Van Helsing may be short and sometimes repetitive, but it's still a fun ride. [July 2004, p.92]

Multiplayer matches blow it all to hell in the best way. [Dec 2004, p.162]

If only the developers had spend half as much time fine-tuning the enemy A.I. as they did finessing the graphics, XIII would be incredible. [Dec 2003, p.196]

PQ is meant to put your problem-solving skills to the test, and in that respect, it delivers. [Mar 2006, p.114]

There’s just not much here to keep me coming back. [Oct 2001, p.150]

I can’t get past the touchy, unforgiving control that plagues the game. [Dec 2001, p.254]

ToCA 3 is not unplayable, but it definitely needs some tweaking. [Mar 2006, p.102]

But as much as I enjoy building giant human mousetraps, the package here is light on content. And without any real guidance, you have to make your own fun. Imagination sold separately.

Intelligently blends the three gameplay styles together in a way that works. [Dec 2002, p.202]

It's aimed at hardcore Dynasty afficionados... more of the same Dynasty brawling, but it's discount price makes it easy on the wallet. [Feb 2003, p.135]

Even within this genre, we should've gotten a bullet-packed, blow-everything-to-hell experience like teh arcade classic "Smash TV." Instead, we get Nick at Night reruns of the "Golden Girls." [Feb 2003, p.144]

The game's combat fails to impress. This button-mashing free-for-all brawling just isn't very engrossing. [Mar 2003, p.134]

While the moves dazzle (slick-looking weapon strips, lightning-fast kicks to the face, dodging--and even stopping--bullets), the game does a poor job of showing you how to link these superhuman abilities together.

At its core, Kelly just feels like a bare-bones version of "THPS" in the ocean. [Oct 2002, p.179]

Technologically well crafted, with good controls, graphics, and story - but without the freedom of superior mentalist "Psi-Ops." [Nov 2004, p.130]

Technologically well crafted, with good controls, graphics, and story - but without the freedom of superior mentalist "Psi-Ops." [Nov 2004, p.130]

On the whole, Command's an average shooter buoyed by some commendable bursts of innovation. [Oct. 2006, p.117]

I literally fell asleep 15 minutes into my first "exciting" mission of taking pictures of fish, so that should tell you something. But stick with it, and you may find yourself inexplicably drawn in. [Mar 2003, p.116]

The streamlined motives are a tremendous improvement in alleviating tedium - so why the heck is the skill advancement so painful? [Holiday 2004, p.108]

Despite these gripes, the moody visuals and frantic gameplay prevail, so horror fans should still seek out The Thing. [Nov 2002, p.290]

A frantic pace and wonderful sense of creeping doom keep players running and gunning smoothly - well, except for that flaky camera. [May 2003, p.136]

But $40 is a lot to ask for yet another PSP port with tacked-on content--especially when you can find free versions of the game online. [July 2006, p.94]

"GTA" cribbed from Scarface and Scarface returns the favor, except Scarface has better controls on-foot, in-car, and in-boat. [Nov. 2006, p.122]

Technologically well crafted, with good controls, graphics, and story - but without the freedom of superior mentalist "Psi-Ops." [Nov 2004, p.130]

Ten minutes into the approximately hour-long tutorial and I thought this game probably should've stayed on PC. [Mar 2007, p.88]

I highly recommend a joystick, though - one thing that hasn't changed is that super moves are tough on a controller, especially the PS2's fragmented D-pad. [Dec 2004, p.160]

Like any fighting game, though, it's only as good as its replay value, and GGX's is a little better than average. [August 2002, p.136]

A simple, solid adventure with smart puzzles and high production values, but it leads its junior wizards through every baby step. [Aug 2004, p.101]

Taps that bizarro vein and sucks it dry, with funny (intentionally and otherwise) voice acting and quirky characters. [May 2002, p.108]

This is the kind of game that you have to sink many, many hours into, so you might just want to wait for the vastly superior "Final Fantasy XI." [Feb 2004, p.120]

If only the developers had spend half as much time fine-tuning the enemy A.I. as they did finessing the graphics, XIII would be incredible. [Dec 2003, p.196]

Still, the cool battle system and character customization options keep it from reeking of cattle crap. [Oct 2007, p.100]

It feels more like a Sunday drive down a busy city street... Go straight for the PS2 game. It's far and away the best of the three. [Nov 2002, p.306]

