A bit like last year's "PlanetSide" in the sense that it isn't afraid to offer fewer things to do while making sure that you have more fun doing them. [Aug 2004, p.66]

With its 3D graphics, first-person perspective, and elegantly simple combat system, EverQuest has finally given us the first step towards a true virtual world. Internet gaming will never be the same.

Levels are superbly crafted for maximum tension. [July 2005, p.50]

On the technical side, an analog control has finally been added, rather than continuing to rely on the directional pad. [Aug 2004, p.6]

One of the most enjoyable parts of the game lies in crafting and later developing your party.

With multiplayer, a full editor, and a growing user community, this is a game that every fan of military shooters should have. It looks great, plays great, and most of all feels right.

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.

It's the perfect game to sit down with for a couple of hours, with a margarita in one hand and the mouse in the other, and just tinker with your whacked-out island.

A superior game in every way—action, design, graphics and overall presentation—and is one of the best (and bloodiest) pure action games of the year.

Where the actual game experience falls short, the online community experience impresses. [Apr 2006, p.89]

A brilliant game simulation that belongs on every gamer's shelf. [Sept 2005, p.52]

Once Undying gets up a head of steam, it woos you with sheer atmosphere and production values. On looks alone, it sucks you in for hours at a stretch. Its landscapes and architecture are spectacular.

An honest-to-god, deep, rewarding strategy game that is easy to play and fun to watch. They finally put the "Tycoon" name on something that deserves it.

Indigo Prophecy so unabashedly wants to be cinematic that the menu prompt for the new game is "New Movie". [Dec p.56]

Quotation forthcoming. [Mar 2006]

An accessible, action-packed outer space role-playing game with plenty of personality and a marvelous online component. [May 2003, p.74]

Hunters is a grand handheld shooter with as darling an interface as you could hope for. Everything else--and ther's plenty--is gravy. [July 2006, p.90]

While the AI is good on the field, it's terrible in the front office. [June 2005, p.57]

Luckily, it has that challenging, supremely polished, turn-based gameplay to fall back on. [Jan 2006, p.91]

Players who tried "Tribunal" and found it enjoyable but a bit underwhelming, this second expansion is easily the best of the bunch, leapfrogging even the original for buffed-up playability. [Sept 2003, p.70]

Console leftovers or not, Thief: Deadly Shadows is one of the best PC games of the year. [Aug 2004, p.62]

You can finally enable player names to appear below each player on the pitch, and this makes is so much easier to tell who is who. The game is loaded with modest and subtle changes like this that end up adding a lot to the game.

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

The true standout here, though, is the area design. The zones are absolutely stunning with a palette of rich colors and textures. [Sept 2004, p.67]

In the end, being a remake holds these snakes back. [June 2004, p.11]

By far, it's more fun to play against a human player with experience, than to play against the weak A.I. - the one area of the game that was glossed over. [Aug 2004, p.6]

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]

This is a slightly better game than its predecessor, though the improvements are in a "Godfather vs. Godfather II" vein.