A brilliant renaissance for the once dominant beat-em-up genre...[but] you realize that this is an extremely short title posing as an epic undertaking in its revolution mode.

While the released version is a competent wrestling game, it plays very much like one of the old N64 releases with a major facelift.

The animations are still clunky and jerk the players about spasmodically when transitioning between routines. That aside, the gameplay has maintained its solid core while expanding on the available options.

Anyone who paid for a Sonic title will be racing hedgehogs only 33 percent of the time, and that just isn’t enough.

The amazing flexibility of the Surveyor tool guarantees zealous builders will have endless miles of track and numerous layouts on which to ride.

Taking the best elements of first-person shooters that preceded it, what we have here is a magnificent homage to the genre rather than an attempt to introduce significant novelty or redefine its boundaries...Clearly superior to its predecessor.

Visually, it is a stunning achievement that aside from a few frame rate issues presents some of the best graphics we've yet seen in the genre as a whole. Outside of the visuals, though, no one element of this title really stands out as an amazing aspect.

Grandia II happily dwells in a genre where its players will sacrifice a bit of visual quality for a compelling story and excellent combat and character mechanics. Luckily, these are delivered in spades.

Delivers an exceptional experience...The graphics are top-notch, the controls are easy to manipulate, and the combat is quick and intense on both foot and dragon back.

If you can get past the monotonous arcade elements, there's a lot that the title has going for it, including imaginative characters and a script bordering on hysterical.

An engrossing detective story with lots of exploration opportunities. However, there is no truly outstanding or deeply innovative dimension of this release.

Almost infinitely replayable. The fact that its gameplay fits snugly into the difficult to achieve "simple-but-deep" category practically qualifies SimGolf as a barbiturate along the lines of "Tetris."

It grabs hold of the intangible elements of interactive entertainment -- atmosphere, compelling gameplay, and emotion -- and runs with them.

Every scene literally drips with well-crafted atmosphere, and many are so memorable they will stay with you for days after you finish.

What with so little variety in weapons, foes, or physical settings, the game loses what little charm it has in a mere matter of minutes.

At its core, Final Fantasy X is just another chapter of the story we've all grown to love, but like a rare piece of literature, this story just gets better and better with each page you turn.

So many crucial touches could have been added to spice up the action but are sadly omitted, especially the ability to play some of the gambling games yourself, tinker with the payoff pattern of some of the machines, research new tables or even design your own attractions.

Add a spooky atmosphere set at the start of the twentieth century and little reluctance to tackle adult subject matter like sex and violence, and we finally have an RPG that appeals strictly for adult gamers without pushing into the realm of the ludicrous or indecent.

While a good story can sometimes save even the most mediocre of RPGs, and The Legend of Alon D'ar does provide a compelling beginning and plot, the pacing is so slow that only the most patient will make it through to the end.

It's a button-masher in the best sense of the term, and even people not normally interested in fighting games should check it out. While its raison d'être is multiplayer, soloists can't ask much more.

For the first time, real-time strategy concepts like resource building and army management feel at home on a console.

The smooth controls, incredibly fast races and fun combat are still here, and the Cube's processor seems more than able to handle the blindingly fast races even in four player split screen.

If flawed controls don't kill the experience for you -- and as a plaform jumping, blade wielding title they certainly do affect the quality of gameplay -- then the constant backtracking and key hunting will eventually drive you to the point of distraction.

The graphics, audio and multiplayer components are astonishingly good, while the highly competent yet unspectacular single-player gameplay lags a bit behind.

If you want an undersea simulation or oceanic real-time strategy, then forget it; but if what you desire is arcade action in a novel and challenging context, then it fits the bill.

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.

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.

Your objectives are simple enough that you never have to flip switches, jump over pits or hunt down missing keys, but at the same time the smart enemies, brilliant level design and strategic combat will tax your brain more than any scavenger hunt ever could.