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.