Lackluster design elements (poor textures, collision issues), repetitive gameplay, and tacked-on concepts all equate to one spy adventure best left classified.

If you like the "Family Guy" TV show and you're willing to tolerate sub-par gameplay if the writing's good enough, go grab Xenosaga II, and go ahead and snag Family Guy while you're at the shop. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

It truly is a sad day for the gaming world when a video game reviewer asks his readers to put down the game and read the book instead; you're invariably going to enjoy it more.

El Matador isn’t necessarily a bad game, just a frustrating and unoriginal one.

A game that has a superb soundtrack and audio effects library, is ultra-realistic, visually attractive, and boasts a stunning amount of depth and replayability.

It doesn't come close to living up to the concept. Unexpectedly glitchy, terribly repetitive and incredibly easy, Just Cause might be fun for a rental, but even the most die-hard fans of sandbox games will want to look elsewhere for their fill.

ParaWorld is a joy to look at and listen to, and the twist of dinosaurs going head-to-head with modern-day human heroes is reminiscent of Ash bringing his shotgun and Cadillac to medieval Europe in "Army of Darkness."

The few things the game does well (voice acting, the potion-brewing system, the item imbuing system) just cannot possibly hope to save what is, at best, a beta-release bundle of sloppy code.

The overall design presents a good economic-based, city-building simulation with pleasing accompanying visuals.

The only thing holding back this game from being a must-own for everyone is the confusing plot, but even then, players should be able to enjoy this title for its fantastic gameplay and amazing music.

The success of any rhythm game is largely determined by its selection of songs, and Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA is the first American release that can compete with its import brethren.

It falls short of even being mediocre. Even though it presents some truly superb ideas, the game is destroyed by the incessant load times, which should have been addressed long before its release date.

Import Tuner lacks either the impressive visuals we've come to expect from next-gen games (racing titles, especially), or a well-executed new feature that contrasts it from other offerings in the genre.

While Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 is an improvement over the original in many ways, it is also, at its core, a rehash, continuing where that game let off and making sure to stop at a point that can lead into the third.

The entire control scheme and physics engine need to go back to the drawing board before next year's release in order to remove that constant feeling of dread that lingers during a typical game.

With a plethora of deep features, an incredible online mode and some of the most immersive animations and graphics ever, 2K7 far outshines the competition.

Too simplistic for most gamers, it is a good choice for those who have friends who also are Grim experts. Anyone else is advised to avoid this game like the plague, and seek out one of the many better party games available on any system.

I can say with complete and total confidence that Godfather: Mob Wars is not going to keep you interested for long with its lackluster combat and controls.

Upon completing Okami, you may feel like you have just taken in a classic Miyazaki film. The visual/aural presentation and sprawling narrative combine to present the game as an extended vision of an anime epic – equal parts The Legend of the Dog Warriors: The Hakkenden and Princess Mononoke, with a dash of Ranma ½ for kicks.

Something of a more slow-paced, strategic spin on the open world genre. It still delivers on intensity during action sequences, but it's a game that rewards advance planning and meticulous tactics to a greater degree than an instant-gratification game like "Saints Row" doesn't.

An extremely enjoyable, funny, and lengthy outing that is suitable for everyone. It might be a bit easy for seasoned gamers, but if you're a fan of fun, you shouldn't pass this one up.

Despite the mind-numbingly simple gameplay and non-existent difficulty, fans of the show will enjoy blasting ghosts and specters for the three to five hours it takes to complete the title.

With each installment, Koei and Omega Force are not reinventing the wheel; it's there, and it rolls just fine. They're smoothing it out, steadily working out the bumps and making the whole thing roll much more smoothly.

No matter how exciting the ghostly adventures of Danny and his friends are, they can't justify a game this short and repetitive.

Company of Heroes is without doubt a fun and addictive game. In many ways, it has done for real-time strategy what the "Battlefield" franchise did for first-person shooters.

Not a single enemy proved to be a real challenge after a few seconds of observation. The boss fights are long, but with half a brain, most gamers could complete them with ease. As for the intuitive controls, these are counter-balanced by the ambiguous character development and equipment systems.

I thought the ideas and potential were great, but the execution was severely lacking. FoW will lure unsuspecting buyers with its attractive appearance, but it has little else to offer.

Joint Task Force isn't as bad as "Faces of War," but it's nowhere near the quality of "Company of Heroes."

A surprisingly challenging experience.

If you don't have a DS and you have at least two friends with a PSP, get this game when the price inevitably drops like a stone, as Bomberman titles are prone to do. Otherwise, wait for the DS sequel, complete with online support, and leave this one for your friends looking to justify their PSP purchases.

