NHL 2005's real merit lies in its online play and the new Free4All mode; the raw power and speed of the single-player game is way overdone. [Jan 2005, p.107]

Disappointment is the litany of B&W2. As an evil god, I can build prisons and worse...but why? There's no payoff. Pointless minigames that eschew the game's central morality conflict end up being stupid, insulting, and/or infuriating.

Le Mans is boring, the deadliest of sins for a racing game. [Oct 2002, p.104]

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

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]

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

Isn't as bad as getting trench foot or being castrated by shrapnel, but it's still so full of tedium and frustration that paying for the game is pretty much an act of self-flagellation. [Feb 2003, p.98]

It doesn't work consistently, but it's entertaining when it does. [Dec 2002, p.134]

Could have been great. Instead, it's a near miss - a great idea poorly presented and inadequately explained. And that ain't my bag, baby. [Dec 2004, p.94]

If the actual battle engine were better, this would be a great game. [Mar 2006, p.86]

Has the potential to be a truly unique sim, but it's got the blocky aesthetics of an edutainment title, yet is too complex for junior to play on his own. [Sept 2002, p.85]

The problem here isn't so much with the game's content, which remains as ambitious and poignant as ever, but rather with Konami's sloppy porting efforts to the PC. [Aug 2003, p.78]

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

A game that mostly excels at being better than you think it'll be. [June 2002, p.86]

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]

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

The main problem with Zoo Tycoon is its lack of a fast-forward button: A single year of gameplay consumes a grand total of six hours. [Feb 2005, p.85]

Outbreak should get recognition for having one of the most bizarre weapons in any shooter. [May 2002, p.88]

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

More cute than funny - unless you're seven. [Feb 2005, p.85]

A familiar-feeling game with absolutely no personality. [Apr 2005, p.87]

Tactical freaks won't find much here to really challenge them, but Legion Arena might serve as a good introduction for players unfamiliar with this type of strategy game. [Mar 2006, p.85]

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

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]

A whirlwind global tour for diehards... and a bumpy ride for everyone else. [Feb 2006, p.77]

There's some high-flying fun in this racer, but the numerous unnecessary hurdles will send you cruising back to the store to return Beam Breakers. [Feb 2003, p.88]

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

Trying to please hardcore and casual strategy gamers, Cossacks II satisfies neither. [Aug 2005, p.87]