Midway has actually succeeded in creating an acceptable sequel to The Suffering, one which fans of the original should definitely look into.

Scoring this game is hard, because while the excellent ports are truly excellent, there are also some hideous clunkers in the mix.

The omnipresent difficulty and "nothing new" feel might turn off some gamers, but let it be known that for fans and gamers alike, Ultimate Spider-Man is a treat.

It's too easy, it's too short, and the overall gameplay is repetitive and highly derivative from what had come before.

In short bursts, the micromanagement isn't so bad and watching your park slowly flourish can be rewarding, but over time you may find that the whole thing just feels a little bland.

A quick fix of fun gaming that really doesn't need to be lingered over.

It doesn't try to trump "MechWarrior" as the king of the mecha-piloting genre; it just tries to be fast, furious, and fun while offering the player plenty of customizability in order to fine-tune his mech to perfection and give it that special personal flair. In that, SLAI succeeds with flying colors.

Despite some issues with the A.I. and pathfinding, as well as some balance problems, this is a rather extraordinary expansion pack for an already stellar game.

The game is a powerful and easy-to-use tool, and you'll no doubt use it many more times in the future, although you may not be impressed by the mediocre graphics. As for me, I'll just stick to writing screenplays.

It's only awkward because it's stretching old and tired muscles in new and interesting ways, however, and for the people it resonates with, I predict this game will become quite the cult classic.

In the long run, although you'll find yourself bothered by the control scheme, the just-above-average graphics, and the minor sound quibbles, you'll forget it all as you get sucked in to the story of Indigo Prophecy.

It has everything I look for in an RPG - a quality story, superb visuals, excellent music, a hint of humor that doesn't overstay its welcome, and above all else, a sense of immersion that sweeps me away to another world.

A solid brawler with a nice selection of new and familiar characters. It sports a great deal of interactivity with the environment, and gives a number of fighting styles to work with.

The variety of mission types and the addition of multiplayer co-op mode definitely make this a worthy sequel to the original "Katamari Damacy."

Through its immense playability that never gets too complicated, Genji is just another one of those games for people who play video games. At absolute worst, this is Rental of the Year for 2005.

SCEA's Gretzky team needs to go to skating camp and really work on building a hockey game from the ice up. Until then, they will be left with a lame game, no matter what sort of bells and whistles they tack onto the box.

The super-simplified combat soon trounces those expectations, however, as you realize that many characters' moves are gussied-up versions of web attacks and fireballs.

Not only did Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders come out of nowhere, but Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes also came from the exact same direction and still remains an excellent title to have a great deal of fun with while using one's strategy bone.

The most enjoyable gaming experience I've had this year. The story was one of the best ever, and the acting is top-notch.

Fetch-quests and sometimes tedious level-grinding aside, Raven Software has refined and polished their product to a shiny sheen, and you should reward them for it with your money.

One of the greatest action games in recent memory. Upon further examination, it may be one of the best of all time.

While I wouldn't dare touch the single player mode ever again, I will still enjoy multiplayer sessions with friends, and, no matter how easy the game is, we will still have fun.

In the end, the feeling of playing Myst V, much like the tone of the game itself, is rather bittersweet.

A simple puzzle game. It follows a well-beaten path, and it lacks polish in almost every area one could care to polish, but it's still fairly addictive, simple and long.

The action-packed gameplay is extremely well done, and the overall polish of the whole experience might be found in the console version of the game.

While perhaps too Saturday-morning to capture the imagination of hardcore real-time strategists, Battalion Wars, existing as it does between playful and dramatic, warlike and dopey, feels at home on Nintendo's console.

The combat system is easy to learn but has enough depth that it will take time to master.

The combat system is easy to learn but has enough depth that it will take time to master.

The deep tuning component and the long career mode make the drag racing complex and enjoyable, even for someone like me, who finds drag racing to be a fairly boring sport.

Simply has too few games to offer much replayability, and it tends to become old rather quickly.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could justify purchasing this game unless you have an extremely powerful need to wade through an assault of boring training missions so you can take down your friend in system-link.

Despite its look, Resurrection is so clearly a PSOne game at heart that it is difficult to stomach as a modern release, and despite the extremely slick production values, it is not the sequel fans were hoping for, nor the proper modernization that the series deserves.

A solid expansion, although I really wouldn't call it a must-have because it's a little light on content for its price tag.

The sense of speed is upped a couple notches, the tracks are much more interesting, with alternate routes and lots of ramps, Crashbreaker races are immensely fun, traffic checking adds more wreckage and destruction (which is a good thing), the huge, multi-tiered crash stages are a big step up, and once again, even more speed.

The biggest problem with Evil Dead: Regeneration isn't that it's not simple fun, but that it never rises above that in any way that Evil Dead fans might hope, or that comedy-horror genre fans might expect.

