The new microphone-based minigames are more gimmicky than fun, and I hate passing the mic back and forth. It's still a fun party game. [Feb 2005, p.114]

With plenty of duets and no more story mode, this is the most party-friendly version yet. [Apr 2006, p.103]

As a car-combat game, it's passable but not exceptional. As a postacopalyptic "GTA" clone, it falls well short of the mark in terms of story, mission diversity, and replay value. [Nov 2003, p.171]

The gameplay is ironclad; however, a few presentation problems hold the title back. [Dec 2001, p.250]

Each stylish set piece is matched by two or three (or ten) ignoble deaths from cheap bosses or bottomless pits. [Apr 2003, p.128]

Many a "Sonic" fan will get a lot out of this. I just wanna see Sonic Team break some ground. Maybe next time. [Oct 2003, p.160]

As much as Demon Stone tried to suck me in with its impressive graphics and presentation, it pushed me away with rote gameplay and imbecilic A.I. [Dec 2004, p.148]

A bargain-bin throwaway dressed up like a million bucks. [Apr 2006, p.93]

Much of the disorder is unintentional. Like some half-assed high-school theater production, nothing works as it should and no one seems to be doing the right thing. [Dec 2003, p.202]

This game is hellaciously hard. So much so that I can't even think of the words to describe how difficult Shinobi becomes halfway through. [Dec 2002, p.220]

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]

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]

Victory goes to the guy who can jam on the buttons faster. [Aug 2001, p.109]

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

Gameplay is average first-person shooter fare bogged down by a convoluted control scheme – switching weapons on the fly is its biggest problem. [May 2002, p.113]

Still a user-friendly pigskin experience with lightning-fast over-the-top gameplay. Yet I'm forced to throw a penalty flag at the lack of big passing plays I've come to love from this franchise. [Nov 2003, p.172]

Fails to do anything exciting or revolutionary, nor does it execute anything any better than other basketball offerings do.

Tactically, it's pretty boring, but if you can get into the goblins' expendable-offense mindset, it's a smashing time.

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

Shockingly decent. [Dec 2004, p.170]

Breakdown is the most boring game I [Crispin] have ever played. Its pacing is just off - especially in the first half, when you dart through lame environments for too long, with nary a bulgy-veined monster to muss your hair. [May 2004, p.99]

Still a user-friendly pigskin experience with lightning-fast over-the-top gameplay. Yet I'm forced to throw a penalty flag at the lack of big passing plays I've come to love from this franchise. [Nov 2003, p.172]

It's spoiled by painfully awkward gameplay, lobotomized recruits (on both sides), and a million annoying ways to die. [Apr 2006, p.95]

It has some decent ideas(faceoffs are more interesting this year, and the simulation setting option is way better than the arcadey default), but 2K8's fundamentals are flawed. [Nov 2007, p.105]

Second-string sturvival horror marked by puppetlike physics and way too many exploding barrels. [May 2005, p.124]

The actual battles are ridiculously simple when compared to the well-developed strategy phase. [Mar 2003, p.116]

The levels are tight, fast, and fun - less about aimless exploration and more about reflex-testing action. But on the other hand, I'm a little disappointed that it's so short and simplistic, and that it doesn't take more advantage of the GC's hardware. [July 2003, p.114]

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

Rogue Trooper, I thank you for the important lesson you've taught me about judging a game by its cover art: That's now onlt accurate 99% of the time. [June 2006, p.111]

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

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

I'm stoked to continue to see improvement in this series, but it's a shame small problems (like lengthy load times) still pin SVR down. [Dec 2007, p.106]

I enjoyed watching the fireworks as my pyromaniac character exploded another radio tower/tank/U-boat/door, but between history class and explosions, Assault didn't keep my blood pumping.

