There's very little overall polish to the title, and there's nothing particularly inspired or compelling about it, either.

With so many other twin-stick shooters available on Xbox Live, there is little reason for anyone except hardcore fans of the show to bother with Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon. Yes, it is technically sound, but the gameplay is bland, the humor barely rates as juvenile and the video unlocks are slow to open up. Unless you need something to put you to sleep, spend your 800 Microsoft points ($10 USD) elsewhere.

In the end, referring to Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime by its abbreviated name, Ghostbusters: S.O.S., is probably the most appropriate thing to do. Even without the license, this is a game that's on life support. Coming in at 800 MSP ($10), it may seem like a fun impulse purchase, but your money is better spent by tracking down a used copy of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Even for the hardcore fans, there really isn't much to see here.

While the sound and controls are fine, the somewhat-finicky detection system for clues doesn't help make things easy for beginners. The game length is also very short, and you have very little incentive to keep playing once the main story line is finished. The biggest offender, though, is the graphics; blurry pictures and a small playing area don't make this a very desirable title, especially for the $10 (800 MS points) asking price.

L.A. Cops is a sloppy game. The controls lack finesse in almost all areas, and the shooting is randomized enough to feel unsatisfying.

"Lazy" is also how I'd sum up my feelings toward Ben 10: Alien Force for the Wii. Sure, it's a kid's licensed game, and I think at this point that most of us know not to expect a whole lot out of it. However, that's still a pretty lame excuse for not trying to do something with the given license.

At best, The Cursed Crusade is mediocre. The plot is bland, but the cut scenes try to shove the story down your throat at every opportunity, causing an adverse reaction

I don't believe that there's anything inherently wrong with Sega trying to do something different with the series, but by taking away a feature that many fans wanted and offering nothing compelling in exchange, Beast Rider will have a hard time appealing to both series fans and those who are just looking for a decent action game.

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.

Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days is a confused game. The license seems wasted, since the game fails to use its source material in a meaningful way. Ignore the license, and what you get is a top-down shooter that favors precision over bullet spray but adds a badly implemented time-rewind mechanic that squanders any potential it may have had. A few people can get some enjoyment out Bloody Days, but many will only need a quick glance to realize that this just isn't going to work out.

I was able to play this game for hours straight without realizing it while having the advantage of being able to get up and walk away at literally any moment without it negatively impacting things.

On one hand, the core game itself is good, and the story presented here is something you don't expect in a game. On the other hand, the technical execution of the title is so poor that one is surprised that it can run at all.

It's not the worst Bond game, and it's not the worst take on the films that I've seen, but while 007 Legends may have some of Bond's best lined up in one place, the empty routine tarnishes this license to kill.

NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 is a bad game overall. AI issues contribute to the problematic gameplay; controls are serviceable, but the graphics and sound fail to inspire.

Unless you know someone who wants to join up to play some online paintball, or if you have a high tolerance for buggy games, you'd probably be better served playing a different title.

Your enjoyment of Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is going to be heavily based on whether you can accept its strategy game conceit. If you're good with the idea of only being able to control one unit at a time per turn, then you might be fine so long as you're also willing to accept the inherent lack of strategy that goes along with the very limited objective set. If you want your strategy games to be a little more traditional, where every unit can do something on a turn, then you'll hate this game to the point that even the counteract mechanic can't make things interesting. In short, Narcos is a hard sell for fans of the series, let alone strategy game fans, unless you can find it for a very deep discount.

I have been advised that Hour of Victory may, in fact, be a worse game than Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, a fact that I sincerely find hard to imagine. Out of fear for my life, I do not intend to test this theory, nor do I recommend anyone else do so, as certain things just aren't meant to be known by humanity.

Frankly, the amount of failure that Aliens: Colonial Marines achieves in nearly every category is staggering. If you are an "Aliens" fan, the game's handling of the canon may send you into a rage. If you are just looking for a shooter, you'll find an uninspired mess that is mechanically beaten by games 10 years older. The game has no redeeming qualities, as it is a broken mess that must be the lowest possible point of the franchise.

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.

Truly, this game is a disappointment on nearly every level.

Ultimately, Dead Horde is in an unfortunate position. It is a technically well-executed game, and its flaws are easily overlooked when you consider its budget pricing. However, the game doesn't really try anything different, and many other games have done it better in the past. The heavy reuse of assets makes it a chore to get through levels after you've done a couple of them, and the gameplay boils down to little more than using jump as often as possible and shooting your assault rifle, regardless of what you're facing or where you are. The title isn't particularly bad, nor is it particularly good; it finds itself in an uncomfortable middle, where it lacks glaring flaws as well as any memorable qualities.

Hyperdimension Neptunia could have been great, but even die-hard RPG fans would find little to like here.

The game exists as a way to take a bunch of little games which could have easily been momentary distractions at work or the like (think Flash game level of complexity, only not nearly good as some of the better Flash games you've played), tied together by a lame premise and sold as a retail package.

An exercise in utterly wasted potential. The designers seemed to forget that what made Prince of Persia and games like it so special was that the engine worked with you, not against you, to make progression possible. Here, it's you versus the game every step of the way ... ball dropped.

The new ideas they've had work surprisingly well - sure, the hero has a gun, but it's a gun that works fluidly and effectively. The only problem is that the rest of the game has been dressed up in an attitude that really doesn't fit the franchise in the least, and then further marred by graphical inadequacy and unpleasant sound.

The concept behind Darkest of Days is a pretty original one, and the companies involved should be commended for trying something different with the crowded first-person shooter genre. Unfortunately, good concepts alone don't make for good games, and this is an example of what happens when you ignore every other aspect of the title.

There is some redeeming value and fun to be found in this cartridge, but it could've been so much better had they really taken the time to get the interface right and improve the graphics a whole lot. As it stands now it's a slightly below average PC strategy game that's been hacked up and stuck on the Nintendo DS.

The gameplay mechanics are solid enough that some people could get over the game's graphics. Rent the title, but you should consider a purchase only if you're sick of the bowling in Kinect Sports and want more bowling action.