Thankfully, the game's humor and action overcomes the technical glitches. The brain-crunching animations are so much fun that, coupled with the peoples' cries for help, it's easy to get lost in Punchbowl, even as you realize that there's not much there.

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.

Yakuza also features one of the worst stealth-based sequences in all of video game history.

Dialogue is fantastic. The script's professionally written. Foul language is common, yet used in the appropriate context. Weapons come off as carefully balanced, and won't disappoint.

An excellent expansion pack.

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.

There's plenty of depth to the gameplay, and there's tons of scenarios to play, plus the sandbox mode, so it ought to keep you going for ages.

Unfortunately, from the second outing onwards (Chicago), the levels are pretty samey.

While the game's is an improvement over the 2004 edition, it's still not quite up to snuff.

It has an uncanny appreciation for the nuances of real tennis. It's smart and unforgiving.

Imagine a long-time Trekkie's glee at being given the opportunity to walk around the original 60s set with the cast; Renegade is the virtual equivalent for the C&C fan.

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.

What it does best isn't the way it adds a creative, original third side to the classic two, nor the decent added campaign or the extra units all round. No, Forces of Corruption's best feature is exploding Ewoks.

There are few better multiplayer games in existence, and no better ones on Xbox Live Arcade. If your gaming habits ever include playing with others, online or off, Worms is utterly essential.

The story is solid, the looming sense of the unknown is engaging, and the sheer, mind-bullying fun of building up "psi-ence fictional" powers make Second Sight a rewarding game.

While the game's is an improvement over the 2004 edition, it's still not quite up to snuff.

Mortal Kombat excels at offering plenty of great extras to compensate for its lukewarm gameplay.

Enough of the original's dark charm has survived to make even Carnate Island vets want to settle a spell in Baltimore. Or die trying.

This is a very densely detailed college ball game, and one that you'll be hard pressed to drop, even when Madden shows its face later this year.

This is one of the best stories in gaming since "Planescape Torment," and Zoe is one of the best leads, male or female. Her tale is as gripping as it is beautifully presented.

A definite step up from the Underground brand, but make no mistake: It's still yet another Tony Hawk game. With Activision seemingly stuck on annual sequels and Neversoft's dedication to advancement, you'll see even more bugs than before.

While flawed, Blitzkrieg II makes a good single player wargame because it successful models the cold ruthlessness of war and the importance of using reinforcements wisely.

The question here is whether the three new maps -- which are all based on American soil for the first time -- are any good, because really, that's all you're getting. Thankfully, they are. In fact, while one's decent, two are excellent.

We can grouse about the same-ness of the textures and design, but in motion F.E.A.R. continues to impress. It sounds even better, with most of the shocks this time delivered through an excellent sound design.

Its heart is in the right place, but all the funny interrogation scenes can't make up for the fact that you're doing the same thing at the end of the game as you were in the beginning.

A game built on solid gameplay mechanics featuring fast-paced exploding action, that delivers nothing but fun.

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

Despite some dated-looking visuals (it REALLY does look like PSO), Dot-hack is an impressive bit of high-concept work, and scores lots of points for its presentational excellence.