You can get through the game in probably about five or six hours, and there's not much incentive to replay it. This march to glory might be short, and it's sometimes awfully low-rent.

Though you are bound to find yourself marveling at the innovative use of the DS hardware and the creativity of the puzzles, the core adventure is simply way too short -- six hours at best.

Despite the somewhat deceptive advertising, there isn't that much alien blasting and army building, so if you were more interested in the RTS element, or expect a little more depth from your strategy games, you're better off looking elsewhere.

The sequel is a better game in every way, but the original was so successful at combining extreme sports stunts with real basketball that there was little room left for improvement.

It proves a suitable fix for bloodthirsty gamers, yet hardly the remorselessly addictive diversion many had been hoping for.

A solid game that leans towards the easy side. The only real flaws are an iffy camera and iffier reading of its potential audience. It's still the best interactive thing to happen to the Shrek universe thus far.

The controls for getting Spidey to do all these wonderful things are finicky and inaccurate at times, making our hero a trouble to handle in places where walls are electrified or there are dangers like harmful mist or falling rubble to avoid.

Freeform, subtle, complex, rather dry, and just the tiniest bit (appropriately enough) oppressive, Republic: The Revolution is likely to sharply divide gamers.

The stylus aspects were better left out, fun is barricaded by a need to complete Adventure mode, and the overall vibe is even more painfully sugarcoated today than it was a decade ago.

A classic shoot 'em up, plain and simple, and it's a damn good one.

This isn't a story-driven RPG and it isn't a pure action game. But if you can appreciate the way Diablo fused the two genres, and if you don't mind the distinct anime artwork, Crimson Tears is a real gem.

A huge improvement over the original PlayStation version.

While the control system is straightforward to pick up, it can also be ultimately frustrating - in fact, annoying enough to take a sparkle off the otherwise solid and enjoyable gameplay.

A fun time, in spite (or because) of its ludicrous story and cutscenes, which you won't find in any other serious racer.

As engaging as the game can be, the action has a tendency to seemingly last forever at times, forcing you retire early just for the sake of a breather.

Full of overt and covert nods to the classic, Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is a worthy, entertaining successor to the proud, creaking lineage.

An absolute must for fans of the series - it's as engrossing and complex as the best of Anne McCaffrey's novels, and as a stand-alone story, it's fun and well worth it.

It's terribly challenging and terribly addicting, although its longevity can certainly be questioned due to the design of the campaign game.

The career mode is very well implemented, and is something that should be found in more games like this.

This one gets messy, real messy.

In Shadowbane, the players get to remap the world, and that's something that just hasn't been done before. It's a significant achievement, and an engrossing gameplay experience that should be applauded, albeit cautiously.

The combat difficulty level is forgiving, and the game guides you through the puzzles with helpful clues and hints from the other characters. Less experienced gamers -- who, let's face it, are really the ones the game is aimed at -- will find its light touch very rewarding.

Its uncompromising design could be perceived as lazy and frustrating or inspired, bold, and nostalgic, depending on your point of view.

With such awesome visuals, it's hard to comprehend why the clipping problems are so horrendous.

It controls decently, has some good tracks, and looks and sounds like you'd hope a PSP racer would. The problem is that its main selling point -- the police dynamic -- is as much a negative as it is a positive, leaving it without a real means of distinguishing itself.

Detroit: Become Human tells a dramatic story about androids seeking to find their own way of living with and among humans. Yes, it’s a well-worn sci-fi trope, but the characters in Detroit are compelling enough to make it feel interesting again. There are some issues with controls at times and some story beats that miss the mark, but if you’re looking for a impressive story that can be played out in a multitude of ways, dig into “Detroit.”

Ridge Racer 6's graphics may be pure 360 shininess, but the gameplay is from a generation ago... hell, two generations ago and that's generous.

With a dash of humor and inspiration -- the two things Parallel Lines desperately needs -- this might have been a minor classic. Instead, it merely shows that attention to detail is nothing without a flash of life to drive the effort.

Possibly the biggest strike against Giants, though, is that much of the gameplay is, well, kind of boring.

What if those mists could be lifted to reveal the full extent of the battlefield, with catapults and battering rams laying siege to castles in the distance?

Zen-state gamers who just want to cruise around and blow stuff up will need all their hands -- or at the very least, two of them -- on deck for this peculiar mix of navy action, splinter-theory weirdness and no-nonsense ship design.

Takes a step forward with a few new game modes and an interesting rival/buddy system, but the uneven graphics and performance hurt it. And on Xbox, as with all EA Sports games, the situation is worsened with no online play.

If you're a Larry fan from way back, Magna Cum Laude takes the series into a pleasing new direction. But it needs a greater variety of challenges to be more appealing.

