This page has moved. Please update your bookmarks.

[Thur, 10.Aug.06]
:. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Liberty City Stories isn't the bold new GTA game many fans were hoping for.

[Fri, 4.Aug.06]
:. Super Monkey Ball Adventure
This is about breathing new life into a series via an expanded, developed one-player experience.

[Mon, 24.Jul.06]
:. Massively Multiplayer Pong
I am not certain what the purpose of the game is. Indeed, I am not certain that this media product can be categorized as a game at all.

[Thur, 20.Jul.06]
:. The Red Star
While the artwork's alluring and the universe compelling, there's little attempt to introduce the characters or ease off on the pronoun-happy nomenclature.

[Tues, 18.Jul.06]
:. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
While most of its progeny has evolved with the times, Dragon Quest refuses to take even the most necessary baby steps.

[Fri, 14.Jul.06]
:. Cars
We are finally getting to the point where controlling the avatar on-screen is actually like taking on the role of the movie's protagonist.

[Tues, 11.Jul.06]
:. Bonnie's Bookstore
Gaming is more than just the games. It's a part of the digital lifestyle that more and more of us are embracing each day.

[Wed, 5.Jul.06]
:. Tomb Raider: Legend
She was voluptuous. She was British. And she was fun to watch.

[Mon, 26.Jun.06]
:. New Super Mario Bros.
Playing New Super Mario Bros. is a lot like shagging an ex: it's satisfying in the moment, but afterwards you realize your effort could have been spent better elsewhere.

[Wed, 21.Jun.06]
:. Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
What this game does so well is that it makes you actually feel like a WWII soldier, something that very few games have accomplished.

[Fri, 16.Jun.06]
:. Tomb Raider: Legend
Few games match the quality of Legend's atmosphere.

[Wed, 14.Jun.06]
:. Metroid Prime: Hunters
Technically Metroid Prime: Hunters is the DS's greatest achievement.

[Thur, 8.Jun.06]
:. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Don't worry if the police are slow and boring for the first day. It's not them, it's you.

[Tues, 6.Jun.06]
:. Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked
Unfortunately, so much time was spent perfecting the style that gameplay got the shaft.

[Fri, 2.Jun.06]
:. Bone: The Great Cow Race
It's simply boring to watch a character walk slowly across the screen.

[Wed, 31.May.06]
:. Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006
The unnamed protagonists seem to be the progeny of an unholy union between zombie slayers Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and comic book hero Scott Pilgrim.

[Thur, 25.May.06]
:. X-Men 3: The Official Game
As a fan of the franchise, I was somewhat perplexed by a scene involving the gigantic Colossus shouting, "Nightcrawler, help me!"

[Tues, 23.May.06]
:. The Godfather
This emphasis on creative and efficient ruthlessness is positively Machiavellian.

[Fri, 19.May.06]
:. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
When you ask someone to read three pages of The Scarlet Letter and time how fast they can read it, you are rewarding speed over understanding.

[Fri, 12.May.06]
:. Gawker Stalker
When the good and the great feels forced to engage in this sort of guerilla counter-spamming warfare against an irregular army of bloggers, they've already lost.

[Wed, 10.May.06]
:. Rumble Roses XX
The tired gameplay certainly seems a secondary concern to the developers.

[Mon, 8.May.06]
:. Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble
Surely a system that is simple to play and a game series that is essentially a no-fuss beat 'em-up would be a perfect match, right?

[Fri, 5.May.06]
:. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Partners in Time is by no means an epic at 25 hours, but it knows its platform; it is a portable title meant for quick bursts of gaming.

[Wed, 3.May.06]
:. Kingdom Hearts II / Take Two
The first Kingdom Hearts and its current sequel are both masterfully managed marriages of two narrative universes with similar goals.

[Mon, 1.May.06]
:. Kingdom Hearts II
The PlayStation 2 has introduced far fewer landmark masterpieces, especially in the role-playing genre.

[Thur, 27.Apr.06]
:. March Madness on Demand
Last-second shots only exist for two reasons: changing the score and highlight reels.

[Tues, 25.Apr.06]
:. Power Girl: The Classifieds
Manion not only captures Power Girl's... buxomness, but provides wit and charm while Kara seeks to fill her life with a mundane nine to five.

[Fri, 21.Apr.06]
:. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
The sights, the sounds, the strategy: everything comes together and makes you say, "This is Middle-earth."

[Wed, 19.Apr.06]
:. Kong: King of Atlantis
Let's not fool ourselves; a cheap knockoff is a cheap knockoff.

[Fri, 14.Apr.06]
:. Black
Black is too straightforward to redefine the FPS.

[Tues, 11.Apr.06]
:. Rocketboom
In many ways, TiVo is a particularly apt platform for a show like Rocketboom.

[Mon, 3.Apr.06]
:. Fable: The Lost Chapters
Fable offers a significant step forward in the evolution of the form.

[Thur, 30.Mar.06]
:. Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
You spend the bulk of the game locating spots the designers want you to deface only to color in between the lines.

[Tues, 28.Mar.06]
:. FIFA Street 2
It seems as if EA is churning out these largely similar titles without much regard for quality.

