This premise would still be stupid even if Shadow didn't suffer from slowdown issues, a nonexistent lock-on system, a horrible camera, and bottomless pits in which to fall. But it does, and it is stupid--just like this is a stupid way to spend 50 bucks.

Without a doubt, this is the best Digimon game I’ve ever played, but it’s still nothing special. [Mar 2002, p.144]

True fans of the books will look past the problems and enjoy the game. [Dec 2002, p.210]

Although the mech designs are beautiful and the presentation is slick, an overly busy HUD and vague control feedback make hunting enemies much more problematic than it should be. [Apr 2003, p.132]

The problem is, the control is so sluggish that combat is a chore while exploring is a bore. [Feb 2006, p.110]

The developers got so many of the visual details dead-on...didn't they think that maybe the gameplay should be at least marginally decent too. [July 2007, p.86]

I am certainly a big fan of the game's vibrant, anime-inspired graphics, but with no replay value and a lot of frustrating, nonsensical puzzles, Touch Detective isn't quite worth solving. [Nov. 2006, p.141]

Most gamers, however, will be immediately overwhelmed - it's just so hard to get into, and quality results demand a monumental time commitment. [Dec 2003, p.216]

Just look at the screenshots of Ridge Racer for the PSP to get an idea of Namco's priority as far as the next generation of handhelds - it ain't DS. [Jan 2005, p.140]

It fuses a boring turn-based strategy game with a lackluster one-on-one fighter...In short, two half-assed components combine to make...well, you do the math. [March 2004, p.114]

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]

It fuses a boring turn-based strategy game with a lackluster one-on-one fighter...In short, two half-assed components combine to make...well, you do the math. [March 2004, p.114]

The only snag: You spend most of Combat Elite shooting at offscreen Germans, placing you at a natural and frustrating disadvantage. [Sept 2004, p.100]

Play is for people who don't really play games, and as someone who really does, that's a problem. [Feb. 2007, p.86]

The only snag: You spend most of Combat Elite shooting at offscreen Germans, placing you at a natural and frustrating disadvantage. [Sept 2004, p.100]

Flatout 2 is pretty much like the first "Flatout", which was pretty much like a poor man's "Burnout". [Sept. 2006, p.98]

Beautiful Katamari does something very wrong--it tarnishhes the series' hallmark simplicity and ease. [Dec 2007, p.126]

These visuals are mediocre at best and not up to par with today's Xbox standards. [Jan 2004, p.156]

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]

Much like "Katamari Damacy", Elebits is continually taking baby steps toward bigger and better things, only without the personality. [Jan. 2007, p.64]

Flatout 2 is pretty much like the first "Flatout", which was pretty much like a poor man's "Burnout". [Sept. 2006, p.98]

This premise would still be stupid even if Shadow didn't suffer from slowdown issues, a nonexistent lock-on system, a horrible camera, and bottomless pits in which to fall. But it does, and it is stupid--just like this is a stupid way to spend 50 bucks.

Gamers prone to motion sickness might upchuck from the choppy visuals and squirrely camera, which flits around with a mind of its own. [May 2002, p.107]

Sure, you've got to pull off a few tricks here and there to keep up your momentum, but "SSX" it ain't. [Apr 2006, p.96]

It simply can't compete. First of all, the batting is physically painful. [May 2003, p.132]

Reducing the story to talking heads turns the once-engaging plot into a drab, formulaic mess. [Jan 2004, p.138]

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]

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]

Once you strip away the nifty new controls, you're left with a flawed shooter that does nothing I haven't seen a million times. [Jan. 2007, p.62]

This premise would still be stupid even if Shadow didn't suffer from slowdown issues, a nonexistent lock-on system, a horrible camera, and bottomless pits in which to fall. But it does, and it is stupid--just like this is a stupid way to spend 50 bucks.

