Proves that battling blazes is not only a hazardous profession, but it's also tedious, frustrating, and a real head trip (wait till you face fire-possessed flying laundry and fireman-hating robots.) [Apr 2004, p.120]

An unforgiving difficulty level and harsh time limits <I>severely</I> undercut the fun... [and b]am-powing hordes of goons becomes achingly repetitive over time. [Nov 2003, p.172]

The best has to be Ash's undead sidekick Sam (never mind Crispin and Jon D.), since he serves to break up the monotony of the combat (you use him to solve puzzles) and gives Bruce Campbell someone to play off of for one-liners.

But where DTR falls flat is in the execution. Why learn the subtleties of the fighting controls when the most effective attack is "punch, punch, punch"? [Sept 2002, p.156]

This franchise desperately needs to spice up - and after this year, clean up - the gameplay. [Apr 2006, p.100]

It feels like you're not fully in control. [Dec 2002, p.236]

If Dark Alliance II were a creature in the "D&D Monster Manual," it'd be called the Yawnisian Mind Borer, and it would lure victims into repetitive dungeons, make them wander until they fell asleep, then swipe 50 gold from their wallets. [Feb 2004, p.111]

As a "My First SSX," Blur is passable. But for longtime SSX fans, this installment's much too limited coursewise, the track design is as poor as "SSX on Tour's", and instead of innovating, the unreliable motion controls get in the way. [Apr 2007, p.80]

If Dark Alliance II were a creature in the "D&D Monster Manual," it'd be called the Yawnisian Mind Borer, and it would lure victims into repetitive dungeons, make them wander until they fell asleep, then swipe 50 gold from their wallets. [Feb 2004, p.111]

The most frustrating thing about Bruised is that, to be successful, you've either got to memorize a lot of combos or just mash and hope for the best. [Apr 2003, p.111]

With a slightly bigger budget, a lot less slowdown, and better dialogue, Report wold be a great game. As it is, it's just a good survival-horror game without the horror. [Mar 2003, p.116]

The awful camera throws a bucket of painfully cold water on an otherwise good time. [August 2002, p.130]

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

Instant deaths, abetted by a bad camera, put the brakes on the best bits of an otherwise ugly and repetitious game. [Apr 2004, p.121]

It's hard to recommend picking up Killer7, even as a curious experiment or artistic statement, when so much of the actual gameplay screams to put it down. [Aug 2005, p.108]

While the different endings are the most interesting aspect of Samurai, they also introduce a whole pile of tedium, as you're forced to sit through the same lengthy cut-scenes over and over. [Aug 2004, p.104]

This game isn&#146;t anything more than a drab "Destruction Derby" with added sirens and donuts. [Aug 2001, p.112]

Combat ranges from dull...to freakishly unbalalnced.., and it all gets old very quickly. [March 2004, p.130]

File this under "Why Bother?" [Mar 2007, p.93]

Brawlers offers incredible customization, but the front end looks like, well, an NES game. [June 2008, p.87]

These games just haven't aged as well as the Final Fantasy or Lunar series. [Feb 2002, p.168]

It's just too bad the menus and team customization options require more intensity and concentration than the actual game. [July 2002, p.122]

It&#146;s not that it&#146;s ugly, but compared to most Xbox games, it looks ugly, but compared to most Xbox games it looks like the boring girl next door and makes the GameCube&#146;s Rogue Leader seem like Pamela Anderson. [Jan 2002, p.231]

It's a direct port of a 3-year-old Japanese Sega Dreamcast game, and, well...it shows. Try it if you're brave; you just might like it. [Aug 2003, p.118]

The gripping story line is the only reason to struggle with a frustrating and monotonous combat system, to wander in repetitive environments, and to suffer through predictable gameplay. [Mar 2003, p.116]

Too many levels center on mindless droid hacking. [Aug 2005, p.110]

As for enemy behavior, it's so embarrassingly bad at times, it's hard not to laugh. [Jan 2004, p.122]

The series' much ballyhooed new FielderCam is underwhelming - this behind-the-fielder view controls well enough, but it's virtually impossible to know the tragectory and speed of the ball, leaving you to rely on onscreen indicators. [May 2004, p.90]