If you have a wheel/pedal setup, a high end PC and take your racing Sims seriously, F1 World Grand Prix is difficult to recommend.

Despite being colorful and friendly looking, it doesn't have the charm of "Re-Volt" for some reason. Still, at a budget price, it's a decent deal. [May 2004, p.69]

For all Robin Hood has going for it, it's constantly undone by one fatal flaw: the game cannot distinguish between challenge and frustration. [Feb 2003, p.78]

Though it's repetitive and drags toward the end, it has surprisingly good atmosphere and presentation for your $20. [Aug 2004, p.61]

Never falls on its face—it's occasionally spooky, sometimes mildly thought-provoking, and always visually stunning—but neither does it come close to setting a new standard for adventure gaming (a shame, since the subject matter is ambitious, if pretentious, and could have been the starting point for a more unique venture).

Too random to be called a strategy game, too non-scary to be classified as adventure; think of it as the Cliff’s Notes version of Star Control. [Mar 2006, p.64]

When you take the game as a whole you realize that the stunning art direction writes checks the gameplay can't possibly cash. Playing Alice is a stunningly average experience.

A mediocre to average game with just enough in the way of innovations and highlights to make it worth a look. [Sept 2003, p.79]

The games biggest draw has got to be Artistic Director Jacques Simian's fabulously atmospheric world. The other characters (and there aren't nearly enough of them) are gorgeously 3D rendered right down to the last bloody facial capillary.

Unfortunately, you need human players to get away from the awful AI. [March 2005, p.88]

Since we are talking about a game that's more about crashing than flash, it could use more grit and dirt. And better physics. [Nov. 2006, p.80]

Other than the sheer speed, there's nothing particularly revolutionary or memorable here, but it does everything just well enough to be fun. [Sept 2002, p.81]

It's pretty looking and fun enough for government work, but a bit awkward and not terribly original.

What you see--or more specifically, what you hear--is exactly what you get. [Apr 2006, p.91]

It won’t hold your attention very long, but Ford Street Racing is competent enough to get you through a couple of rainy days. [Dec. 2006, p.80]

Just because it's the only big-budget PC football game on the market is now excuse for complacency. [Dec 2004, p.79]

Save yourself the tedium and just read the novel. [Mar 2007, p.72]

Less well-executed than the story, but nevertheless intriguinig, is the open-ended style of gameplay. [Jan 2003, p.85]

It's more of a walk down memory lane for lapsed PlayStation devotees than a real game, though it can pack plenty of appeal for those so inclined.

All the missions are canned—there are no random missions thrown into the mix. If you fail the main objective of the mission, you get to repeat it again and again until you complete it.

The main game is still a victim of its own atrocious pacing and doesn't hold up well alongside offerings like "Splinter Cell" and "No One Lives Forever 2." [July 2003, p.72]

The Typing of the Dead really shows how anything can be improved by adding "…of the Dead" to it. Just think of "Windows XP of the Dead," or "Civilization III of the Dead."

Offers entertaining and strategically larcenous gameplay with a fun sense of humor.

As is typical of city builders, combat is mainly a hands-off resource sink. An RTS this ain't. [Feb. 2007, p.62]

The only problem is that each episode is getting easier. The episode is still worth $8, though barely so. [Apr 2007, p.68]

Because of the innate appeal of driving over, under, and through other vehicles and buildings, Midtown Madness 2 feels like the best game in the world—for a few days or hours at least.

Its interface - particularly the "one link at a time" track laying is maddening; there's too much sitting around. [Dec 2004, p.78]

Still, it's hard to escape the mild letdown of discovering, yet again, that this year's Madden is a lot like last year's Madden. [Nov. 2006, p.79]

It gets the feel of the character right, and while the levels and controls can become annoying at times, most of the gameplay - particularly when fighting - is entertaining. [July 2003, p.82]

A perfect launching point for anyone new to the series, but it simply isn't worth the steep $30 price tag for anyone who already owns "Starfleet Command Volume II."

