It's overcooked and to slick, through redeemed by the sheer quantity of stuff you can do. [Dec p.90]

Riddled with shifts in tone and action that keep the pace snappy and engaging. It's even got a completely over-the-top distinct finale that makes it worth playing to the end. [March 2005, p.80]

Perfectly captures the epic sweep of the previous games but adds a bunch of new features that improve upon an already brilliant concept. It's superior in every way to "Civilization II"—and for that matter, any game of this type in recent memory.

Batting can be a hit or miss experience, however, offering players control over where the ball goes but ultimately making the effort a matter of timing. [June 2004, p.11]

There's plenty of visceral thrill in wading into the middle of a convoy at night and letting loose with your deck gun. [July 2005, p.64]

The full PDF manual for Allied Force clocks in at 716 pages. [Jan 2006, p.58]

It's hard to think of anything that you might want to do in civilian flight that you can't do here...an incredible piece of software.

To get the most out of GTR 2, you have to be willing to invest a serious amount of time in becoming both a confident and a successful race driver. [Jan. 2007, p.64]

It's overcooked and to slick, through redeemed by the sheer quantity of stuff you can do. [Dec p.90]

It’s this emphasis on 3D exploration, as well as older style of gameplay, that might recommend the game to PC RPG folk, assuming they can get past the heavy-duty anime aesthetic. [Mar 2006, p.86]

Gorgeous, polished, groundbreaking, and a lot of other impressive-sounding adjectives, but it's also chaotic and lacking in the precise micro-management and complex planning that endears many people to the genre.

The unit AI is good enough that you can give broad orders without worrying about your men and monsters doing too many dumb things. [Jan 2003, p.60]

For anyone with an interest in complex, combat-heavy, lovingly produced RPGs, though, Fallout is a must buy. In an age where many are predicting the death of traditional RPGs at the hands of multiplayer extravaganzas, Fallout is a glowing example of the genre, one which positively radiates quality. Fallout – it's da bomb.

If they could have made it into the underpinnings of a stronger combat system, perhaps the other areas of the game where they played it safe wouldn't have seemed so grossly rehashed. [July 2005, p.88]

This is the champagne of tactical wargames, and the best vintage at that. [Jan 2003, p.72]

Unlike previous versions, the home field advantage is huge. [Oct 2004, p.9]

The look of Guild Wars is magnificent. [Aug 2005, p.84]

A beautiful game full of memorable moments, suffering only from a clumsy attempt to mimic the writing style of old detective novels.

The second edition in the legendary sports-sim developer’s new soccer management series is every bit as addictive as it predecessor, which is to say that the damn thing should be investigated by the FDA. [Mar 2006, p.52]

Batting can be a hit or miss experience, however, offering players control over where the ball goes but ultimately making the effort a matter of timing. [June 2004, p.11]

one of the best-looking and wide-open Castlevanias since the series began. [Dec p.93]

This game will definitely bring a smile to your face when that black number three bumps you, just before he takes the lead away from you on your last lap at Daytona.

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]

One of the best games of the year. It migh t even be the best adventure game of the year. The plot is deep, the characters are brought to life effectively, I haven't found almost any bugs, and they didn't leave anything out.

Gameplay is ultimately what we're interested in, and in this area, Duke is the king. But so what? If 3D Realms really wants to impress us, they can move beyond this type of gameplay.

Despite some rocky stretches, FarCry delivers one of the best action game experiences of recent vintage, a superior blend of technical sophistication and gold old fashioned visceral combat. [June 2004, p.76]

This is as unconventional as a conventional real-time strategy game can probably get, at onece like everything and nothing you've ever played. [July 2003, p.66]

But be warned, this isn't a beer and greasy snack-style arcade racing game - this is the real deal, as intense, deep, and accurate a simulation as exists on your computer. [May 2003, p.78]