There just isn't a reason for Rengoku II: Stairway to Heaven to exist besides duping buyers into picking up a throwaway title, or, the most likely case, to get PS3 owners who've never played the PSP versions to pick up that game just because the franchise seems familiar somehow.

Mega Man ZX is a bit of a misstep for the venerable franchise. While much of the gameplay is similar to what you've seen before, the wretched map system makes Mega Man ZX merely tolerable, rather than enjoyable.

It's at that point in Rule of Rose, when combat becomes a dominant factor but the provided elements simply don't hold up, that frustration sets in.

With more polish and a wider variety of mini-games, One Piece would make an excellent addition to any party. Unfortunately, it falls just too short of its mark to appeal to any but the most die-hard of One Piece fans.

Those who have never laced up and assisted on a one-timer in real life might be able to look past all the faults of NHL 07, but you'd have to be blind to ignore them all. With any luck, this franchise will move on to the PS3 and improve, and never look back.

The new fighting system makes you more excited than anything currently going on in the actual NHL.

It’s a fantastic appetizer or after-dinner mint, however - if you need a game for those five-minute playing sessions in the bathroom or if you’re looking to get a gift for someone who has less time in their life to play, Cooking Mama could just be the Chef’s Special.

Where Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales falls down is in providing and engaging storyline to back up the strong gameplay.

All in all, as a single-player experience, Phantom War is short, fairly sweet, and utterly unremarkable. The saving grace and the final nail in its coffin come from a single point: the multiplayer mode.

For all its initial promise, Bad Day L.A. just isn't much fun in the final analysis. The humor is lowbrow and, at times, downright mean-spirited.

A rehashed, lackluster game hidden behind the high-energy, let's-kick-some-butt-and-chug-some-beer rock music blaring at you from the title screen.

I am genuinely impressed by the excellence and speed of the races, and my only complaints are with the often-annoying agent in the "Fight to the Top" mode and the poor sound effects during the races.

With more time and polish, Nowhere to Run could have shown that Spy Hunter can move beyond the car, but for now, The Interceptor is still the more interesting main character.

With so many challenges to complete in single-player mode, vehicles to purchase (with motorcycles rounding out a solid selection) and the inclusion of one of the best multiplayer modes anywhere inside or out of the racing genre, Unlimited is a fun title.

If you're an arcade stick purist, or even if you are a high-level player who uses a standard controller, the PSP hardware is far too flawed to allow for perfect gameplay. See this as a portable training ground for the home or arcade versions.

This game is what the phrase "close, but no cigar" was made for.

A stunning achievement in modern gaming. It is entirely in 2D and uses only three buttons, but it is one of the best games available on the PSP.

With more time and polish, Nowhere to Run could have shown that Spy Hunter can move beyond the car, but for now, The Interceptor is still the more interesting main character.

An excellent first foray into the next generation of RPGs for Microsoft. It's both beautiful to see and a lot of fun to play.

They fixed what was broken, and that should be enough.

I didn't necessarily expect it to make me a better poker player, but I did at least expect it not make the experience of playing actually more tedious, uninspiring, and unattractive.

It trades off tried-and-true design decisions for things that would have made great bonuses in a better-made title.

It includes an incredible amount of fighters from the series, and with all of the unlockables and story modes to complete, the replay value simply shoots through the roof.

It is proven that if you give Disgaea 2 a bit of your time, it can swallow your life. Submit to its will.

The swing system is just about as complex and variable as possible, without becoming overwhelming or cumbersome to use.

At the very least, it's the best-looking and -playing open-world game this side of "Oblivion" on the X360 right now.

It includes an incredible amount of fighters from the series, and with all of the unlockables and story modes to complete, the replay value simply shoots through the roof.

Absolutely "worth playing." Pick up a copy, turn out the lights, and get yourself some quality heeby-jeeby time.

Madden has been wasting away on the current hardware for a while now, and while it is still a good football game and has a lot to offer, it doesn't rise above and really blow away the previous version.

Pac-Man World Rally looks and sounds the part, with strong, though simple, visuals and a score created in part by Dweezil Zappa and Tommy Tallarico. Yet these are the only areas of the game that feel fully developed.

A few more additions would have made this a spectacular title, but as it stands, Madden 07 is still a great game.

The graphics are visually pleasing, and the gameplay is varied enough to keep you coming back for more.

Neither fantastic nor terrible, instead landing somewhere in between. Final Fantasy fans might find the addition of an action game to their favorite series to be odd, while shooter aficionados will wonder why it's so easy.

Do you like simple gameplay? If the answer is yes, then you will enjoy N3 and consider your time and money well spent. If the answer is no, then it can end up being an exercise in frustration and boredom.

In Grand Prix, the wild-card of bad design proves too difficult to surmount. That lack of consistency, coupled with grading criteria set in the real-world instead of the game's flawed reality, leaves me with no choice but to deem this game unworthy.

