Fans of the original game will go bonkers for this second installment, which moves the game forward (or backward, depending on how you look at it), into the era of the Galactic Civil War, as depicted in the original trilogy of Star Wars films. This means that you'll get to play with iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Boba Fett, and many many more. And you'll fight your way through all of the major action scenes from all three films, including the escape from the Death Star in Episode I, the pursuit of Boba Fett on Cloud City, and the destruction of Jabba's barge in Episode III, among many others. My favorite is probably the snow speeder battle on Hoth (yes, you get to use tow cables).

I think the biggest challenge that must've been facing the game designers for LSW II was that the original game was set in a timeline that featured hundreds of Jedi, allowing them to create an endless supply of playable Jedi who had all of the Jedi powers and lightsabers at their disposal. Sure, there were a few other kinds of characters you could play, like palace guards or Padme, or Jango Fett, who had no Force powers or lightsabers of their own. They relied on little more than basic blasters and repelling wires for climbing structures. LSW II, since it's based on the original Star Wars trilogy, has only Luke Skywalker, a much older Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda, as playable Jedi to choose from. And none of them remain playable or at the same power level throughout the entire game (a nice touch is the inclusion of a Dagobah level in Episode V where Yoda "teaches" Luke to use the Force).

The world of The Matrix, while seemingly perfect fodder for video game makers, has had a spotty gaming history. First came Enter the Matrix, which told a side story that coincided with the timeline of The Matrix Reloaded, and even featured live action cut scenes written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers themselves. The game featured some fun levels but ultimately fans lamented the fact that you could never play as Neo, never achieve anywhere near his level of power. Next up was The Matrix Online, an MMO built around the Matrix's Megacity. This gorgeous online PC game had (and still has) a lot going for it, including a storyline that continues The Matrix beyond the film trilogy. But in the end, only those who enjoy endless hours of "leveling up" on repetitive missions, and have countless free hours available to wait for the scripted, in-game "events" really got the most out of it.

The Matrix: Path of Neo finally puts you in the driver's seat, allowing you to play as The One himself, experiencing virtually everything he experienced throughout the film trilogy. You'll follow Neo's entire storyline, from his first stirrings at the beginning of the first movie, to his "Super Brawl" fight with Agent Smith in The Matrix Revolutions (which gets a new twist in the game). Not only do you get to be The One, doing (almost) everything he did, but you get the chance to play the scenes your own way, and even succeed where Neo himself did not. For example, in the movie Neo failed to escape from the Agents in his work building at the beginning of the first movie, but in the game, it's possible to get away.

The game starts you off by unceremoniously plunking you down in the famous "Government Building Lobby" scene, with no instructions or warning, and lets you play against wave after wave of increasingly difficult AIs. Your performance on this test level determines the difficulty setting at which you'll play the rest of the game, and then it's time to dig into the action for real. Once Neo makes it out of the Matrix into the real world, the real fun begins. Link's "training programs," depicted as simple data downloads to the brain in The Matrix, are here played out as training simulations, where you (and Neo) learn how to fight, progressing with greater efficiency with each new level.Matrix game thus far.

But does Villains deliver enough mayhem to encourage you to walk the path of the dark side for a long time to come? The answer to that depends mostly on what type of player you are.

COV is the next evolution of City of Heroes, inhabiting the same universe and interacting with many of the same characters. But COV takes the perspective from the dark side of crime. After creating your own villain, the player can then decide to follow the footsteps of Arachnos (an evil world-dominating organization) or decide to cause mayhem on a freelance basis (hey you can never keep a bad guy down). Either way, players will experience bank robberies, kidnappings, and some of that other stuff you would associate with being a super-villain. And as a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) you can even team up to form your own evil squads.

On the show, every episode is another hour in a day. In the game, once you successfully complete one section, you move onto the next, which represents another hour. Staple characters are all here, such as star Jack Bauer, Tony Almeda & Michelle Dessler, the now-slain David Palmer, and throwbacks to past seasons like Chase Edmonds and Ryan Chappelle.

The great thing about 24 the game is that it answers a lot of questions that long-time fans of the show may have, like how Jack and Chase started working together, how Chase and Kim first met, how Chloe was introduced into CTU, and what happened to President Palmer in the downtime between the second attempt on his life (re: the hand-shaking incident) at the end of season two, and his rather miraculous complete recovery by season three, among others.