Maybe In the Groove isn't a real dance revolution, but it takes some (gulp) steps in the right direction. [July 2005, p.112]

Facing friends is better, but even with the fancy animation and sound effects, why not just clear the kitchen table and play the original? [Nov 2003, p.178]

Van Helsing may be short and sometimes repetitive, but it's still a fun ride. [July 2004, p.92]

Hunter would have benefitted from a ton more firepower - you know, the kind of bang-bang action where ammo is a foreign concept and you simply hold down the "kill" button to mow down everything in sight. [July 2002, p.122]

So long as you stick with the multiplayer, this game is a decent monkey-filled ball. [Dec. 2006, p.116]

The "hurt Vince to hurt meanies" premise really shines through in the boss battles, most of which are brilliantly hilarious - but they don't come often enough. [Dec 2003, p.226]

FIFA looks incredible but follows EA Sport's 360 trend--the next-gen product possessing a fraction of what the current-gen version offers. [Dec. 2006, p.126]

For a Japanese role-playing game on the decidely un-Japanese 360, this turned out to be surprisingly predictable experience. [Oct. 2006, p.109]

Strip away the surprisingly excellent graphics and gimmicky bonus material and you've got a 3D fighter that's derivative at best. [Jan 2003, p.178]

For an undead ruler, Kain sure has to flip a lot of switches and push around oodles of crates. [Feb 2003, p.144]

ToCA 3 is not unplayable, but it definitely needs some tweaking. [Mar 2006, p.102]

It’s a good thing to see a change from the usual block-dropper, but this is tough stuff. [Nov 2001, p.216]

Just bring a magazine to read while the game loads. [Mar 2006, p.113]

The game’s biggest sin, however, is its overall lack of play modes. [Jan 2002, p.228]

Short-lived but fun. [Sept 2001, p.145]

Younger gamers won't be disappointed. [Mar 2003, p.134]

Lamentably, this FFT doppelganger actually reminds me more of Tactics Ogre, and that’s a stop back for the genre. [Feb 2002, p.168]

Frustratingly difficult. [Dec 2002, p.270]

The meat of this beast is decent - not great, but decent. [Oct 2002, p.184]

"GTA" cribbed from Scarface and Scarface returns the favor, except Scarface has better controls on-foot, in-car, and in-boat. [Nov. 2006, p.122]

Some of the problems are rookie mistakes, like players not always going after stray balls, while others are more serious: Street has a tendency to slow down at the worst moments, like during a mad scramble at the goal mouth, and that just plain sucks.

The series needs a major shot in the arm, as it's starting to show its age more than ever. [May 2006, p.103]

While Secret Rings does a decent job at stopping the bleeding caused by the recent 360/PS3/PSP Sonics, it's not quite there yet. [Apr 2007, p.76]

Even scalpers don't get full ticket price for the encore. [Sept 2007, p.96]

A simple, solid adventure with smart puzzles and high production values, but it leads its junior wizards through every baby step. [Aug 2004, p.101]

After a few levels I found that it's harder to stop dribbling at the urinal than it is to destroy the opposition. [May 2002, p.106]

This is basically the same game as the last two – this series just refuses to evolve. [Dec 2001, p.262]

Controlling three characters simultaneously is a breeze, and the complex combo system makes trouncing enemies fun. [Feb 2002, p.156]

RR6 lazily limps into the 360 debut party wearing last year's fashions. Seriously, this doesn't look any better than "Forza" (Xbox) or "Gran Turismo 4" (PS2).

But the repetitive combat and insistence on finding random key cards will likely keep this sleeper from waking up. [Nov. 2006, p.138]

08 gives good fan service, but the car nut in me is more satisfied with the recent releases of "Dirt" and "Forza 2". [Sept 2007, p.92]

The lure of later levels, and their larger waves, kept me shooting the pipes. [Jan 2002, p.231]

The perfect late-night rental. [Feb 2003, p.147]

The foundation of Pro Evo still supports enjoyable and technical soccer, but it badly needs something new for next season. [May 2008, p.78]

Kickoff does a great job of satiating my hunger for old-school videogame football--a yearning I didn't even know I had. [Dec 2008, p.84]

While Mario Kart Wii is predictably similar to its predecessors, something has changed with this installment. Something that makes it feel subtly unlike other Mario Karts--and not a change for the better. [June 2008, p.73]

