An excellent action game. Or is it strategy? Or perhaps action-strategy? Whatever it is, it is damn fun.

An obsessive-compulsive's dream.

In a game already so dark and visually menacing, the Xbox gives the phrase "jumping at your own shadow" a whole new shade of meaning.

Level design is uninspiring--too many long corridors. Compare this with the stroke-of-genius falling cargo ship level from "Jedi Knight."

It features a game system rich enough to challenge and enthrall any experienced gamer, and Fantasy sublime enough to draw in the most hardened doubter of videogames.

Clearly designed by people who by-God know their Simpsons minutiae...An excellent-looking, perfect-sounding, perfectly-playable arcade game, albeit one of many missed opportunities.

A faithful retelling of an epic story by developers who are obvious fans of Frank Herbert's epic works, Dune is a slightly above-average third person action adventure with some frustrations that shouldn't take too much away from an otherwise decent game.

While one is stuck fishing for maneuvers, the computer is busy putting a boot so far up your rump you'll be sneezing shoelaces. The complete inability to respond to a flurry of deadly blows in kind renders human-controlled fighters all but helpless...Insulting.

Its pulp-novel story, gunfights straight out of John Woo's head, the incredibly cool Bullet Time gimmick, graphics that will stun the most jaded gamer.

Shadow Hearts’ enthralling plot and superb combat system make this one a keeper. Did I mention the micro-skirted heroine?

The graphics are cartoony and charming and I like the looks of the various enemies. It would have been nice if the environments had been a bit more interactive.

This excellent, visceral shooter is just the tiniest bit on the short side, but remember what the man said: In a New York Minute, everything can change.

Not since "Excitebike 64" for the now-defunct Nintendo 64 and the original "Motocross Madness" for the PC have I enjoyed a motocross game as much as MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael.

Offers up the kind of gaming experience that you will never forget.

The detail is reminiscent of "Sudden Strike," but rendered in 3D. It's truly awesome.

For those who like the unique challenge of timed racing and the strategies that off-road rallies require, Screamer 4X4 is a must have.

Acclaim comes off of the top rope with what could be one of the sleeper hits of this holiday season. With all of the stars that made wrestling what it is today, Legends of Wrestling is a must-have.

In a turnaround seldom seen in the videogame industry, this series manage to go from god-awful to mediocre.

I have played SSBM every day since I got it and I cannot get enough of this game.

One of the best PS2 games on the market. It combines well-paced action, a strong story, and AD&D rules into an exciting romp through the most famous city on the Sword Coast.

It has the obsessive quality. This one goes beyond simple addiction. If you get into it, you will probably REALLY get into it, and want to want to redo the game until you’ve completely dominated it.

The Ecks vs. Sever FPS engine is the best we've seen on the GBA so far, but it's still firmly rooted in the pre-Quake era of shooters. Arguably it's more advanced than any games of that era, although it's not as long or as involved as say, "Duke Nukem 3D."

Yeah, Gorasul can be fun, but the twisted translation, buggy game engine, skimpy manual, and weak sound indicate a game not ready for prime time.

Starfighter SE will not astound you with mind-blowing graphics and innovation, but as a wise man once said, it's "a reasonably solid debut title."

Azurik does not have huge flaws that bring it down. It's a lot of little things that just don't add up to a sum I like.

The pace seems faster than last year's version, which is definitely a good thing. Playing multiplayer is a lot more fun because of it.

A pleasing solo affair mixed with remarkable multiplayer support once again more than cements id Software's status as the premiere name in first-person shooters.

What makes Frequency really special is the way it sinks its hooks in and challenges players to outdo themselves just one more time.

A bit of a bimbo, pretty but mindless.

If the lame fighting mechanics, bad music, boring environments (each city is represented by a bare wooden stage with a different backdrop curtain) and lack of gameplay modes weren't enough, the single biggest problem with Kabuki Warriors' single player game is that it is RIDICULOUSLY easy.

Easy to get into but hard to master, Amped offers a surprising amount of depth and graphical splendor for what is basically such a simple premise: point your board down a mountain and become famous in the process.

