Firaxis not only added a pair of high-difficulty levels, but also clearly improved the A.I. [Apr 2004, p.88]

With all the action and unlockable DVD-like special features, this is not only a good game that drags you right into the movie, it's also a fantastic supplement for die-hard Rings fans. [Feb 2004, p.70]

A textbook case of glorious buildup and shattered expectations. [Feb 2004, p.72]

Your troops waste their limited ammunition like they're in a John Woo movie. [Mar 2004, p.91]

Everything is improved in what's still the coolest railroad builder around, but oh boy, you better love trains. [Apr 2004, p.85]

If you've recently discovered a fetish for selling barrels of picked herring, there is no game better than Patrician III. [Feb 2004, p.89]

Probably the best shooter I've played all year. The only real knocks against it are that it's a relatively short game (I finished in about 10 hours) and the multiplayer is lackluster. But let's be honest: If you're into playing a World War II game online nothing compares to "Battlefield 1942" or Day of Defeat.

A stunning sci-fi-themed shooter that makes "Halo" look hollow. [Feb 2004, p.80]

The world feels less generic and more immersive than even "Morrowind's." [Feb 2004, p.88]

Square took the best things about single-player console RPGs and applied them to an MMO - a world densely populated by talkative NPCs, interesting, well-conceived quests, and a whole lot of visual gloss. [Feb 2004, p.84]

The simplicity of this system betrays the insidiously difficult gameplay. [Feb 2004, p.82]

Brings more than 175 new enchanted items, which alone justifies the purchase. These special objects can take care of the less-pleasant chores in your life, leaving you free to pursue personal happiness.

At a high level and still playing? Grab it. At a low level or just thinking about playing? Skip it. [Feb 2004, p.81]

Coercing people to buy Core Combat so they can get more-potent weaponry seems shady. This expansion should cost a lot less - or be free. [Feb 2004, p.76]

The new economic system is marvelous, with more load types than in previous games. [Feb 2004, p.74]

Fun, but it doesn't do anything groundbreaking. [Apr 2004, p.93]

A solid entry that makes some great, if initially unapparent, changes to the standard formula. [Feb 2004, p.66]

A really good game hampered by the same pesky bugs and problematic A.I. as the original. [Feb 2004, p.78]

A rare combination of frustration and boredom. [Feb 2004, p.85]

Although Warlords IV is by no means a horrible game, it's something far more damning: strangely joyless and conspicuously missing the spark of enthusiasm that often manages to find its way into even the worst of games.

An unabashed retread of concepts that were innovative four years ago. Absolutely no attempt has been made to refine or expand anything.

It will always be clear what's expected of you - in fact, you'll likely identify the killer long before your character does. [Feb 2004, p.87]

What am I afraid of? Bad games, and Nosferatu seriously scares me. [Feb 2004, p.90]

Unpatched, UFO will drag, stutter, and ultimately die a repeated death while a weird save-game bug devours hard-drive space. It's a profound shame, too, because lurking under the seven layers of ugly is an otherwise very good game.

A clever combination of real-time strategy and The Sims isn't clever enough to hold your interest for long.

A big step backward for the Commandos franchise. While the game would like to evoke "Saving Private Ryan" and other WWII films, sadly the movie that actually comes to mind while playing is "Groundhog Day," only with Nazis and a Quick Load button.

In this sequel to the award-winning original, the kinks have been pistol-whipped until smooth, resulting in a tightly wrapped, short, sweet -- and familiar -- "ballet of death."

Save your money by just throwing beer cans at the television. [Feb 2004, p.77]

Throw in the occasional bugs that cause your soldiers to get stuck in corners or run in place, and you may think twice before signing on for this tour of duty. [Feb 2004, p.85]

Great teamplay tactics, but the PC version drew the short straw.

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]

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.

I really enjoyed this game. The string of battle after battle can get a little tedious after a while, and the lack of any compelling story line keeps you from getting completely sucked into the game. But it's a great antidote for those who were disenchanted by "Magic." [Dec 2003, p.130]

Good game, but it's a warm glass of milk when you really wanted a shot of your favorite poison. [Dec 2003, p.128]

Fight boredom and micromanagement by avoiding this lame stand-alone expansion.

