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

What gives Mirra the slight edge over its competition is the game’s modifier system that, at the press of a button, lets you tweak and customize nearly every trick in the game. [Feb 2002, p.164]

If you’ve never played a Tony Hawk game, 2X is a tremendous value. [Dec 2001, p.252]

The fact is, just about every task the game asks you to play is simply no fun. [Jan 2002, p.230]

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

One of the least exciting party games I’ve ever played. [Jan 2002, p.228]

You don't have to invest a bazillion hours to unlock the sweet rides. [Jan 2002, p.229]

A little more fantasy throughout the game might have given ADS the personality it desperately needs. [Jan 2002, p.231]

Just a prettier version of the last game, "DOA2: Hardcore." [Jan 2002, p.223]

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

An addictive and charming game. It could have used a lot more modes and maps, but I enjoyed its simplicity, fast-paced action and great controls. [Dec 2001, p.250]

When it gets down to brass tacks, “Thunder” beats Heat to the finish line pretty handily as far as this year’s NASCAR video game crop is concerned. [Dec 2001, p.254]

It’s a freakin’ blast to play…It’s good ol’-fashion, mindless arcade fun. God bless it. [Feb 2002, p.168]

Once you slide past something you need, you can’t back up – that sucks. [Jan 2002, p.220]

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

Visually, it’s a dead heat between the GameCube and PS2 versions, but both look fantastic, so who cares? [Jan 2002, p.202]

[It] has gotten faster with all the fluidity of a broken transmission. [Jan 2002, p.216]

It’s infinitely more polished, more playable, more replayable, better-looking, and just plain fun to run around and play than most anything else out there. [Jan 2002, p.212]

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

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

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

I defy you to find a blaster that gives you more hours of gameplay than this redux of the three-year old PC game. [Dec 2001, p.242]

There is so much to Golden Sun that I can't help but fall head over heels for it. Every aspect of the game is soaked through with quality. [Jan 2002, p.233]

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

It’s like every aspect of 2D fighting history converging on a single screen, and it’s almost mind-boggling. [Dec 2001, p.236]

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

Even though Tricky isn’t completely fresh, it’s substantial enough to squash any challengers out there. [Jan 2002, p.222]

It strikes a perfect balance between racing and aerial trickery so one doesn’t overshadow the other – they’re equally important. [Jan 2002, p.220]

Its gameplay isn’t revolutionary, and a couple of its missions get a tad tedious, but Ace Combat 4 sure looks pretty, which is half the reason flying buffs play these air-combat games anyway. [Dec 2001, p.234]

When forced to blindly jump, die, then discover what you missed, where I come from, that’s just cheating. [Dec 2001, p.238]

It’s just one of those incredibly intuitive pick-up-and-start-powersliding types of racing games. [Jan 2002, p.202]

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

Appearances can be deceiving, and if you can look pas DWVII’s vintage outer shell, you’ll find one of the deepest, most satisfying RPGs the PS1—or any other console, for that matter—has yet seen. [Dec 2001, p.260]

Music aside, SR2 made all the right tweaks to the original formula. [Jan 2002, p.220]

Neversoft must have made a deal with the devil, because this series refuses to cool down. [Dec 2001, p.246]

Seems like the PS2 version’s forgotten kid brother. Its graphics, plagued with texture warping and pop-ups, are bad even by PS1 standards. [Dec 2001, p.264]

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

The first fighter I have ever felt truly comfortable playing on a portable. [Nov 2001, p.222]

BO is literally one big blast after the other. Keep in mind, though, that the “Online” in BO is really what you make of it. [Dec 2001, p.260]

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

There has never been a computer opponent that is this cunning. It even plays smarter than most of my buddies, and perhaps more importantly, it doesn’t whine after a loss. [Dec 2001, p.250]

Straight dumb, violent fun, regardless of how many times you've seen it before. [Jan 2002, p.233]

Pure gaming bliss, offering precise and simple control over every action on the court. [Jan 2002, p.232]

The best-looking (you heard me, Live), best-playing game of basketball you’ll find. [Jan 2002, p.231]

Only hardcore Batfans should bother enduring this frustration. [Dec 2001, p.236]

GTA3 gives you the freedom to do enough to fill 10 games. [Jan 2002, p.206]

The controls feel sluggish and unresponsive, the difficulty balance is ridiculous. [Jan 2002, p.222]

No game’s shoddy camera in recent memory has given me more headaches than this one, and it couldn’t have happened to a better game. [Nov 2001, p.218]

