"FIFA" may continue to entice football fans who live in action-adventure mode, but for the purist and realist, there's no better footie than this.

"FIFA" may continue to entice football fans who live in action-adventure mode, but for the purist and realist, there's no better footie than this.

The learning curve is considerable. Beginners are sure to be put off by the sheer volume of information presented. The game's interface -- all icons and indicators -- will also be uncomfortable for casual enthusiasts.

Loading times are near-absent, the interface and controls have few flaws, and you're always kept clear on where to go next. Compelling, imaginative, and rewarding.

Comes off lacking; the action is often repetitive and unwieldy, the platforming is iffy due to control quality, and the look and sound of the whole enterprise are on the uninspired side.

It ends up below the quality of "Dark Cloud 2," and right around the level of Sega's "Blood Will Tell." Whether that's enough to get you to hop on this train is up to you.

Comes off lacking; the action is often repetitive and unwieldy, the platforming is iffy due to control quality, and the look and sound of the whole enterprise are on the uninspired side.

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.

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.

Has the same grandiose scale and storytelling style as previous entries, but is hampered by an overabundance of combat and a lack of inspiration.

Most levels feel more like a carnival duck shoot than a gritty peek into London police work. Enemies stand still no matter how close Mitch is to them and it's often child's play to dive-roll under a gun barrel to slap on the cuffs. This isn't merely unrealistic AI -- it's bad.

By ditching tired and overdone conventions and replacing them with a new theme and a more action-heavy style, Capcom has created a half-familiar, half-original masterpiece of atmosphere and menace.

The biggest, pervasive plus of Mercenaries is the raw, gleeful destruction options open to you. This is exactly the kind of stuff your parents don't like about video games.

Arguably the best GBA game ever released. It's addictive, ingenious, and makes no mistakes.

Mercenaries is what we play video games for -- it's that simple. It's action-packed, outlandish, violent, often humorous, and makes nicey-nice to the creatively thinking player.

It looks better than the original, offers satisfying (if slightly short-lived) single-player action, and is an excellent multiplayer game.

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

With excellent visuals, varied and entertaining gameplay, quality acting, and a compelling mix of action and stealth -- not to mention the catalogue of extras -- it would be great value at $50, let alone the budget price of $30 that it's retailing for.

Even in its familiarity, it brings unique style and an incontrovertible Japanese creep to a game market too often overrun with generic zombies and mutants, and too often rooted in the soulless present.

While PSP owners get a polished looking racer, Ridge Racer DS looks more like a relic from earlier days of gaming, and plays like one too.

A disjointed storyline that seems more driven by gratuitous cameos than compelling gameplay won't please everyone, but die-hard Disney fans won't mind.

Although its approach may irritate some purists, the movies' army of fans will lap it up.

While it won't make as much of an impact as its predecessor, KOTOR 2's strong gameplay mechanics, interesting and well-voiced characters, and genuine, unforced sense of atmosphere make it almost as compelling to play. You won't be disappointed.

If you've never been a fan of the series, or if you are deprived of living, breathing friends, this latest version won't win you over. On the other hand, if you're a Mario Party devotee surrounded with human companionship, Mario Party 6 will offer hours of entertainment and a satisfying way to spend a social evening.

The bosses are either too easy or too irritating. And most of the great enemies we saw in the recent Xbox release are nowhere to be found, leaving dull soldiers and a scattered few fun baddies.

With great looks, a clever multi-layer mechanic, and well devised sides, one wonders why Electronic Arts would release a game this good at a time this bad.

Largely an upgrade on the original, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is still one of the most polished and imaginative escapades we've played. Like a blockbuster movie, the tale delivers on almost every count from dazzling pyrotechnics to deft storytelling.

Largely an upgrade on the original, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is still one of the most polished and imaginative escapades we've played. Like a blockbuster movie, the tale delivers on almost every count from dazzling pyrotechnics to deft storytelling.

While Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits feels very different from your average block puzzle game, it doesn't offer much depth. However, its fast-paced action and tension will keep most entertained.

It takes far too many clicks to get a unit's attention. Units and icons are sometimes too small, and the camera system is still unfriendly when moving over tall terrain.

Largely an upgrade on the original, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is still one of the most polished and imaginative escapades we've played. Like a blockbuster movie, the tale delivers on almost every count from dazzling pyrotechnics to deft storytelling.

