Along with the captivating Roman setting, Galilea/Antik has succeeded in humanising a grand strategy game. That's a tremendous accomplishment all on its own.

Yet these Gangs of London prove to be more like the Jets and Sharks from "West Side Story;" mildly amusing, to be sure, but potentially only dangerous to an 8-year-old boy who still has accidents when mom forgets to turn on the nightlight.

A dull game. Even if you've always wanted to know what managing a casino might be like, Casino Tycoon will likely fail to keep you occupied for more than a couple of days, even counting the game's challenge mode.

Multiplayer is better, but it'd be the scurvy dog indeed that talked his friends into buying this cash-in.

And while the game generally looks and sounds just fine, you'll come away thinking about the interminably dull dialogue passages and unconvincing characters.

Like many games of this style, there is some vague, half-guilty pleasure in the mechanical repetitiveness of the game's combat. But ultimately, X-Men is in the time-honored tradition of licensed games -- rushed, derivative, and well worth avoiding.

For every imaginative, interesting and appealing puzzle, there's one long, drawn out, dull key hunt. For every awe-inspiring graphical vista, there's a boring, black, featureless tunnel. For every sparsely spread save point, there's a (or rather, many) long plummets to unexpected insta-death.

Like many games of this style, there is some vague, half-guilty pleasure in the mechanical repetitiveness of the game's combat. But ultimately, X-Men is in the time-honored tradition of licensed games -- rushed, derivative, and well worth avoiding.

Like many games of this style, there is some vague, half-guilty pleasure in the mechanical repetitiveness of the game's combat. But ultimately, X-Men is in the time-honored tradition of licensed games -- rushed, derivative, and well worth avoiding.

While this game has some glimpses of the past greatness of the Tomb Raider franchise, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is so full of glitches and other frustrations that it's hard to enjoy.

The series' simplified gameplay takes a step backwards with Total Destruction, and the overall experience is decidedly mediocre. But sometimes, after a hard day of work, you just want to knock over a skyscraper.

Big Mutha Truckers 2 isn't horrible, but the game-play is merely average compared to other mission-based arcade racers. And while it tries to be funny with its racy dialogue and stereotypical characters, it fails more often than it succeeds.

It's even less successful as an adventure game because it's so superficial, small, and indistinct. There are very few memorable characters, although everyone has his or her own name.

Its control system is weak, the gameplay mechanics are basic and repetitive and The Rock is woefully underused.

Much like Dante and "Devil May Cry 2," let's hope this is just a sophomore slump, and this series will come back stronger in a future installment. If not, it truly is dead to rights.

The general lack of thought and polish is obvious in almost every aspect.

The most glaring problem is that all the tracks are inside the confines of generic stadiums instead of the open road.

One of the buggiest games ever released for the GBA, if not one of the buggiest games ever released, period. One flaw even makes it impossible to complete the game.

In the spirit of generosity, we'll offer that there's about 30 minutes of entertainment to be had.

Its control system is weak, the gameplay mechanics are basic and repetitive and The Rock is woefully underused.

There's very little middle ground in Nanobreaker. Either you're having a blast, playing through some innovative sections and loving the deep combat mechanics; or you're hating life, suffering through aggravating parts that are nearly as numerous.

The incredibly stupid AI is also a big problem since it is hard to overlook the mechanical flaws when the gameplay is only moderately engaging.

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 not so much inspired by Hitchcock, it's more like it imitates him, and imitates rather badly.

For starters, it's boring...You generally just button mash as quickly as possible and hope that the cops fall down before you do.

The ominous industrial-soundtracked wanderings change from tense to boring and finally kind of infuriating, as you find yourself being forced to visit and visit and re-visit again areas you've already cleaned out.

If you're desperate for a Prince of Persia fix then give the free first episode a try and you might, just might, like it a little bit.

A cookie-cutter "Age of Empires" clone...delivers a dose of good, old-fashioned fun.