Crazy-wack dialogue aside, DMC is absolutely electrifying. Savor every hardcore bite. [Dec 2001, p.240]

What really lights my fire is the Career mode…Second on my list of great stuff is the sweet control. [Dec 2001, p.244]

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]

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

Chronicles has the classic formula I’ve come to know and love. Frustratingly good difficulty, cool extras – an oldie but a goodie. [Nov 2001, p.216]

Spectacularly bizarre in a good way. [Oct 2001, p.148]

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]

Forget about doing this game with the CPU. Grab a friend and play this disc the way it’s meant to be played. [Oct 2001, p.146]

A wicked weapons-based 2D delight that should bring joy to fans of fighting games everywhere. [Dec 2001, p.236]

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

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

Repetitive, primitive and even a bit tedious...and I dug every minute of it. [Nov 2001, p.220]

SH2’s unnerving mood is so immersive, almost deafening, that it overshadows some of the technical faults…This game will scare you. [Nov 2001, p.212]

Complete rosters and statsitical tracking complement a simple, quick and fun game engine. [Nov 2001, p.222]

The in-game dialogue has all the creativity and wit of a Fred Basset cartoon. [Nov 2001, p.222]

Nearly every gameplay element seems finely tuned. [Dec 2001, p.244]

Outside of the somewhat annoying need to replay missions over and over in order to move on in the game, Spy Hunter is totally solid. [Nov 2001, p.210]

The combat’s more fun and involving than anything in Pokemon Stadium. But the rest of the game hasn’t changed much. [Nov 2001, p.210]

With its sumptuous visuals, intuitive problem solving, and affectionately crafted storyline, Ico is like a favorite bedtime story that bears listening to over and over again. [Nov 2001, p.208]

This game simply represents the show faithfully, and it’s fun to play. [Jan 2002, p.232]

If you haven’t tried this series yet, you are really missing out on the nicotine/booze/sugar/sex of video gaming. [Nov 2001, p.214]

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

Nowadays, the game’s blocky, out-of-proportion players are showing their age. [Dec 2001, p.260]

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]

I love DDR, and this one’s OK, but it’s the most forgettable game of Konami’s dance-game catalog. [Oct 2001, p.154]

On a system this powerful, nausea-inducing framerates should be a thing of the past. [Nov 2001, p.206]

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 too bad there’s no way to work on defense other than getting pummeled by the CPU game after game. [Oct 2001, p.154]

The game will keep youngins busy, but if any gamer over the age of 10 gets stuck playing this thing, well, that’s gotta hurt! [Nov 2001, p.210]

I love Hoffman’s superb soundtrack, and if you dig hip-hop, you will too. [Nov 2001, p.216]

A competitive and addicting game that’s full of variety, pep, and personality. [Oct 2001, p.150]

I’m happy to say that Namco’s fixed a lot of what made Tales 1 annoying while preserving its cooler aspects for their three-disc sequel. [Oct 2001, p.154]

I never had so much fun NOT playing a game. You see, whether you share one GBA or link several up, you don't get to do anything when it's not your turn. [Oct 2001, p.156]

DM2 has got to be the fastest-moving sports game on the planet. [Nov 2001, p.206]

I guess the developer of this game didn’t get the memo about zone defense. [Nov 2001, p.220]

The good news about NCAA 2K2 is that it plays almost exactly like "NFL 2K1." [Nov 2001, p.216]

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]

I love good golf games, and this is one of the better ones I've seen of late. [Oct 2001, p.158]

Combines the best of the first two games. [Oct 2001, p.156]

The tracks get harder to follow and the AI racers become aggressive and nasty. I don’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]

Even at those speeds, the heart-pounding moments are few and far between. [Nov 2001, p.206]

Nice graphics aside, the real strength of Le Mans lies in its superb controls and physics, a well-balanced system that walks the fine line between realism and fun. [Oct 2001, p.145]

A necessary part of any adventure gamer’s balanced breakfast…Masterful storytelling and superb graphics. [Sept 2001, p.144]

It’s amazing that the now two-year-old engine is still kicking butt…Only if you don’t own a DC or a PS should you buy this. [Sept 2001, p.147]

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

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

Once you get past gameplay which is deeper than a black hole, you’ll find an endless list of options and features. [Oct 2001, p.146]

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 translation is extremely well done; a thoughtful and compassionate retelling of a fascinating legend. Excellent stuff. [Sept 2001, p.148]

This GameDay beater is so challenging and fun that you shouldn’t feel shame for sticking to PS1 Madden for another year. [Oct 2001, p.156]