While not quite as big as "Baldur's Gate II," this game is considerably large, totalling about 100 hours of the single-player gameplay.

I love the fact that the game's exploration is open-ended.

If you like swordplay, if you like good story, if you like Asian ambiance, you'll like The Way of the Samurai.

It is considerably more challenging than the first at many points, yet it doesn’t have quite the polish of the original.

Through careful scripting, disturbing audio-visual tricks, solid gameplay and a judicious use of cinematics, Fatal Frame manages to convey the disarming sense of feeling one's sanity crumble under the assault of otherworldly influences...At least, that's what the Voices told me to say.

The lack of a two-player mode (reportedly dropped due to shipping deadlines) and no ability to simply roam around the city without time limits and seek out its many hidden areas and shortcuts is nigh-on criminal, especially the latter.

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.

Red Dead Revolver could very well be THE game to keep the Old West genre from riding off into the sunset once and for all.

Combines spine-tingling combat, sweet character development and solid story with one hell of an editor.

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

This is a hefty new multiplayer package, considering that this an expansion and you sometimes don't get 12 multiplayer maps in a regular full game. Frankly, it helps compensate for the fact that the single player campaign is so short.

A far cry from the grittiness of "Rainbow Six."

But be forewarned. If you are expecting to get the same experience that you've been hearing about from rabid PC gamers, you aren't going to get it. Quake for the PC was an okay game made great by the superb online options and an open architecture.

There isn’t a single satisfying mode you can play Mario Party 3 in, and the sad thing is, all of this boredom could have been solved with one very, very simple option; let the player set the level of game animations they desire.

DOA XBV's laid back approach is refreshing. Like a real vacation, nothing is particularly urgent in the game, which is almost unheard of--almost every game out there is about WINNING or DYING.

Despite the annoying camera work, Sanity Aiken’s Artifact manages to remain a fun game that will leave you excited at the prospect of finding your next Psionic talent and using it on some well-deserving criminals or on your online friends.

My copy of Emperor's Tomb had occasional moments of severe slowdown and music stuttering. These instances never occurred during a life or death situation, but they were aggravating all the same.

While this first PC foray into the Blair mythos is excellent, you needn't bother unless you have a relatively high-end system. If you harbor any doubts as to whether your system is good enough, it isn't. The base requirements (Pentium II 233, etc.) refer to the game running at all, not the game running well when you've got multiple enemies onscreen...and believe me, you will.

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

A pleasant and exciting surprise.

For what it is, a fast hack ’n’ slash, GDL is a great game. If you’re looking for an action RPG, this ain’t it.

With impressive graphics, a deep combat system, and control that lets you throw out the moves like a Disco dancer on Speed, fans of Mixed Martial Arts and Pride competition will find Pride FC a very accessible and transfixing game.

I think DTR should also get some credit for its control scheme, which is very intuitive.

A good game for the patient strategy gamer who doesn't mind tripping over the occasional rough bit, and who thinks that "Starcraft" is really an action game.

If you're not going to mess with the editor, there aren't many reasons to get this new version if you own older copies of the game.

A hard working tennis game that has lots of guts, but not so much finesse. However, the plusses do outweigh the minuses by quite a bit.

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.

Bustling with alien activity, brimming with challenges and boasting the largest collection of controllable vehicles you've ever seen in an action-adventure game, Body Harvest is a blast from beginning to end. It was definitely worth the wait!

Like all good puzzlers, Polarium is exceptionally easy to learn, and it makes it very hard for you to turn your DS off and get your work done.

A combination of great audio and visual and an unusual but intense style of gameplay make Battle at Procyon a winner.

Straight-forward, fun, and original gaming.

Delivers what you'd expect. You want lots of explosions, and lots of things to shoot at, and they're on the disk.

It's fun, it's exciting, and it's challenging -whether played against the artificial intelligence or your big sister.

Duke Nukem 64, while certainly not the fulfilling banquet that Rare's Goldeneye proved to be this year, is definitely meaty enough to fatten you up. Even if you feel like you're drowning in first person shooters these days, Duke 64 delivers enough innovative secrets and bullet riddled action to silence your cries.

It looks good, has some clever tracks and is peppy enough to stay exciting for some time.

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

The fact that most gamers have seen all of this before makes it a bit more difficult to see this game's strengths, while making its weaknesses that much more apparent.

I loved the fighting and I would love to see this engine used again, though I still wonder about what might have been with a little more money and a little more time.

A decent shooter and it has its merits, even on a console where new software is getting mighty scarce. However, if you were only going to own one, this probably wouldn't be it.

It's just too unnecessarily frustrating. Gunvalkyrie simply should have had a little more polishing.

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

It could have been vastly improved with a bit more graphical polish, and the addition of more exploration and side-quests to break up the monotony of its near-constant combat.

The physics model in Hitman is a definite milestone in computer gaming. No other computer game to date has been able to achieve the realistic effects you’ll find here.

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

It gets hefty points for not being just a "prettified" version of the one available for PlayStation, N64 and Dreamcast.

I would not call Primal an innovative title, but it has lots to do and TONS of different powers, which the game doles out just about when you start wanting something new.

If Racer Revenge wasn't a Star Wars game, such a generic little arcade-racer wouldn't even be worth mentioning.

Godzilla can't compete with top fighting games like DOA3, but then you'd be foolish to expect it to. It's probably going to appeal more to people who like monster movies.

If you want to get online and play action games against other people, Tribes Aerial Assault is a must. The consoles have never seen anything like it before.

