Its mix of arcade and realism — combined with almost no challenge from the AI, unimpressive graphics, mediocre audio, and dated controls — drag down the title.

Locks' Quest is the sort of game for which the DS was made. It's quick and easy to pick up and play, makes great use of the touch-screen, and is just an overall delightful game.

Groovin' Blocks is a fun puzzle game that feels both familiar and fresh, thanks to the one gimmick it sports.

Spore is not the gaming paradigm shift it might have been touted as, and it is quite possibly overrated. However, that's not to say you should dismiss it outright, since it's a highly impressive and ambitious undertaking unlike any other before, ultimately hitting more of its lofty targets than it misses.

The clever audio commentary and the decent character creator are the only positive things about a game that tries way too hard to be hip, edgy and cool — but just ends up disgracing boxing games, fighting games, and EA Sports in general.

The bad camera angles, unnecessary fatigue system and limited environments really hurt the title.

The visuals are nice, but the environment can be hard to discern. The story is fairly interesting, but it's told in a completely non-engaging way. The combat is fun, but it's also highly repetitive, and the same strategies work on almost all enemy types without fail.

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

Basically, I went from looking forward to checking out Commando: Steel Disaster based on the screenshots I had seen, to wishing I hadn't wasted the hours on it.

Even if Warhammer: Battle March had a good control scheme, it would still be a boring strategy game at best.

Not to sound like a petulant child, but Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Battle March is underwhelming and not fun. The gameplay is inconsistent because the title is constantly fighting with itself about being an RTS or RPG.

Outside of its polished action formula, sharpened AI, and crafting system, the only thing that dungeon crawlers might discover is how finite the experience can unexpectedly feel in so many other ways.

If you're looking for a game to play with a less-experienced sibling or spouse, you could do a lot worse than Viva Piñata. It's playful, charming (assuming you ignore the grim potential inherent in the idea of sentient piñatas), easy and simple enough that even young players can pick it up with ease.

A neat idea with some of the worst execution I've seen on the PlayStation 3. The title has an incoherent story, bad graphics, bad voice acting, bad level design, extremely linear gameplay for a stealth title, and a level of difficulty that seems more dumb than difficult.

It's a good game that's prevented from being great by sub-par graphics, a few too many bugs and an overall lack of any serious challenge. If you can look past these shortcomings, however, Mercenaries 2 offers a great deal of high-energy explosive thrills and seriously satisfying action gameplay that is well worth your attention.

Despite a plethora of technical problems that make Mercenaries 2: World in Flames feel like an unfinished title, it remains a lot of to play. You can bring down a city with the press of a button, and the explosions are simply breathtaking. I had a lot of fun while I was playing, but the mediocre length and frequent bugs make the title a little hard to recommend for $60.

If you've never liked side-scrolling brawlers in the vein of Golden Axe and Double Dragon, then feel free to move on because the neat little additions and charming art style of Castle Crashers will do nothing to win you over. If your eyes fill with tears of nostalgia at their very mention, though, then don't be put off by the price of 1,200 MS points because it's worth every penny if you have the friends with whom to enjoy it.

It's miles ahead of games like Enchanted Arms and Operation Darkness, but that is perhaps the most interesting thing one can say about it. The plot is dull and hits every single RPG cliché, the combat system is fun but flawed, and there is really nothing memorable about it.

N+ is exactly the kind of game that's tailor-made for the DS, and I don't mean that it uses the touch-screen. Quick and simple, this is the kind of distraction that can easily be picked up for five minutes and put right back down again, making it ideal for killing those last few minutes of a lunch break.

Despite some of these nitpicks, N+ for the PSP is still as great a game as it ever was on XBLA or the Internet. While the formula is getting a bit passé, the physics and levels are still as sharp and tightly constructed as ever, even if the sound is repetitive and the multiplayer modes are inaccessible to most.

I didn't have a great deal of fun with Digimon World Championship, but in part, I feel that it's because these games just aren't intended for me anymore.

It finally feels that enough improvements have been made in the challenge system, load time and game mechanics that it's more than the usual yearly rebranding.

The dynamic skill system, club tuner, and simultaneous online play are all welcome additions, proving that the folks at Tiburon aren't content to merely sit back and pump out the same game year after year.

Definitely the best version of Tiger Woods you're going to get your hands on this year, and it offers a lot of promise for versions to come, especially with the Motion Plus accessory being available just around the corner.

The grind feels fresh and compelling, even if you know it isn't and really shouldn't. So much of what makes a game fun to play is "feel," and in Disgaea 3, Nippon Ichi has balanced the feel of the game's long and bewilderingly complicated grind into something that always feels satisfying, where you always feel like you're making progress.

Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli is a very tough, rewarding game that caters to a more hardcore audience. Racing simulation addicts and car buffs will love the way the title looks and handles.

Ultimately, Apartment Pets fails at just about everything it tries to do. It's not The Sims, it's not Nintendogs, and it's not fun for anyone.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness has a lot of potential to be good, if you are willing to put in the time to have it pay off.