My favorite mode is back, the Story Mode, and in this game it rocks, offering up a first person romp around the many locales in the game and a wide variety of career paths for you to choose from.

Quite simply, this is a must-have flight simulator for war buffs or flight sim nuts alike, and will surely remain as a resident on your hard drive for a long, long time.

At the conclusion of some of the levels there are awesome mini-games...Homerun in Wario is awesome--it tests your baseball skills as much as your platform gaming skills!

One nice touch is that "finishing" a mission is not necessarily the same as finishing it--any scruffy nerfherder can earn the game's bronze medals, but it takes a serious attention to detail (and the ability to succeed without overzealous use of the targeting computer) to earn Gold medals.

Depending on your gaming tastes and how much you played Wave Race 64, you will either love this game or think it is nothing more than a technology demo that showcases the graphical prowess of the GameCube and offers nothing that gamers haven't played before.

They got it all in there, it's just a little discordant and rough around the edges. And, despite the failings of this game, there is every reason to believe that All-Star Baseball 2003 will be the best console baseball game available next season.

Unlike Batman, however, Tarzan has awesome control, good camera angles, and excellent gameplay.

The video game falls short of the quality Potter fans expect, and provides nothing more than a simple platform/adventure game that young fans will adore, but older fans will feel disappointed with.

A PlayStation game that will disappoint Potter fans around the world with its bland graphics, blocky characters, lifeless locales, frustrating challenges, and uninspiring gameplay.

The game is beautiful and offers plenty of platform gaming excitement that wouldn’t be possible on the PS2 or even the GameCube.

Halo has the best control of any console shooter I've ever played.

The action is as close as it can get to the real thing.

In this journalist’s opinion, it was a lot easier to perform tricks on the GameCube version of this game than the Xbox version, thanks to Nintendo’s comfortable and form-fitting controller.

If you were one of the ones that sobbed every time "Return to Krondor" was delayed, you'll go through Wizardry like an adult going through their childhood home. In some ways, it's a piece of living history.

Vampire Night isn't the best light-gun game out there, but it's still a decent game and certainly the best looking light-gun shooter on any system.

A fun game overall with some adrenaline-raising gameplay, but lacking any real depth, Tarzan does a good job of being what it is; a pick-up-and play game that's more than just a few jungle levels with Tarzan running and swinging.

Just an especially well polished game.

It's really a shame, because Shrek is exactly the sort of movie that could be made into some highly entertaining platform games.

It is a breath of fresh air for football fans that enjoy Madden, but are looking for something more innovative and different...[It's] better than "Madden NFL 2002" on the Xbox!

At times engaging and at others frustrating, but still sporting a striking visual design, Fuzion Frenzy is worth a rental for your next party or to check out for an eventual buy.

Aside from these minor graphical niggles, the game does look mightily beautiful and plays smooth as glass, even in splitscreen multiplayer mode.

The true King of Fighters, and it is a perfect showcase for what kind of games the Xbox is able to deliver.

A decent game. It looks pretty darn good, has a swell sense of speed, and the music adds to the frantic pace (though the sounds bites in the game are kinda repetitive).

This great engine and these great visuals are draped over gameplay that is just so-so.

On both the Xbox and PlayStation 2, EA Sports has brought the Thunder with authority as far as this race fan is concerned. I've played both versions and the Xbox version is the better of the two.

At best, an average racer with a watered-down trick system.

I am absolutely thrilled with this game and already I can’t wait to see where Red Storm takes it next.

Fun and immersive while it lasts, but unfortunately it’s a short ride with little replayability (save, maybe, for the multiplayer modes).

The on-screen skaters control well, but not quite as tightly as the PS2 version of the game. There is a bit more play in this version, with the end result being a control scheme that is slightly looser than one might expect.

The things they have added do not drag the game down. In many ways they are great improvements. But they don’t go as far towards making the game a truly deep, satisfying RPG as they could.

Earth not only plays great, it respects the feel of history and advancement, and by its very nature makes the player respect it too.

At times, it's hard to tell where sincerity ends and irony begins--select Snake's cigarettes in the inventory list and you're provided with the helpful information that cigarettes are highly addictive and bad for your health. Not like, for example, guns or anything.

