A political campaign would be nothing without dirty tricks, and The Political Machine gives you a whole arsenal of them. [Nov 2004, p.84]

It's the execution that makes this game so damn good. The stellar visuals, amazing audio, and incredible attention to detail draw you into another world.

An epic disaster of a game derived from a movie that simply shouldn't exist in the first place. [Nov 2004, p.81]

No matter how interesting the real-life situation is, the game manages to make it more boring than missions in most budget shooters. [Sept 2004, p.76]

What's worse than a mediocre piece of shareware? Answer: a $30 retail game that looks and plays like a mediocre piece of sharware. [Oct 2004, p.81]

A little rough around the edges, but if you like a challenge, you'll love it. [Nov 2004, p.76]

The developers get credit for trying something new, but the slow gameplay, some dull missions, nonsensical story, and annoying micromanagement make Perimeter unenjoyable. [Sept 2004, p.78]

MIT could use a few of this game's puzzles as its early admissions test, but Aura's still enjoyable overall. [Oct 2004, p.81]

This game just feels like an insult. Or maybe a practical joke. [Nov 2004, p.80]

The only thing missing from this great, innovative puzzle game: an ending. [Oct 2004, p.78]

A beautiful RTS with solid single- and multiplayer gameplay. What more can you ask for? [Oct 2004, p.76]

You never quite get past the feeling that there are a half-dozen better shooters you could be playing...There's just no reason to play a shooter with this many problems. [Oct 2004, p.80]

When it all comes together, Joint Ops is a great game that offers a solid combat experience on a scale far beyond anything in the "Battlefield" series. [Sept 2004, p.74]

A fairly standard action game redeemed by some true suspense and fear. [Oct 2004, p.79]

Great if you like beautifully rendered landscapes, not so great if you like good A.I. and usuable controls. [Sept 2004, p.72]

Works so well in third-person mode that it makes you wonder why it wasn't offered earlier. [Sept 2004, p.70]

For casual gamers and casual Harry Potter fans - diehards may be let down. [Nov 2004, p.82]

Forget what you learned in previous games, because it won't apply here. [Aug 2004, p.76]

It looks like, well, a badly ported PS2 game with washed-out colors, graphical glitches, and only average textures and modeling. This, along with the appallingly bad driving sequences, horrible characters, plentiful cliches, and cringe-inducing dialogue, proves that unlike "Splinter Cell," not all console/PC marriages are made in heaven. [Sept 2004, p.77]

A good adaptation of the movie, but the controls could be easier. [Sept 2004, p.76]

In spite of any number of small improvements, the new game feels more stale and by-the-numbers than the first one. [Aug 2004, p.78]

We're all still playing this game night and day, long after the review is over. We love it, and sadly, we don't have much of a life outside of it. Thank God there aren't more MMO's like this one. [Aug 2004, p.72]

Honestly expands upon the original with four new campaigns that provide the absorbing single-player experience the original lacked. Unfortunately, some stability problems keep it from being perfect.

There isn't much variety in character appearance, which is disappointing, since other games are offering an incredible amount of customizability. [Aug 2004, p.74]

Despite the patient sneaking this game encourages, Contracts seems a little rushed. [Aug 2004, p.73]

There's never a sense that you could make your way through a level based purely on your own sense of ingenuity and improvisation. [July 2004, p.76]

The truest and most gratifying shooter since "Doom." [July 2004, p.69]

A well-played game of Winning Eleven 7 gives the impression of having watched a TV soccer match and controlled the results. It's that good. [Oct 2004, p.84]

You'll frequently dodge the oafish enemies instead of fighting. [Mar 2004, p.84]

Considering their utter lack of intelligence, it'd be more accurate to name these guys "Inbreed." [July 2004, p.70]

With a poor presentation and poor gameplay, War Times feels like an overpriced piece of budgetware that's destined to languish in bargain bins until its desiccated corpse turns to powder and is blown from our memory. [Aug 2004, p.82]

A good historical RTS, desite flawed infantry and some puzzlelike maps. [July 2004, p.71]

A seriously intended and well-made game and its heart is in the right place, but I got tired of it sooner than I expected. [May 2004, p.90]

The gamplay in this game about serial murders is even more horrific than its story line. [Feb 2004, p.87]

There's no base building or tedious resource harvesting. Instead, there's tedious resource trafficking. [July 2004, p.74]

Sacred is about as close as a game can get to being "Diablo" without getting lawyers involved. [July 2004, p.73]

Howsabout a nice whack upside the head with a tire iron for a horrific save-game feature that is simultaneously terribly conceived and idiotically implemented?

