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]

Tekken loses out big time by not supporting the GBA's one-cartridge multiplayer feature. [Feb 2002, p.172]

Is it a game or is it a simulation? Yet again, it's neither, and Tiburon has failed for the second year running to strike the gllorious balance it achieved with NASCAR 05. [Oct. 2006, p.110]

You could quite easily mistake Nanostray 2 for a game in any other shooter series, but it lacks the focus and polish that make series like "Gradius" and"R-Type" great. [Feb 2008, p.84]

Barely recognizable as a "Sims" game, MySims also lacks the compelling variety and randomness of "Crossing". [Oct 2007, p.84]

The worst problem is that certain jumps are damn nigh impossible - it's not even a question of skill. [Nov 2003, p.176]

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]

The camera can be absolutely maddening at times. [Jan 2004, p.138]

But a lack of feedback to help you understand what caused an errant shot makes it more frustrating than fun to perfect your motion. [Feb. 2007, p.87]

Just watch out for that crazy difficulty spike that happens about halfway through each title - and don't forget the Visine. [March 2004, p.120]

You do get a sense of accomplishment when luck favors you and you can clear a board or topple a boss, but rarely does the fun reach full tilt. [Jun 2006, p.119]