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.