Daemonica does just enough right that I would very much like to see it blossom into a franchise, with each subsequent release improving on the gameplay elements that need polish while retaining the excellent writing and mood.

The spotty player movement, slightly difficult-to-control shots and almost too highly skilled A.I. take what could have been a classic and make it into just a great game.

Kingdom Hearts II isn't necessarily the kind of game you replay obsessively, or even take an instant liking to, but once you sink into the fantastic world it presents, it's hard not to get addicted to its immense variety and kinetic pace.

FSW: Ten Hammers is not a sequel for people who didn't enjoy the slow action of the original. The pace is exactly the same here, with slightly more player control and all of the same general ugliness you remember.

It is far less physically exerting than DDR, In The Groove! or Taiko Drum Master, allowing an audience who can't necessarily get up and flail wildly about to get their groove on.

Trying to straddle the line between simulation wrestling game and fetish video, Rumble Roses XX invariably fails. Like most beautiful people, RRXX has a great package on the outside and glaring faults within.

If you haven't played DW before, or if you're a fan but you've found it overwhelming, this is the sweet spot. There is no better time to get involved with this interesting – if over-exposed – series than right now.

No matter how you cut it, DW5E is an experiment that has gone wrong, and this is coming from someone who unabashedly loves this franchise.

Get this if you're one of the elite who already love the franchise. New to RTS? Start with "Starcraft" or "Dawn of War," then move on to this.

Despite its vast and seemingly bottomless variety, it feels like many mini-games of varying quality threaded together loosely around a hollow core. It aims high, but falls short and doesn't really excel in any of its many genres.

I recommend this game only with the caveat that you find it available at a budgeted price point.

If you have several friends with DSes, you should add at least [10 points] to its score, since you won't be spending much time in its single-player mode, except perhaps to practice. It's an excellent party game.

I have a hard time finding justification for the reduction in weapons and the tragic loss of the true campaign mode. While it is still a fun game to play with some friends, it had the potential to be more so, and it also had the potential to be vastly more entertaining for a single player.

This is one of the best uses of a film license I've seen in recent years. Controls can be a bit wonky, especially melee, but the gun battles are satisfying and reassuringly violent for you bloodthirsty wannabe mobsters out there.

Crime Stories suffers from some poor design decisions as well as a downright annoying presentation.

If you can handle slight annoyances every now and then and can stomach a prologue sequence that makes the beginning of "Kingdom Hearts 2" seem brisk and concise, Suikoden V is most certainly one of the best RPGs on the PlayStation 2, bar none.

It's almost impossible to play Me & My Katamari without the Prince developing a bizarre drunken stagger, veering constantly to the right or left as you play. As Me & My Katamari retains the occasionally-unforgiving time limits of the original game, this can lead to a lot of frustrating retries.

This game should have been as good and as much of a departure as the upcoming Splinter Cell is; instead, its gameplay piddles around with everything the series has already established.

The only real benefit I could find for buying a Sudoku game on the PSP is the ability to wirelessly download additional puzzles, free of charge.

Even as a party game, KR Country doesn't have the staying power of Party, the single genre restriction being more suffocating than it would appear to be at first.

A great strategy game, and its gameplay keeps the Metal Gear spirit close to heart, despite radical differences. MGS fan or not, this is much better than the first, and it will probably be the last.

A playable, if uninspired game, and one that you should definitely pick up if you're in desperate need of a decent RPG for your DS.

A game in the purest sense, even if there aren't any bosses to defeat or coins to collect. You could have been playing this game for 10 years (and, as the dated midi rumblings prove, this game shows its age), and if you haven't yet, I've got to maintain that your GBA is the best way to experience it.

The fact of the matter is that Godfather is a good game, but only if you can keep in mind that it's really a game, instead of a well-adapted license. Instead of expecting to play the movie, instead, simply take this as your chance to cause mayhem in the city that the film presents, and let loose your inhibitions.

One of the best packages of the past several years, with no element even average; everything is as close to perfect as can be expected.

Oblivion not only raises the bar in the visual and audio modules but also in the gameplay and presentation department, making it easily one of the most recommendable titles to anyone who has ever enjoyed the thought of truly doing whatever they want in a video game, in a world where actions actually mean something.

The single-player mode is compelling and fun, the graphics are above par, controls are super-precise, the sounds are perfect, and multiplayer makes owning a DS worth every penny.

It's nice to see that this level of complexity is seeping downward through the genres and markets because it only means that games will be that much deeper and complex as these savvy generations grow older and demand more from their games.