Four Swords was a grand ambition that created a uniquely fun social environment and foreshadowed DS wireless connectivity. Sadly, the charmingly retro graphics, bitterly competitive gameplay, and clever use of hardware peripherals were completely overshadowed by technical kludge and ridiculous expense.

The game follows the exploits of traveling salesman, brain aficionado, and zombie everyman Stubbs as he chews his way through the 50′s town of Punchbowl. Along the way, he makes friends (the hard way) and undergoes a journey of personal discovery where he learns that most of his body parts explode when thrown.

Mega Man ZX slaps another coat of paint on to the paper-rock-scissors gameplay that has nurtured the franchise through dozens of repetitions. The tweaks are minute as ever, so standing fans and longtime critics needn’t think very hard when deciding on a purchase.

Sly Cooper may be the only stealth game that balances challenge against failure gracefully enough to keep the pace quick and the gameplay fun. A modestly kludgey control scheme and some graphical slowdown keep the gameplay experience from flowing perfectly smoothly, but the game delivers an otherwise polished experience.