This is a very good follow-up to the best single-player role-playing game in years, and that's OK with me. KOTOR II is a big, often complex, mature piece of storytelling—and I'll take it over anything that's been onscreen with the Star Wars name in 25 years.

Technically great but lacks the heart that makes fans into fanatics. [Aug 2005, p.84]

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

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

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]

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]

Offers just enough new content to warrant being called a sequel...It is like "Doom II" was to "Doom." [Apr 2002, p.96]

If you haven’t downloaded the nude patch yet, go and grab it off the Web right now. Hot Date, like most things, is better with a little nudity! [Mar 2002, p.80]

Winter Assault further cements Dawn of War as one of the great next-gen strategy titles. If you thought you were sick of the genre, come back. This is worth it.

The mechanics for pulling off tricks have been perfected. [Jan 2005, p.104]

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]

One of the most addictive and enjoyable games you'll play this year. [Jan 2005, p.84]

The presentation is second to none, the gameplay is addictive without being overbearing, and Sid Meier's signature "I-can't wait-to-see-what-happens-next" magic is here in full force. [Apr 2002, p.97]

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]

This is a realistic simulation, unashamedly difficult to master, but offering the kind of satisfaction that only comes from conquering a difficult challenge. [Mar 2002, p.78]

The most remarkable aspect of Disciples II is how carefully all of the units have been balanced. [May 2002, p.82]

The shift in emphasis to tending the whims of your Sims has left the economic model a bit shaky. [Mar 2003, p.84]

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.

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]

In many ways, Blood feels like the polished game Gearbox couldn't completely nail last time around. Most of the evolution takes place under the hood.

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]

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.

The engineer's bayonet kill might be the most satisfying frag since "Half-Life"'s crowbar kills. [May 2003, p.92]

If anything, it reminds us that ridiculous production values and high-powered rigs aren't always necessary to make a game that's just plain fun.

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]