The only disappointment visible here is constituted in my mind by an utter lack of customizable options with each of the bikes.

The single-player game’s extreme difficulty will throw off many people, and the less than satisfactory ending will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

While for me not quite as addictive overall as another recent PSP racer, "Wipeout Pure," Ridge Racer is more than worth the money. If you are a fan of the series or if you just love arcade racing, you certainly cannot afford to pass this one up.

What Diablo II lacks in visuals, it makes up for in music, as the appropriately selected and highly engaging tunes never fail to live up to the moment and truly serve to immerse the player.

While the gameplay, artificial intelligence, customization capabilities, and weather replication are all outstanding, in other respects this release appears more than a bit rusty.

A few more months spent tweaking the camera, improving the AI, and correcting the inventory scheme would have resulted in a much more enjoyable experience.

This year's post-apocalyptic nuclear Christmas experience won't be as good as it was last year. Lack of improvement over the first and a high number of bugs are the main reasons.

Its additions are fine and I enjoyed the game overall, but too many elements are the same as its predecessor, giving the program the feel of a very-polished expansion pack.

It's positively gorgeous, but playing through the majority of the title feels more like a chore than it does like fun.

It all boils down to short playtime with tons of reused content, and a shallow storyline. Whereas I usually spend upwards of 70 hours to finish a Final Fantasy, I had this one licked in under 40, with plenty of side-quests and exploration included.

Using a trick based system that rewards slides, two-wheeled skids and perfect runs, the player must earn points for the above while still riding the line and achieving exceptional lap times. At first this technique seems fresh, but after a few incredibly disappointing runs down the later tracks you'll find it more frustrating than satisfying.

The failure here is a general lack of content on nearly all fronts. It's too short, the world is too small, there aren't enough monster types, missions, NPC designs or dialog.

The action falls short of amazing because certain elements, such as the poor A.I., do not hold up their end of the bargain, but Alice is still a fascinating trip that is well worth the tumble down the rabbit hole.

Anyone coming to Onimusha 2 cold will find brilliant beauty, but baffling execution.

It's got great non-stop action with pretty visuals and its three new playable characters offer a unique gameplay experience, despite its general brevity.

The core gameplay is involving and well executed, and bolstered by a great camera, solid controls and an intuitive interface. However, the sequel lacks any decisively outstanding or revolutionary features that truly invest the player in the storyline.

An extremely approachable game that has a strong foundation for those who are willing to stick with it for the long haul, despite the fact that it tends to wear a bit thin at present due to the vagaries of its random events and a difficulty level that tends to be too easy or too hard, with very little middle ground for experienced players.

Entertaining, but not for the hardcore fighting fan. Every move is very easy to pull off, it's more a matter of learning the best combos, and what each character will throw at you so you can properly defend yourself.

The micromanagement got a bit tedious at times and I found myself having to do too much just to keep things running. I thought the scenario editor was quite good, although I wish I'd been able to have more control over the amount and location of resources, which could have made for even more interesting scenarios.

In trying to appeal to all rally tastes, it ends up not being the very best at much of anything. While the car graphics are outstanding, the other dimensions of this release fail to live up to expectations.

Doesn't contain novel graphics, audio or gameplay, but it does offer more of what worked so well before. Given the short length of the campaign, Mercenaries might have fared better as an expansion pack.

Each aspect of Metal Arms illustrates the greatness of which the fledgling Swingin' Ape Studios is capable, but sadly, a number of faults keep the product as a whole from being outstanding.

It's not an innovative title, but it was made with a good deal of polish and will hold your attention for some time.

A wonderfully complex simulation that entertains more than it frustrates, though this title is clearly not for everyone. Action-oriented RTS fans should avoid it like the plague.

With fantastic visual and audio elements (setting a new standard), an engrossing story, an intuitive interface, and amazing overall polish, Myst IV Revelation has all the makings of a real winner. However, the tortuous difficulty posed by many of the puzzles, even for those with considerable logical abilities, detracts from the mainstream appeal of this offering.

Having little interest in the subject material of this title, I found that I was not terribly compelled by the story line...I found a majority of the animation to be uninteresting, which certainly detracted from the title.

Fraught with inconsistencies and potholes. Although it is a satisfactory, basic RPG, it is nowhere near the level of excellence that it should be.

Ultimately an entertaining title, but one with enough quirks to prevent it from attaining true RPG greatness.

If you ignore the sub-par audiovisual effects, you will find a decent and engrossing intellectual challenge underneath it all, which particularly exciting in human-to-human competition.

Its updated graphics and method of control breathes some new life into a well-worn building-conquest genre, even if the mission types are the same as most other RTS titles on the market.