Even with the option of taking numerous paths on each mission, once the truth is out there, you probably won’t want to bother again.

While the concept is a good one--it's really cool to build up a little squadron of Naboo Starfighters--it doesn't really work in the 2D, sprite-based AoE engine. For example, after your TIE Fighters streak to their waypoint, they simply hang in the air, awaiting your next mouse-click.

Still one of the great ones all these years later, even with dated graphics, poor voice acting, and the inherent limitations of a gamepad.

Together, the sum of these interesting parts holds up quite well.

Despite a high level of difficulty, the game is proof positive that the original PlayStation still has plenty of life left within.

Although a solid simulation, the game lacks the flexibility, beauty, and creativity to be more than a mid-range title.

The brilliance of this game, however, doesn't stop with the audio effects, or the crisp, fast moving, beautiful graphics, with you and up to five other boarders on the screen at the same time, moving at a blistering fast frame rate. The controls in SSX Tricky are perfect.

Kohan is one of the few that not only mixes resource management and solid tactical play, but a couple of turn-based wargaming conventions to boot.

Not only is the gameplay un-revised on this much more powerful platform, but much of the former joy in the series has been drained away. The characters, levels and gameplay are essentially flat.

The first racing game that really <I>encourages</I> you to get your ya-yas out.

Makes a nice package, and is a good ride for fans of the series. It's probably a little rough on newbies though.

Aside from the occasional slander and the slight slowing down of production, I didn&#146;t quite get the feeling that the press was really all that interesting a factor.

A textbook example to other console developers on how to write videogame prose.

Terrific music and sound effects make this one of the best-sounding computer games released this year. Human screams and primal alien/predator screeches are done very well.

Steer clear of this smoking wreck, race fans.

Like so many things that come in threes, this one just can't compare to parts I and II.

For those who&#146;ve got time and money to burn, running contraband across the imaginary border is a lot more entertaining--and much safer--than trying to sneak a pair of scissors through airport security.

A must-see RTS experience with a rich single-player campaign and a whopping 14 styles of multiplayer competition.

Tony Hawk himself really likes the game and loves getting online with his PS2. You could end up playing against the "man" himself if you're the lucky type.

Playing the console version of Batman Vengeance, you get the impression that the designers made an effort to make a game that was both a good action game, and made sense in the context of the Batman universe.

The deciding factor of this game has to be how often you have friends over to participate in the battle modes. If you have chums over all the time, put this one in the must-buy category, otherwise Bomberman Online is still worth a rental or two.

Unfortunately, the included manual is among the least informative ever written and the in-game interface is more than a little clunky.

Doom may be looking a mite long in the tooth in terms of the larger world of first-person games, but for a GBA title it's one Hell of a ride.

A very solid action title. Not an overly innovative game by any means, but far better than much of the licensed schlock out there.

An incredibly complete sport simulation that captures, not only the heart of the sport, but also pays close attention to all of the little details that tennis fans love about the game.

Nobody has developed a perfect basketball sim. Visual Concepts however has come the closest with NBA 2K2. By far this is the best hoops title on the market today.

The best kind of console conversion--one that isn't obvious. PC gamers wanting an extreme sports rush have found their hit.

It is far from perfect, but that being said, this game is still the best Batman game ever made for any system, and I have played them all!

It&#146;s somewhat remarkable then that Project Eden not only offers an update to the genre, but also takes it to the next level with tons of challenging environmental puzzles, amazing graphics, and not one, but four lead characters.

Rockstar Games has done the unthinkable, turning murderous greed into an honest to God art form with Grand Theft Auto 3.

The excellent castle management and siege combat is tarnished by the cumbersome interface and mediocre real-time combat.

It is considerably more challenging than the first at many points, yet it doesn&#146;t have quite the polish of the original.

The zoo theme is a lot of fun. Newcomers to sim gaming may get more bang for their buck, but oldtimers with a Noah (as in the Ark) complex will enjoy it as well.

Above all else, this game is spooky, stylish and most importantly, fun from beginning to end.

Whatever the reasons, Lady Sia is able to remain enjoyable for at least half the time it takes to complete its quest, which is more than can be said of the majority of the new titles out this winter.