If you have ever showed any interest in playing Dark Age of Camelot, now is a great time to get involved. The creators of Camelot have decided to follow numerous other online RPGs and allow a 14-day player trial of the game (which, by the way is what this review is based on). I highly recommend players taking advantage of this opportunity to see if this is the right game for you. I was able to learn a lot about the positive and negatives of Camelot through this trial period.

The main highlight of the game is that Camelot offers a lot of diversity. Despite its title, the game goes well beyond telling the story of the legendary King Arthur. The creators actually mix together a great wealth of legendary stories, mythologies, and lands to create an interesting experience and unique customization for the player. At last count I believe there were 18 races and 44 playable classes!

Playing the Command & Conquer series in all its many incarnations over the last 10 years prepared me for what was to come. Of course, being that C&C was my primary exposure to the RTS gaming world, it did take a little getting used to how things are done in Empire at War. I had played the demo before buying, so it wasn't complete culture shock, but I have to admit that the controls were not as intuitive as I hoped. Where C&C games had you manage resources from the ground while in battle, establishing bases, gathering resources, and building armies, EAW forces you to make your decisions from an almost god-like perspective, looking down on the galaxy, zooming in on planets just to build, sort, and arrange your forces between battles. When zoomed out, you can see Imperial and Rebel controlled planets, and move your forces between them. But if the enemy attacks one of your planets (I've only played the rebels so far), and you don't have the resources in orbit around the planet to defend it, the battle will likely be very one-sided. The great thing is, in order for your enemy to lay claim to your planet, they have to not only get by your space forces, but also your ground forces, which is a much more traditional Command & Conquer type scenario. Much like in Battlefront, you can overtake command posts to increase the amount of reinforcements you can call to the ground, mainly because you only get so many forces in the initial wave, especially if you're on the offense.

But nowadays the stakes are considerably higher. The storylines are more involved, characters are more fully developed because of intricate histories, the battle sequences require thought and strategy as opposed to mere button-mashing. Heck, even the music that accompanies a game has become far more lush and grandiose since the days of Nintendo and Atari.

What does all of this have to do with my thoughts on Atlus Software's Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity? Perhaps I have become spoiled by lush graphics and animation, orchestral soundtracks and stirring plotlines, because this game just seems rather average. It's not a bad game, but it feels like it doesn't want to be anything terribly special either. The weird part, however, is that you may find yourself being okay with that.

The object of the game is to "answer Bible trivia questions correctly to reach the center of the gameboard first!" Everything is contained on the DVD so there is no board to unfold or dice and other little pieces to lose. The game moves your pieces for you and each turn you move one space with a correct answer. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

The Bible DVD Game is hosted by Jeremy Camp. When the DVD first starts it comes up with Camp talking about King David, the history of the Bible and what fun your family is going to have. This always comes up and you have to watch it to get to the game menu. It's one of the few flaws of the game. Jeremy Camp might be a good singer but you can only listen to the same two minute speech so many times.

The Movies is simultaneously one of the most innovative and most derivative games I've ever come across. An obvious influence from The Sims is hard to ignore. You build your studio lot (or choose a basic, pre-made lot). And then you micromanage the lives of your employees.

Happily, the game offers so much fun stuff to try, it's hard to get bored. And its many small touches add a distinct Hollywood flavor that's fun and clever. (My favorite is when the game is loading; it plays the sound of an orchestra tuning up, as if the curtain is about to be raised on a big production.)

The Movies starts you off in the 1920s (though a built-in cheating capability allows you to boost that to the 1950s if you like), with the earliest of movie-making equipment. As time progresses, more advanced technologies gradually become available, just as they did over the years in real life. By the time you reach the modern era, the ability to utilize more complex filmmaking techniques and even special effects become available.

A multitude of sets, production buildings, decoration, and props are available, each giving your lot unique new capabilities. There are Western sets, World War II sets, urban environment sets, Science Fiction sets, and even vehicles surrounded by scrolling backgrounds to simulate movement. As time progresses, your available lots become more and more sophisticated...