While Gladiator has excellent production values, its gameplay is fairly pedestrian compared to some console offerings. However, its style of gameplay is still fairly unique in the PC world, making it oddly compelling in very short bursts. [June 2004, p.80]

The elegance and accessibility that BioWare made part-and-parcel of this game should be the future standard for this genre. Don't pass it up. [Feb 2004, p.52]

Another second-rate port of a mediocre console shooter. [Feb 2004, p.66]

It's not great, and using the keyboard is murder, but with both solid single-player and multiplayer support, Battlegrounds is a surprisingly commendable mix of card fighting and 3D brawling. [Mar 2004, p.79]

A good game hidden behind a baffling interface. All the "one more hour" elements are there; you just have to find them. [Apr 2004, p.72]

While it can become predictable at times, the game does have Xbox Live support, which adds to its shelf life. [Apr 2004, p.8]

If you're feeling generous, it might also be called "Halo Done Wrong." [May 2004, p.61]

The PC controls are so awkward that even when you know what to do and where to go, you find that you really need 360-degree character rotation to avoid staggering drunkenly into certain death. [Mar 2004, p.81]

The sense of speed is superb, particularly with the visual assistance. [Feb 2004, p.73]

The incomplete A.I. and numerous bugs indicate that somebody was more concerned with getting the game on shelves before Christmas than providing a finished product. [Apr 2004, p.68]

Enjoying Dominions II involves marshalling the power of your imagination to breathe life into all the detail, which is what gaming is all about when it was played on tabletops. If you accept this basic premise, there's no fantasy game more epic, varied, and vivid than Dominions II. [Feb 2004, p.82]

This "Grand Theft Springfield" perfectly captures everything that makes the show great: the writing, the setting, the humor, and most importantly, the characters. [Mar 2004, p.72]

A solid if somewhat yeoman-like sci-fi strategy game. [Mar 2004, p.79]

Running a multiplayer league pretty much works as advertised, but it feels tacked on...It's the kind of game that is worth wading through its warts to get to the good stuff. [May 2004, p.64]

Until the multiplayer is fully operational, URU is something of an incomplete book, but what's there is simply stunning. [Feb 2004, p.58]

Like its predecessor, this might not be the most memorable roleplaying experience out there, but it will still keep you enthralled. [Feb 2004, p.70]

Taking the speed of a play down a couple of notches may give the game more authenticity, but everything else feels unfinished. [Feb 2004, p.62]

Lacks the slightest spark of life or inspiration. It has no character, both literally and figuratively, and its action is stilted and crude. [Jan 2004, p.65]

Enemy AI is shoddy, as is the hit-detection. The graphics are also deficient, with nearly every element in the game looking bland. [Apr 2004, p.9]

From a graphics standpoint, Sphinx looks incredible. [Apr 2004, p.9]

A goldmine for fans of historically authentic strategy gaming. [Mar 2004, p.78]

The worst thing any game can be is predictable, and FIFA Soccer 2004 is one of the most predictable sports game in recent memory. [Feb 2004, p.72]

A thoroughly worthy addition to the Civilization family. [Feb 2004, p.56]

Attention to detail doesn't go far when core gameplay is this scattered. You could make a good rugby game for the PC, but Rugby 2004 isn't it. [Mar 2004, p.83]

There are few games with such radical swings from "amazing" to "sadistic." [Jan 2004, p.64]

Has some lovely visuals but in the end is so passionless and denuded, it makes you feel dumb for having looked forward to it. [Feb 2004, p.54]

Aiming at enemies is nearly impossible. [Apr 2004, p.7]

The mess of a control scheme, stilted animation, and poor transitions obviously shows that Daydream Software must have been daydreaming when it decided to leap into the world of 3D. [Feb 2004, p.85]

This design alley is a dead end. [Jan 2004, p.80]

Call of Duty is going to turn heads. It looks amazing, the action is fierce, and the multiplayer game is balanced, with plenty of diverse settings. [Jan 2004, p.58]

The lack of difficulty is only surpassed by the lack of control. [Apr 2004, p.74]

Most of the guns are uninspired and even boring - even the shotgun seems dull. [Feb 2004, p.60]

Rarely inconsistent, often frustrating, and always flexible, the world of Gothic II is, for lack of a more appropriate term, the most believable virtual place you can visit. [Feb 2004, p.59]

Because of the high reliance on other people, diplomacy is a coveted real-world skill as well, and those who can use it wisely always have the most fun. [Feb 2004, p.62]

