sponsorship

Which site is wasting your time with too many Pinata parties? Which company went a little too crazy with new games this week? Find out the nitty gritty without getting buried in the clutter with the Week in Reviews!

Welcome to the Week in Reviews! We here at Games.Net pride ourselves in bringing you the best from around the net, and the Week in Reviews should serve as your one-stop-shop for review roundups from the web's biggest sites. Forget about slogging through fifteen budget war titles that score a 6.0--we're bringing you the very best and worst games to hit the internet this week.With the holiday doldrums finally shaken off by the collective gaming industry and its astute media, reviews flowed forth like cheap cheap wine. There were a few notable titles to hit store shelves and a few developments that caught our eye. Check them out below:

Games.Net's WIRE-- 12/4 to 12/8- The Week in Reviews.

Konami's children fight to the death for our amusement.

By far the biggest gaming reviews to hit this week came from Konami's one-two portable punch of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the DS and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops for the PSP. The two titles ran pretty neck and neck in terms of reviews with most internet outlets giving MGS the duke, if only by a fraction of a point. While they're completely different types of games, both franchises have enough clout that spacing the two releases out would have probably been better for the bottom line. Square may have similarly put all of their Final Fantasy eggs in one basket, but seeing as how there's a good two-to-three year break between dedicated FF titles, we're not about to complain. The steady stream of MGS and Castlevania games don't bode quite as well. The similar scores will probably ensure that both garner solid, but not knockout sales. We may just have to amend our Top Titles Lost in the Holiday Shuffle countdown.

PS3 Fight Night is the best, but not really

A few sites have gotten ahold of Fight Night Round 3 for the PS3, and while the quality of this version may signal the start of PS3 port dominance, you wouldn't know it from the scores. Both IGN and GameSpot gave the game a lower score, despite giving the PS3 version the duke (albiet unenthusiastically). Since game reviews are rarely changed with time, this could be a sign of the ten-month time difference, but considering that Fight Night Round 3 still stands among the Xbox 360's best, it's a puzzling juxtaposition.

IGN goes intercontinental, we go crazy.

No, IGN hasn't put off reviewing Wii launch titles for a half-month. They're just putting some strange review tactics into play this week. With the Wii launching abroad, IGN is leveraging its European wing to re-review the Wii launch lineup. Add to that the tendency for IGN to have international coverage for top titles, and you've got a cluttered review slate. We understand that gaming is big everywhere, but does Viva Pinata really warrant three different reviews? Give me the international flavor when opinions differ heavily or an import-friendly European game is the subject (see the worthy Aussie Wii Play review). Otherwise, toss me a quick blurb chock full of "Oi! Dis game 'ere is rubbish!" after the American guy's said his piece.

You want the cold hard facts? Here are the review stats for the week of December 4 to December 8.

1UP-
Highest Score: 9.5/10 for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Xbox)
Lowest Score: 3.5/10 for Shot Online (PC)

IGN-
Highest Score: 9.0for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP)
Lowest Score:: 2.1 for Reel Fishing: The Great Outdoors (PSP)

GamePro-
Highest Score: 4.5/5 for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Lowest Score: 2.5/5 for Superman Returns: The Videogame (Xbox 360)

Game Revolution-
Highest Score: B- for Madden 07 (PS3)
Lowest Score: D for Eragon (Xbox 360)

GameSpot-
Highest Score: 9.0/10 for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PS2)
Lowest Score: 1.6/10 for NRA Gun Club (PS2)

GameSpy-
Highest Score: 5/5 for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (GBA)
Lowest Score: 1.5/5 for Pocket Racers (PSP)

What review injustices are rubbing you the wrong way? Drop a line in the comment box and we'll crack the whip for you!

Games.net's Countdown to...