Largely an upgrade on the original, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is still one of the most polished and imaginative escapades we've played. Like a blockbuster movie, the tale delivers on almost every count from dazzling pyrotechnics to deft storytelling.

While it's not as polished as most modern offerings, it's priced to sell and still raises grins like nothing else.

Although it's not as technologically proficient as "EverQuest II," World of Warcraft has a more pronounced sense of style...If you're looking for a new MMORPG, then the World of Warcraft is the very first place you should visit.

The most creative and cathartic button masher since cult favorite "Gunstar Heroes."

While the final cocktail that is Rogue Agent breaks very little new ground, the eye powers and deathtraps are extremely welcome additions to the shooter arsenal.

Won't appeal to everyone, but if you're nostalgic for the original or like unstructured and open-ended games, this booty is well worth seeking. Yarrr!

While the final cocktail that is Rogue Agent breaks very little new ground, the eye powers and deathtraps are extremely welcome additions to the shooter arsenal.

While the final cocktail that is Rogue Agent breaks very little new ground, the eye powers and deathtraps are extremely welcome additions to the shooter arsenal.

The most creative and cathartic button masher since cult favorite "Gunstar Heroes."

Even gamers who have played the "parent" game to death can find something to love in this promising -- if not entirely coordinated -- bundle of joy.

If you played the original Viewtiful Joe and enjoyed it, Viewtiful Joe 2 is a classic case of more of the same: a fairly conservative upgrade to a winning formula.

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.

For our money, the crown jewel of the bunch is the most atypical boss battle we've seen in a long time -- a long, absorbing, drawn-out, paranoid, grueling sniper duel of attrition, spanning three maps, and requiring all the focus and patience you can muster.

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.

It shares too many of "NBA Live's" problems, but still has great depth and plays a decent game of basketball. One of these years, EA is going to properly fix Live, thus killing two birds with one stone.

For every few strides Asphalt: Urban GT takes, it seems to stumble once. In the end, it's serviceable, very good-looking, but by no means an outstanding portable racer.

It shares too many of "NBA Live's" problems, but still has great depth and plays a decent game of basketball. One of these years, EA is going to properly fix Live, thus killing two birds with one stone.

This is a jaw-dropping, exhilarating game. It's the game you'll remember for years.

The worst-case scenario is that you pick a fight with the game store clerk who let you buy this title, and get your face punched in. Then you'll be stuck with both a black eye and a crummy game.

In many ways, Bloodlines' open-ended approach, combat system, and dialogue options make it feel a lot more like a successor to action-RPG classic "Deus Ex" than the recent sequel did.

Because of its shallow combat and poor presentation, the game loses its thrill very quickly for anyone not a devotee of the subject matter.

There's an awful lot of linear, shooting-gallery tedium you have to plod through to get to the good stuff.

Amongst all the launch games for the DS, this quirky dating game is the one that really captured our hearts and pulled us back.

Unfortunately, Spider-Man might be able to temporarily slow down time, but there's nothing he can do about the irritating clock countdown in most levels. The age-old developer's trick of imposing an artificial deadline to extend longevity lives on in this game, and it's just as frustrating as ever.

There's an awful lot of linear, shooting-gallery tedium you have to plod through to get to the good stuff.

This is the game that fans of simulated modern combat and Clancy fiction have been waiting for.

But take away the shocking aspects and anti-culture roster of fighters and what's left is still just a mediocre fighting game.

Although there's good ideas under the surface, King Arthur is boring, unpleasant, and just no fun.

Since the game is rooted so strictly in reality, you'll see no special moves and very few cool combos. What is here is overly difficult to control for how simple it is.

Offers a lengthy adventure, a compelling, gorgeous world, and more than a dash of chaos to the order of conventional fantasy role-playing games.

There's an awful lot of linear, shooting-gallery tedium you have to plod through to get to the good stuff.

The world is elaborate, the sense of speed is dizzying, and the customization could cost you a job or a girlfriend. But you'll still have Brooke to keep you company.

But what's most remarkable is how much variety Rare squeezed into this game, mainly by liberally scattering minigames throughout the world.

By offering more control options and a more user-friendly system of save points, Retro Studios could have worked wonders at opening up the Metroid Prime series for new fans or more casual gamers.

It's inoffensive and challenging enough to keep both the builders and the managers entertained for much longer than an outing to a real zoo would.

