Solid, fun to play, and irritatingly addictive.

Offers solid arcade gameplay, but it lacks the depth of the made-for-console wrestling games.

Even though the gameplay is somewhat old hat, there is enough variety and challenge in this game to make it a worthwhile purchase. The adventures are well balanced, and the visuals are outstanding.

While the main game is fun at first, in the Crazy Taxi vein, the novelty wears thin because of the bland graphics and repetitive nature of the gameplay.

More of the same NFL Blitz antics you know and love, but a shamefully sparse set of upgrades steals its thunder.

Though decent for the most part, and occasionally fun, the latest entry in the series remains lackluster and is easily overshadowed by the competition.

Apart from a small assortment of new moves and costumes, there is almost nothing in the game to distinguish it from previous installments.

Only those who have rhythm and coordination and don't mind acting a little silly will truly enjoy this game.

A good first effort, but it's too derivative of Half-Life in many spots, and it lacks focus and polish.

Its intense gameplay, quality graphics, and tight control will appeal to anyone looking to get their action fix.

Despite its flaws, serious Quake III fans will want to snatch this up right away.

Nothing more than a fun, nostalgic 2D platforming romp that will only appeal to true hard-core fans.

Should have been an A-list title. But the steep learning curve combined with the touchy controls and unforgiving physics make what's supposed to be fun just plain infuriating.

Somehow, Sierra managed to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory by committing gaffes and other oversights that just boggle the mind.

Enough playability, weirdness, gameplay variety, and levels to make it worth a look if you want something that won't break your bank.

The tight handling we grew accustomed to in Vigilante 8 is nowhere to be found. Instead of having massive tires to keep you on the road, you have to deal with unruly floating vehicles that glide all over the place; turning and weaving in and out of tight spaces can prove difficult.

Although Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers has a lot of good things going for it, such as well-designed levels, tight graphics, and responsive controls, it falls short of being a great platform game due to its hard boss encounters, poor camera angles, and brief adventure.

Relies heavily on stealth tactics and interesting scenarios, but often finds itself without a clear course for entertaining and compelling gameplay.

Frequent and unexplained crashes, constant lockups, myriad bugs, and an insane difficulty level mar what otherwise could have been an outstanding and addictive adventure on the high seas.

Get past the mentally incapacitating control setup, find a dark enough room, and sit back to enjoy hour after hour of corridor wandering and Xenomorphic genocide.

The problem is that unless you have the patience to put up with the AI's single-minded fighting style, for the most part you will find joy only in the two-player battles.

If you're looking for an over-the-top football title with some massive mayhem, go play "NFL Blitz 2000" instead. Leave this one on the shelf.

Although it brings many new things to the table, for every good attribute the game adds, a new problem comes along, be it awkward camera control or flaky targeting.

This is a nice alternative to the spoon-fed clues you get in so many adventure games.

The good news, if you're a hard-core old-school gamer, is that they both play like the Gradius shooters of old. The bad news, for every other gamer out there, is that Gradius III and IV don't showcase the true power of the PS2.

Though not dithpicable, this game is merely average compared to other third-person action-adventure titles for the PlayStation.

Unfortunately, while the game's premise is certainly intriguing, its fun is sorely limited due to a steep learning curve and lack of racing venues.

An imperfect FPS that is too much Psycho Circus, not enough KISS.

The slow-paced gameplay and monotonous platform-style action is likely to grate on your nerves and provide more than a few bouts of exhausted frustration.

Even despite slight control problems, terrifyingly bad documentation, and console-style save points, there is still enough here to warrant that horror fans check it out.

This mid-season replacement, though not without its occasional highlights, misfires far too often to run in the same league as its predecessor.

Although X Squad is fraught with many ups and downs, it's still a refreshing foray into tactical territory usually reserved for the PC world.

If you like the horror-survival genre, or are a big fan of Resident Evil-style gameplay on the PC, Dino Crisis is definitely worth checking out.