Sure, you've got to pull off a few tricks here and there to keep up your momentum, but "SSX" it ain't. [Apr 2006, p.96]

It's tough to overlook its frequent pauses for loading, brain-dead enemies, unrealistic animations, and repetitive graphics. [Aug 2003, p.122]

Sure, you've got to pull off a few tricks here and there to keep up your momentum, but "SSX" it ain't. [Apr 2006, p.96]

To learn how to perform each event, you need to check the directions from the pause menu; what happened to just explaining the mechanics onscreen? [Sept 2004, p.102]

The developers got so many of the visual details dead-on...didn't they think that maybe the gameplay should be at least marginally decent too. [July 2007, p.86]

But EndWar's biggest flaw? Insane micromanagement. [Dec 2008, p.68]

KFC's humor is about as subtle as a punch to the groin, and not nearly as smart. [Apr 2003, p.128]

Sega should have included all of the originals. They might not have aged well, but you can't even feel nostalgic about these pointless remakes. [March 2005, p.120]

Like being the hot-dog vendor at the Olympic park. You get to watch all the events, but don’t really have all that much fun being there. [Mar 2002, p.139]

Problem is, getting to the good stuff requires battling through a blitzkrieg of banality. [May 2006, p.98]

OK for kids, but more sophisticated players will get bored quickly. [Jan 2002, p.229]

Online multiplayer matches fare a little better, as the thrill of assaulting your friends with monster rushes and souped-up spells momentarily overshadows the lingering control and A.I. issues. [Jun 2006, p.121]

I just couldn't help but get bored as I raced through the "Looniverse" - the game's simple straightforward tracks get tedious after the first couple of races. [August 2002, p.130]

After three games, the developers should be full-fledged M.D.s...so why do they keep making the same med-school mishaps? [Jan 2008, p.87]

It's all here in one craptastic package that's destined for the bargain bins. [July 2002, p.128]

Sure, you can play as either the boy or the girl now, but either way you're saddled with a worthless A.I. companion who has the audacity to get annoyed when you ask him or her to pitch in to survive. [May 2007, p.88]

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]

Shawn's right about the wonky enemy A.I., and SWAT's crude, blocky graphics feel seriously dated. Some exciting teamwork potential exists (especially in co-op missions), but sloppy execution bogs it down. [Dec 2003, p.192]

Another age is for Core heads only, and even some of them will be disappointed with more of the same. [Oct 2001, p.145]

It's unnaturally hard, with save points so few and far between, you'll definitely relate to Wolverine when he goes into a Berserker Rage. [July 2003, p.120]

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]

Basically, it's a game with loads of potential, but awful physics and endless technical glitches are the real crime here.

Save for a few additions to WOC, like some cool hamster-ball levels, it's almost identical to its predecessors. [May 2002, p.113]

Technological feats aside, N3 doesn't do much else....er, make that anything else that you haven't seen from this stuck-in-the-mud genre. [Sept. 2006, p.96]

It was the mission objectives that put fear in my heart. Many are downright illogical to the point where I could only figure out what to do by screwing up over and over. [Oct 2003, p.142]

Without the ability to transform when you want, Spy Hunter 2's confining missions are just too monotonous. [Feb 2004, p.106]

It's a work in progress somehow on shelves, full of frustrating bugs; shooting for the stars, it lands well below its own lofty expectations. [Aug 2005, p.116]

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

Missions degrade into mindless, clunky combat, in which imprecise fisticuffs and useless, fragile weapons abound. Don't bother. [June 2004, p.92]

The missions themselves are similarly uninspired, like the dreaded escort mission we've seen done a hundred times before. [Oct 2002, p.204]

How could a game with so much potential end up such a mess? [Feb 2005, p.100]

Jumping has the buoyancy of Homer after a big box of glazed doughnuts. [Jan 2003, p.176]

I was lulled into a comatose state after playing about six stages of Serious Sam; making it through another 10 had me flatlining. [Dec 2002, p.258 ; score updated, Jan 2002, p.22]

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

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

But pick up the controller and this one hits the mat hard...and I mrean very hard. [June 2005, p.106]

Nanostray should come in a plain white box labeled VERTICAL SPACE SHOOTER--it's as generic as games come.