While there are a few glaring problems, most notably with the poorly implemented multiplayer features, plain jane graphics, and lackluster AI, XGIII Extreme G Racing is still fun to play.

The combat and exploration never generate much excitement, though in certain areas, bad game design -- such as the illogical non-combat missions and the imbalanced enemies -- leads to considerable frustration.

The graphics and music are still great, showing great polish and attention to detail, but the story and gameplay are a bit of a letdown. What is missing here is the diversity and twists and turns, as well as the mystery, complexity, and enchantment of the outstanding original.

It's equipped with tons of powerful adventuring tools, such as a newly designed 3D engine and free-floating camera, and contains one of the most riveting endings I've seen all year. But ultimately I wish it had offered me more.

Possesses the single most important quality for a game: it’s fun. Controlling my party of characters to victory over the hordes of enemies that would flood the screen was a blast. Yes, there was a large amount of repetition, but I found myself faithfully returning to the game to move to the next area, or to achieve the next goal.

I prefer to think of Invisible War as a flawed diamond rather than a better-than-average lump of coal, as the sheer depth of its storyline and superb graphical quality make up for a multitude of shortcomings.

From a purely objective standpoint, the poor use of the Source engine's capabilities makes for a disappointing offering. Speaking subjectively, I've enjoyed Bloodlines more than any other RPG since "Knights of the Old Republic" or perhaps "Morrowind."

With all of this attention to detail, the actual gameplay is too simple.

The graphics could use as much TLC as the physics received, the sound and music could be fleshed out, and the controls could use some tightening to work more organically.

Despite its many faults, it remains a solid contribution to its genre, with graphics and music that form a particularly credible environment. That the arrival of its hasty conclusion is so regrettable is only a testament to its many strengths.

The deficiencies with frame rate, multiplayer competition, collisions, and replays still keep this title from achieving its potential.

This is not a bad game, but Westwood's real-time strategy titles are beginning to suffer the curse of Lara Croft -- they're getting old. There's nothing new here except for the gorgeous visuals.

The visual, aural, and control limitations of the original are becoming more and more obvious as the series continues.

The plot is absorbing, the graphics are wonderful, the sound and music are enthralling, and the puzzles are challenging. However, interface problems, relatively brief gameplay, and the absence of the critical online component are significant deficiencies.

The major problem holding it back is its poor network performance.

The graphics aren't particularly innovative and the sound effects are merely a step up from mediocre. However, Wrath of Heaven succeeds where it counts - in providing an enjoyable experience with plenty of replayability.

AI concerns make driving into oncoming traffic easier than it should be, while the moderate, but not extensive amount of cars and tracks mean that you'll be able to wrap up single player in less than ten hours.

Additional equipment and spells are nice, and the characters are now much more versatile, but design and pacing problems abound.

For its audience of hardcore sim flyers, Warbirds III is quite a solid game, and probably worth the monthly investment for those who can afford it.

A great addition to the survival horror genre. It's got good (if complex) controls, decent visuals and the backing of a terrific license.

Enough new material to justify the price tag for fans, but not for dilettantes who haven't played Neverwinter Nights since completing it the first time around.

The tactical wargame that remains, however, is simplistic and underdeveloped.

The short life span of the single-player campaign and the lack of any outstanding features make this offering falter when compared to other first-person shooters like "Halo" and "Timesplitters 2."

While the gameplay here is still incredibly engaging, if you have the first release there is no really compelling reason to upgrade.

This title falls short of being a blockbuster simply because it doesn't offer enough. There isn't enough play variety and not nearly enough tracks.

Advanced players and long time fans of "Starfleet Battles" will rue the simplifications of the rule set, though the great sense of online community still remains.

Loses ground with an inferior scaling system and limited use of large scale structures and ships, which negatively impact its graphics and gameplay scores.

In the end this product will satisfy only fans absolutely desperate for driving in the dirt.

Despite stylish graphics and fun gameplay, the lack of any revolutionary concepts coupled with the short play time means potential buyers should pass up Luigi in favor of other GameCube launch titles.

The improvements primarily in graphics and sound in Grand Prix 4 do not seem worth the huge increases in computer power necessary to run the title smoothly.

The AI in this game failed to impress me. It was not bad, but I thought it would have presented more of a challenge.

A good title if you’re serious about your strategy games. Casual strategic commanders and those that think the sun rises and sets over "Age of Mythology" and the like probably won’t see the draw or attraction.

A triumph of mediocrity.

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that Pokemon manages to provide more depth and complexity than Monster Rancher 3.

Gameplay lurches between the exultation of easy victory and the frustration of arbitrary defeat after hours of effort. Enigma: Rising Tide's slowness of movement and action only throws its pleasures and miseries into sharp relief.

