None of this is very entertaining at all. The game offers some of the most slender, inconsequential, and ultimately, boring distractions to be found on the GameCube. [Sept 2003]

If Desert Storm 2 has one flaw, it's that there are only ten maps and these usually channel the player down avenues rather than provide ample playgrounds for strategic experimentation. [Nov 2003, p.100]

If Desert Storm 2 has one flaw, it's that there are only ten maps and these usually channel the player down avenues rather than provide ample playgrounds for strategic experimentation. [Nov 2003, p.100]

If Desert Storm 2 has one flaw, it's that there are only ten maps and these usually channel the player down avenues rather than provide ample playgrounds for strategic experimentation. [Nov 2003, p.100]

Viewtiful Joe will undoubtedly test your patience. But the moments that stay with you after you switch off the GameCube are characterised by inventiveness, wit, verve, charm style, vigour and, above all, fun. And that's not something that can be said of that many other games these days. [Sept 2003]

The game's great strength is the well-judged escalation of pace and scale. From your humble dungarees-and-pistol beginnings, the expansion of your squad means missions intensify from hit-and-run raids to large-scale onslaughts. And it is this, ultimately, which induces a sensation of swaggering brawn that allows the game's hiccups to be forgiven. [Oct 2003, p.99]

To have been worth the wait for PC gamers it would have needed to considerably improve on the Xbox original. Put simply, it doesn't. [Dec 2003, p.109]

Warrior Kings: Battles mixes and matches familiar mechanisms in interesting ways, but it proves that balancing real wargaming with resource-based empire building is as precarious a task as ever. [June 2003, p.105]

The major strengths of the original title remain undimmed; this is as consumate an example of Koei's design skill as its predecessor and every bit as enjoyable - in spite of having seen it all before. [Dec 2003, p.109]

As [Vince] laments the formulaic impositions of the game in successive cut-scenes, it only serves to remind you how much of a chore it is to play - and raises the question; why does every platform hero have to be a wiseguy? [Dec 2003, p.108]

It's impossible not to feel disappointed with a title that, to judge by it's opening, ought to have competed on an even footing with "Super Mario Sunshine." Instead it's an uneasy compromise between the splendour of the early levels and the inadequacies of later missions. [Dec 2003, p.88]

This relaxed, arcade-like approach makes for something that's not so much about simulation, but more emulation; letting you thwack the ball with all the verve of an expert, without the worry of any homework. Fun, then, and lots of it. [Nov 2003, p.107]

This relaxed, arcade-like approach makes for something that's not so much about simulation, but more emulation; letting you thwack the ball with all the verve of an expert, without the worry of any homework. Fun, then, and lots of it. [Nov 2003, p.107]

This relaxed, arcade-like approach makes for something that's not so much about simulation, but more emulation; letting you thwack the ball with all the verve of an expert, without the worry of any homework. Fun, then, and lots of it. [Nov 2003, p.107]

This relaxed, arcade-like approach makes for something that's not so much about simulation, but more emulation; letting you thwack the ball with all the verve of an expert, without the worry of any homework. Fun, then, and lots of it. [Nov 2003, p.107]

Acclaim's latest manages to tick all the required futuristic race sim boxes, except the one titled 'memorable'. There's one really good thing about XGRA - it's all over very quickly. [Nov 2003, p.109]

Nasty, brutish and short - and that's once you've got past the interface problems. Temple of Elemental Evil is a huge disappointment by any measure. [Christmas 2003, p.124]

Relic has spent four years honing a distracting interface, revitalising a less-than-perfect control system and, above all, recreating anew the sense of majesty and scale that originally distinguished this deep-space strategy title. [Nov 2003, p.103]

Boktai re-invigorates almost every aspect of the tired dungeon-and-items formula. The light-sensor technology works flawlessly and opens up a host of possibilities for future games. A beautiful game in almost every respect. [Oct 2003, p.92]

This nonsensical sequel in Capcom's mediocre survival horror spin-off fails in practically every sense, from fine detail to basic tenets. A catastrophe. [Sept 2003]

Acclaim's latest manages to tick all the required futuristic race sim boxes, except the one titled 'memorable'. There's one really good thing about XGRA - it's all over very quickly. [Nov 2003, p.109]

While there are some interesting mini-games to break up the wandering, Grunty's Revenge is mainly an abject lesson in breadcrumb following game design. [Dec 2003, p.106]

More intelligent than your average online shooter, ... this quirky concept deserves recognition. [May 2004, p.108]

You'll soon learn the groove: shoot, dodge, shoot, dodge. It should get tedious, but it doesn't. P.N.03 rewards skill above all else and mastery brings huge satisfaction. Grace under fire has rarely been done better. [June 2003, p.96]

The game starts slow, a feeling exacerbated - or perhaps caused - by the easiness of the battles. But you'll play it and play it. Every time you try to stop you're just one battle away from mastering that skill, for earning that new job. [Dec 2003, p.105]

The micromanagement is on a previously unimagined macro scale and yet is accessible and coherent enough to draw you in, making hours of concentrated playtime pass like minutes. [Dec 2003, p.101]

Four years on and Republic is revealed as a more familiar and modest proposition. What promised to be revolutionary has emerged as a mere curio. A shame. [Oct 2003, p.90]

There's not as much depth as Tetris or Puyo Puyo, but there's not much that disappoints about Bombastic apart from a rather lacklustre platform game that's been bolted on. The deeply involving puzzle mechanics brilliantly build on the foundations laid down by Devil Dice. [Christmas 2003, p.124]