If you luck into a smooth, bug-free game, it can be a blast. But right now, that just doesn't happen very often. [May 2008, p.86]

Webslingin' remains the selling point, but the combat--although built from the ground up for this game--still consists of random button mashing. [July 2007, p.88]

Unfortunately, it feels a bit dull after performing your 50th 200-hit combo. [Nov 2005, p.146]

A solid smash-em-up. [Nov 2005, p.145]

But here, the stop-and-go progression between books and battles presents an identity crisis: Is this an RPG or another DS "minigame"? Either way, it didn't keep my attention long. [May 2007, p.86]

Problems plague the player models, the camera is too high, the Dynasty mode is still shallow, and Fever's announcers make Madden's demented ramblings sound smart. [Sept 2003, p.125]

What this amounts to is a classic example of how a simple yet typically enjoyable experience can fall apart due to poor game design. [Nov. 2006, p.132]

Sex and violence are the stars, but clever, well-delivered dialogue carries an entertaining vampire apocalypse plot well above current game standards. [Holiday 2004, p.106]

Sure, it's not challenging in the least, but hey, killing Ewoks was never about the challenge. [Jan 2006, p.127]

Let me help clarify: The controls aren't complicated on their own; they're just complicated for this type of gaming experience. [Holiday 2007, p.66]

It's just such a waste to see "Mario Party" get a frsh start here, only to have us turn the Wii-mote on its side to use it like any other motion-control-free controller. [Aug 2007, p.72]

Hardcore quirky-game fans will want to slow down for a peek at this car wreck, while everyone else is better off speeding on by. [Nov. 2006, p.125]

There's nothing in particular that demands to be played or can't be found elsewhere. [Jan 2005, p.136]

My idea of fun does not involve a tedious repetition of something that makes no sense. [Dec. 2006, p.156]

SRS just lacks the certain something that made "Need for Speed Underground" so exciting. It's disappointing, because SRS covers all the bases except for the two most important in this genre: There's no real sense of speed, and the handling lacks weight or feel. [Oct 2004, p.98]

It is fair to compare MVC2 to the less pixilated, more balanced, online-enabled, and just plain superior "Capcom vs. SNK2." Against that heavyweight, this codger has no chance. [June 2003, p.112]

And 2K7: time to innovate. More is not better at this point. [Oct. 2006, p.106]

The stiff difficulty, branching levels, and especially your severely limited inventory make cooperation among players essential, but the inexplicable lack of voice (or even keyboard) chat completely destroys all hope of real teamwork. [June 2004, p.100]

The Incredibles game had some great material to work with, but the energy and humor that really made the movie great just isn't there - out-of-context voice clips and poorly connected cut-scenes certainly don't add anything. [Jan 2005, p.132]

An RPG that deftly copies "Final Fantasy X" but is burdened with a story that plays more like a "deleted scenes" bonus DVD than anything coherent. [Holiday 2004, p.104]

Sex and violence are the stars, but clever, well-delivered dialogue carries an entertaining vampire apocalypse plot well above current game standards. [Holiday 2004, p.106]

The story loses steam about two-thirds of the way through; solving puzzles, which are few and far between, requires little brainpower; and it's far to easy to survive your sentence with so much free ammo and health lying around. [May 2004, p.86]

While the crisp graphics and energetic battles work well, the dungeons are a chore and the plot is you usual Mega Man X bluster - weak in a five-hour platformer, unbearable in a full-length RPG. [Nov 2004, p.138]

Seven Sorrows baits you with a role-playing-game-style character development system, but the game's short length (easily clocking in under six hours) makes leveling up unrewarding.

After the blood-soaked honeymoon is over, you'll see the game in the harsh morning light and wonder if it was worth it.

My thumb got so sore from the continuous U-turns that soon I was looking for relief in the form of the eject button on my PSP. [Dec. 2006, p.160]

The game does keep up the original's compelling pace, with enemies swarming you nearly every step of the way. I never got bored - I just never got all that excited, either. [Feb 2004, p.112]

They've added no-frills co-op and a second character but stayed within the comfortable confines of mindless action. [Dec. 2006, p.160]

Spidey simultaneously fights crime and a bad camera, usually indoors in environments reminiscent of "Spider-Man 1's."[June 2005, p.109]