Because Gunbird 2 is such an insanely hard game, casual gaming fans are warned to stay away. Only hard-core fans of the genre need apply.

A solid if unassuming 3D real-time strategy that will score well with "Dark Reign" and multiplayer fans.

If, however, you want to move beyond the limitations of the original, or are simply interested in an action driving game that will remain compelling for months to come, Midtown Madness 2 will most likely not shift your gears.

If you're looking for a strong upgrade to NHL FaceOff 2000, you won't find it here.

If you like scrolling hack-'n'-slash with some platformer action, all wrapped in a decent story, Dragon Valor will prove to be at least moderately entertaining.

Even with the game's wealth of gameplay modes and excellent sound, the developers' failure to provide analog support and to improve the game's frame rate really hampers the franchise.

Suffers from limited gameplay and a few glitches, but it's a worthwhile title that most Frogger fans will enjoy.

Once the visual thrill and initial excitement passes, there is little here to draw you back for more.

You don't have to be a pre-teen or Chip 'n Dale groupie to enjoy "Magical Racing Tour," but it sure does help.

With only ten small stages, the game can be completed in about 20 minutes.

Aquality game, though it does suffer from a "been there, done that" feeling.

Its weak event lineup will leave it in a prime spot to be overcome once "International Track and Field" enters the competition.

While the graphics certainly aren't horrendous, they lack overall polish.

The same old Tomb Raider action.

When all is said and done, The LoD is like your typical one-night stand: it's OK for a quick fix but it's nothing that will get you emotionally involved.

A good diversion for bored cyber-deer hunters itching for diverse creatures that stalk back, but it's obvious that this series is falling somewhat behind the curve.

The latest in button-mashing, a genre that lost its excitement eons ago.

The problem here is that there are better, more original and inventive party games out there; Crash Bash fails to do anything to put itself ahead of Nintendo's "Mario Party" series, or even match it.

If you don't mind a lot of draw-in and bad sound effects, you'll be able to stomach this game.

With all those freshly minted copies of "Madden 2001" on the shelves, there's no reason to pick up NFL GameDay 2001.

Although slightly better than "NFL GameDay 2001," and we mean slightly, GameBreaker 2001 falls way short of our expectations because of its poor gameplay and spotty AI.

Rare isn't breaking any new ground with Mickey's Speedway USA; in fact, it's covering the same ground as the kart racers before it, only not as well.

PBR2 has more going for it than you'd expect, mostly in the way of visuals, but doesn't hold up as an overall gaming experience.

KISS fans will almost certainly feel ripped off by the band's phone-in appearance. However, for those who simply want a game with a high body count, K:PC definitely piles the carnage quite high.

While its predecessor broke new ground in the stealth-action arena, "Tenchu 2" hasn't improved much over the original, and has even taken a step back in some areas.

There is nothing here you haven't seen before.

By no means a bad game, but it's going to require a lot more than a quick tune-up and lube job if it ever wishes to turn the corner and become a great PS2 racing game.

DreamCatcher's game basically consists of one man leisurely fumbling through a series of Myst-like tasks while Dracula hangs out on the sidelines.

Hinging on a technological gimmick and the Pokémon license, the game falls well short of the standard set by previous Pokémon titles.

Oddly enjoyable for a few hours, but the fun runs out quicker than your AA guns' ammo.

Crippled by graphical glitches, poor control, and incompetent AI, TWINE feels more like a wannabe "GoldenEye" than something that can stand on its own merits. It's not that it's a horribly bad game; it's just not a very good game.

Run about? No. Run far, far away.

Despite the fact that Dinosaur boasts 12 full levels, each is pathetically short, not to mention extremely easy, usually only consisting of a couple of quick puzzles briefly interrupted by occasional fight sequences. Unfortunately, those are also short and terribly dull.