It definitely packs some solid gameplay that sci-fi fans are sure to dig. [Feb 2004, p.76]

A decent-enough RTS bogged down by a lame RPG and the mistaken belief that milk is funny. [Feb 2004, p.77]

The new focus on transportation adds substantially to an already excellent game experience.

The best computer hockey game ever, period. More visually sleek and refined than previous versions, NHL 2004 has new dynasty mode, international leagues, and an enhanced fight system, all of which elevate it to benchmark status.

A game that will please both hardcore golf-sim addicts & casual gamers. [Dec 2003, p.148]

Even the friendly A.I. does a much better job of fighting and surviving. There are still some interface problems, but Command & Conquer is better than it's ever been.

It's a bit repetitive, and it should be about four times longer—an experienced prankster can finish it in a single afternoon. Other than that, this one is a keeper.

For true devotees, Breakthrough is probably worth the $29.99 price tag. For everyone else, Breakthrough is an appetizer: good while it lasts, but lacking the substance of an entree. [Dec 2003, p.140]

The least inspired "Jedi Knight" game yet still has some thrills. [Nov 2003, p.100]

Yet another in the seemingly endless procession of PC games released before it was properly finished, with an unacceptably huge pile of bugs, imbalances, and performance problems that needlessly and stupidly obliterate any goodwill the game itself engenders.

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]

A definite improvement upon its predecessors and is loaded with playworthy features. The efforts to reach a wider audience are laudable; however, with the new features still in need of work, hardcore drivers should look elsewhere.

After spending a few hours online scouring for a populated server or losing thanks to bad leadership, players will ultimately lose interest—and we'll be left to lament Savage's unrealized potential.

Ultimately, Starsky & Hutch simply comes off as a poor man's Vice City. A very poor man living off sub-grade, government cheese.

If you can get past the unresponsive controls and don't mind the overall tasteless but campless tone, Bloodrayne still offers only a few hours of moderately entertaining carnage. [July 2003, p.85]

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

This last bit of fuel injection for the aging Battlefield engine is worth the money. [Dec 2003, p.138]

Witless, repetitive, and utterly devoid of interesting strategy elements. [Dec 2003, p.142]

The bimbo of graphic adventure games: both pretty and stupid... When the puzzle solutions aren't illogical, they're horrifically repetitive. [Dec 2003, p.129]

Republic would have been good as a pure strategy game with more varied gameplay, or as a straightforward role-playing adventure with developed plot, characters, and actions. Instead it feels like the effort put into both parts prevented either from really being finished. [Dec 2003, p.134]

Clever, stylish, and fun to watch, but it's a little too hard to control. [Nov 2003, p.144]

An outstanding game... The best movie-licensed game of the year is one of the best games of the year, period. [Oct 2003, p.114]

After the novelty wears off, it becomes an exercise in tedium broken only by crashes to the desktop. [Jan 2004, p.122]

A lobotomized first-person shooter. Invisible walls and glass ceilings abound throughout the briny deep, ensnaring players in a boring series of follow-the-leader and circle-strafing style stages. [Dec 2003, p.144]

Fighting endless hoodlums, mercenaries, and thugs is not necessarily a bad thing -- monotonous fighting in repetitive missions is. [Dec 2003, p.136]

You're given a wider degree of freedom than in the series' past entries. [Dec 2003, p.144]

While it ultimately fails to be an easily accessible, helpful tool to teach the true novice how to play chess well, Majestic Chess is a well-made product that provides good competition for amateur players who aren't too serious about their game. [Dec 2003, p.142]

Unbalanced, tedious, buggy, and lacking in imagination - and those are its good points. [Nov 2003, p.134]

Easily the best Madden game yet, but be prepared to buy a Logitech Dual Action controller. [Nov 2003, p.130]

Somehow, Korsun Pocket manages to capture everything that's compelling about historical wargaming and presents it as a tremendous game. [Sept 2003, p.103]

