Suffers from a steep difficulty curve. Blame it on the excessive enemy quotient, the steep cost of healing, and the unwieldy inventory control. [Feb 2002, p.148]

Apparently, someone out there was itching for a game that combines the witless banality of "Jake and the Fat Man" with the absurd chase scenarios of "CHiPS." [Apr 2006, p.106]

The controls are sluggish, and combos are difficult to pull off because of the GBA's tiny directional pad. [Sept 2003, p.134]

Control is stiff and floaty, while boss battles often require stubborn persistence instead of strategy. [July 2004, p.95]

It's not bad, but it could have been much more. [Dec 2001, p.264]

Control is stiff and floaty, while boss battles often require stubborn persistence instead of strategy. [July 2004, p.95]

If you need a simple gunplay fix this could maybe see you through a weekend... [July 2006, p.92]

The gameplay feels very unfinished. [Oct 2001, p.158]

After Burner sports merely decent graphics while managing to suck all the fun out of a once-great franchise. [Apr 2007, p.92]

In other words, it's prescribed, with reservations, for patient <i>The Longest Journey</i> zealots only. [Jun 2006, p.115]

Offers some decent (yet uninspired) missions to fly, but...true thrills are in short supply. [Nov 2003, p.184]

Trust me: The nostalgia is lost after you bash your hundredth battle droid or start getting creamed by the enemies' cheap gang-up-on-you tactics. [July 2005, p.116]

If you need a simple gunplay fix this could maybe see you through a weekend... [July 2006, p.92]

Instead of being boring, it's totally unbalanced and infuriating. [Jan 2004, p.142]

It&#146;s a solid game from a technical standpoint, but extraordinarily bland from a gameplay perspective. [Jan 2002, p.208]

When a racing game's gimmick relies on un-seat-belted drivers forcibly ejected through windshields during crashes, you know you're in trouble. [Aug 2005, p.110]

Inexplicably horrible graphics completely ruin an otherwise splendid title. [Feb 2002, p.156]

It's just mediocre all around. [Jan. 2007, p.106]

The restricted movement is tough to stomach. [Dec 2001, p.264]

I dare people to enjoy NBA Live. [Jan 2002, p.216]

When a racing game's gimmick relies on un-seat-belted drivers forcibly ejected through windshields during crashes, you know you're in trouble. [Aug 2005, p.110]

One of the least exciting party games I&#146;ve ever played. [Jan 2002, p.228]

Airblade sabotages everything it gets right with gameplay problems. [Mar 2002, p.135]

The Columns formula really isn't that fun. [Mar 2002, p.146]

It's just mediocre all around. [Jan. 2007, p.106]

The game is such a generic experience, I wouldn't be surprised if it came in a plain yellow box labelled "Video War Game." [June 2005, p.106]

What they've done is mash together a platform/coin-collecting game with a plodding kart-combat racer, then grafted on some escaped-from-a-cell-phone minigames. It's a Frankensteinian mess.

Viking simply doesn't do enough to stand up to the more polished action experiences out there. [June 2008, p.86]