Both movie fans and general gamers should get a few hours of fun out of it, and frustration is kept at a minimum -- preventing you from becoming an irate pirate.

It doesn't quite work. Although it's hard to see how the controls could be improved, at the same it's not hard to see that improvements are necessary if console real-time strategy games are ever going to be an easy alternative to those on the PC.

It's disappointing that Spider-Man 3 goes from exhilarating to budget-ware production levels so quickly and dramatically. Part of the problem down at street level is the combat. It's drawn with terrible character models, bad animation, and inconsistent AI that makes it easy to win fights by spamming a few basic attacks or taking advantage of the fact that bad guys can't figure out how to get around a park bench.

It takes advantage of the unique points of the Nintendo DS with a simple fighting system, and it overcomes the system's limitations with a nicely done smoke-and-mirrors presentation of swinging freely through a 3D city.

As unimportant as it sounds, you don't look for a group - you look for a Fellowship. This isn't so much a change of game mechanics as it is a change in attitude. It's a reminder that LOTRO isn't just a game: it's a world and a story that both players and developers truly care about. Maybe that's a small step toward a more respectful player culture, but it's still a welcome one.

While Super Paper Mario obviously isn't "Super Mario Galaxy," and doesn't exactly exploit the Wii remote's gadgetry, it's got all the charm and gameplay expertise we expect from the Bros. Add in some fun mini-games, card collecting, and lots of exploration, and you have a title that's well worth your paper.

Even without a massive collection of exclusive content, this is an improvement (if a slight one) over the five-star PS2 original, which is all 360 owners need to know.

Nothing here warrants shelling out for the game if you played it on another console, but if you missed out (and you want to play it on the Wii instead of picking up a cut-priced last-gen copy of Two Thrones) it'll keep you busy for the 12 or 15 hours the campaign will take you.

It's witty, smoothly produced, and absorbing.

No matter the console, Meet the Robinsons is a darn good video game. The game is smart, vast, and really does offer something for everyone.

This is the wartime equivalent of a slow year's "Madden" update, with only the most basic changes and additions to justify a purchase. And with only the most bare bone offline multiplayer offering, even a bad edition of "Madden" has more to offer.

Nod's stealth, the GDI's heavy tanks, and alien bugs all come together and blow up as a sort of mac-and-cheese RTS that tastes awesome in that safe, you've-been-here-before-a-hundred-times way.

Given free range to vent their most outrageous, vivid, degenerate, and depraved fantasies on an unsuspecting player, Bethesda's developers have crafted a unique world that shares the same quality of writing and attention to detail as Oblivion itself. Appropriately enough, only the most insane Oblivion addicts could refuse such an opportunity.

Its setting is superb, its gameplay tense and convincing, and it boasts what are definitely the best fill-your-pants moments in a PC game for quite some time. It's hard to see how it could have turned out better.

Perhaps the best thing you can say about Virtua Tennis 3 is that it's such a good game, you don't even have to like tennis to appreciate it.

The gene-stealing and blood-drinking theme makes for an interesting concept with great gameplay implications. But the bottom line is that as a game, Genesis Rising sucks, both literally and figuratively.

Arguably the best game you can play on this system. It's a grand open-ended fantasy role-playing game that combines the best of single player RPGs with the best of massively multiplayer online games.

Go ahead and say that EDF is repetitive, but we had more fun trying out the 150 weapons than in almost any other recent shooter. Every level is packed with pure, nerdy fun, and the five difficulty levels prodded us into taking new weapons back into early levels to see how we'd fare. Weak-kneed animations and silly dialogue made it that much better, just this once.

We haven't been bowled over by most of the Wii-makes hitting shelves so far, but The Godfather is a definite exception. The controls and extra content more than make up for the fact that the game already looks visually dated.

It's an easy bump for 360 owner's GamerScore, but otherwise the full experience is not very satisfying.

God of War II is the strongest game to hit the PS2 this year, and should be high on the list of best games on the system, period.

This is decent but minimal new content that you'll want mainly because you're sick of the few maps you were given in the original game.

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.

An excellent arcade-sports title that knows no equal on next-gen consoles. It's more user-friendly than ever, has a killer single-player mode, and the advent of its online play will only make you keep it cemented into your PlayStation 3 that much longer.

Def Jam's most damaging flaw is the single-mindedness of the combat. Unleash all the punch and kick combos you want, but in very short order it will become obvious that environmental hazards are the only way to take an opponent down.

If Dominator is a Greatest Hits package, however, where is Crash mode? That's like Michael Jackson releasing a Best Of without 'Beat It'.

Some will be tempted to dismiss Advanced Warfighter 2 as an extended mission pack for the first game rather than a proper sequel. But from a solo perspective, there's no contest: GRAW2 delivers a much tighter and more polished experience. Online, it's a little less clear-cut, but the new set of maps, weapons, and tweaks will make it an attractive proposition for those hooked on the original's high-caliber offerings.

Its use of the DS touchscreen is innovative, despite its handful of control issues. Platformers don't always have to be walks in the park, and it's rare to have one challenge you this much mentally.