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]

Yes, the storyline holds the power of cheese, but it did keep me wondering what would happen next. [Jan 2002, p.228]

Repetitive mission-based gameplay risks players preemptively abandoning ship. [Mar 2002, p.142]

A genuinely fun game that makes clever use of the DS's touch screen. [June 2005, p.107]

With 2K Sports nabbing the exclusive third-party baseball-sim rights to the MLB license, it had a golden chance to nab the hardball crown from EA's NCAA-license-relegated MVP series. Instead, we get this scattershot effort. [May 2006, p.94]

It all makes for an action game kinda like your typical Bond girl: fun to look at but shallow. With simple mission objectives, cinch puzzles, and autoaim (that you can tweak for more skillful shots if you like), this game practically plays itself.

Rogue Trooper, I thank you for the important lesson you've taught me about judging a game by its cover art: That's now onlt accurate 99% of the time. [June 2006, p.111]

Hysterical as Simpsons is, it's hard to appreciate the humor when you're busy fighting with an annoying camera and unreliable controls. [Dec 2007, p.108]

It's incredible how accurately this game captures the look of the movies and the spirit of the books. [Dec 2002, p.204]

Might not be the deepest racing experience you'll ever have, but it's very satisfying. [August 2002, p.130]

Action: Yup, this game is packed with it. [June 2002, p.120]

Note to developers: if your main character is a wacky time-travelling, vacuuming cat, you've got to milk the wacky angle! [Dec 2002, p.248]

Not essential, but worthwhile for anyone who hasn't played the original Evil in ages. [Apr 2006, p.104]

What I like most, though, is the game's brisk pace. Even within the first five hours, I felt like I had lived a virtual lifetime. [Mar 2007, p.92]

The package feels a bit light (only six levels and two very similar modes)—a bit more like an arcade game than a console game. Still, it's an authentically new experience in a sea of holiday sequels.

A well-made, technically solid shooter, but its dedication to realism kills the fun. [Aug 2006, p.88]

Between the unstable camera, gooey controls, and fundamentally tough objectives, finishing Ecco is definitely a labor of love. [May 2002, p.107]

An ambitious--yet ultimately dissatisfying--effort. [Oct 2008, p.82]

Its combo of intense, old-school action-shooter gameplay... with entirely original elements (the sonar effect is genius) has me hooked. [Nov 2002, p.298]

Like a Gran Turismo for horse-racing games…Only the dedicated need apply. [Sept 2001, p.145]

The boss battles, too, seem to borrow a page from the messy showdowns that spoiled "X2: Wolverine's Revenge." They're so infuriatingly cheap, you'll want to Hulk-smash your controller. [Aug 2003, p.120]

Those who have long since retired their Shrek-themed bedsheets will find the game easy and repetitive [July 2004, p.94]

Yeah, it controls fine and looks <i>fantastic</i>, but it suffers the same "been there, done that" feeling as other PS2-to-PSP ports, in this case with the added handicap of no online play. [Jun 2006, p.118]

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

ZOE does tend to lose momentum, though, due to repetitive visuals and a drawn-out story that gets in the way of all the action. [Apr 2002, p.146]

A perfectly average beat-em-up that will likely keep fans of the cartoon enthralled. [Nov 2003, p.202]

Curse is thus leagues better than its PS2 predecessor, but it still doesn't reach the legendary status of its 2D forerunners, mainly because of a lack of Metroid-style open-ended level progression.

Tactically, it's pretty boring, but if you can get into the goblins' expendable-offense mindset, it's a smashing time.

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]

While it doesn't top Silent Hill 2 or 3, I'll still be proud to add it to my collection. [Nov 2008, p.72]

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

All Wizardry really has to offer is a lengthy maze. You're going to be trudging through the labyrinth 'till your hair turns gray. [Feb 2002, p.158]

The mediocre graphics, overly simplistic dungeons, and repetitive combat (in which you're alternately mashing buttons or baby-sitting you're A.I.-deprived party members) haven't changed one bit since the first volume. [Oct 2003, p.144]

The blah environments and goofy animation do little to draw you into what's supposed to be a realistic combat experience. Spotty A.I. and clunky controls make it even harder to maintain gung-ho enthusiasm. [March 2004, p.118]

Lacks the white-knuckle, sweat-inducing, warp-speed intensity that the futuristic-racing genre thrives on. [Dec 2002, p.258]

