If only the camera system were half as responsive as the bad guys are. [July 2003, p.89]

A prime candidate for Coaster of the Year. You'll have more fun lobbing old potatoes at the squirrels in your yard than playing this mess. [July 2003, p.88]

Poorly designed controls make this pallid Indiana Jones clone unplayable. [July 2003, p.83]

Praetorians never really achieves the gigantic scope of a "Total War" game, but it is more easily controlled and offers much more obvious tactical problems. [May 2003, p.95]

Twenty to 30 hours of gameplay, and not a single one of them worth a damn. [July 2003, p.84]

Despite the amount of stuff to do, JPOG isn't particularly deep. [June 2003, p.100]

The VC are dirty cheaters in this lush but restrictive and nonsensical portrayal of sniper life in the Vietnam War. [July 2003, p.78]

When the most noteworthy feature of your new expansion is the ability to role-play a frog, maybe that's a sign you're running low n ideas. I'm just sayin'.[June 2003, p.97]

A complete lack of mouse support is the painful tip of this iceberg. [June 2003, p.104]

What makes Freelancer a compelling game is the sense of a living universe, vast areas begging for exploration, and the ability to hook up with friends online and start being either total bastards or glorious do-gooders together. [May 2003, p.86]

Any excitement that might have been generated by the explosions and mayhem cannot hope to compete with the boredom of constant reloads, or the aggravation of hearing the same "witty" banter for the fifth time. [June 2003, p.86]

An example of mediocrity dragged much further downward by sheer ineptitude. It could have been another so-so tactical stealth shooter, but the saves, the idiots, the cliches, and the crashes shove it into coaster territory. [July 2003, p.72]

This is either a great standalone expansion pack or a slightly underachieving sequel. [June 2003, p.96]

The aggravating and lame discussions are enough to make you lose your head. [June 2003, p.90]

A game for which the adjective "tolerable" was invented. There's nothing terrible about Harbinger, but there's nothing much good, either. [June 2003, p.89]

The degeneration continues. [Aug 2003, p.90]

The overwhelming masses of numbers and options make MOO3 harder to comprehend than its more intuitive predecessors. [May 2003, p.88]

Combine Splinter Cell's pure stealth action with the world of Tom Clancy and you've got one hell of a techno-espionage title made even better on the PC. [Mar 2003, p.82]

While I found the game a refreshing diversion from the usual slash-and-loot online fare I've become a little worn out on after years of play, I did find the heavy focus on interaction with other players to be too much of a good thing. [July 2003, p.82]

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

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

While the game starts off strong, its personality steadily dribbles away, leaving you feeling you've played enough of it and never need to play it again. [Apr 2003, p.102]

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

A chunky mix of features from other titles in a fully 3D bladder that has some merit, but will probably leave most gamers why on earth they should take a bite. [May 2003, p.91]

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

It's a good concept set against an intentionally silly story. But the game is all style and little substance. [Apr 2003, p.110]

You'll be praying for at least a competent if not sparking conversationalist... For now, the game is pretty boring. [Apr 2003, p.104]