IGN

SOCOM: Confrontation is one of those games that you hate to see in its current state. You can tell that the potential of the game is there in theory, but its current incarnation is completely and tragically flawed. If you can get into a stable game that works, you can have fun, but you have to wade through a myriad of technical issues to find that game.

In the end, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is a missed opportunity. Activision, Treyarch, Aspyr and Shaba were given a blank slate to create whatever Spider-inspired tale they wanted, and they put together a game starring a whiney hero, a foggy story, repetitive gameplay, and a focus on pretty combat combos instead of engaging combat mechanics.

Valkyria Chronicles is a game that all PS3 owners should at least try out, especially considering its unique blend of genre forms. With such a robust collection of extras to back up an already impressive mission roster and gripping story, Valkyria Chronicles comes highly recommended. I strongly encourage you to try it out and see the beauty of Gallia and its people.

In X3: Terran Conflict, EgoSoft has clearly given us both. Lovingly concocted, generally well executed, and hampered only by a few niggles, this is a game that not only achieves its goal -- plunking us into another time and place to live the life of an entrepreneurial spaceman -- but shows us that some titles can truly take us places.

Resistance 2 is one of those games that manages to expand on its predecessor in every way. The single player is epic in scope and in story, which is practically worth the price of admission by itself. Then you throw in the extremely engaging co-op and competitive play, which expands on replayability in just about every way possible. Toss in a generous number of unlockables, Trophies and community support, and you've got a phenomenal experience.

Judged solely on the merits of its content and its engaging combat and exploration styles of gameplay, Bully is well worth checking out. It hews closely to Rockstar's emphasis on the unheroic aspects of all of its characters and settings. By itself that's neither good nor bad, but it certainly provides for a lot less contrast than we'd like to have seen in an otherwise engaging and enjoyable story.

There's some good humor housed within, the gameplay mechanics work well enough and the platforming challenges, while very traditional (if not simple) are usually enjoyable. But if your idea of a good platformer is Super Mario Galaxy, you will find Nintendo's plumber in a completely different universe than this game both in terms of innovation and polish.

PAA: OTRSPODEO is certain to appeal to fans of the strip and will get some laughs from those who still have their heads up their asses and have never heard of Penny Arcade. To its credit, the Penny Arcade team doesn't attempt to pimp its own website and nothing about this smells of marketing tripe. It's a smart, fun game that would have been truly great with a wider range of enemies and environments and a touch more depth to the gameplay.

Although sometimes awkwardly paced and linear, Eternal Sonata is an RPG that everyone should consider checking out, especially for the unique premise and touching music. The battle system is rewarding and evolves throughout the game and seeing the characters interact is a lot of fun. Especially with the added features, there's really no reason for RPG-hungry gamers to pass up the PS3 version.

The bottom line here is that Dance Dance Revolution 3 isn’t worth checking out if you’ve ever glanced at a DDR game before. It doesn’t change a single mechanic and only adds a few no-frills modes to justify the purchase. There is a bit of fun behind the structure of the quest and game modes but they’re presented terribly.