It's kind of a letdown that the only major difference in MP4 is the sharp GameCube visuals. [Jan 2003, p.187]

The twixt-battle strategy curves the game throws in - take on temporary status effects, recoup numbers lost in battle, form alliances with other clans - make it a notch more interesting than any other Dynasty title. [Oct 2004, p.102]

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

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

What ends up spoiling the experience for me, however, is the general slow and clunky feel of the game. If Call of Duty 2 is a blitzkrieg of shooting action, The Outfit is a leisurely zeppelin ride...underwater. It's still exciting, just severely hampered.

TimeShift definitely looks a lot prettier than it did the first go-round, but once again it finds itself behind the times. [Holiday 2007, p.80]

It all makes for an action game kinda like your typical Bond girl: fun to look at but shallow. With simple mission objectives, cinch puzzles, and autoaim (that you can tweak for more skillful shots if you like), this game practically plays itself.

A quality, enjoyable action-RPG...On the strength of DH's story alone, you have an RPG worth not only playing but owning. [Oct 2002, p.179]

While the fantastic Worms formula stays intact here, it becomes infinitely more difficult to gauge distances, wind, and all that in 3D. For that reason alone, I can't recommend this one over its 2D predecessors. [Apr 2004, p.116]

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]

Until you begin to understand how each of the weapons work and learn when and where to use them, the game just seems outrageously difficult and often frustrating (on the Normal or Hard difficulties, that is). Once you figure out which weapons work best in given situations however, things begin to get much more tolerable and you start enjoying the game a lot more. [Oct 1998]

SoF is best played as a guilty pleasure&#8230;Hankerin&#8217; for some good ol&#8217;-fashioned shootin&#8217;? [Sept 2001, p.147]

But it's all a big cockpit tease, because online play is busted. [June 2004, p.106]

Too bad it doesn't quite execute in the clutch though. [May 2006, p.98]

"Motorstorm" does off-road racing better than this. So does "Dirt" and "Sega Rally Revo". [Jan 2008, p.94]

In its silly simplicity, Cooking mama does what many can't: keep me heading back to the kitchen for one more snack. [Holiday 2007, p.86]

Frustratingly difficult. [Dec 2002, p.270]

Controls in this game feel clunky. Add a few truly lackluster modes on Xbox Live and you have a game that should, by all rights, be a budget release. [May 2004, p.97]

Slow to start and quick to finish, Trace holds your attention by the thinnest of strings: a deire to fill the blank pages of the story. [Oct 2005, p.122]

The concentration required to go six or so laps without hitting walls or A.I. cars is incredible but also really rewarding. [June 2005, p.100]

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]

With 2K Sports nabbing the exclusive third-party baseball-sim rights to the MLB license, it had a golden chance to nab the hardball crown from EA's NCAA-license-relegated MVP series. Instead, we get this scattershot effort. [May 2006, p.94]

The tracks get harder to follow and the AI racers become aggressive and nasty. I don&#146;t know how many times I was set to win a race only to be spun around in the last stretch by some jerk. [Oct 2001, p.146]

Much of the disorder is unintentional. Like some half-assed high-school theater production, nothing works as it should and no one seems to be doing the right thing. [Dec 2003, p.202]

Those who have long since retired their Shrek-themed bedsheets will find the game easy and repetitive [July 2004, p.94]

You'll find a decent tennis game in here somewhere (albeit with a much steeper learning curve than you'd expect) and plenty to do, but it's not really worth digging for under such an obnoxious exterior. [Aug 2007, p.86]

A chaotic, testosterone-filled mess of car wrecks and bulet holes. I love it. [Mar 2006, p.96]

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

If Dr. Frankenstein made a game, he'd probably patch together something like this self-proclaimed puzzle/platform/driving/actioner. [Oct 2005, p.122]

The shortest volume in all .hack-dom, and most of it is spent running errands, but the final battle (which is spoiled in the pack-in anime DVD) is a great payoff if you've been following the story all this time. [Feb 2004, p.122]