Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows’ biggest issue, however, is its short length. Each of the game’s 16 levels can be completed within 10 minutes--10 extremely repetitive minutes--and there is no incentive to revisit past stages due to the lack of hidden features or bonuses.

If you ever run into one of the erstwhile developers of Stainless Stell Studios, you should probably buy him or her a beer and let them cry on your shoulder; it’s gotta hurt to see a game you made that obviously started out with a lot of potential get released in such an unfinished state.

The story mode is boring and full of repetition, the controls are overly simplistic.

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects on PSP feels like it was made by a bunch of Madden jocks as a way to screw with comic nerds.

Even as a generic 3D platformer Pac-Man World 3 fails to satisfy.

Even as a budget title, Elite Warriors: Vietnam is an underwhelming game. The AI is buggy and ineffective, the missions are stale, and the strategic elements feel hollow and, ultimately, pointless.

The simplistic visuals aren’t to the level of a 2005 release, the limited animation and restrictive camera angles diminish the fun associated with the combat engine, and it’s not a particularly violent game despite its subject material.

It’s short. It’s simple. It might be neat for a while, but unless you’re stuck with this game and this game only and isolated from any other source of entertainment, you’re unlikely to get more than a few hours worth of entertainment out of Shogun Warriors.

Where the colorful Pokemon games are finely polished and well-oiled machines, Digimon World 4 feels like a junker thrown together out of rusty spare parts.

Yet another DS title that feels like it should have been part of a larger overall game, rather than the entire focus of the product.

The vast world with bandits and weapon-packed vehicles is an interesting idea, but being forced to meander back and forth across it just to earn a few scraps of cash makes the whole thing boring.

Lag is a constant problem, with characters and enemies often freezing in their tracks for a few moments before warping ahead to make up for time lost. The in-game visuals don’t impress at all.

Online, however, is a broken mess as of launch. In time, you’ll probably be able to add at least a point to our score, but as of right now, you’re better off waiting to jump into this demon-infested version of London.

Forcing the player to endure 100 repetitive missions just to unlock the meat of the game is an insult, as is the imbalanced fighting engine.

When it comes down to it, The Darkest Faerie plays like a Zelda knockoff and looks like a Spyro ripoff. Save for the mote system, there really isn't anything interesting going on, which would be fine if the execution were better.

The team-building aspect and gambling mechanics are great, and give the game a bit of a role-play feel, which serves to nearly offset the horrible load times and mediocre fighting action—but not quite.

If you dig dog-eared InuYasha and his rather violent friends, Feudal Combat is a pleasant diversion.

A good game design need to fire in all cylinders. Mage Knight Apocalypse stumbles on so many levels, it’s a wonder they ever got it out the door.

Why the presentation is so flat is a mystery worthy of Veronica Mars, since there are only two athletes on-screen at once (four during doubles matches).

Yet, gameplay is still the biggest flaw, with inconsistent AI (the computer never runs and doesn’t manage the clock effectively in the second half) and electric football-style physics.

Steer clear of this occasionally interesting but unfortunately flawed title.

More open-ended environments, greater character customization, trickier puzzles, and smarter enemies would have all made for a memorable trip.

Only those gamers in it for the puzzles will get a kick out of this one--those who don’t get overwhelmed, that is.

The camera is even worse than in the main mode -- odd, when it could've just taken a zoomed-in version of the isometric view that games like Baldur's Gate have used for eons.

It’s a shame that the one good idea in this streetball title had to be overshadowed by bad execution and a mediocre presentation.

Spyro Shadow Legacy isn’t a terrible game, but it’s painfully repetitive and just plain dull.

By no means a completely wasted effort, just one that fails to live up to its alluring potential.

Though the Wayne vs. Wayne mode is an interesting, if not disturbing, idea, it’s not enough to justify a purchase for most hockey fans.