A more challenging economic system would add a lot to the game and make it more replay-friendly. But as a step up from a lightweight like Glory of the Roman Empire, CivCity is engrossing enough to command a couple weeks of play time.

A fine place to start for younger gamers. In that respect, the puzzles, side quests and overall presentation are just about right.

Fans of the Pro Skater series will be both pleased and disappointed to hear that very little has changed in 2X.

Gamers who haven't exactly stuck by Sonic's blurry blue side over the years will have to work a little harder to get to the fun, spastic heart of Sonic Heroes, but those who know what to expect in terms of mechanics and sheer kinetic insanity will feel right at home.

The undead hordes are as great as they've always been to kill.

One notable difference is that the frame rate is a lot better than it was in "Most Wanted." But the price you pay is graphics that are considerably worse. Carbon is missing atmosphere. You're still driving through the game strangely un-populated city, but it's got a lot less detail and ambient effects.

As great as its predecessor was, but still just a port of last year's game on an older console - and with seemingly worse graphics to boot.

The best thing by far about the game is how much Bam! has captured Dexter's world for the game.

Simply not sufficiently distinguishable from its clan to make it an essential purchase.

Even with an outstanding soundtrack, great voice acting, some incredible, although obviously cartoonish cutscenes, the overall experience is not nearly as rewarding as it could have been.

A great game to play with friends online or off, but here's hoping the next iteration gives us more to do with the D.

A hard game to recommend, but just as hard to universally bash.

A great sequel...It is, however, hard going and less proficient gamers may find it too difficult and a chore to get through, even on the normal setting.

While some of the new content is rather pointless, there's still a good quantity of solid additional material in this expansion, and the transport improvements alone make it worth the cost.

Is SpyHunter a fun, playable game? Definitely. Is it an improvement over the last one? Sure, but it's still too "samey" overall, and it's certainly a better success on the single-player front.

Despite its supernatural trappings, this is a game very much about the human condition, about love and loss and how even the most innocuous decisions can leave the deepest footprints. There’s some great work here, and while Oxenfree isn’t without flaws, like its teenaged cast, it points to a promising future.

It's likely to be dwarfed by some of the mega-games already in the pipe, but is well worth a lengthy tour by RPG enthusiasts.

Most of the massive problems that have plagued next-gen versions of Live have receeded, leaving a game that's fun, accessible, and while flawed, full of enough personality.

Assuming you can stomach play sessions that are short by nature, Athens 2004 offers amusing thrills in spurts.

Its level of realism, convincing detail and great multiplayer make it one of the best military FPS games on the market.

The attention to detail is commendable, but the sheer scope may be a point of frustration for some, especially those who come from the Tony Hawk school. The supercross races are so exacting that progression without dedication is impossible.

So if you're looking for a traditional gaming experience, you're likely to find Nintendogs lacking in gameplay and variety. Those with more open minds stand a better chance of being captured by its undeniable charm.

Something of a guilty pleasure. Objectively, it's not a good game at all -- it's ill-suited to its platform, repetitive to the extreme, too easy, presented with little flair, and a mere shadow of the best that both Pokemon and dungeon crawlers in general have to offer. But it's still sitting there in our DS's slot, waiting for the next time we have ten minutes of downtime.

If you've got enough patience to get used to the kinks in the interface and the sometimes dense mission design, you'll get a great deal of entertainment out of this one, both online and off.

The plot, graphics and general fun of discovery should be enough to keep you happy despite the fact that 12 hours is about all the time it'll take you to complete the game.

In the same league as the disposable horror flicks that fill video shelves and late-night cable. It's not particularly frightening, but good atmosphere and short-lived twitch satisfaction is enough to sustain interest for a while.

As an entry level title, Downhill Jam makes a good introduction to the possibilities of fast-paced gameplay on the Wii, and is definitely more approachable than "Tony Hawk's Project 8," the series' other current entry.

The game itself is an uneven mishmash of fighting, driving, and shooting. Call it Grand Theft Goodfellas; if someone took Rockstar Games' popular Grand Theft Auto series, moved its setting to New York, and then sent it via the Wayback machine to post-World War II New York, the result would be The Godfather.

It just cries out for multiplayer, particularly when you can lay down a snaking path of gasoline for half a block and light it up; what a way to trap and kill your local or online friends! Alas, it's not there.

It's a perfectly serviceable war shooter offline, and turns into a strong SOCOM rival when you're gunning with 31 other players, which is just the sort of action the PSP has been missing.

Fans should rejoice at having the chance to play both Kain and Raziel, with faster deeper combat leading to the story resolution many have longed for. It's not perfect, but Defiance is easily the best of the series.

