The single-player Conquest mode and robust multiplayer capabilities do help to redeem this title and are certainly worth a look, but if you already own NBA 07, you should carefully consider if NBA 08 offers enough improvements and new features to justify a purchase.

Each component of the package has moderate to minor flaws, but as a whole of historical significance and truly unique, entirely innovative contemporary game design, The Orange Box is pretty damn close to perfect, barring the rare, almost accidental miracle title.

The once-great are still very good, and the newer titles continue pushing the envelope in terms of quality, narrative and how much you can do within a given genre.

If you played racing games in the arcade during the early to mid '90s, chances are that you've played Sega Rally Revo. Sure, the package is prettier now, and Sega has tried to update the franchise with the addition of deformable terrain, but compared to some of the newer racing titles available, everything else just feels like old hat.

It's got a good learning curve, a wide range of characters, proper story modes, audio seemingly pulled direct from the series, beautifully animated graphics and it mixes up battles in a few surprising new ways.

Overall, I was solidly entertained by Bleach: Shattered Blade. Even though I had to look up some stuff to get a general idea of who everyone was, I found myself sucked into some of the cool combat features, such as the "clash" mini-game.

A strong RPG and something any D&D fan should check out.

All things considered, Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck is a solid title that has quite a bit to see.

Folklore, presenting a tale of legends, aspires itself to the status of a legendary game. Alas, the title is flawed by various shortcomings and poor design decisions, placing such grandeur beyond its grasp. But, however lofty its unfulfilled ambitions, Folklore is certainly not a bad game; indeed, it's a reasonably good game.

Minus its hiccups in gameplay and difficulty, FIFA 08 is a good game. It's just not a great game when compared to the reigning king of soccer games, Winning Eleven (Pro Evolution Soccer in Europe).

If it had something, anything new I feel like I could recommend, I'd fully endorse it, but I can't do that here.

A solid game, allowing for wildly varying tactics.

Hot Pixel has an excellent reward system with plenty of unlocks to keep things interesting. If you're a fan of the old 8-bit arcade gameplay or enjoy a faster-paced game, you might want to give Hot Pixel a try.

As it stands, I think that judicious use of patches can iron out many of the issues with Loki. Until then, I'd still recommend it, but see if you can find it for a good budget price.

I still enjoyed Race Driver: Create and Race, and as far as racers go on the DS, it's definitely one of the better ones I've played.

Without a doubt, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is one of PSP's top titles this year. It's beautiful, action-packed and, most importantly, fun. It's far from perfect — controls being the most troublesome issue — but its flaws hardly ruin what is, on the whole, a very good game.

The selection of cars and motorcycles is incredibly fun, the graphics are self-evidently gorgeous and the array of gameplay options are both staggering and compelling. It is very rare that a game this polished and well-designed is made in any genre, and Project Gotham Racing 4 demands your attention regardless of your skill level or taste in gaming. There is literally something in this game for everyone.

An incredibly well-made game that is a lot of fun, although it's a bit on the easy side.

Activision's chance to capitalize on the Spider-Man license should not fall on deaf ears, though, because the simple mechanics and easy gameplay in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe are the perfect fit for any young Spider-Man fan or casual gamer looking for an action title for the Wii.

All told, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is an abomination, an abysmal excuse for a game. Virtually every aspect of this blatant grab for cash is flawed in some significant way, and the makers of this game clearly churned out a severely sub-par product in an attempt to milk the franchise name in the most reprehensible of ways.

It's as good as everyone expects it to be, but that's also the problem; the game is great, but it plays it too safe.

It's not just the best DS game I've ever played, but it's also one of the best games I've ever played, period.

The Chosen: Well of Souls has simply been done better many times before.

EA games never fail to impress with the overall presentation on any of their sports titles, but sometimes it seems like that's all they were focused on when developing the game. Sadly, NBA Live 08 falls into this trap.

This is a video game that tries — and admirably succeeds — at being, well, "Jackass," low entertainment at its lowest.

If you're just a casual poker fan or are looking for a way to brush up on your skills for friendly games, you'd probably be better off just playing online for free. WSoP '08 tries to go all in and steal the pot, but I'm here to call its bluff.

Between the ability to come up with your own bizarre custom modes and the theater mode, which records damn near everything you do with crystal clarity and allows you to play it back from multiple points of view, the worst thing you can say about Halo 3 multiplayer is that it's going to force you to buy an Elite 360 just for the sake of having more hard drive space.

Ultimately, Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party for the Wii has ended up erasing about four years of progress within the genre. The improvements have been replaced with unnecessary and annoying gimmicks galore, which only make it look that much worse when compared to the latest rhythm offerings, Guitar Hero III and Rock Band.