If nothing else, you get your twenty bucks worth.

The irony is that although it plays better now, the 3D makes it look, well, flatter. [Feb 2005, p.61]

In the end, The Sims does mimic real life: if you aren't happy, new stuff is only a fleeting solution.

Heroes fails to deliver on some promises, and games take too long, but for a certain audience, it's worth a serious look. [Mar 2007, p.62]

Although the game lacks some of the amenities of the long-established "FIFA" series, it also lacks a lot of the baggage that the EA Sports monolith has accumulated over the years. [March 2005, p.86]

It's so schizophrenic that it almost feels as if two developers of wildly different skill levels worked on the game at the same time, and everything was sort of thrown together at the last second. [Feb. 2007, p.72]

A terrific program to keep around for dabbling purposes—load up a design, tinker with it, put it away for a while. More obsessive types will probably tweak their rides infinitely.

The whole thing has a "what the hell is going on here?" sensibility that never lets up, even after the game is over. [Feb 2003, p.70]

It's not a bad game; but with better AI and a few simple options (such as the ability to choose your equipment before a mission, or a "save anywhere" feature), it might have more to recommend it.

It's not particularly new or original, but it's a well-done adventure for all ages. [March 2005, p.79]

The whole package is worth the money of any hack-and-slash fan who hasn't played "Dungeon Siege II", but it's a shame that Gas Powered Games didn't close out this installment in better style. [Nov. 2006, p.75]

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]

Any way you cut it, Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is one rigid, uncompromising design with a high frustration factor. [July 2006, p.60]

Instead, it's a competent but ultimately trivial experience that's only memorable as the weird RPG with Al Capone in it. [Jun 2006, p.92]

When the missions remain outdoors, Hidden & Dangerous stays fun. It's when you have to go into houses that it begins to fall apart.

The graphics are sharp and the engine is smooth, providing good control once you get a feel for the slippery vehicles. [Feb 2003, p.85]

With the Stetchkov Syndicate, the bar continues to plummet in terms of how much we can expect in our expansion packs. [May 2006, p.46]

An enjoyable game for its 10-12 hours. It's still better played on a console, but if your siblings have the PS2 cornered, the PC version will do just fine. [Mar 2004, p.80]

Friendly AI, on the other hand, can be frustratingly idiotic and suicidal. [March 2005, p.76]

While Heroes V might be a hard game to hate, it's also a hard game to love. [Sept. 2006, p.61]

They're made something complex and sophisticated and then locked most of it away under a dazzling imaginative front end. [Feb 2003, p.74]

Top Spin 2 is the most complete tennis experience on any platform to date. [July 2006, p.93]

Once you've seen the new tricks, Tetris is still just Tetris. [Jun 2006, p.92]

It’s all in the cards. Play the campaign to earn them and then use them to build your decks. [Mar 2006, p.91]

It's still the best mass market chess game you can buy at your local software shop, but with a few bugs squashed and the fuller featured online features of last years' version revived, it could be a much better program.

Take Heroes seriously and it fizzles. But as a loosey-goosey melodrama, it's not half bad. [Apr 2006, p.64]

The story and cut scenes are brilliant, in a kitschy Starsky & Hutch kind of way... Not since LucasArts' "Full Throttle" has a game maintained such a singularly unique style.

The missions can be skin-crawly tense and the strategic planning is a joy. Nevertheless, poor AI, coupled with mundane and buggy graphics give the game a "late-beta" feel.

This will do just fine until the real first-person shooters come out. [Oct 2005, p.90]

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

It never goes beyond being just another real-time strategy game. [Feb 2006, p.63]

It's not quite in the same league as "Out of the Park Baseball" and "PureSim Baseball", but Baseball Mogul is no longer an after-thought. [July 2006, p.67]

Succeeds despite some serious problems, but only if you're persistent and willing to put up with its quirks, style of gameplay, and pacing.