OK, we admit it: Rumble Roses isn't the deepest thing going, even for a fighting game. But it's an entertaining and eye-catching spectacle of male-oinker-oriented wrestling fun. Plus, it's populated by some of the best-looking, most meticulously modeled virtual girls ever designed.

Compelling and addictive, and far more fun that we'd have expected after slogging through the confounding Jak 2. This is the action platformer refined to perfection.

Fun for a while, and the customization is quite compelling at first, but before long the innate repetition, linearity, and ultimate emptiness really begin to grate.

The world is elaborate, the sense of speed is dizzying, and the customization could cost you a job or a girlfriend. But you'll still have Brooke to keep you company.

A near-flawless fusion of solid gameplay and excellent presentation, filled with little details that make it a kill-the-light-and-unplug-the-phone experience.

Fun for a while, and the customization is quite compelling at first, but before long the innate repetition, linearity, and ultimate emptiness really begin to grate.

Fun for a while, and the customization is quite compelling at first, but before long the innate repetition, linearity, and ultimate emptiness really begin to grate.

All of these details get wound into a very straightforward game world that is absolutely packed with quests and other things to do. In most MMOs, characters spend their first 10 or 20 levels looking for enough things to do to earn better powers and weapons. Here, a ceaseless barrage of possible tasks begins with the orientation area (on the Isle of Refuge) and continues deep into the game.

Even with its too-standard approach, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is still one of the best treatments given to anime-based games we've seen in a long time.

If you come to Children of the Nile with a spirit of investigation and if you're willing to learn the nuances of this complex model of ancient life, you'll be richly rewarded with one of the most serene and gratifying city builders since the genre began.

Excels in fresh, exciting gameplay, especially when battling or playing cooperatively with friends. The many different courts, characters, and moves should keep you busy for months.

Pacific Assault's half-documentary, half-entertainment approach is solid, and the game's a thrilling, if slightly by-the-numbers WW2 shooter.

Without more variety in the missions, consistency and depth to the characters, and a purpose to the expansive and pretty scenery, there are far better games to pick from this year.

With its frustrating, haphazard single-player and a set of multiplayer features outshone by others in its class, this one's only for fans of the movie.

On the multiplayer side, Sony's been looking high and low for a release that can stand up to "Halo" -- we never expected it to come from a platformer! In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find a better combination of action, platforming, and multiplayer goodness than this.

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.

Aspirations aside, the gorgeous screenshots represent a game that is distressingly mediocre in motion...Without the ambitious graphics engine, Killzone's linear run-and-gun combat would vanish into the swarm of generic shooters.

The game lacks the complicated character advancement common in the genre, but it's fast-paced, looks and sounds great, and will keep casual RPG and Lord of the Rings fans happy.

Though the offline game will only satisfy the most hardcore four-wheeling fan, the online racing makes up for most faults.

Fans should be pleased enough with the game, but if you're not so familiar with the characters and mechanics, it'll be poor value for money.

The game lacks the complicated character advancement common in the genre, but it's fast-paced, looks and sounds great, and will keep casual RPG and Lord of the Rings fans happy.

The game lacks the complicated character advancement common in the genre, but it's fast-paced, looks and sounds great, and will keep casual RPG and Lord of the Rings fans happy.

Despite its long-ass title, this atmospheric, enhanced skin-crawler is one of the scariest and spookiest things to hit the Xbox.

A decent game to play if you're obsessed with the adventures of the family Parr, but it could have used a lot more polish and whimsy where it counts.

A decent game to play if you're obsessed with the adventures of the family Parr, but it could have used a lot more polish and whimsy where it counts.

A decent game to play if you're obsessed with the adventures of the family Parr, but it could have used a lot more polish and whimsy where it counts.

A nice execution of admittedly old ideas, Men of Valor features exhilirating action, storytelling that takes risks, and convincing team AI.

If there were a more advanced game behind the excellent writing, The Bard's Tale could have been one of the highest rated RPGs this year. The Bard's sarky one-liners, foul mouth, and rampant chauvinism make every cutscene and conversation entertaining and frequently laugh-out-loud funny.

A masterpiece; the outstanding gameplay from the first two games has been extended, tweaked and applied to a fresh, original and fascinating setting. There's more than enough meat to keep you going for months, and the sheer variety of gameplay is bewildering.

The new engine looks great, the interface (once you get to grips with it) works reasonably well, and the economic model is compelling enough to keep you playing.