The barely tolerable story mode does little to cover up the fact that Urban Reign is little more than pummeling goons in the face for three hours, and then bam, you're done.

With 175 single player events and ad-hoc multiplayer (support for infrastructure mode would've been great) for up to four players, Burnout Legends will likely stay in your PSP for a good long time.

The sense of speed is upped a couple notches, the tracks are much more interesting, with alternate routes and lots of ramps, Crashbreaker races are immensely fun, traffic checking adds more wreckage and destruction (which is a good thing), the huge, multi-tiered crash stages are a big step up, and once again, even more speed.

The biggest problem with Evil Dead: Regeneration isn't that it's not simple fun, but that it never rises above that in any way that Evil Dead fans might hope, or that comedy-horror genre fans might expect.

The aspect that should pain gamers the most is the unfulfilled potential that the series has had since the first sequel.

It's unfortunate that this promising combination comes mixed with a good amount of frustration.

An uncreative yet valiant attempt at a lighthearted arena battler, if one with a somewhat tiresome presentation.

It has good ideas - all of which have been attempted before - and executes them in a way that leaves the title covered in mediocrity at best.

The presentation, storyline, and gameplay are what make this title one to own for your GBA. If you love turn-based strategy games, or have fond memories of X-Com, you've probably already picked up this title.

Lockdown offers some reasonably fun, familiar action, but in a package that's too friendly and ultimately disappointing as the final Rainbow Six of the current Xbox generation.

A tremendous sports simulation, so if you have any love for hockey, not owning this game is downright inexcusable.

The NHL 2K series which in my opinion had a stranglehold on NHL games for so long seems to have been done in by the loss of ESPN sponsorship as well as a completely inexplicable complacency in the department of upgrading and redesigning the game.

In the end, being "kind of amusing" isn't enough to make a game good.

An evolutionary step. It would be worse to not have a Squad Assault at all, but that being said, Second Wave is still deeply flawed.

I really wish there were a couple of different selectable outfits for some of the characters, like KOF: Maximum Impact. King of Fighters characters have always had this weird trendier-than-thou type of style, and since trendy people tend to buy clothes quite frequently, this feature wouldn't have been incongruous with the series' overall style.

In a day and age where Capcom and Midway (and to a lesser extent, Sega) are putting actual work into their retro game compilations, adding content that is fresh and interesting, and selling it all at an affordable price, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary comes off as nothing more than a cheap (no pun intended) joke. To top it off, half of the games aren’t even playable.

If you want updated Moto GP rosters and tracks, more variety via the new, visually attractive extreme mode, even better Xbox Live play, and the same superb feel of previous editions, then MGP3 is for you.

In addition to solid racing, there's just enough extras in this game from the hilarious agent, to the off-track drama and persona building that make this worth investing some time in.

The arcane unlock requirements will put off people who aren't already sold on the idea of playing dance games, and may even frustrate less die-hard fans. Still, if this sounds like your kind of game, it's worth the money.

All in all, what Day of Reckoning 2 presents to us is a few tweaks to the original Day of Reckoning - some good, most bad.

Being able to control my favorite characters would be fun, but if the gameplay of those made-up games were the same as that of Inuyasha: Feudal Combat, well ... being a fan of a particular anime series only goes so far, you know?

Lacks the muscular gameplay promised by its street-tough premise.

Gameplay-wise, 187 is mediocrity hampered by bad mechanics and ambience. Theme-wise, it is, at best, a parody, and at worst, downright insulting. It is not fun to play, it hurts the ears, the eyes, and the mind. It takes a lot for a game to do that.

If you like driving recklessly and crashing into things, you won't be disappointed. If you're just looking for a chance to actually drive a big rig truck, look towards Sega's Eighteen Wheeler game.

The multiplayer in each title is superb, bringing me back to the fun old days of heated score competitions, and, best of all, this is one of the few PSP releases to support wi-fi download play, so my few friends with PSPs don't have to charge out and spend $40 just to play a few rounds of Dig Dug.

The game's very playable, but it's just not very much fun. More imaginative level concepts and a better implementation of the rolling game mechanic could've resulted in a brilliant title.

As gamers, we have a duty to go out in the world and protect normal people from buying this garbage.

You need to buy The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. It's the closest modern science will let us get to actually being the Hulk, plus without the possible side effects of gamma radiation.

Dual Strike presents a slick invitation to turn-based neophytes without making the party boring for experienced strategists.

If you're reading this review, having never played a Metal Slug game before, then all you need to know is that it's an insanely over-the-top 2D action game in which you play the role of a commando who kills a lot of people.

The game has an absolutely abysmal inventory system, basically a dumping ground for anything that you find throughout your wanderings.

It’s got its share of issues, but they’re something you don’t have much time to think about between waves of hostile undead. I’d recommend it to any console owner who enjoys a good FPS.

Dungeon Siege II will keep you busy for about 30-40 hours. After that, you can unlock two more difficulty levels and take your powered-up characters through the campaign again and again.