[Thur, 23.Mar.06]
:. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Playing as the Prince is somewhat akin to controlling a fully rendered Jackie Chan.

[Tues, 21.Mar.06]
:. GBAV - Shrek / Shark Tale Dual Pack
In a clear case of technology mimicking a movie's worth, both of these now-dated diversions look pretty lousy on the handheld device.

[Fri, 17.Mar.06]
:. 1213
A properly executed solitary walk will frighten players more than a zombie jumping through a window.

[Wed, 15.Mar.06]
:. Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan
Ty 3 has no desire to reinvent the wheel.

[Thur, 9.Mar.06]
:. The French Democracy
The rough edges on Chan's work give it an air of urgency.

[Wed, 8.Mar.06]
:. µcade
I'd consider this a masterpiece, but it lacks the instant gratification that the best shooters have.

[Mon, 6.Mar.06]
:. Half-Life 2
Despite its pretty sheen, there have been compromises with this build.

[Wed, 1.Mar.06]
:. Tokobot
Undeniably cute and relatively smart, Tokobot provides a title the PSP desperately needed: a game with at least some mildly innovative gameplay, as well as casual appeal.

[Mon, 27.Feb.06]
:. The Movies
I expect innovation when I hear Molyneux's name attached to a project.

[Fri, 24.Feb.06]
:. Xbox Live Arcade
When American "entrepreneurs" steal game designs from foreign countries, they usually repackage it with stupid names like Snood.

[Wed, 22.Feb.06]
:. Ultimate Spider-Man
These are comic book panels come to life.

>[Mon, 20.Feb.06]
:. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Clear your entire schedule for the week, you've just purchased Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.

[Thur, 16.Feb.06]
:. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped!
I'm uncomfortable with the way cultural identity is reduced to an affectation to be put on during certain moments.

[Tues, 14.Feb.06]
:. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Occurring three years prior to GTA III, Liberty City Stories gives players the same sort of criminal storyline and felonious side missions of other GTA games.

[Thur, 9.Feb.06]
:. Mario Kart DS
I can't think of another Nintendo franchise that's so readily adaptable to online play.

[Tues, 7.Feb.06]
:. Worms 4: Mayhem
Mayhem feels like a series of errata and revisions but, really, you've got to sweat the small stuff for a game so miniature.

[Fri, 3.Feb.06]
:. True Crime: New York City
The game continues to remind you that being a good cop in such a rough and violent occupation is less than easy.

[Thur, 2.Feb.06]
:. City of Villains
Overtly brutal and disturbing crimes are really not the subject matter of the genre.

[Mon, 30.Jan.06]
:. Animal Crossing: Wild World
Right now I really want an axe, but that crook Tom Nook won't sell me one yet.

[Thur, 26.Jan.06]
:. Shadow of the Colossus
The Colossi confrontations are suitably epic.

[Tues, 24.Jan.06]
:. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2
Playing DDS2 without having endured the first one is a bit like watching Kill Bill: Vol. 2 without having seen Vol. 1.

[Fri, 20.Jan.06]
:. Chasing Windmills
In this video podcast the intimacy between the viewer and the character is only amplified by the blurry line between the character and the actor.

[Wed, 18.Jan.06]
:. Call of Duty 2
Despite the emphasis on realism and teamwork, Call of Duty 2 still realizes that it is a game with a single human player.

[Fri, 13.Jan.06]
:. Aeon Flux
Aeon Flux the game pales in comparison to the consistently ambitious cult television show and the meritorious yet maligned movie.

[Wed, 11.Jan.06]
:. Quake 4
We might have to consider the possibility that the first-person shooter has already scaled its greatest heights.

[Mon, 9.Jan.06]
:. Day of Reckoning 2
For all its faults, Day of Reckoning 2 does take a few steps in the right direction.

[Thur, 5.Jan.06]
:. Dungeon Siege II
The gameplay itself is very familiar and repetitive.

[Tues, 3.Jan.06]
:. The Matrix: Path of Neo
Just take the blue pill.

[Thur, 22.Dec.05]
:. Gun
It's refreshing to see political correctness both ignored and respected at the same time.

[Tues, 20.Dec.05]
:. Ratchet: Deadlocked
With its immensely rich background full of unforgettable characters and indefinable humor, you'd expect nothing less but more of the same. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

[Fri, 16.Dec.05]
:. Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
It's hard not to be struck by the apparent concession that the only people playing the game are going to be male.

[Wed, 14.Dec.05]
:. Broken Saints
The story which seems awkward on television fits perfectly in the digital medium.

[Mon, 12.Dec.05]
:. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
The character development contains about as much depth as a Playboy centerfold's bio sheet.

[Fri, 9.Dec.05]
:. The Warriors
Rockstar Toronto didn't just remake a cult favorite to reap the commercial benefits; they expanded an interesting story into something that could only work in this medium.

[Thur, 8.Dec.05]
:. SBK: Snowboard Kids DS
What SBK gets very right is the feeling of speed.