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

I used to really love adventure games, but after playing this one, I can't remember why. [Aug 2004, p.79]

A stunning example of why adventure games aren't as popular as they once were. [Aug 2004, p.82]

A long exercise in target practice, with lifeless enemies in dull levels. There's no saving during a mission, the graphics are weak, and there's no team-based action. What's worse, there's just no depth, artistry, or genuine thrills to be had. [Aug 2004, p.79]

A clumsy, series-ending combo of real-time and strategy...You must kind of hang out and gawk at numbers and icons. [July 2004, p.72]

And therein lies the game's beauty—it's expertly balanced. For every Goliath tank driver, there's a Manta master or Raptor pilot who can rip you a new one.

The only real bummer in the new stuff? The M-60 machine gun, which is so powerful and easy to use that it lets even blundering newbies rack up ridiculously high frag counts. It needs tuning down.

You'd think jumping would be precisely tuned in a game about accuracy, but here, it feels like a crapshoot. [May 2004, p.85]

A marginalized blockbuster. [June 2004, p.81]

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

Since only LAN play is supported, it's doubtful you'll ever experience multiplayer. [June 2004, p.86]

The game's fast pace makes managing your turf a hectic, confusing ordeal. [June 2004, p.87]

In the played-out field of fantasy real-time-strategy games, SpellForce rises above the muck with ambition, a few original gameplay touches, and some truly spectacular graphics. [May 2004, p.80]

Yet another attempt at "Europa Universalis Lite" - one that tries to reduce the depth of EU into a mind-numbing series of repetitive tasks. [June 2004, p.86]

While Joan has some serious flaws, Enlight has shown it can create an interesting character; better A.I., for one, would do a lot to improve future titles. [May 2004, p.88]

For anyone who doesn't share Dr. Smart's very specific obsessions, however, Universal Combat is an exhausting, impenetrable bore. [Oct 2004, p.82]

Even if you tolerate Ripper's lack of interactivity because of its swiftly paced, absorbing story, the game's anticlimactic, unsatisfying finale will leave you feeling as frustrated as those original London police were back in 1888. [May 2004, p.89]

The ability to fire behind cover effectively in Vietcong is a notable feature lacking in almost every shooter game to date. [May 2004, p.82]

Bad A.I. and no realism, but who cares? The nonstop rat-a-tat-tat of automatic weapons in hostile environments gives Team Sabre its charm. [Apr 2004, p.91]

The sort of game that has you thirsting for the expansion moments after you complete it. [Apr 2004, p.81]

The makers of the well-received "Monopoly Tycoon" have created an entertaining sim - Vegas Tycoon gets the look and feel of Sin City just right. [Apr 2004, p.92]

The A.I. on both sides of the conflict is awesome; as the leader of the counter-terrorists, your A.I. pals will follow you and, in some cases, "take the point:" You can give them orders via the chat feature and they'll do things like camp on a bomb site or guard the bomb.

If this game game came out four years ago, maybe. Today, no. [Apr 2004, p.86]

A pretty limited fighter, though its online features save it from beingi a complete loss. [Apr 2004, p.83]

I've birthed children in less time than it takes the game CDs to fire up. [Aug 2004, p.83]

Takes the original game, upgrades it slightly, expands its cope, and adds and editor. Put together, it's a pretty good package. [Feb 2004, p.91]

Just barely enought to satisfy true Shadowbane fans. [Apr 2004, p.90]

A shrug-inducing "so what" game that - judging by the barren servers - seems to be keeping players away in droves. [May 2004, p.86]

The undisputed heavyweight champion of boxing sims...Title Bout has a phenomenal database of more than 3,600 boxers rated in 39 categories. [May 2004, p.92]