The attention to detail is commendable, but the sheer scope may be a point of frustration for some, especially those who come from the "Tony Hawk" school. The supercross races are so exacting that progression without dedication is impossible.

The players who'll get the most out of Return to Arms are those who didn't play the last game, and perhaps even gamers who haven't touched a hack-and-slash since "Gauntlet."

Its presentation is well below par, and the battles quickly become repetitive, but there remains an oddly addictive spark beneath its problems.

Despite its long, long list of lazy omissions it's still a game that Trek fans will enjoy -- if only for the voices, fire-photon-torpedoes ambiance, and graphical effects. They'll just have to grit their teeth while they do it.

With a quality golf backbone to give purpose to the MMO portions, Shot Online's formula has the potential to be a hole in one, but this implementation turns it into more of a double bogey.

An interesting experiment that works well in some situations and grinds to a halt in others. While this would be a disaster for a full-priced game, the $30 tag softens the impact somewhat.

The dated graphics and the lack of a campaign turned me off. SMA may have been successful if it was an add-on pack that came out last year, but this year it just seems dated.

It almost makes up for that movie.

It has an original take on the combat system but its average graphics and strictly linear gameplay will not guarantee a long shelf life.

A fairly generic expansion that adds a bit of content without really improving the core experience. It's OK for the hardcore fans, but if you had issues with Black and White 2, don't expect to see any of them resolved.

The good news is that you'll have some fun with NFL Tour, especially with friends. But the joy will be short lived when you realize that the feature set is comparable to the original NBA Jam -- just pick a team and play. It's a thin package that comes off as more of a $30 budget title than a full-fledged effort.

Some minor quirks and design decisions hamper the long-term enjoyment somewhat but overall, it's very good.

As it stands, it's almost in the realm of the type of content you expect to freely download.

And unless you're a SPF fanatic, we'd advise waiting for the inevitable download to be offered, as Capcom Puzzle World isn't a compelling enough product to trade for thirty hard-won dollars.

Once the initial thrill of playing such a violent and visceral strategy game has worn off, you're left with an RTS without most of the things that make RTS games entertaining, like planning, economic balancing, and developing your base.

Sadly, the AI, combat, and graphics issues keep Lupin the Third: Treasure of the Sorcerer King from joining the classic ranks, but the main character's sense of humor and general style make the game worth a look.

You'll run into bugs and questionable design decisions that make it feel rushed, and the gameplay elements themselves are nothing you haven't seen before. It's better looking than you would expect, however, which is probably enough to please movie fans.

None of the other games come close to this one in terms of gee-whiz frills and bonus content. But ASB 2004 doesn't really get the job done on the field.

The perfect game for obsessive fans of the comic franchise, those who never tire of senseless violence, and activists looking for scapegoats, but it simply doesn't have enough to offer anyone else.

A decent, facile translation of the D&D experience, but only for those who weren't already obsessed and experienced with the original. It's paradoxically ill-suited to the hardcore audience.

What it lacks is the elegance of the original design.

If you've never played the Battle Network games before, the latest version is a fine way to introduce yourself to the series, but you'd do just as well with one of the older titles -- after all, they're cheaper and offer about the same experience.

Unless you're really really into the game, you can live without this add-on.

Completing the (sometimes difficult) challenges can be rewarding, but as it is this will probably only be of passing interest to Gamecube owners.

I'm not too excited about it, but there's enough going on for me to keep it on my hard drive past the time spent reviewing it.

Imperfects, as a pure one-on-one fighter, is better than the clumsy home console versions. It provides some entertaining and authentic-looking super-hero combat that Marvel fans will enjoy.

A cheaply made, cost-effective sequel to "FFX" that reuses the graphics, characters, enemies, and areas to create a mostly new gameplay experience. You might love it, you might really, really hate it - or, like us, you might be torn... [Import]

The controls and performance are too unreliable for non-baseball fans to make this a hit a la Mario Kart, and true fans just won't be satisfied by the troublesome fielding.

A less than stellar port of that stellar [Dreamcast] game.

Mastering Ridge Racer 7 feels more like a mathematical exercise than a game. Technophiles may love it for exactly that reason, but other audiences may wonder where the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat have gone.

Despite the lure of naked chicks, at its heart it's a fairly innocuous, and rather derivative "The Sims" knock-off.

A respectable weekend time-waster. It's got enough going on to fill a late night or two, and not so much that many gamers will pine for it when it's gone.

It's solid-looking, but terribly tedious and irritatingly hard at points. In co-op, it's better, but it's a still a long way from being good.

An enjoyable diversion at a reasonable price.