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]

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]

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

A woefully uneven mix, but one that true Sonic fans will probably still want to own just for "Sonic CD," aka the best Sonic game ever. [Sept 2005, p.115]

No amount of graphical frosting can save GV from its terrible, overly complex controls...GV will frustrate the hell out of you. [Apr 2002, p.143]

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

Isn't a terrible game, but its sketchy camera, imprecise controls, and lackluster combat relegate it to the realm of the terribly average to me. [Jan 2004, p.124]

It's your standard third-person action-adventure game, sans cool gameplay hook, distinctive protagonist, or over-the-top concept. [Sept 2004, p.102]

A gory good time. And that's really all that matters.

Too bad the extra content isn't quite as fresh. [Aug 2007, p.85]

Yet, with the game rooted in arcade sensibilities, TMNT ends up a short and repetitive journey. Noninteractive environments and scant gameplay differences among the four turtles diminish my desire to replay.

A gory good time. And that's really all that matters.

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

But between the high frustration factor and the frequent need to crisscross the large city (some kind of warp option would be nice), I feel Rush tries a little too hard to turn me off.

Frustrating or not, Shikigami isn't a bad shooter. [June 2008, p.78]

It also looks great, the character classes are interesting, and I appreciate the puzzlelike missions with more ambitious objectives than "kill everyone". [May 2008, p.89]

The story spews more cheese than blood, the wonky camera hides foes, and the duo of poorly placed save points and lack of health pick-ups can turn Nanobreaker into a controller-smashing affair. Proceed with caution. [March 2005, p.120]

If you can look past the ugly visuals, grab a friend and tackle this in Cooperative mode (but skip the dull four-man face-off) [Feb 2003, p.158]

The cast moves around as though they were at the bottom of a swimming pool on Jupiter...these slumberous high-gravity physics weigh down an otherwise fine (though light on modes) game. [Apr 2002, p.145]

While this latest version succeeds in providing a polished, fast-paced, fun game of over-the-top 3-on-3 hoops, it doesn't really offer anything we haven't seen before. [Dec 2003, p.191]

The presentation feels more like local-access television than Wrestlemania's glamorous theatrics. [Feb 2003, p.146]

Play solo, and you'll find scant motivation to hew through hundreds of drooling monsters. Forming a party, on the other hand, changes everything. [Nov 2003, p.189]

There’s nothing I hate more than lukewarm games, except maybe lukewarm spin-offs of lukewarm games. [Aug 2001, p.111]

A bland-looking, simplistic fighting game. Inuyasha's button-mash gameplay feels stiff and dry, so even Versus matches aren't likely to hold your interest for long. [May 2003, p.136]

The game initially strikes a good balance between challenging and rewarding but becomes extremely difficult in later stages (despite bike upgrades), ramping up the frustration factor considerably - and unnecessarily. [May 2004, p.88]

Ravaged by age and running on obsolete technology, it's uglier than ever. Still, you can't call KOF incompetent - atrociously lazy and reluctant to change, but not incompetent. [Jan 2004, p.133]

This is the toughest game the series has ever offered, and the extreme challenge will annoy, frustrate, and ultimately eradicate nearly every gamer who attempts to tackle it. [June 2003, p.120]

You're stuck with a game of disparate modes - driving, shooting, sneaking, and cut-scene-watching - that never gels into the cohesive, cinematic product the developers were promising. [Feb 2005, p.104]

Feverishly pressing on a D-pad the size of a piece of Lucky Charms get tiring quickly. [Apr 2002, p.137]

It's fairly mindless and all too easy. [Mar 2003, p.126]

Mostly a scenic buzz through Africa and little else. [July 2002, p.120]

Straightforward run-and-gun action gets the blood pumping...Until you have to stop to check the map, which is all the time. That's a problem because looking at the map doesn't suspend the action. [June 2004, p.94]

Short-lived, but a decent portable Spidey game. [Oct 2001, p.158]

Kids weaned on "Final Fantasy VII" likely won't have the patience for it, but questers of the appropriate age(and/or nerdy enough to dig the Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack)should dive in. [June 2007, p.92]

