Decent graphics, an efficient interface, and a massive technology tree with a wide array of units. On the other, its slow speed, awkward unit movement, and abysmal A.I. add up to a less than stellar experience.

There isn't anything painfully awful about Highland Warriors, but there's very little to get overly excited about. [May 2003, p.82]

It's a decent enough game, but the comic deserves better. [Feb. 2007, p.74]

There's not enough in terms of modes, maps, or weapons to rescue the multiplayer from its slicker competition. [Feb 2006, p.58]

An extremely mixed bag. The game mechanics are full of holes, the interface is clunky and unintuitive, the puzzles can be mind-numbingly obscure, and the technology driving the whole thing is unimpressive. Still, the game's focus on character progression and dungeon crawls adds depth and interest.

The problems with Sam have nothing to do with the bad guys; there's a lot of them, and they're all weird. [Jan 2006, p.42]

While no one is going to sling a gold medal around its box, it's much better than its predecessor in almost every way, which boosts the quality from abysmal to merely okay.

Just another military shooter swimming in a sea of camoflauge. [Dec 2004, p.83]

In the end, the thing you remember most isn't the graphics engine, the nifty spell and item construction, or even the awful voice acting; it's the frustration of slogging through a poorly balanced game that substitutes saving and reloading for gameplay.

This is one game that might become a classic, but it isn't one now, despite a New York Times story on the front page of the business section. A game that requires a credit card and Internet access before the player can get even a glimpse of what's going on had better be incredibly engrossing or at least immediately accessible. Ultima Online is neither. The "undoubted future of interactive entertainment"? God forbid. At best, it might eventually grow into a solid, mature game that delivers the goods, but for now, caveat emptor.

It's too bad Midway is so caught up in the me-too game when it's just children like the Rush series who get hurt. [Dec p.93]

The only addition is Online Everywhere, which lets you check out the live ESPN ticker while still in the game, and it's hardly essential. [Apr 2006, p.93]

But, for various reasons, Paraworld doesn’t hold up next to the latest RTS games. It’s a bit like one of its own dinosaurs. [Dec. 2006, p.76]

There's probably an entertaining game to be made from the disaster that is dating; this isn't it. [Oct 2004, p.87]

But in the end, it doesn't serve gamers, not even the extremely forgiving cadre of adventure game fans. [Sept. 2006, p.63]

It shamelessly copies two Blizzard classics, "WarCraft II" and "Diablo." The problem is that it doesn't copy from either classic particularly well, and the result is a flat, lifeless experience that quickly becomes more of a chore than a pleasure.

Commandos: Strike force tries to shoehorn these series hallmarks into a first-person shooter but fails on nearly every level. [July 2006, p.57]

Black may not be terrible, but it's repetitive and mundane. [May 2006, p.89]

There's simply no way to get your fingers around it all. [Feb 2006, p.93]

Making a short game is less of a sin than padding one with endless combats of attrition. [Nov 2003, p.98]

Rival Interactive had their chance to fix its onerous product, and for all the tweaks, it's still just not enough. [Feb 2003, p.81]

Not even Hitler's plan to fight the war on two fronts was this painfully ill-advised. [July 2006, p.63]

The execution falls flat, and in the end Coliseum plays like a shell of a game. The biggest problem is that there isn't enough to do. [May 2004, p.69]

Suffers from crippling lack of polish, content, and forethought. [Nov 2003, p.93]

Takeda 2 is the sequel to a mostly obscure 2001 game that had the misfortune to be released in the wake of "Shogun: Total War." [May 2006, p.55]

All these great features are thrown out the window due to a suspect simulation engine that simply doesn't make a lot of sense. [June 2003, p.85]

No part of the game is distinctive enough to be particularly terrible either, and there's a blessed lack of extremely shiny surfaces. [Sept 2002, p.75]

The rules are poorly applied, the interface is clumsy, and the pacing is very, very slow.