GAME OF THE MONTH
Shame Fools In Heated 1-On-1 Or 2-On-2 Matchups.
NBA Ballers: Phenom
Genre: Sports
Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox
Publisher/Developer: Midway
Hot: Handling, concept, attitude
Not: Packed with clichs
Rating: 4 out of 5
It's the world's first free-roaming basketball adventure as NBA Ballers: Phenom welcomes you to NBA Finals week in L.A. Explore Hollywood and downtown, settle longstanding rivalries, chase true love, snap photos of celebs and, oh yeah, shame fools in heated 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 matchups. Successful shooters can become top draft picks or entertainment moguls.
The Godfather
Genre: Action-Adventure
Platform: PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
Publisher/Developer: Electronic Arts
Hot: Atmosphere, mission setup, script, celebrity voice-overs
Not: Sleeping with the fishes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Talk about keeping it in the family: as a custom-created Corleone, scale an open-ended New York's underworld hierarchy circa 1945. How you do so is entirely up to you: crack heads, dangle adversaries from buildings or just intimidate rivals into capitulating while attempting original missions and assignments inspired by the legendary film.
The Outfit
Genre: Action
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher/Developer: THQ/Relic
Hot: Gameplay, graphics, level design
Not: Story, interface
Rating: 4 out of 5
Action and strategy (not to mention bullets and bodies) collide in the latest World War II epic for next-generation platforms. Controlling one of three heroes-cigar-chomping squad leader, chisel-jawed grunt, or token black guy-waste enemies personally, or instantly summon reinforcements, drivable vehicles and interactive artillery onto the battlefield. Bombs away!
Black
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox
Publisher/Developer: Electronic Arts
Hot: Special effects, controls, environments, weapons
Not: Better suited to next-gen platforms
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
From Criterion Studios, creators of Burnout Revenge, comes the world's most destructive third-person fire-n-forget outing. (They call it "gun porn"; us "freaking awesome.") Controlling a clandestine government operative, unload on intelligent opponents using realistically-rendered firearms and watch as windows shatter, bodies jerk, buildings collapse and buddies giggle like wide-eyed schoolgirls.