Breezy, lightweight entertainment at best. As a quick coffee break-style diversion, the product succeeds well enough.

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

While the writing is more polished this time around, the dialogue remains inconsistent in voice. For every dramatic moment, there's a completely out-of-place near-verbatim take on "Monty Python,' or a silly inside joke. [Aug 2004, p.58]

Combined with the recent God of War, a pattern seems to be developing: the gifts Ares bestows come at the cost of a clad torso. [Dec p.88]

Short but endearing. [Sept 2005, p.57]

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]

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]

Stylistically, Scrapland looks amazing. The characters have a cartoon-y, "Futurama" groove going, and the city itself is the kind of visionary, noirish setting Ridley Scott might have used in "Blade Runner" if he hadn't been so in love with rain and grime. [Feb 2005, p.67]

It's goofy, satisfying, and unapologetically drenched in hilarious M-rated cussing, blood and ragdollery. [Sept. 2006, p.81]

Yet another one of those blandly respectful WWII shooters, with all the reverence for history of a five-day bus tour. [Aug 2005, p.90]

The gameplay is comparable to someting like "Devil May Cry" or "Otogi" in that gamers have two weapons and are capable of unleashing combos on enemies using both of those weapons with just a few simple button taps. [Nov 2004, p.NP9]

An ideal game for the 4X gamer who prefers managing armies over micromanaging cities. It doesn't quite have the panache of "Civilization II" or the drama of "Alpha Centauri," but it's colorful, relatively fast-paced, and it has that "one more turn" addictiveness that will keep you burning the midnight oil.

It's all atmosphere and, particularly when you're talking about horror, that's often enough. [Mar 2004, p.66]

Boredom becomes a factor partly because of a limited number of combinations with which to experiment. [Apr 2003, p.78]

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]

Definitely gets points for its sense of humor. [Jan 2005, p.78]

While most games have you fighting zombies, this one puts you squarely in the rotting feet of one Edward Stubblefield, who one day finds himself slightly undead. [Mar 2006, p.53]

The multiplayer maps and modes in Athena Sword are arguably worth the price; the single-player missions are just icing on the tasty tactical cake. [July 2004, p.65]

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

While everything doesn't quite pull together as well as it should, there is enough here to interest anyone that enjoys cunning design and challenging puzzles.

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

An ambitious mess, a noble mess, certainly a well-intentioned mess, but ultimately a mess nontheless. [Mar 2003, p.78]

Has a lot going for it, though it's not the best introduction to this stellar series, and it doesn't offer quite as much bang for the buck as it should to the existing fanbase. [Sept 2003, p.77]

Amped 3 aims to keep you distracted by constantly nickel-and-diming you with a hundred mini-challenges, each with its own pointless reward, spread across a dozen mountainsides. [Feb 2006, p.87]

Much like "Shogo", Blood 2 excels in pure feel and fun factor alone. It may not have impressive scripted scenes around every corner and the plot is incredibly weak at best, but the core of the game-running around and shooting people-is extremely satisfying.

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

The techincal aspects of Sonic Heroes are handled well, with the exception of the camera and voice work. In fact, the camera is worse than "Mario 64's" (and that's saying a lot) and the voice acting is downright repulsive. [Apr 2004, p.9]

Though the controls are somewhat klunky, getting too hung up on the flaws of Total Overdose misses its greatest pleasures. [Feb 2006, p.54]