It doesn't take a mutant psychic with precognition to figure out this one's a renter. [Feb 2003, p.138]

As much as I like the action-oriented battle system, random enemy encounters are far too frequent. [Feb 2002, p.172]

It certainly captures the show's appeal, and it's a solid buy for fans. But between the annoying one-liners and huge difficulty spike late in the game, it's just not for casual gamers. [Sept 2002, p.154]

If "Driver" married its cousin, there's a good chance the spawn of said union would look a lot like The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee. [Oct 2004, p.129]

The biggest problem, however, is the wonky stylus control. [Nov. 2006, p.140]

Cooler character and enemy designs alone would have helped immensely. [June 2002, p.114]

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

It's a simple concept that offers a fun twist on the falling-block model of a "Tetris" or "Doctor Mario." [Oct 2002, p.194]

The game looks so unspectacularly similar to an N64 game at times, you’ll wonder if the PS2’s graphics chip went on vacation. [Oct 2001, p.148]

Wrath on the GC is much more polished here than on the PS2. [Nov 2002, p.306]

The novelty of the battle system wears thin pretty quickly, and befroe you know it, you'll be wishing you could just skip fighting altogether. [Dec 2002, p.204]

The game initially strikes a good balance between challenging and rewarding but becomes extremely difficult in later stages (despite bike upgrades), ramping up the frustration factor considerably - and unnecessarily. [May 2004, p.88]

Isn't a terrible game; just an unremarkable one, outside a few flashes of cool fighting - much like the show itself. [Feb 2003, p.147]

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]

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

It takes true talent to consistently orchestrate the chaos (four times the falshy signature strikes amount to a psychedelic supernova). [Dec 2004, p.161]

The minigames are simply too short - newbies might find a game ending just when they've gotten the hang of it. [Jan 2006, p.125]

On a basic level, however, the game's still fun - simple, yes, but immediately engaging no matter what kind of gamer you are. [Feb 2005, p.114]

Running around thwacking enemies feels fun enough, but poor A.I. renders your other party member nearly useless - you'll often have to switch between them just to keep them from getting killed. [Feb 2004, p.128]

The game is practically a carbon copy of the current-gen edition. Seriously, now I know why the words "Xbox 360" are scribbled on the score overlay--it's almost the only way to tell that you're playing a supposedly enhanced version of NBA 2K6.

The combat is so-so; it's tense and action-packed, but unforgiving summoning and attack systems drain most of the fun. [June 2003, p.113]

It doesn't take an old-school purist to realize that this game just hasn't translated well to 3D. [Mar 2006, p.105]

You haven’t experienced big air until you’ve tried this pup. No joke, on the vert ramps you literally float for 2-3 seconds a pop. [Sept 2001, p.141]

The cruel difficulty hampers the enjoyment. [Apr 2003, p.116]

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

Like it or not, this is an OLD game, and the play mechanics are archaic by today's standards. [June 2002, p.124]

Relocating Suidoden's established gameplay to the vast and choppy seas doesn't do it any favors - instead of exploring diverse geography on foot, you're steering a boat across a bleak, boring ocean. [Feb 2005, p.108]

A no frills, no thrills watercraft racer, this game proves that even budget-ware can look sharp on Xbox... This game is fundamentally unremarkable. [Feb 2004, p.122]

All the pipe crawling and shadow sneaking give SC diversity other GBA adventures lack. [June 2003, p.127]

The game boasts some delightful hi-resolution 1080 Snowboarding on-crack graphics, and a fantastic create-a-player mode. [Mar 2002, p.139]

If, like Milkman, you want the genuine Godzilla in a fighter, give DAMM a shot. If you'd rather have genuine fighting, stay far away. [May 2003, p.132]

It'd be so much better as just a driving game. [Feb 2008, p.84]

Addictive and fun whether you're entertaining a group of friends or a party of one. [June 2002, p.110]