However, while the game has lots of graphical polish, it can be highly lacking in a many gameplay areas, which limit it to being average in the overall scheme of things. It caters to fans of realistic European racing, but its appeal to everyone else will be highly limited at best.

While it does have some minor deficiencies that affect its replay value, it should satisfy any cravings you have for blowing away intergalactic pirate scum. The story is engaging, and despite the bad voice-acting, the game kept me coming back to see what happens next.

Dead Rising is one of those games where the amount of enjoyment you will glean out of it is directly proportional to your patience.

As a stand alone release Broken World doesn’t merit anything more than a bargain-bin purchase.

Safecracker fills the role it's designed for like a key fits its keyhole.

It's somewhat juvenile, but that's a pretty big part of its drawing power. It's a digital portrayal of the ugly side to motorized vehicular sports: metallic, mechanized destruction and speed.

While Barnyard has a few shining points such as the bike and Sharp Squirter, it just isn't entertaining enough to account for a purchase, unless you have children who are really, really into the movie.

The true Achilles heel of the game, however, is its playtime. Like many movie-licensed games for portable systems, Barnyard is done in three hours, tops.

Barnyard marks one of those rare occasions where the game totally outclasses the film upon which it is based. Despite heavy repetition, you have to believe that children are going to get a kick out of the game.

Dark Resurrection is simply is the best portable fighting game ever made, hands down.

If you already have Civilization IV and have played it to no end, you're probably interested in one question: Are the upgrades worth it? My response: The scenarios are what makes this worth it.

Roughly equal parts frustration and stupidly compelling gameplay.

This is simply "Serious Sam" with a few undead Nazis thrown in. Have at.

There were some obvious attempts to bring the game beyond the usual mediocre fare provided by film-to-game adaptations, but the few bright parts are eclipsed by the repetitive gameplay, lackluster graphics and atrocious controls. More frustrating than fun.

Miami Vice has drugs, violence, hacking, and cussing, but in the end, it feels like the game is trying to hard to be, well, hard. It is not particularly bad, though definitely not very good.

Was it everything I'd hoped it would be? Nope. Was it everything I know it can be? Nope. Have I been able to put it down since I got it? Not a chance.

What I really enjoyed was the crafting system because we could craft the item whenever we wanted, even on the world map, thus reducing the need of going back to town to buy healing items or new equipment.

It's not the perfect game and will probably lead some kids into early carpal tunnel syndrome and hand cramping, but for the five hours it takes to complete, Monster House is a blast to play.

The controls are just too shoddy, the graphics and sound don't make up for it, and the basic concept has been explored all too many times as it is shown here, with no real evolution presented.

What makes NCAA Football 07 so incredible is a single world: immersion. From the in game cheering to your campus legend's dorm room, you will be drawn into an atmosphere that's been missing from previous years' NCAAs or any other game of this variety.

Monster House could just as easily have been called My First Resident Evil. While less violent and more family-friendly, many of the same aspects are there and will make Monster House feel strangely familiar, from battling monsters to solving illogical puzzles. Sadly, the low difficulty level and cartoony feel make this title a poor purchase for any but the youngest of fans.

Behind Wildlife Park 2's somewhat childish demeanor is a strong tycoon management sim which tasks you with making all the people happy all of the time.

It’s a tiny little blast of fun that sets out to do nothing more than entertain for awhile and it succeeds.

It's a wonderful single-player game, full of fascinating Cherokee flavor, well-made sci-fi trimmings and a suitably cheesy plot.

It's as if the game designers are saying, "Well, just imagine that you are fighting in a huge war." With that kind of attitude, I hope that they are able to imagine me still playing this in a month – because I certainly won't be.

Definitely one of the X360's most visually impressive titles.

If you find a game and are careful to avoid getting caught, you will likely enjoy many priceless moments like setting your quarry on fire by shooting him with a flare gun, only to watch yourself get pushed overboard by your hunter seconds later.

One of those rare licensed games that actually transcends its license to provide a great gaming experience for anyone willing to give it a shot.

Pretty darn easy to get into, but it doesn't have a ton of depth or historical significance beyond that.

The generic tracks and emphasis on controlled racing really drains the excitement out of the title, making it a hard sell to any but the most hardcore of tuner fans.

It’s infected with ‘consolitis’, it carries the malignancy that is the Starforce copy-restriction system, the code is unstable and slaps Windows with an illegal operation every time you exit the program, and has even gone so far as to render my system incapable of a standard shut down/restart.

Don't come into Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Genie and the Amp expecting too much, and you'll be satisfied with what you get – a fun, short brawling romp that is reasonably well-suited to portable play.

The challenges may seem a little silly, especially when the game performs rather realistically, but they add depth and nuance to the gameplay, which is already pretty refined.