Exit isn't entirely immune to style-over-substance accusations, and while it certainly doesn't suffer any shortage of prettiness, plenty of satisfying puzzle-solving still manages to stand out among all the polished sights and sounds.

Unlike just about every other "street life" game that's come down the pike since GTA: San Andreas, Getting Up shows tremendous potential, contains gameplay that isn't mindless, and overall, doesn't go out of your way insult your intelligence with its premise.

You can easily find a lot to like in The Rub Rabbits!, and the diversity of gameplay keeps you hooked for a long time, but like those booth games at the carnival, you will probably grow bored or despise many for their simplicity or frustration factor.

If you're an RPG fan looking for something new and different ... stop kidding yourself and go look into the Shadow Hearts series.

The Rebirth mode is a welcome addition, and it offers a harder quest, more enemies and new puzzles, but touch screen support is minimal, and the knifing battles feel more like hastily created mini-games rather than well-integrated portions of the quest.

Unless you're a train enthusiast, there will be a little to no enjoyment to be had out of Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006.

The traditional Tony Hawk gameplay has several twists - some for the better, others not so much - but has had the difficulty significantly dumbed down to the point where Story Mode is boring much of the time, and is insufficiently counterbalanced by Classic Mode.

As a $50 PS2 release, this would have been nearly unacceptable. But 30 for a portable version, that plays as well as this one does, is wonderful. Hopefully the rest of the X games follow.

In the market for a pulse-pounding, white-knuckle action game for the Nintendo DS? Walk into your preferred game store and grab a copy of Metroid Prime Hunters, making sure not to accidentally make eye contact with the dusty, twice-returned Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball MAX'D on the shelf above that has been doomed to helplessly watch the years ooze by.

When all is said and done, all I have left to claim is that GT Legends is the single best racing game I've personally ever played. Bold words, I know, but I truly feel that way.

Even if you are not a fan of the sport at the collegiate level, at the core of MVP '06 lies the same game of baseball, maybe in its purest and most competitive form, which we all love and enjoy.

With 26 characters to play with, even if some of them are completely worthless, Samurai Shodown V is a quality 2D fighter from a developer that usually knows its way around a quality 2D fighter.

Even if you are not a fan of the sport at the collegiate level, at the core of MVP '06 lies the same game of baseball, maybe in its purest and most competitive form, which we all love and enjoy.

It's Max Payne without the bullet-time, the control, the atmosphere, or the fun. Avoid at all costs. Don't even try to get it to have a good laugh - you'll still end up apologizing to yourself.

It's almost unbelievable to me that some very small problems, all related to the nature of the system the game chose to appear on, can turn a mediocre but charming game into a mess with little play value, but that's certainly what happened with Ape Escape Academy.

Truly a textbook case of how one major flaw can bring down an otherwise outstanding game.

25 to Life is the kind of hideous trash that damages gaming's reputation, resulting in the genesis of the Jack Thompsons of the world. I need to go play Pokemon or something, to get this awful taste out of my mouth.

Unleashed has numerous severe issues; however, the core of the game can still be very fun, especially if you are a fan of dirt racing, or at least have watched a few races at a real track.

The character’s irrational beliefs make the story impenetrable, and the rest of the game doesn’t hold up well in the face of the PS2’s RPG library.

It has a pleasing look and feel, and it’s simple but forces some cognizant thought to play it.

Dead or Alive 4 has enough new content in it to set it apart, and although the gameplay itself is liberally borrowed from the previous title, it also remains the same solid fighting engine and definitely doesn't feel like a rehash as much as it does a resemblance.

The dynamic strategic campaign is also a welcome addition and works well. However, where the game’s strength should lie is in the tactical mode, yet this is disappointingly weak, particularly in single-player mode.

Fritz 9 is ideal for players interested in seriously developing their chess games, but fails to do much for the casual player or players new to the game.

If you're looking for an excellent wrestling experience and you don't want to be leashed to a television, Smackdown vs Raw 2006 has just obsolesced all your other options.

If you're looking for a Gauntlet game in the tradition of the original, you can find "Midway Arcade Treasures" for cheap. If you want one more like the recent N64 releases or Dark Legacy, this is the only game in town.

This is a package that contains a large number of fun, classic games that play well enough to pass for whatever qualifies as "accurate" in our aging minds.

The gorgeous visuals and often-fun puzzles of 80 Days drown underneath the crushing weight of bad design; the poor controls, questionable physics, and repetitive (ad nauseum) elements all hinder what could have been a great gaming experience.

Although Space Station Sim offers up a unique experience and is the only game that gives you the opportunity to actually manage a space station and the astronauts who inhabit it, it doesn't offer the sort of excitement and intensity you'd expect.