It's more of "more of the same," but the "more" of The Sims is always interesting and funny. [Feb 2004, p.85]

The Trials areras are colorful, imaginative, and cleverly designed with fantastic monsters and wonderful architecture. [Apr 2004, p.71]

It remains the place for massive (and social) battles, and changes in the wake of Core Combat should bring lapsed players back to the fold. [Mar 2004, p.74]

There's simply not a sound gameplay model at work here. [Feb 2004, p.70]

Single-player game lovers will find a worthy entertainment here; fans of multiplayer, on the other hand, will be shocked and dismayed. [Feb 2004, p.80]

Empires isn't flashy or exotic enough to be crowned the new event horizon of the now officially clogged "historical" real-time strategy wheelhouse, but it's likable and shinier than most. [Feb 2004, p.64]

Has very strong and very weak points, and much of the time the urge to see what's around the next corner only barely surpasses the urge to throw your hands up and walk away. [Feb 2004, p.76]

An orcload more of the almost anachronicstic same...It's simply Warlords, the best damn hardcore computer-fantasy-wargame series out there. [Jan 2004, p.66]

Might be entertaining enough to play except its interface sucks too much enjoyment out of the game. [Mar 2004, p.76]

There's a great primal vibe that somehow makes you enjoy every minute the six sides spend at each other's throats. [Jan 2004, p.82]

Let's be kind and say that it looks lovely in its plumed cap of mediocrity. [Feb 2004, p.84]

While it's a bit unpolished and repetitive, and resorts to action when tension might be better generated through inaction, it still manages to impress. [Jan 2004, p.80]

That it comes up short isn't too much of a shock; if anything, the fact it holds up as well as it does is perhaps the bigger surprise. [Feb 2004, p.68]

With at least 40 hours of original, engaging role-playing packed into its relatively tiny install, Geneforge 2, like the previous Spiderweb games, is probably the best twenty-five bucks an RPG fiend can spend. [Feb 2004, p.85]

The missions are challenging, with a nice, even learning curve spicing things up with some dynamic victory conditions and other such swerves along the way to keep things interesting. [Jan 2004, p.71]

Pure blah from the opening missions in snowy Stalingrad to the last hurrah on the beaches of Normandy. [Jan 2004, p.67]

It ups the ante on art and style while taking its attempts at being "cinematic" too seriously. This makes it nearly impossible to ignore the general level of mediocrity to the characterizations, writing, and storytelling despite its mostly solid action. [Jan 2004, p.62]

Interesting for about 10 minutes. [Feb 2004, p.85]

One of those half-baked ports of a console game that someone figured might squeeze a few bucks out of PC owners. [Feb 2004, p.77]

It matches intense, fast-paced action with a squirrely camera and imprecise aiming. Needless to say, that isn't a particularly compelling combination. [Feb 2004, p.77]

It delivers an excellent single-player game with some caveats, and a blah multiplayer experience that lacks the best feature from the Xbox version. [Dec 2003, p.92]

Although there's a lot of new content, it's concentrated almost solely in the Atlanteans. [Dec 2003, p.90]

The animations are superb, despite the great quantity of creatures and heroes that appear during the campaign. The sound effects augment the animations perfectly. [Jan 2004, p.73]

Unfortunately, the game's most consistently medieval aspect remains its interface. [Jan 2004, p.74]

It's pretty much more of the same. [Feb 2004, p.79]

Too bad Star Fury fails so spectacularly at creating the sense of moving a ship through space. [Feb 2004, p.80]

If you know what the IRL is about then this game is entertaining, but it's not the definitive IndyCar simulation it seems to want to be. [Jan 2004, p.84]

Rush Hour makes it a better game, but it's still missing something that past editions delivered, the feeling you could create whatever you wanted. [Jan 2004, p.78]

While it's rough around the edges, playing more like a prototype than a finished product, there's finally a reason to get excited about the future of the series. [Jan 2004, p.70]

When you combine the new features with a physics model that takes wind into account more than last year, stunningly beautiful visuals, more online options via EASO, and a course architect program, it's hard to fathom how this game can get any better. [Jan 2004, p.60]

It may not win over the reflex-challenged, bearded gamer types, but fans of the original "Generals" won't find a title better tuned and tweaked to their tastes. [Dec 2003, p.88]

Surprisingly well made and entertaining. [Jan 2004, p.76]

While veterans of the series who like fast and loose gun battles might complain about the design changes, anyone who appreciates variety and a touch of realism in their WWII shooters should appreciate the new direction. [Jan 2004, p.77]