The ability to change your landscape and building types as well as the ability to create your own buildings and scenarios are not only fantastically entertaining but add a near-infinite replayability factor to the experience.

If you're willing to get frightened out of your wits, be grossed out along the way and feel like an icicle, The Thing will definitely not disappoint.

A fun, yet brief detective adventure that will occupy several evenings of play, but like a watched episode of the show, will probably never be picked up again after completion.

Although Cleopatra is just as enjoyable as "Pharaoh," it doesn't really change the experience for the better.

Completely engrossing, from the horribly narrated opening sequence to the pulse-pounding excitement of the final encounter. What Arx Fatalis lacks in innovation and polish, it more than makes up for in rich atmosphere.

Doesn't reach its full potential because of flaky AI and chunky models that distract from an otherwise deeply engrossing environment.

While it is fun for a short while, once the novelty wears off its lack of polish really shows through. It completely lacks innovation, doing nothing at all different than what we've seen a 100 times over by now.

It’s somewhat ironic that The Bard’s Tale, which satirizes conventional medieval epics and romances, suffers from such a conventional adventure.

Not a collapsing ruin, and although it can be entertaining, it is missing the strong foundation needed to capture one's long-term interest.

If you're not a fan of wrestling, the flaws will easily overshadow the details, but if you're looking for an easy title to play, fun multiplayer, and above all, authentic WWF experience, Just Bring It will fulfill your needs.

The campaign doesn't last very long though, and isn't all that interesting to begin with.

It's short and sometimes repetitive game play with limited multiplayer doesn't exactly ooze with replay value.

Little more than a standard run and gun shooter with a few innovative features that aren't pulled off well.

Enough charm to rekindle the joy of the old-style score-based blasters. However, technical problems like the poor interface, unreliable frame rate, and steep learning curve really gouge out the fun.

Extremely effective in immersing you in the world of world domination and espionage, while maintaining a wonderful sense of humor... Nonetheless, the slow pacing, imperfect sense of direction, and extensive micromanagement can interfere with your enjoyment.

In many ways, it's most similar to a game released in 1990: "Dune."

It’s just difficult to wholeheartedly recommend a title that has a mere five or six hours of game time, and no real incentive to play through again.

World Driver Championship is a solid title with a lot of potential that's burdened by some design flaws and a driving model that will leave most players unsatisfied. Much as it offers a few new spins on an otherwise old formula, these shortcomings hold it back from true greatness.

The appeal of over-the-top effects, non-interactive finishing moves, and buxom ladies has a short expiration date. If you're a fan of the franchise, then this is the best Roar yet.

Micromanagers and fans of "Pharaoh" have cause for celebration with the arrival of Children of the Nile, and should be thanking the god of their choice for the abundance that has been provided.

A faithful adaptation of the video game versions, shining in several places while dragging along in others.

A significant improvement over "SimTheme Park," but yet with its schizophrenic emphasis on financial management and zany fun it still presents a less coherent and integrated experience than "RollerCoaster Tycoon." ... Nonetheless, I really do enjoy SimCoaster a lot.

Strategy war game buffs will find plenty to keep themselves entertained even though some may find the puzzle-like presentation off-putting. If you don’t mind a good strategy puzzle, however, this is your game.

While lacking some of the coherence and duration of its predecessors, and possessing a bit too many backtracking sequences and technical problems, the audiovisual elements are excellent...I would solidly recommend [it].

With the atmosphere and mood so sensationally presented, Shadow of Rome exceeded my expectations, which might have been questionable since I am avidly interested in the history of Greece and Rome.

Fortunately, AD survives its more nagging issues and manages to blaze a trail of light fun and humor with its crayon bombs and pellet machine guns.

Should be a hands-down epic masterpiece but is unfortunately tarnished by a litany of problems that should have been addressed before its release. If it wasn’t so doggoned much fun to play, it would be easy to write off because of its betimes infuriating downsides.

A fun and frenzied shooting romp, but -- as a longtime fan of the franchise -- beneath my expectations.

Electronic Arts has managed to capture the Bond ambience, due in no small part to the overuse of his theme music, but the single player experience, which is a very important part of a 007 title, is ultimately too simplistic for a super spy.

A flawed but rewarding experience seems to be the average diagnosis for most of the current crop of FPS releases, and Vietcong is no exception.

A must-buy for World War II buffs or those who want a straightforward and realistic RTS that demands tactical prowess and no city management skills whatsoever.

The gameplay, while not without its shortcomings, is light years beyond "Starfleet Academy," making it one of the best battle command starship simulators on the planet.

The quality graphics, accessible interface, fun single-player and multiplayer action, and effective sound all combine to make this a very appealing release.