One part hockey, one part soccer and one part pure fantasy, Quidditch World Cup may not have the draw or the depth of Madden, but it is still plenty of fun to play.

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.

It feels good on the PS2 pad, even, though a joystick is (of course!) preferable.

If you love the gameplay in "Dynasty Warriors" but are tiring of its setting, Crimson Sea 2 offers a refreshing change of pace with a familiar style of gameplay.

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.

Ultimately what we have here is an excellent back-end and a beautiful graphics engine, with a combat-heavy, plot-light module and a few nasty bugs.

Its linearity and concentration on stealth is quite a contrast to the open freedom of the GTA games. Its explicit violence can be gimmicky, but it fits so well with the theme that nobody could (or should, at any rate,) call it gratuitous.

If the difficultly was a bit more consistent and mission parameters more forgiving, then Battlestar Galactica could have been a massive hit. As-is, the game is sure to please fans of the license, but those looking for something deeper will likely be disappointed.

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.

The hardest worm ever to grace your garden.

GP4 is worth a look, offering a rock-solid racing experience against some well-crafted AI, but it doesn't add anything significantly new.

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.

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.

Out of the box it's not as fun as its predecessors, and nowhere near as deep or engaging as Madden or ESPN.

In terms of other improvements, On Holiday really doesn't seem to have made any thrilling leaps or advancements...Overall, a great expansion.

A spooky and enthralling FPS, [but] the lack of multiplayer is somewhat like jumping into a Ferrari, then sticking to the speed limit.

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

Much like "Lumines," however, Every Extend Extra rides the line between flash and total sensory overload, with flashing colors, oversaturated backgrounds and that omnipresent musical accompaniment. It can almost be too much at times. But the concoction works, if only for the relatively short play time.

Puts a futuristic twist in the high tech tale but is its storyline constructed like a Chicken Royale or a piece of nouvelle cuisine?

Yes, [it's] still using the same dated graphics engine that appeared in "DW4", and the music and sound effects likewise remain the same. But the fun, challenging, and over-the-top gameplay that has made this series so successful is also still here.

As it is, it still has much to commend, but its peculiar design choices make it difficult to enjoy to its full potential.

Unfortunately, the frequency of the random encounters means the relative simplicity of combat can make it tiresome and repetitive at times.

A good-looking B-17 experience with a full range of different tasks to tinker with and some quick blasts of action all wrapped in a lightweight strategy envelope.

Just don't be surprised when you find the game length to be dangerously close to the running time of an average Bond flick.

While battles are fast and furious they can get confusing and despite the presence of a compass there is no radar to show where the enemies are.

Sim Tower is over a decade old, and looks it. But if you're looking for something a little more cerebral to play on your GBA (or your DS, for that matter), Tower perfectly captures the timeless, relaxing fun of building something vast and complicated, and sitting back and watching it work.

Faults aside, the adventurous out there will thoroughly enjoy the level design - it's a blast!

A handful of glaring errors and nagging problems hamstring the title, preventing it from garnering overly high acclaim.