Zuma is one of the lower tier games available on XBLA. By lower tier, I mean it is not one of the first games you are going to buy when you first look at the service. Although it is not talked about as much as the likes of Geometry Wars and Marble Blast Ultra it is still a very competent game that...

Frog Vs Manic Lottery Machine – Who will survive? It's hard to describe or even hear about the concept of Zuma without raising an eyebrow. Quite right too… For those not familiar with the concept of Zuma, you play as a stone frog that has been given the unique ability to fire coloured balls.

Requires a good balance of skill and intelligence; Genuinely challenging at points

Lots of work for little reward; Inaccuracy in the control scheme can drive you mental

Alpha Protocol is Obsidian's take at bringing gamers into their world of a solo, espionage RPG experience. The game is meant to combine that knowledge with an unparalleled level of player choice both on and off the battlefield.

Starts of cool; difference between multiple playthroughs

Controls; HUD; CQC; story; upgrade system

If you're going to crib from another game's playbook, you could do a lot worse than tapping Mass Effect as an influence. Alpha Protocol , the new action RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, tries valiantly to replicate Bioware's formula for melding in-depth story-telling and gunplay with a firm...

Decisions affect how the game plays out; Ambitious espionage plot; Choice diversity encourages replay

Largely unlikeable lead character; Gameplay is bland at best; broken and buggy at worst; Plot dullness outweighs ambitions

Alpha Protocol is far from perfect, but some good ideas, complemented by varied action, stealth, and RPG gameplay, make it a must-play for those still mourning the loss of television's 24.

RPG leveling and story-shaping conversations add depth to the standard secret agent action; Varied gameplay mechanics and a not-too-serious spy story generally outshine the game's flaws

Playing Alpha Protocol is like putting together a 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle with 500 pieces missing: You get a sense of what the big picture should have been, but the final product is still maddeningly incomplete.

Your choices have lasting impact on the story and gameplay; Lots of ways to approach missions and develop your character

Flaky; glitchy cover mechanics; Bland visuals further marred by texture pop-in and bad animations; Terrible AI affects both the shooting and the stealth; The story lacks soul and character

The legendary agent whose presence looms over Alpha Protocol's Michael Thornton isn't Bauer, Bourne or Bond - although the game is eager to invite all these comparisons. It's Shepard.

It's a good game with a lot to do. There are some areas that it could have used some improvements to get rid of that linear on-rails feel. Many should like it.

It could have been a lot worse, but for all its worth, the game simply doesn't deliver enough of an experience to keep the player wanting more. A dull experience rife with technical flaws and badly-combined mechanics.

When thinking about combining the action role-playing and stealth genres, one might think "wow, that sounds like a great idea!" and of course they'd b

Innovative dialogue system; Deep storyline w/ branching plot; Multiple endings; Tons Of replayability

Lack of polish; Cover system; Shooting is too technical