Given that “Modern Warfare 2” is the sixth game in the “Call of Duty” series (ignoring the many spin-offs), anyone already familiar with the series probably won’t find too much different.

The new film “The Road,” a movie based on a post-apocalyptic novel, reveals movies can still have real artistic substance, swapping big-budget effects for genuine insight into the human condition.

Ever since “The Elder Scrolls III” and “Grand Theft Auto III,” the idea of a great open-world, first-person shooter has seemed like the natural progression of video games from linear to nonlinear in the minds of many. But the idea is far easier said than done, and the mixed success of open FPS games like “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” and “Far Cry 2” have questioned whether this is actually a smart direction for the medium.

Never has a game been quite so lousy with so few redeeming qualities. It would be difficult for even a younger child to have fun with “Ben 10: Alien Force Vilgax Attacks.”

When “Halo Wars” tried to tweak the real-time strategy game formula to make it more playable with a controller earlier this year, it ran into a contradiction. Simplification made the game better by making it easier to control, but it also hurt the game due to the sacrifice of strategic depth and variety.

The “Halo” series started out as a game that merged visceral, tactical action with an excellent story line and powerful atmosphere. For better or worse, the sequels followed the same formula and were defined by many as games that either did or did not live up to the original. “Halo 3: ODST” however, is a curious item. While not long or new enough to be considered more than an expansion pack, the game explores a different approach to the series and becomes all the more interesting for it.

To be honest, the best thing that can be said about “The Beatles: Rock Band” is that it delivers exactly what you’d expect from the title. It features a stellar instrument-imitating videogame combined with some of the best cuts from the catalogue of the cornerstone band of modern music.

While there have been a number of Batman games over the past decade, none of them have done particularly well or stood out as doing justice to the Caped Crusader. “Batman: Arkham Asylum” changes that.

Grade: C+

If you’re curious or open-minded enough to think maybe there was more to the hippie movement of the 1960s than just drugs and free love, seeing Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock,” a dramatization of the concert attended by half a million young people in 1969, won’t provide much further education on the matter.

The movie doesn’t portray the movement as much of anything beyond several well-mannered, easygoing, perpetually stoned teens and 20-somethings out to have a good time, giving no depth to the pivotal social movement. But then again, it doesn’t really try to; far from being a powerful drama or a true comedy, “Taking Woodstock” utilizes the same feel-good attitude as its subjects, providing some amusement but…