X-Men: Destiny feels like a demo for a bigger game that never was. Little of the excitement that could have followed in the booted footsteps of X-Men Legends or Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is buried within its too-short campaign and thin smattering of gameplay. It's Dynasty Warriors for mutants; it can be fun at the outset, even with all the button-mashing, but the boxed-in world is not enough to distract from the hollow feeling of this particular destiny.

Sonic Adventure is still a loved title among some hardcore Dreamcast enthusiasts, but those may be the only people who need to pick up this title without any reservations.

If you're new to the series, then it's at least worth a rental, but there's no way I'd suggest picking up this one at full price. Wait for the inevitable price drop because there's not enough content here to be worth the current asking price. Also, if you're dying to find out how the Balance Board mechanic works, keep in mind that it's going to be more frustrating than fun.

X-Men: Destiny feels like a demo for a bigger game that never was. Little of the excitement that could have followed in the booted footsteps of X-Men Legends or Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is buried within its too-short campaign and thin smattering of gameplay. It's Dynasty Warriors for mutants; it can be fun at the outset, even with all the button-mashing, but the boxed-in world is not enough to distract from the hollow feeling of this particular destiny.

Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires breaks Omega Force's streak in releasing games that can change the minds of series critics. By reverting back to basics with so few modes, the title returns to something of a monotonous grind if you aren't playing as the kingdom leader.

Ultimately, buying or passing on The Lost Hobo King comes down to a simple value proposition. At 400 MSP ($5) on Xbox Live and PSN, it's not terribly expensive and does deliver more of the adorable Stacking gameplay that defined the original game. However, with such a short play time, it feels more like a well-polished demo level than a fully developed DLC addition.

Ultimately, buying or passing on The Lost Hobo King comes down to a simple value proposition. At 400 MSP ($5) on Xbox Live and PSN, it's not terribly expensive and does deliver more of the adorable Stacking gameplay that defined the original game. However, with such a short play time, it feels more like a well-polished demo level than a fully developed DLC addition.

It's a very specific genre game, but for those into the genre, Gin Rummy is a great title.

Falls short in gameplay fundamentals. If Electronic Arts would just step back the next time around and retool the basics of their level design, and enemy and allied AI, they may have a real winner on their hands. As is, though, the game is merely another "me, too" WWII shooter.

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.

While it is honorable that it at least attempts to make an interesting piece of a game, with platforming and racing mixed together and a nifty clashing element thrown in, the core gameplay just isn't strong enough to really make this terribly memorable.

Pac is mostly good, though a few oddities hold him back from being a fully plausible platforming hero, especially since those same issues aren't present in the home console version. The level design isn't anything special, and the repetition of bosses is disappointing.

Major Minor's Majestic March sounded like a great game on paper. The graphical style from the past still looks good despite the transition to 3-D and the sound works. However, the finicky controls and shallow difficulty levels don't give this game much replayability at all. Despite the pedigree behind the game, rhythm game fans will be disappointed in this one.

Your enjoyment of Survival Kids is going to be heavily dependent on your appreciation of difficulty in games. If you want something breezy or you're playing alongside someone who lacks the patience for a typical survival game, then what you'll find is fine for those wanting to get some satisfaction without putting in a ton of effort. However, if you're expecting a game that builds upon the lineage of the series, prepare to be disappointed because those elements have been drastically toned down, leaving you with a very casual experience that lacks any challenge. Unless you've got young kids playing alongside you, this is a title you may want to pass on unless it is marked down.

It has everything that should make it a quality game and a good seller, then drops all the marbles by failing to put in enough game to hold up the bargain.

This game is the absolute antithesis of what you should get to show off the power or the playability of the Wii.

Broken down to choosing an RPG for PSP, Astonishia Story is the best available next to the import-only "Tales of Eternia," which you should get instead if you have access to it.

Altogether, Astro Boy: The Video Game is a pretty disappointing tie-in for the film, and it certainly doesn't hold a candle to the GBA Omega Factor title.

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.

Like many yearly sports games, WWE 2K26 works best if you haven't played the previous title. If you skipped a year or two and decided to return, you'll find the new modes, big roster update, and further solidification of the gameplay mechanics to be big improvements over what was available before. For everyone else, the slight improvements to existing modes are far outweighed by the increase of nickel-and-diming players who've already paid money for the game. The changes to the Season Pass system make the game too grindy for anyone who won't dedicate all of their free time to this title. This isn't bad, but only die-hard fans will get excited over WWE 2K26.

A very hastily put together offering with gameplay that falls far behind what other titles have been doing on current systems for years.

With gameplay stuck in a mid-90's fad that was in itself considered arcane by any gamer's standards at the height of its popularity, Legacy of the Spirits troubles me with its thrown-together, "let's take advantage of a passing craze before it completely dies" feel.

In the end, Kidz Bop Dance Party is a respectable title. Unlike the more popular dancing titles on the system, it feels like your controls count for something, and the overall dancing mechanic is much easier to understand.

Graphics and sound for the game are merely competent; not too bad, not too great. The combat sequences have an extremely blurry, pixilated look to them, owing to the pseudo-3D used to move the camera around.

Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers is something that should've been a no-brainer. Sadly, with the addition of party elements and lack of unlockables, the game just doesn't live up to its predecessors.

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

It's difficult to be positive about Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission because you have to give it the benefit of the doubt and be a big Dragon Ball fan to enjoy it. The core game is pretty fun in a simple time-wasting way, and the "What If?" scenarios are significantly more engaging than the ones in Xenoverse. Unfortunately, to reach all of that, you have to deal with awkward UI, convoluted explanations, and just about the worst graphics you'll see in a $60 game. Fans who have the patience to deal with a lot of caveats can enjoy World Mission. Casual Dragon Ball players will want to go for the Xenoverse games for an overall higher-quality experience.

Matchpoint: Tennis Championships manages to release a game that presents an easy yet technical approach to the sport. It results in a game where you can make more mistakes than the more arcade-like approach of some older, well regarded tennis titles, but it results in a game that feels more responsive compared to most of its contemporaries. Yet it doesn't manage to do anything beyond that due to a lack of players and modes, so cross-play only benefits those who want a no-frills 1v1 experience. It's fine overall, but no one would blame you if you skipped this one in the hopes that someone can transplant the gameplay into a title with more to do.