[Tues, 6.Dec.05]
:. Age of Empires III
If you can look past the fact that much of the combat was done with slow-loading, inaccurate rifles by men in gaudy uniforms, you'll find it hard to believe how few games have been made about the era.

[Fri, 2.Dec.05]
:. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
For Christian-friendly content, Narnia will earn blessings.

[Wed, 30.Nov.05]
:. Channel Frederator
These intentionally underdeveloped, short-short 'toons are as well suited for inclusion in a podcast as they are poorly prepared for inclusion in any other collection.

[Mon, 28.Nov.05]
:. Guitar Hero
Although it's easy to pass off any game with a custom controller as a gimmick, that is clearly not the case here.

[Tues, 22.Nov.05]
:. Soulcalibur III
Soulcalibur is about flamboyant overkill, and this title embraces its shallowness with exuberant panache.

[Thur, 17.Nov.05]
:. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (EU) / World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 International (US)
We've all been blessed with Pro Evolution 5, a game even better than its predecessor -- which many gamers thought was football simulator perfection.

[Mon, 14.Nov.05]
:. Fantastic 4
This is possibly the most claustrophobic game I have ever played.

[Fri, 11.Nov.05]
:. Far Cry: Instincts
What is instantly intelligible when playing this new game is that Far Cry: Instincts has been created with the Xbox's limitations in mind.

[Wed, 9.Nov.05]
:. Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse"
The first hour of play feels frustratingly formless.

[Mon, 7.Nov.05]
:. Meteos
Something I find utterly pointless is the constant comparisons between the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.

[Fri, 4.Nov.05]
:. Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Obviously, Trauma Center does not a doctor make. But the game does suggest something interesting about the way we work at any job or activity.

[Wed, 2.Nov.05]
:. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
Sly 3 seems to be changing the least out of Sony's three-headed platformer beast, but even these slight alterations might have been too much.

[Mon, 31.Oct.05]
:. Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack
As we look back at gaming history, Halo will ultimately be remembered as the game that single-handedly made Microsoft a major player in the console market.

[Fri, 28.Oct.05]
:. The Suffering: Ties That Bind
This series is more interested in exploring the mind of the killer before it places a skull-crushing crowbar or innards-spewing grenade launcher in your hands.

[Wed, 26.Oct.05]
:. Graffiti Kingdom
The interesting thing about Graffiti Kingdom is its effort to make drawing and creativity count.

[Mon, 24.Oct.05]
:. Dynasty Warriors 5
Whatever Dynasty Warriors may lack in the complexity of its combat, it makes up for in the breadth of its level design.

[Fri, 21.Oct.05]
:. Legend of Kay
If Kay sounds like your typical action/platformer, it is. But that doesn't mean it isn't well done.

[Thur, 20.Oct.05]
:. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Despite the participation of comic book scribe Paul Jenkins, the story itself isn't all that memorable.

[Mon, 17.Oct.05]
:. Kim Possible 3: Team Possible
As with the previous installments, Kim Possible 3 is not meant to innovate or revolutionize gameplay, merely attract tween-and-younger consumers to the lucrative video game market.

[Fri, 14.Oct.05]
:. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Running around like fashion model action figures, nothing seems to affect Cloud and his brotherhood.

[Wed, 12.Oct.05]
:. Urban Reign
Sadly, you are not required to rescue George W. Bush from angry Louisiana officials or disgruntled military moms in Namco's new Urban Reign.

[Mon, 10.Oct.05]
:. Nintendogs
Like most sim games, Nintendogs is not about control, but care.

[Fri, 7.Oct.05]
:. NBA 2K6
NBA 2K6 remains unaffected by the rolling red-state tide.

[Thur, 6.Oct.05]
:. Indigo Prophecy
The plot and story, in many ways the game's major trump card, can often expose its weaknesses.

[Wed, 5.Oct.05]
:. Burnout Revenge
The game is still about the white-knuckle intensity of finishing a race first combined with the visceral thrill of causing an opponent to crash into oncoming traffic.

[Mon, 3.Oct.05]
:. Sid Meier's Pirates!
By focusing on graphics instead of the script, Pirates! was crippled.

[Fri, 30.Sep.05]
:. Bone: Out From Boneville
There is inherently no joy to be gleaned from navigating through a conversation tree.

[Wed, 28.Sep.05]
:. We Love Katamari
If the shocking oddity of the objectives weren't enough to warrant further play, the never satisfied attitude of the King will.

[Mon, 26.Sep.05]
:. Hello Kitty Roller Rescue
When looked at through the normal critical lens, there's little here to recommend.

[Fri, 23.Sep.05]
:. Still Life
In some way the developers of Still Life have a great deal in common with the ivory masked ripper that is the game's villain.

[Wed, 21.Sep.05]
:. 187 Ride or Die
Ride or Die is no more harmful than a commercial featuring Snoop Dogg and Lee Iacocca.

[Mon, 19.Sep.05]
:. Geist
Geist fumbles what should've been its biggest selling point.

[Fri, 16.Sep.05]
:. Mario Superstar Baseball
Mario Superstar Baseball embraces the universal desire to see any given pitch turn into something truly astounding.