Despite its cool premise and rockin' soundtrack, Surfing H3O is nothing but a water-logged train wreck because of its meager gameplay mode selection, horrible graphics, and awful control.

We won't bleat around the bush -- in terms of shear gameplay, Sheep is a letdown.

Fails to deliver a compelling gaming experience for so many reasons that it should've stayed in paperback form.

A below-average game with little in the way of compelling gameplay.

This "Resident Evil" wanna-be falls flat on its undead face.

If you could save the game anywhere you wanted during the RTS and RPG modes, it'd be easy to put aside its lack of originality and recommend it as a reasonably entertaining game, something to tide gamers over while they wait for the next really big RTS or RPG.

Will likely prove more frustrating than fun for those who strap themselves into the cockpit.

On paper, the idea sounds great (and the game has been a huge hit in Europe), but the final product flat out stinks.

Poor production values and a woefully dated game engine make us pine for what could have been, and we are left with this modern relic.

A significantly underwhelming racing title that is outpaced by EA's superior NASCAR 2001 in almost every respect.

With subpar efforts such as this, it's painfully clear the series needs either to end or evolve.

Even though the multiplayer games offer a bit of fun for a few hours (blowing your friends up is always entertaining), WDL falls short of our expectations by failing to deliver the kind of unadulterated explosive combat we had hoped for.

Lame graphics, poor audio, and a definite lack of features once again reduce the beleaguered franchise to NIT status.

"Fighter Destiny 2" is not a total crime against humanity, but it's pretty close, and given the fact that it plays almost exactly the same as the dusty original, there can be no doubt that the fighting throne certainly doesn't go to this pretender.

Even though Freestyle Motorcross's outlandish trick selection and arcade-style flair make it somewhat entertaining, the simplistic gameplay, poor graphics, and limited selection of riders simply don't make it compelling enough to belong in your library.

Despite its humongous selection of teams and clean-looking graphics, this version of Sony's college-hoops franchise is just as horrible as last year's "NCAA Final Four" on the PSX, thanks to lackluster, unbalanced gameplay and an incomplete control scheme.

It'd take a miracle to thaw this one out.

With sloppy controls, an uncomfortable camera, poor voices, and awful music, BLSC has little to get excited about, even if you're a hard-core "Toy Story" fan.

A game that blends all the fun of a long tedious board game with the excitement of staring at a loading screen!

While there are a few interesting spots and plot points, Evil Dead the game has managed to turn one of the most original and entertaining of all B-horror-film franchises into nothing more than a boring, uninspired, and pedestrian attempt to cash in on a license.

Although the sheer volume of wrestling personalities and gameplay options prevent it from being a complete write-off, it still ranks somewhere between late-night infomercials and the Jerry Springer Show for outright entertainment value.

An incredibly monotonous, extremely boring family game devoid of fun.

While Chicken Run isn't an exceptionally awful game, it reeks of unfulfilled potential, most notably in the gameplay, which is highly monotonous and downright frustrating.

If you feel the itch for some wacky, freewheelin' racing action, you'd be better off getting out a copy of your favorite kart racing title and saving yourself the pain, the money, and the aggravation of getting that maddening laugh stuck in your head.

This lame first-person shooter with no visual or visceral delights is an insult to the brand name that is Resident Evil.

An Olympics-licensed title that could have been great is marred by a shoddy control setup and lack of production.

It's pretty damn cruddy.

Although the actual car models are quite nice, the N64's infamous fog--which makes for about 10 feet of visibility, even in sunny conditions--and the blurry, washed-out textures undermine the game's few good points.

Fails in so many areas that the entire experience ends up being one long exercise in frustration.

It goes where no Trek game has gone before -- and it should stay there!

A surfing game that even the biggest poseur would classify as fairly bogus.

Unfortunately, because of stiff graphics, shoddy control, and bare-bones features, this game doesn't even come close to achieving 2K1's greatness. To put it bluntly, NBA 2Night downright sucks.