IGN

• DS
• 8.2 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 7.6 / 10
• États-Unis

Chapter 2 in the series will be on its way, but have I even really recommended Chapter 1? It doesn't really sound like it, but to be honest, it's one of the more interesting adventure games around. Most important is how much cheesy writing you are willing to put up with. The cast is quirky and the scenarios are quirky; forgive me for still not being over the constipated raven. My personal cup of game A Vampyre Story is not, but you may enjoy a sip if only to experience its unique, Halloweeny flavor.

• WII
• 5.8 / 10
• États-Unis

Beyond the new questions, the Wii disc version of TV Show King adds a couple of new modes and a better leaderboard, as well as non-Mii characters for computer controlled players. But beyond that TV Show King Party is a pretty lazy addition to the Wii library, a blatant quick-buck product that works as a downloadable game, but when it's considered a retail product all of its flaws are amplified.

• DS
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS2
• PC
• 5.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Playing NHL 09 is like a new-age blast from the past. It moves and looks like something from 1995, but the gameplay somehow still manages to work. Slapshots have the requisite amount of speed, passes feel solid, and while the play creation tool isn’t quite what is on the 360 and PS3, the game still has a solid list of modes and features. The online play is the biggest disappointment and is almost unusable. At a price of twenty-dollars this game would have been easier to recommend but at a steeper forty-dollars there’s no way that people should invest in an experience that they could have gotten years ago.

• PSP
• 7.2 / 10
• États-Unis

If you have a puny, atrophied brain, spending some time with Brain Challenge will make you feel better about it. The graphics aren't much to look at but the menus are sharp and easy to navigate, and the controls are intuitive. There are some issues with the tutorials and multiplayer, but the basics of a decent educational puzzler are here.

• X360
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

PowerUp Forever would have been a much different game with some semblance of multiplayer, instead all we get is flimsy leaderboard support for all three of the difficulty levels. After you die in the arcade mode and are sent back to the beginning a few times the flaws in PowerUp Forever become painfully clear. Its art style, while very cool, doesn’t come close to pushing the PowerUp Forever into the “must-buy” category. Wait for the price to be cut in half and then it might be worth a look.

• DS
• 6.8 / 10
• États-Unis

The Fallen King is clearly an ambitious platformer from Ubisoft. The development team has created a title with mostly high production values. Although I'm not fond of the character design, the animation is fluid and the make-up of the levels he travels through is extremely varied and beautiful by DS standards. It's all the more painful then that the control scheme is entirely stylus-based because the setup simply isn't as precise, comfortable or enjoyable as a traditional configuration. At the very least, it would've been nice to have the option to select D- Pad controls for those of us who don't want to maneuver Prince through dozens of hand-cramping stages with the stylus just for the sake of playing a game with touch controls. Touch-play is not automatically more immersive, as The Fallen King demonstrates time and time again.

• PSP
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

It’s too bad that more wasn’t put into the PSP version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. The players on the pitch are very rigid in their movements and the overall speed feels like it’s capped so the PSP can keep up. Still threading passes through the aggressive AI’s defense and burying one in the corner of the goal is very well done and feels realistic for a handheld. Wireless online play and Become A Legend help, but it’s not enough to be in the same league as EA Sports’ champion for the 2009 season.

• WII
• 2.5 / 10
• États-Unis

AMF should be a strong brand when it comes to bowling on the videogame consoles, but instead it simply adds a name to an awful, quickly developed cash-in. One of these days I’ll be happy to play a different bowling experience than the awesome one that Nintendo gives away with its console. Maybe that’s wishful thinking…because after two years, no one’s been able to come close. AMF Bowling World Lanes definitely doesn’t.

• DS
• 8.4 / 10
• États-Unis

I purposefully chose not to rehash a discussion of specific mechanics or control here in the Rune Factory 2 review, because that discussion already exists -- in the review for last year's first Rune Factory. The more important point to get across here, then, was exactly that -- that this sequel is not very far removed from its predecessor at all, and while that doesn't make it a bad game, it should be taken into consideration for fans who've already invested tons of time into exploring last year's effort. It's a fine reality for now, as not every game series needs to completely alter itself between each installment. But this may be an early warning sign that history could end up repeating itself -- Rune Factory doesn't need to turn into the franchise it spun off from, repeating its same design over and over again for a solid 10 years. Again, it's OK for now, but if Rune Factory X in 2017 is still the same deal, we'll just be back where we started -- dying for some change. Because gamers deserve fresh innovations more than just once a decade.

• WII
• 7.4 / 10
• États-Unis

There's only so much you can do to dress up five old games, but SNK Playmore has done a fair job in adding extras, making sure the whole package runs well and presenting the content nicely. I'd recommend this compilation to almost any fighting game enthusiast looking for some nostalgia-inducing fun, but the King of Fighters games aren't for everyone. That said, Orochi Saga felt right and I enjoyed revisiting some classic fighters.

• WII
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Most Wii owners will undoubtedly write off this edition of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Virtual Console, either because they'll just be confused by its title or because they'll erroneously assume that it's a technically inferior port of the Genesis classic with the same name. It's not. Anyone who brushes this one off is doing themselves a disservice, because Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Master System game, is entirely its own adventure and is well worth its asking price of only five dollars. For those off you out there still burned by the lack of quality in Sonic's latest adventures, do yourself a favor and put down 500 Wii Points for a download of this hidden gem from the hero's early years. Its name is confusing, but its fun factor is clear.

• PSP
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

I can't end this review without mentioning one final qualm I have with the package: the lack of modes. Survival, Endless and Bomber aren't included in Super Stardust Portable, even though they're currently listed on the game's PlayStation Store page. They're going to be downloadable content in the future. Extreme weak sauce. If you're a hardcore Super Stardust HD player, Super Stardust Portable will feel totally alien to you. If you're trying this out for the first time, things won't be as tough but the game is still very clearly designed around different hardware -- it just wasn't made for the PSP. If you can get by these restrictions, you'll enjoy the download, but veterans beware.

• PC
• 3.5 / 10
• États-Unis

This title is outright disastrous. It was obviously released without thorough or perhaps any testing. The game is rife with design and performance problems and ultimately is unplayable. If you insist on punishing yourself, my advice to you is to pay close attention to the system requirements on the box. If you're working min spec, don't even try it.

• DS
• 3 / 10
• États-Unis

• MS
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• WII
• 7.9 / 10
• États-Unis