The fact that I greeted each completed level with relief rather than satisfaction ain't encouraging. [Sept. 2006, p.108]

Precise controls, a deep magic system, and massive levels make this a fully above-average slashathon. [July 2004, p.99]

Besides the graphics, which still look good, the game has not held up well. [July 2003, p.118]

As an aesthetic showcase, SR2 triumphs, but the mediocre gameplay will only appeal to fans of the first game. [Jan 2002, p.218]

Tight control and unlockable combos keep you from falling asleep, but the rote, dungeon-hacking gameplay wears think quickly...especially solo. [Sept 2004, p.100]

It doesn't look any prettier on the more powerful Cube - the periodic slowdown is inexcuseable (especially in a Sonic game), and the camera is still awful. [June 2003, p.122]

A horrible camera often shakes uncontrollably like a drunken Corellian, and sloppy controls tend to make you feel just as uncoordinated. [Feb 2003, p.138]

It almost seems the developers spent too much time crafting Enclave's wicked-looking environments, then skimped on the actual game, which needs better puzzles and more compelling character development. [Sept 2002, p.152]

It needs some retooling – mainly better defensive A.I. [Jan 2002, p.229]

The robust gameplay will keep you coming back. All three level types are totally engaging, and a wealth of secrets (hidden stages, dragons, and weapons) means that a weekend rental won't be nearly long enough. [Apr 2004, p.120]

While this latest version succeeds in providing a polished, fast-paced, fun game of over-the-top 3-on-3 hoops, it doesn't really offer anything we haven't seen before. [Dec 2003, p.191]

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]

It delivers ho-hum RC racing that, true to the title, involves inadvertently smashing into things...and that's about it. [Aug 2003, p.112]

I found myself losing interest quickly... Pride is a bit too one dimensional for most fighting fans. [Mar 2003, p.126]

Slightly better than last year's game, but it's still nothing special. [Oct 2005, p.119]

What helps it overcome mediocrity is the alchemy bit (you can transmute common objects into weapons) which makes for some mildly creative puzzles and combat sequences. [Feb 2005, p.107]

But this classic weapons-based fighting series has lost much of its soul. While the original cast moves as fluidly as ever, the newer faces are the epitome of mediocre design and animation. Luckily, Xbox Live saves the day.

No way would I recommend this game to legal eagles with the superior "Phoenix Wright" titles already out there. [Feb 2008, p.78]

If you want a meaty alchemic role-playing game, conjure up "Atelier Iris" instead.

Spends too much time trying to achieve a kind of “Nightmare Before Christmas”-level of cool weirdness, rather than keeping the player playing. [Dec 2001, p.244]

This game is either unoptimized or taxing the PSP to the limit, because there's plenty of awful slowdownt to boot. [May 2005, p.96]

Problem is the game is about as friendly as a Cylon; there's no tutorial to ease you into all those moves or the different mission types, and the difficulty spikes at odd moments, making some levels painfully tedious.

Besides the poor enemy A.I., the paint-by-numbers gameplay (requiring surgically precise cursor movement for actions like jumping or climbing) makes the action feel canned. [Dec 2003, p.195]

Crash for the GBA is what the PS2 game wanted to be. [April 2002, p.146]

Besides the poor enemy A.I., the paint-by-numbers gameplay (requiring surgically precise cursor movement for actions like jumping or climbing) makes the action feel canned. [Dec 2003, p.195]

The premise intrigues, but Assassin's Creed is an incomplete template based on multiple other games. [Jan 2008, p.88]

Ultimately, Square Enix really ought to have put this and the first game on one UMD... [Aug 2007, p.82]

Sure, the core game gets the job done, but you might still consider waiting for a brighter spot of strategic swords-and-sorcery. [Sept 2007, p.100]

If you're determined to don cans and rock the boards, you'd be better off just buying the real thing. [Apr 2006, p.102]

AM could've been the next great PS2 racer, if only Capcom had hired a mechanic who specialized in handling. [June 2003, p.131]

But Heroes II doesn't really offend on any level. It just doesn't excel. [July 2006, p.94]