This isn't a quick play, and games can drag out for ages, making the battles either a labor of love or just plain laborious. [May 2004, p.68]

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

Of drive-in movie reviewer Joe Bob Brigg's infamous three B's, Giants' developers in a politic move took out two (Blood and Breasts). The third, Beasts, is still enough to carry the game, though the addition of a fourth B—Bugs—is certainly regrettable.

As a playful arcade game, this offering is betrayed by its simulation fetish.

Forgettable. [Sept 2003, p.82]

It's not bad, but some straightforward tweaks and adjustments could have resulted in a much better game. [Feb 2006, p.60]

May not be the reinvention of the wheel, but it's certainly the best "Tolkien game" to date. [March 2005, p.70]

The whole thing is so over the top that it ends up being like a B-movie gore-fest – more silly than scary. Still, plenty of folk are going to be offended. Once past the blood-hook, though, the game is a mixed bag.

Provides a fair amount of enjoyment, but it's doubtful that the enjoyment will last long enough for most gamers to see all of the beaches.

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]

Gives you so many intriguing possibilities, it's fairly engaging even when no fighting's going on. [Mar 2003, p.79]

It's better to have not played a game that teases you such as this than to have played it and pulled your hair out in frustration.

And while the game doesn't look very impressive, the main character does resemble Hugh Jackman. [Aug 2004, p.7]

The story mode proves dull - heavy on the text, skimpy on the action. [Aug 2004, p.6]

There is very little newness here, but the game proves infinitely more playable than its predecessor thanks to reduced difficulty. [Apr 2004, p.8]

The single note that rings true is the superb sound work, from the voice acting of dead ringers for Christopher Lee and Samuel Jackson to the cyclopean rumbles of heavy Republic artillery rolling into position. [Sept 2002, p.83]

The writers spent so much time copying classic LucasArts adventures that they forgot to make the game enjoyable on its own. [Feb. 2007, p.74]

Just Cause adds some crazy skydiving, car surfing, and a grappling hook that lets you parasail, but its storyline missions are kind of dull and predictable. [Jan. 2007, p.72]

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]

As a pure single-player action game, the expansion is a mixed bag, but there's still some great gaming to be had with the whole "Black Hawk Down" experience. [May 2004, p.64]

The only thing it really adds to the Carnivores series is snow and hair, but if you enjoyed the previous hunting games and wanted more, then, well, here's more.

The overall quality of the 'bots in the standard Counter-Strike matches keeps Condition Zero from being a disaster. [May 2004, p.57]

Manages to recreate the chaos of Vietnam almost too well. It's an exhausting game, with very little let up. [Jan 2005, p.68]

Fans might—or should—expect something more than a six year old DOS to Windows port with a few extras.

this isn't likely to be a disk you'll have in your GameCube for more then a few days. [Dec p.89]

At its best it can be a blast; how many times do you get to send the Fighting Nuns against the Press Corps in no-holds-barred combat in the streets? But the entire thing seems rather empty.

Gun isn't an entirely unpleasant game, just a mediocre one. [Feb 2006, p.56]

No wonder the actual Romans threw up walls. [Nov. 2006, p.74]

Because the game features no narration, it holds you at arm's length, preventing you from ever becoming immersed in the environment. [Mar 2007, p.72]

An uninspired effort, the kind of competent, workmanlike, and by-the-numbers type of product Hollywood itself churns out. [Sept 2003, p.85]

The one area where the game can be a bit of fun is in the multiplayer mode, in which you can play with up to seven other players and still part take in some of the surreal arcade action while zapping around the attic in a Hurricane.

The developers at Bizarre Creations have made a beautiful thing, but they've given you no reason to enjoy it. [Feb 2006, p.87]

The mythological trappings are nicely done, making it feel more like an adventure than a typical slog through the levels. [Feb. 2007, p.74]

Unsophisticated mission design and racketeering repetition make it less ideal for non-fans. [July 2006, p.57]

Not everything in Konung is bad, but the game's virtues hardly add up to a ringing endorsement. It can occasionally be fun, but by the end it's the repetition that you'll remember.