It is down to the bare bones of the series, leaving you feeling like you're playing the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater again.

Tony Hawk's Project 8 marks the best entry in the series in five years, when "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3" found the creative and cultural balance that made it the high point for the entire series.

For those seeking good online play on the PlayStation 2, Combined Assault is the best there is, for better or worse. Anyone seeking a strong single-player game is strongly advised to look elsewhere.

Plays like the developers took all of the worst points of Grand Theft Auto - the frustrating, often counter-intuitive combat, the tricky camera, the ugly indoors settings – and made it into a game without including anything that made Grand Theft Auto a hit.

Though there are a few classics missing from the group, the compilation is a nice mini-encyclopedia of games that still carry appeal more than a decade later, and is a good deal at $20 for Sega fans and old school gamers alike, with a few added unlockables granting it a bit more value.

It creates a new sense of fun that allows non-gamers and gamers alike to come together in harmony and rock delight.

It, in fact, accomplishes roughly 95% of what it set out to do, and with style besides. If you've ever liked Dragon Ball Z, even just as a kid growing up, then this game should automatically be added to your collection.

Avoid this title like the plague. Not only are you sparing yourself the discomfort of ham-fisted preaching and shoddy game mechanics, you’ll also be doing your part to ensure that this obscene mess of eschatological flotsam and apocryphal jetsam never sees a sequel.

Battlezone treads a well-worn path in almost every respect of gameplay but still offers hours of enjoyment to any gamer, from the hardcore, who want to master their friends, to the casual, who can easily dip in and out of the pick-up-and-play control system.

Lumines II may not reinvent the wheel, but it takes that vaguely attractive wheel, gives it a facelift, and turns it into a beauty queen. The new visual style and the addition of streaming video make Lumines II an even more immersive game than its predecessor.

The graphics are amazing and definitely deserve special recognition, as does the sound. The multiplayer seems a bit slow at times, but taken with the pros and cons, the pros definitely win out in this game.

With a robust and varied Job system that adds countless customization options, new dungeons and Jobs, and the portability of a handheld, Final Fantasy V is sure to keep even series veterans busy.

Yet another cutesy game that is veiling the usual raison d'etre of video games — killing — and isn't anything new. Peanuts characters should soften the blow of the dropping biplanes, but really, maybe you should pick up a later volume of those complete Peanuts collections, and show your children a true work of art.

BMX Challenge is not interested in style, quality, or progress. It feels like a lost project from the "me too" era of five years ago, when every other company was looking to break into the genre.

If you can get past the tedious first stages, the game really begins to pick up although the infection meter limits exploration a bit too much for Scurge to recapture that special magic, but for those holding out for a classic Metroid game on the DS, Scurge may be exactly what you need.

FFXII has my vote for Game of the Year for 2006, and I'd even go as far as to call it my personal Game of the Generation.

Based simply on the pack-in module, I can't recommend Neverwinter Nights 2 enough to RPG fans and those who follow the table-top gaming systems.

A must-own title that is definitely worth playing. Everything is great, and I really cannot think of anything I would change about what could be this year's greatest hand-held game.

Yet another capable classics contraption, but it falls just short of being a must-own for the average gamer.

Fans of realism in the sport may enjoy it, but even for them, it's basically a retread.

At the end of the day, though, the collision detection is enough of a problem to dock it a few points.

In parallel with a near-perfect shooter experience, F.E.A.R. develops a hue of eeriness through subtle storytelling and powerful emotional immersion within its environments.

In the end, Konductra just isn't worth the time. With lackluster gameplay and difficult controls, it's not fun for hardcore gamers or those looking for a quick way to waste time, especially at the far-from-bargain price of $30.

Ultimately, despite the new setting, storyline, and structure, Carbon does not represent a major departure from its predecessor. Sadly, the few major gameplay additions hurt the core experience, especially the poorly executed crew system.

It’s hard to rate this game, as it is meaty, contains a gameplay formula that people are used to (despite its lumps), and contains just enough good to counter the bad.

Every aspect that "works" has a few that just don't, to the game's overall detriment.

A decent dungeon crawler. If you’re a fan of these kinds of games, this is a good one, and if you’re not, this will not be the one that changes your mind. It’s a well-done take on a relatively standard formula.

It's slow-paced, repetitive and a bit unbalanced, the lack of variety in combat really hurts the game, and the lackluster graphics really can grow frustrating at times. The two campaigns are fun, but they're a bit too easy to give the title any replay value.