This year's model leaves you feeling like it's nothing more than one big, full-priced retail patch. [May 2003, p.98]

The pacing seems a little off in this game, and to compound the issue, there's no in-mission save. [Dec 2002, p.120]

For all its technological wizardry, RtCW brings almost nothing new to the table gameplay-wise. [Mar 2002, p.74]

If Ubisoft can fix the slew of multiplayer problems, the company just might have a real classic on its hands. [June 2004, p.84]

No one should play "DAOC" without Shrouded Isles. [Apr 2003, p.106]

Shadowlands injects into the game a quadruple dose of what it most desperately needed: namely, compelling gameplay content. [Feb 2004, p.91]

Despite a spectacular-looking engine, intriguing units, and some original gameplay, Generals doesn't capitalize on opportunties to be a shining light in the genre, and instead ends up as just decent. [Apr 2003, p.74]

Has that woefully underbaked, released-just-in-time-for-the-holidays taint to it, and that's just a colossal shame, because underneath that nastiness is a great, great expansion. [Mar 2004, p.78]

The new combat system is an almost unmitigated disaster. [July 2002, p.73]

Unlike many expansions, Titans gives a lot of bang for the buck—it's just not a very loud bang, falling short of energizing an aging game.

The multiplayer and mechanics of combat are finely tuned, but aren't enough to lift Halo past its dated single-player, lack of graphical upgrades, and only competent performance. [Dec 2003, p.124]

A sort of misguided reworking of "Homeworld," halfway between a rehash and a remodeling job, but with the intersting bits sanded off. The vividly distinct sides added in the "Cataclysm" expansion are gone, the clean interface is now a mess, and much of the strategy has been methodically cut out. [Dec 2003, p.126]

Fun and ambitious, but not nearly as substantial as it wants you to think it is. [Nov 2005, p.96]

The biggest problem is that the province-based movement system doesn't lend itself well to re-creating the kinds of huge land campaigns that give a good strategic war game its sense of scope. [Apr 2005, p.91]

It does so much right that the poor defensive A.I. is much more of a disappointment than it would be in a lesser game. [Feb 2003, p.76]

While the Career mode is a little too steep for beginners, it's still a good day at the races. [June 2003, p.91]

Like playing on a beautiful course in the middle of the summer in the deep South – it's a lot of fun, but the bugs can really get to you. [June 2002, p.92]

The multiplayer learning curve is a short, sharp slide into the deep end with the sharks. [Holiday 2004, p.80]

If you have any inclination to explore the inner workings of business, Capitalism II has a lot to offer. [May 2002, p.86]

Exactly what you expect from a Total War expansion.

It balances an equal number of frustrating and appealing elements to create a love-it or hate-it experience. [Mar 2002, p.72]

MVP makes up for its lack of polish with good looks and plenty of polish. [June 2004, p.85]

The visual treat that is the hyperdrive effect becomes painfully boring by the time you've crossed your hundredth navigation marker. [Feb 2003, p.72]

Breaks no ground, but good old-school stuff with amazing graphics. [Jan 2005, p.100]

Rockstar Games has taken what it learned from the "Grand Theft Auto" series and used it to deliver a solid driving experience. [Oct 2003, p.122]

Delightful, disappointing, and frustrating.

If you can get past the absurd control hurdle and the fact that the beginning is the best part of the game..., Gothic is a satisfying RPG to fiddle with. [Apr 2002, p.92]

I consider myself at least a competent player, but even on the lower difficulty levels I felt overmatched. [Dec 2002, p.130]