The interface works well for executing moves but poorly for keeping track of your titans' status. [Feb 2004, p.82]

With enough features to fill a 747 flight manual, MSFS2004 provides a level of flying simulation on the PC that was unimaginable even a few years ago. [Oct 2003, p.116]

The largest maps, which have three different levels of land, can provide dozens of hours of gameplay. [Nov 2003, p.128]

This game's perpetually unnerving ambience, interesting puzzles, and unique ghost story may very well help you forgive its graphical flaws. [Nov 2003, p.129]

The concept wasn't bad, but N:D's uninspiring execution and lack of depth make for a forgettable gaming experience... Rock/paper/scissors is a more challenging strategy game. [Nov 2003, p.136]

Nothing really new here, but worth a look if you need a new sim for a slow system. [Nov 2003, p.142]

The game's biggest annoyance - the finite nuber of saves allowed during each mission. [Nov 2003, p.140]

What stinks more than anything is SOE's treatment of the game's devoted fans, who find themselves spurned by the developer's hope that a dumbed-down gaming experience will appeal to a wider audience. [Feb 2006, p.76]

There are only minimal changes to the broader strokes of gameplay. [Sept 2003, p.90]

It has a few great moments, but it seems like an incomplete collection of half-finished ideas. [Nov 2003, p.126]

Let me put this as nicely as I possibly can: Strategy First could have put a rotting dead rat in a shoebox and charged $20, and it would still have been a better value than Mistmare. [Dec 2003, p.131]

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]

And thus gaming's highest-profile franchise is run into the ground and kicked repeatedly in the head. [Oct 2003, p.118]

The new campaigns take advantage of a larger supported map size, allowing for longer and more complicated scenarios. [Oct 2003, p.117]

It's never outright terrible. Which qualifies Big Mutha Truckers for some kind of best in breed award. [Sept 2003, p.99]

It's idiosyncratic but exciting in a way games like "EverQuest" aren't, and it's getting better... Shockingly good when you consider it was developed by a team of three people. [Oct 2003, p.124]

Just competent, not compelling. [Sept 2003, p.92]

This game has so much more detail, realism, and flexibility than its predecessors that it effectively laps the F1 racing field. [Sept 2003, p.97]

SOU is perhaps the funniest fantasy-RPG I've ever played... One of those expansions that make the original game pale in comparison. [Sept 2003, p.94]

The dearth of vital economic information, lack of a true economy, and repetitiveness make this a tedious exercise at best. [Oct 2003, p.119]

The new campaigns take advantage of a larger supported map size, allowing for longer and more complicated scenarios. [Oct 2003, p.117]

The problem: I've played Serious Sam. I've seen Serious Sam. And this, sir, is no Serious Sam. [Nov 2003, p.131]

Offers a great blend of combat and economic strategy. [Aug 2003, p.79]

The addition of werewolves is interesting, but the implementation isn't very exciting. [Sept 2003, p.96]

Easily the best implementation of a major comic-book character in a game yet... Finally, a game that lets you club your enemies with other enemies. [Sept 2003, p.98]

Like its brethren, it is good - but without being amazing or breathtakingly original. [Aug 2003, p.72]

Play it for the movies, don't play it for the play. [Aug 2003, p.84]

Perhaps the best part of living the life of a celebrity is the luxuries--spa treatments, sushi dinners, and a butler await you in Superstar. [Aug 2003, p.87]

Delivers the best World War II real-time gaming experience to date. [Aug 2003, p.88]

Vice City doesn't improve much on the few shortcomings of its predecessor. Fortunately, it doesn't have to. [Aug 2003, p.74]

It adds some window dressing and a smattering of new scenarios to a game well past its prime. [Aug 2003, p.81]

The brand-new Dark Age campaign, lots of new units, and plenty of new gameplay make Viking Invasion a must for Total War fans. [Aug 2003, p.80]

This stunning mood is crushed by an interface that has all the charm and convenience of a TPS report. [Sept 2003, p.95]