price.

At the end of the day, only bringing in some new enemies, a small cache of new arms, and a bit of extra story that's even more incoherent than the original keep Extraction Point from being more than what was already good.

As long as you're looking to kill thousands of bad guys, you'll find something to like in Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2.

It's hardly the Playstation 2's perfect platformer - it's a bit too linear, and it's obviously got a slant towards a younger audience with the puzzle solving at points - but Tokobot Plus is a game enjoyable by young and old alike.

Take four parts "Secret of Evermore," two parts "Legend of Zelda," and one part "Mega Man X5" (most notably in the "constant tutorial" mechanic), mix together for a few minutes in your backpack, and you've got Juka and the Monophonic Menace. This title is truly an example of the flaws making the masterpiece.

There's really no reason to buy this game, especially if you're expecting anything resembling a return to Stronghold's roots of castle-building sim.

If you're a fan of the Titans, looking for something to keep the kids busy or a decent side-scroller for yourself, Teen Titans 2 actually isn't a bad buy. You'll find yourself wanting to use the Titans' myriad moves over and over again (though more so in some cases than others), and the gameplay is solid.

Its "Teen" rating is dead-on – though the game has violence, light vulgarity, and sexual themes, it never crosses the line to become an adult experience. Bully is an open-world, story-driven, high-schooling experience unlike any you have played before.

New Jagged Union is not merely a bad game when compared to its peers, but it is a bad game when compared to any titles released in the last several years. I cannot, in good faith, advise any fan of tactical strategy to make this a purchase.

Instead of just tacking some curvaceous metal scraps onto otherwise ordinary buildings, the maps feature a cohesive vision of the not-too-distant future.

Graphics are average, but the game is just too much fun to not like.

That's where Justice League Heroes shines: its ability to suck you in and make you forget about the real world's ills while you focus on that rampaging robot problem that Metropolis seems to have every Tuesday.

Despite a mostly muddling putting interface, PGA Tour 07 stands out as a great second edition golf game on the Xbox 360.

WTF: Work Time Fun can be summarized by saying "Waste of Time, Fool." The game is pointlessness incarnated, even more than "WarioWare, Inc." or "Ape Escape Academy."

The Sims 2: Pets is a very entertaining, exciting expansion pack filled with curious critters and adorable pets, so if you loved the last pets expansion, you will be sure to love this one.

If you have any interest in flying or you are already a pilot and want to cater to your hobby on day when flying just isn't advisable, then I highly recommend this title.

Ford Bold Moves Street Racing does very few things wrong and gets a lot in the genre right.

With the new training and performance system, another unique gaming experience has been added to an already full-featured game.

Graphics are average, but the game is just too much fun to not like.

If you're a fan of the series or strategy in general and are willing to put up a few minor flaws and some bugs (which will hopefully be patched), then I highly recommend this title.

If you happened to be among the first to solve some of the component puzzles for Haunted Apiary or another such ARG, or you simply have the patience, love the feeling of being a hardcore puzzle solver, and on top of that have a pretty strong stomach for disturbing, offensive, and humiliatingly subtle imagery, then the International Committee For The Phoenix Arrest could use your help.

With only five cases, it is an incredibly short game and can be finished in the span of a few hours. However, besides the aggravating Scooby stages, it is fairly well designed and manages to do a fairly good job of capturing the feel of the cartoon series.

The gameplay suffers a bit from having a poor camera system which requires frequent adjustment, and there are a few graphical glitches, but the title is otherwise quite playable.

A fairly solid economic strategy simulation where the player can utilize a number of varying tactics and maneuvers to gain an advantage in a well-designed medieval environment. Unfortunately, the impressive level of detail and the interesting gameplay options at your disposal take a backseat to the technical issues and repetitive micromanagement.

This version fails to even live up to the console counterpart, as the controls suffer far too much on the PSP itself.

This is a Megami Tensei game, meant mostly for Megami Tensei fans, but with a much greater level of accessibility than the already simplified Digital Devil Saga. The real-time battles may turn off purists, but I found them to be simple and creative in all the right ways.

The plot is overly long and a bit too predictable, and although the gameplay is fun, it just doesn't bring anything particularly exciting to the world either, and the new systems are basically useless.

Crash Boom Bang is a mess. There are too many unneeded features, not enough time was spent developing the important ones, and hundreds of small hiccups and issues make this game feel like it should have gone through more inspections at every level of design.

A game worth playing if you're a dracophile, if you like the character or like animated movies, and if you're not averse to starting over with a fresh slate.

Everything about the game feels old: the gameplay, graphics, control scheme and sometimes insensitive humor. It’s a tough combination to swallow, and the maddening difficulty doesn’t improve the situation one bit.

The perfect place for a beginner to the series to start. Almost everything in the game has withstood the test of time and has been streamlined and smoothed to make it as accessible as possible to all players. However, this means that long-time veterans of the Tiger Woods series won't find much changed from last year's offering, either.