Bland, boring, infuriating, and above all, painfully disappointing.

If you want a compelling, complex storyline ripe with betrayal and confusion, go ahead and pick this one up. If you want something to whet your twitch appetite between Nanostray and whatever the next space shooter will be, then pass on this one, or try it before you buy it.

An incredibly good "gateway" game. If you want to take a child away from their Dora the Explorer and Barbie games and guide them into the more difficult, more rewarding games that the older children play, Hello Kitty Roller Rescue is the game to do it with.

The game had the potential to be something great, since it was a unique combination of space combat, first-person shooting, and strategy, but in trying to incorporate all of these components, the quality of each was neglected.

I so want to love Advent Rising, I honestly do. It's good, stable science-fiction with a heavy supernatural sub-plot and enough action to make Han Solo's trigger finger hurt for days. Unfortunately, all of that wonderful stuff is damaged by a hare-brained control scheme that simply doesn't work well enough when it has to.

For the most part, it succeeds, but slippery control, merely average graphics, and short playtime leave this one to be a rental at best.

With changes in button configuration and new features, the learning curve is a bit steeper. There is a way to convert back to the controls for Madden 05 controls, but the new button set can be advantageous, especially the X button for the "new" running ability.

There are some promising features here, but most of them are either implemented poorly or tacked on as an afterthought, and the camera angles and difficult passing game don't help things. Madden NFL 06 is really for fanatics only.

If you've never touched a football game in your life, it might be a little out of reach for you, and if you've played every football game out there, it might seem a bit boring and pointless.

It's instantly reminiscent of Tribes, and in my book, that is a very, very admirable game to be comparable to. It's fast paced, well-balanced, and looks amazing with an impressive array of mech design that manages to not just clone anime cybernetics. Perhaps best of all, Lighthouse has chosen to release this with no CD-in-drive restrictions.

So does Shaman King: Master of Spirits 2 crest the proverbial Mt. Everest into the land of "great game?" No. This was definitely one of the titles that turned around for a hot cup of joe instead of trying the impossible.

For only $29.99, you won't find a better or more complete online experience for Xbox.

A slow starter, especially when enemies run away from your character like there's no tomorrow. Once you acquire charge attacks, the game gets a lot more fun.

The number of flyable aircraft and the attention to detail in modeling them just can't be beat. With the mission editor, and the excellent online component, you'll have plenty to keep you busy.

It simply has no place in the current sea of PlayStation 2 shooters; it is far too flawed, far too easy, and lacks far too much of the intensity that gamers pick up tactical shooters for in the first place.

For the most part, however, Outlaw Tennis manages to pull off something I didn't think it could do: it blends goofball antics and serious tennis kind of nicely.

Makai Kingdom does a great job of catering to the compulsive, play-to-crush RPG power-gamer without becoming as obsessed with micromanagement as "Phantom Brave’s" gameplay inevitably was.

Overall, I kept wanting and trying to really love this game, but time and time again, one of the game's flaws would keep me from reaching that level of gaming bliss.

For the most part, however, Outlaw Tennis manages to pull off something I didn't think it could do: it blends goofball antics and serious tennis kind of nicely.

Another Wonderful Life gets by on a startling amount of charm that makes a return visit at least worth a lengthy rental, even for farming veterans.

The basically unexplored African and Italy campaign serves to add a bit of spice to an otherwise overplayed time period, and the sheer variety of the missions and goals add a lot of replay value to the game.

You can have some fun with this game but only if you're willing to forgive a lot of design flaws and put a lot time into memorizing the labyrinthine control scheme.

If not for issues with the touch screen, and especially the simple yet deep problems set off by Shin'en's camera angle choice, I might have gone as far as to write my letter of recommendation for Nanostray to sit in non-Japanese shmup classic status, along with Amiga greats like Apidya.

Darwinia is, all told, wonderful. It's the kind of game that would show impressionable young kids the breadth and scope of the medium without overwhelming them with mechanics.

Tight car handling, a career mode that's fun without being too technically involved (unlike "Gran Turismo 4" or "SegaGT") and that same sense of speed we've come to love as of late in our racing titles establish Flatout as a worthy companion, if not successor, to "Burnout 3."

If you're a big Full Metal Alchemist fan, or even just enjoy flipping through manga or catching the show on Cartoon Network, then Crimson Elixir is definitely worth a rental.

Addictive, varying gameplay. Whether you choose to be a trader or a flat-out ruthless pirate, you'll find something to enjoy in this open-ended exercise in the pirate lifestyle.

There is an incredible amount of depth, replay value, and fun to be found on this one disc.

A great start for what will hopefully become a style of console gaming that will grow, meet many improvements, and finally show the world that art and videogames can, indeed, be one.

A game with which the player can stay active and engaged, but not one which the player will enjoy with more than the slightest note of glee.