The graphics and music combine to good effect (though likely too cheery for some) and make Pac-Man World an awesome place for a little gaming vacation, especially as you fly around on some of the Pac-dot chains.

Vastly improves on the original "Civilization: Call to Power" but still falls far short of the original, original "Civilization" series.

I especially like that the Army Builder screen has something to analyze your army, and tell you where it is strong and where it is lacking.

If you love the Looney Tune cartoons, you will love each level of this game.

An excellent game, but needs some polish to catch up to "NBA 2K3" and "NBA Live 2003."

Absolutely runs away with the title of most visually and technically impressive game for the PlayStation 2... Unfortunately, the developers shot themselves in the foot with the actual game.

A few minor annoyances, like poor enemy AI and some puzzles that seem almost too difficult keep it from a higher score, but if you’re looking for a game you can invest some time in and not feel like you came away with nothing, welcome to Eden.

A solid action game that feels a little like Starfox, with different battle types that always amount to you shooting everything that moves. While you can't call it revolutionary, it's got good controls and a sense of humour, so I found myself liking it.

The writing is of the quality that you'll find in your average Jean-Claude Van Damme flick. It tries to be witty and satirical, but is adolescent and uninteresting instead.

The control scheme is a bit counter-intuitive. While it does work nicely once you’ve gotten used to playing, it makes for some frustrating gameplay for the first hour or so.

It's got a marked cosmetic advantage over competition. When it comes to playability, though, this sucker doesn't even make the scoreboard.

The kind of product Westwood is largely known for--complete, compelling, full of great little touches, and just generally elegant (which is a funny thing to say about a game of pirates, pillage and plunder, but so be it).

The major factor holding Outlaw Golf from being a top tier golf game is its unforgiving control system.

It's a wild and fun ride.

Nothing if not original.

While entertaining in small doses, Creature Isle does not have the kind of countervailing payoff for these frustration as the first game.

I wish it had gone for more stuff, particularly given the power of the Xbox (like how about highly destructive environments, instead of blasting the odd box?), and given that House of the Dead II is probably the better game. But hey, why complain when you get two games in one?

It's definitely challenging and (once you have some clue what you're doing) fun, but the obvious depth and complexity of the combat system only throws the tepid shallowness of every other aspect of the game into sharp relief very soon.

Riddle of the Sphinx's immersive storyline, hearty exploration sequences and challenging puzzles make this three-CD set an enjoyable--albeit somewhat taxing--experience for the seasoned adventurer looking for a value-priced fix.

It is also lacking one incredibly basic feature--the ability to save your game! No battery backup, the game doesn't even issue level codes!

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

Don't pass up Robotron 64. Even if you are too young to remember the original, you're still not likely to find a N64 game with this kind of blessed simplicity ever again. This is one those "gotta beat my last score" kind of games that you'll be able to pull off the shelf and enjoy for the rest of your videogaming career.

Now this is how you do a collection of classics.

Super Swing Golf's controls work very well under the Wii set-up, and it's a good choice for new and veteran duffers.

A solid offering and will give the fans their basic nutritional requirement of strategy and Star Wars, although it's not what you'd call innovative.

A fairly well-developed game. It looks great and is to some degree fun to play. There is however, little that is new to racing games.

Just isn't very much fun... There's no zen underneath the zaniness, no pith under the perkiness, and no meat beneath the mirth.

Thanks to the expanded multiplayer, I have no trouble calling the Xbox version of The Clone Wars the best of the bunch.

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

It’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.

Stuntman has problems but it's unique and engrossing and definitely worth your time.

While it is fun in short spurts, there are too many issues to make it a first round pick.

The game is a little bit tough to get into. The controls (mouse look and arrows keys to move) are a tad ungainly.

For some ridiculous reason, you use a six-hot REVOLVER as your only weapon.

It's really a case of great game additives making up for mediocre game design.

I don't think even the greatest purist will care for the save system.

Despite its terrific particle-effect, motion-blur visual doodads, it’s a rather simple game system, pointedly geared toward casual and even first-time gamers.

It just hardly seems like a worthy sequel to the series, and sadly, almost feels like a shell of what could have been a truly inspired game.

If you like Kart games, it's worth picking up.

It operates reliably, frantically, and smoothly enough to offer a kind of arcade zen experience once you've reached a certain level of proficiency. It's definitely a sick game.

It has fewer extras, more pixelated graphics, and more frame rate chop than [its next generation] siblings, and the frame rate chop, especially, is an occasional damper on gameplay.

Instead of becoming the next greatest event in FPS history, KPC is relegated to nothing more than a well designed, but behind the times scientific curioso.

Beyond the HD pack, nothing has been done to evolve the game as a whole.

The graphics are dated and Ryundo's bad-boy character has been done to death. But those are only small faults in an otherwise excellent game.

I can see that Treasure and Enix attempted to put something new into platform gaming with this game. In many ways they have succeeded. What Mischief Makers lacks is the instant pick up and play familiarity that makes people comfortable with a game. From what I've seen, this title just doesn't speak to a majority of the population. It's certainly a niche market game.

Doesn't offer any changes to the gameplay--I think there could be a lot more creativity in the scenarios, but it will inject new life into your Zoo Tycoon gaming.

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.

In the end, the game felt forced like a classic episode of "Nightboat."

In only a few days my anti-videogame girlfriend had become a wide-eyed, pixel staring “let me try this level just one more time” gaming geek.