The new dual-saber and double-bladed staff make for one hell of a lightshow, but they don't have the strategy and finesse of Jedi Outcast's simpler sabers. [Nov 2003, p.94]

Which brings us to the game's greatest flaw, a smorgasbord of bugs, glitches, and blatantly missing features. [Dec 2003, p.82]

For all its clumsy new baggage and rushed feel, Homeworld 2 takes itself seriously, designed from the ground up as a reward to the faithful rather than an olive branch to the casual newcomer. [Dec 2003, p.84]

It never breaks away from the level of great to become and excellent game worthy of high praise, but also never falls to the level of mediocrity. [Jan 2004, p.72]

The first and most troublesome problem that you encounter in the game is the miniscule size of the player community. [Dec 2003, p.85]

With good physics, respectable graphics, an interesting city to explore, and lots of good stuff to shoot, Starsky & Hutch is way better than it should be. [Jan 2004, p.84]

A schizophrenic title, caught somewhere between its teenaged visual aesthetic and some moments of truly solid game design. [July 2003, p.84]

The geography is often stunning and shows a flair for the otherworldly that puts the more expensive landscapes of "Star Wars Galaxies" to shame. [Jan 2004, p.68]

Although it's still not the greatest-looking game out there at this point, the textures and moster animations have improved tenfold with this expansion. [Feb 2004, p.61]

They don't feel much different from regular guns and planes. [Dec 2003, p.86]

It's a cynical and soulless exercise that deliberately eschews any aspect of modern game design that might make it accessible - like complexity, stylish art direction, and mechanical variety. [Feb 2004, p.78]

Republic is further hobbled by a linear storyline that discourages replay. [Dec 2003, p.93]

While it's incredibly playable and entertaining for 10 hours or so, it's also limiting and linear. [Nov 2003, p.99]

For now this feels like a course at the naval academy while you wait to get out to sea. [Aug 2003, p.87]

It manages to continually stun you with a look that's beautiful, cool, and totally different than everything else on the market. [Oct 2003, p.86]

The action is still highly distinctive fun, though, and for those in search of a challenge, Aquanox 2 definitely comes through. [Jan 2004, p.85]

Its interface is basic but does the job but the AI is non-existent, the puzzles are needlessly complex, and the awkward free-floating camera bogs down the 3D isometric perspective. [Jan 2004, p.85]

It is, however, perfect for beginner to novice chess players since it candy-coats the ancient game with plenty of vivid 3D graphics, and a built-in adventure game. [Jan 2004, p.85]

Quite possibly the most unpalatable role-playing game concocted in recent memory...A gooey mess of reflex-driven combat, muddled interface, cliched dungeon designs, and useless player decisions. [Nov 2003, p.95]

EA Sports has developed a game for both the adrenaline-addicted Mountain Dew set and the brainiacs who care more about crafting the perfect playbook than actually calling plays. [Nov 2003, p.98]

The whole thing fits together elegantly, quickly becoming intuitive and fluid, which isn't something you can say about many computer wargames... This is traditional wargaming at its best. [Sept 2003, p.81]

The fires look great, the strategy and tactics are interesting, and it's exciting to rescue people and property, rather than trying to destroy it. [Nov 2003, p.96]

The challenge and entertainment comes from learning about flying, recreating historic flights, and plain old barnstorming. [Nov 2003, p.90]

A fine game in its own right, a throwback to old-school epic strategy at a time when turn-based games are starting to feel like a dying breed. [Oct 2003, p.86]

Delivers good, slow-boil tension wrapped around an interesting mystery in an atmospheric setting. [Dec 2003, p.95]

Even while you're getting a few laughs out of certain moments, the whole enchilada fogs your brain to the point where you don't know how you're supposed to play the game. [Nov 2003, p.92]

Even worse is the enemy AI, which either miraculously sees you or remains unaware of your presence even if you're standing right in front of an enemy soldier. [Nov 2003, p.100]

This game might be the foundation of a large scale, ultimately satisfying Star Wars universe. But it's not that universe yet. [Oct 2003, p.82]

Where "Diablo" now looks as dated as it is accessible, the WarCraft III franchise remains its exact opposite: luscious on the yes and hell on the brain. [Sept 2003, p.68]

If you're looking for the thrill of a pirate's life, frankly, you're better off with the Disney ride that inspired it all. [Oct 2003, p.88]

It's just not particularly inspired. It's also amazing how much licensed cars are missed. [Oct 2003, p.85]