A deep game worthy of exploration and discovery - you'll just have to exhibit nigh-infinite patience with its glacially slow build-up and general unfriendliness. [Mar 2004, p.86]

The graphics are upgraded but still feel dated, and in the absence of any gameplay improvements, Combat Mission: Afrika Korps feels suspiciously like a scenario pack. [Apr 2004, p.83]

Thrillinng acrobatic action, though the controls and camera could be better. [Mar 2004, p.88]

Planet Moon's Armed and Dangerous is "Kelly's Heroes" meets "Shrek" by way of Monty Python and Guy Ritchie. [Mar 2004, p.74]

Invisible War's mechanics are often repetitive and frustrating, but the choices you make are not, which helps keep things interesting even when you're unlocking yet another door with another multitool for the upteenth time. [Mar 2004, p.72]

Oh yeah, Terminator 3: War of the Machines also has vehicles! Too bad they suck. [Apr 2004, p.84]

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 game is aesthetically stuck in the past, the single-player campaign is a typical helping of fantasy storytelling, and the multiplayer experience feels way too familiar. [Mar 2004, p.76]

Not nearly as amusing as the host of yesteryear, this one delivers a couple of groaners between the 300 questions. [May 2004, p.83]

The best game ever for gamers without the energy to move their thumbs from the A button to the B button on their gamepads. [May 2004, p.89]

The environments, while beautiful, are disappointingly void of interaction, and the story, while interesting, is wholly irrelevant to the gameplay. [Mar 2004, p.81]

High production values, a compelling narrative, charming characters, and sharp aesthetics make for a sophisticated little adventure that's well beyond most of its ilk. [Mar 2004, p.80]

Checkpoint placement is consistent only in its inconsistency. [Feb 2004, p.83]

A masterpeice from BioWare. Easily the best RPG of the year, and possibly the best Star Wars game ever made. [Feb 2004, p.61]

Despite the arcade emphasis, flying these planes is a bitch. [Mar 2004, p.90]

If I want impossible, I'll call my mother. [Apr 2004, p.89]

Victoria could be a classic after a few patches, but in the initial release, you're paying Paradox to beta test their game. [Mar 2004, p.79]

Provides only a been-there-done-that setting and story line. [July 2004, p.75]

Dynamic plot twists and cut-scenes flow through every exotic locale, and the later-game mechanical conundrums are worthy of the Broken Sword series. [Feb 2004, p.86]

Racing doesn't get much better...unless you're in a real car. [Mar 2004, p.75]

All enemies are deaf and have the attention span of a spider monkey on crack. [Apr 2004, p.82]

It can stand on its own as probably the best 4X strategy game of the past five years. [Feb 2004, p.67]

Relentlessly funny, constantly entertaining, and a total joy to play. For Simpsons fans (and is there anyone who isn't one?), it's nothing less than a must-have game. [Feb 2004, p.64]

This brilliantly desinged game breaks out of the cliches of the collectible-card-game genre ("Magic", "Pokemon", etc.) and provides gameplay that can rival that of the deepest of strategy games. [May 2004, p.84]

Unfortunately, the game shipped with its pay-to-play multiplayer unfinished and nonfunctional, so the only groundbreaking you'll do until that's fully completed is the kind that results from plummeting off cliffs.

It's a maddeningly beautiful game filled with the tedium of being an observer more than a player. [Feb 2004, p.81]

One of the best five-on-five games for any platform. [Mar 2004, p.84]

Boss battles are so routine as to be laughable, and that's about all the laughter you'll be doing, as NOLF's great comedic dialogue is noticeably absent. The entire game feels slapped together. [Feb 2004, p.79]

Adult gamers will find it too basic, children may find it too frustrating, and fans of lord of the Rings will prefer a more authentic Tolkien experience. [Feb 2004, p.73]

A no-frills port of an aged, derivative, repetitive shooter. [Apr 2004, p.85]

Although the vocally overdubbed actors try to give decent performances, Conspiracies' overall quality is so much like a B movie that you'll be surprised no killer tomatoes ever attack - and you just might be praying that they do. [May 2004, p.83]

It contains features any die-hard--and patient--historical strategy gamer can get excited about. [Mar 2004, p.91]