How could a game with so much potential end up such a mess? [Feb 2005, p.100]

The AI is so completely non-existent that the old "whack one button and win" strategy still works wonders. [Nov 2001, p.220]

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

Makes a great first impression, but behind the flash, there's little to keep you truckin' for the long haul. [Dec 2002, p.212]

A surprisingly addictive experience. The problem is, it takes forever to learn how to play the damn thing. [Apr 2003, p.120]

Reminisce feels like a long-winded anime with mediocre RPG battle mechanics grafted on just so they could sell the thing for more money. [June 2007, p.92]

A laughable plot, poor level design, wimpy sound effects and fluctuating difficulty. [Nov 2002, p.306]

Framerate lag (stuttering graphics) cuts into some of the more action-packed bullet storms, potentially ruining key game moments. [Jan 2002, p.222]

Repeating the same mundane tasks every day so that I could do what I actually wanted to do--go exploring, which was great--really got to me. [May 2008, p.87]

Sadly, online play ranged from silky smooth to nearly unplayable. [Holiday 2004, p.126]

My biggest gripe is that the special moves are ineffective to the point of being useless, and you can rack up over 20 blocked shots a game, which is absolutely ridiculous. [Dec 2002, p.212]

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

It was the mission objectives that put fear in my heart. Many are downright illogical to the point where I could only figure out what to do by screwing up over and over. [Oct 2003, p.142]

A number of flaws kill the game's flow, namely a particularly atrocious camera, a weak lock-on system, a frustrating lack of checkpoints, and poor enemy A.I. [March 2005, p.124]

Shawn's right about the wonky enemy A.I., and SWAT's crude, blocky graphics feel seriously dated. Some exciting teamwork potential exists (especially in co-op missions), but sloppy execution bogs it down. [Dec 2003, p.192]

Basically, it's a game with loads of potential, but awful physics and endless technical glitches are the real crime here.

Later sorties throw so much annoying crap at you—too many enemies who pop out of nowhere, too many mission objectives. [Jan 2002, p.222]

But EndWar's biggest flaw? Insane micromanagement. [Dec 2008, p.68]

Missions degrade into mindless, clunky combat, in which imprecise fisticuffs and useless, fragile weapons abound. Don't bother. [June 2004, p.92]

Newcomers to the series will enjoy the mindless destruction and blowing up people indiscriminately - I'm just getting tired of retreading old ground. [Apr 2008, p.70]

Basically, it's a game with loads of potential, but awful physics and endless technical glitches are the real crime here.

It's official. Splinter Cell is not meant to be a portable game. I think these other reviewers are too forgiving because Splinter Cell's so great to begin with. But I'm a fan of the series, and I think this one stinks.

Problem is, getting to the good stuff requires battling through a blitzkrieg of banality. [May 2006, p.98]

Without the ability to transform when you want, Spy Hunter 2's confining missions are just too monotonous. [Feb 2004, p.106]

Darkness' [control] scheme is more ponderous than ever and feels like it was designed by 10 people who didn't get along. [Sept 2003, p.128]

Sure, there's a little car crushing, but not wanton crushing, and that's what I want in a monster truck game. [Feb 2004, p.110]

Fun for about an hour, and after that I doubt you'll ever pick it up again. [Apr 2002, p.146]

Sure, there's a little car crushing, but not wanton crushing, and that's what I want in a monster truck game. [Feb 2004, p.110]

The overly sensitive dirt bikes simply don't have the physics for the rigors of competitive driving, leading to spill after spill. [Aug 2006, p.90]

Combat is sloppy, with poor hit detection and enemies that score cheap shots; all of the fun special moves have to be unlocked, which requires meeting unreasonably difficult time and health goals; and most of the levels devolve into tiresome thug/robot hunts.

Don’t get me wrong, I love weird games as much as the next guy, but SP never moves beyond what feels like an elastic 3D engine tech demo. [Sept 2001, p.144]