Wisely focuses on humankind's hedonistic tendencies, with less emphasis on acquisition and more on enjoying life outside the house.

Here in beats the heart of a classic.but casual simmers should wait and see if patches fix the problems.

NHL 06's online features, combined with a great single-player dynasty mode, create a much more dynamic playing experience than 2005's. At last, offense takes center ice and defense moves from the blue line to the goal crease, where it belongs.

Another incremental step, but still a great game of football. [Nov 2005, p.100]

Dungeon Siege II errs by giving you way too much, all teh time... ultimately diminishing the impact of everything you do. [Nov 2005, p.92]

Ultimately, Advent Rising shoots for the stars but barely breaks orbit. [Nov 2005, p.94]

You'll sleep through most of the challenges, though, as your vampiric superpowers are so unbalanced that you'll cut a bloody path through the action in no time...even if you suck at these kinds of games. [Oct 2005, p.80]

Detailed terrain, buildings, water, and effects lend an unprecedented feeling of speed to low-level flight. [March 2004, p.82]

Somewhat repetitive, but never so bat that it's offensive. [Nov 2005, p.99]

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.

FlatOut doesn't have nearly enough variety in its tracks. Though the layouts will change (sometimes only slightly), there are only a few landscapes, and they do get repetitive. This minor complaint aside, FlatOut is a great arcade-style racer.

The game tries to cover every aspect of the campaigns - economic development, technological research, diplomatic overtures, military operations, even technical battles - but none of it is particularly gripping. [Oct 2005, p.80]

Above all, the writing and voice acting are far superior to most other videogames'. [Oct 2005, p.76]

Comic aficionados may be eager to become a part of an interactive comic world, but fanboys, prepare yourselves for a terribly average adventure. The only reason to consider Fantastic 4 is to cope with PC gaming's summer drought.

The neat thing is that none of it—the chain of command, the elitist bands of E-brothers, the Patton-approved battle plans—needs to matter, at least to the curious weekend commando looking to pop into a public server and simply shoot somebody.

Next time, use the million-dollar PVP cash prize to improve gameplay. [Oct 2005, p.78]

Lacking ideas, Area 51 plays up its license (and lessons learned from finer shooters) for a solid but unsurprising foray into the FPS field. Pity that it isn't more.

This latest GTA is an epic, involving experience, no doubt--but when you get past the expansive world and the RPG-like elements, it's the same epic, involving experience it was last year.

An epic strategy game for conquerors who want more than just the standard RTS. [Aug 2005, p.86]

You will find mothing but carpal-tunnel-inducing mouse clicking, pointless chitchat, and a stat system that plays out like a shallow "Sims" rip-off. [Oct 2005, p.80]

It looks and plays like it was made by two guys in a basement - which, in fact, it was. [Oct 2005, p.78]

Fate isn't going to glue new brain cells inside your skull, but it isn't going to murder the ones you have. It's a good time, it really never reaches an end, and it may be the best way to while away the lifetime between now and "Diablo III."

A great-looking game with a few good ideas, but it just gets too many things wrong. Despite the initial promise, the result is a pale imitation of "Total War" and a poor attempt at simulating history.

Casual gamers may find a hefty learning curve, but the tracks are so inventive; it's ultimately worth the work required to unlock them.

Dungeon Lords is a disaster.

Honestly, it looks like Digital Extremes spent its entire time perfecting the proprietary map editor (which works fantastically) instead of making the game fun.

A new benchmark for hardcore racing sims...mostly. [Oct 2005, p.81]

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