Beyond isn't survival-horror, exactly...more like annoyance-horror. The creepy moonbase is spectacularly atmospheric, yes, but many of the puzzles are extremely difficult (I doubt anyone will finish this without some Internet assistance), and important items have a habit of hiding from you in dark, missed areas. [Sept 2004, p.104]

Jericho is a mess of a shooter with nonexistant A.I., frustrating timed events, vague puzzles, and PS1-style load times. [Dec 2007, p.107]

Ostensibly a real-time strategy title, Future Tactics is really a glorified game of hide-and-seek: You either fall into your enemy's sights or manage to luck out for another turn. [July 2004, p.94]

Webslingin' remains the selling point, but the combat--although built from the ground up for this game--still consists of random button mashing. [July 2007, p.88]

Some of the problems are rookie mistakes, like players not always going after stray balls, while others are more serious: Street has a tendency to slow down at the worst moments, like during a mad scramble at the goal mouth, and that just plain sucks.

A FRICKIN' RIP-OFF... [yet] still deserves playing. [Apr 2003, p.128]

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

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

A Zelda: Wind Waker–esque cartoony graphics style would have been perfect for Jack, who, now that he's 3D, looks kind of like Jay Leno or John Kerry what with his freakishly long chin. And the cut-scenes—often the only good part of a licensed game like this—are embarrassing.

Darkness' molasses pace, cut-rate presentation, and simplistic throwaway quests leech any sense of drama or importance. [Aug 2005, p.113]

Control is a bit janky, maknig cheap deaths easy. The camera also tends to obscure things. [Oct 2005, p.120]

The whole package is about as exciting as a flight attendant's safety demonstration. [July 2002, p.115]

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

A Zelda: Wind Waker–esque cartoony graphics style would have been perfect for Jack, who, now that he's 3D, looks kind of like Jay Leno or John Kerry what with his freakishly long chin. And the cut-scenes—often the only good part of a licensed game like this—are embarrassing.

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

The main single-player mode is fairly short and repetitive as well, so with no online play, FIFA won't be in your rotation for long unless you've got some soccer-obsessed pals.

Seven Sorrows baits you with a role-playing-game-style character development system, but the game's short length (easily clocking in under six hours) makes leveling up unrewarding.

Instead, you get a short, straightforward adventure game with predictable puzzles and tedious, sloppy combat. [Oct. 2006, p.113]

When its fundamentals are botched this badly, not even Dragon Song's semidecent story can save it. [Nov 2005, p.162]

Played it, beat it, forgot it... Oh, and it has the worst unlockable secret ever - an art gallery of the load screens...that's right, the ones burned into your memory during the long load times. Gee, thanks. [Oct 2003, p.139]

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

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

Maybe if this blah shooter had better controls - and maybe if you haven't played a first-person bast-em-up since 1995 - it would be worth your time. Ah, who am I kidding. Coded Arms would still suck. [Aug 2005, p.119]

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]

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.

There's nothing good to say about the gameplay, which ignores skill and encourages button-mashing. Stay away from this beast -- it bites. [Dec 2003, p.222]

Crown is entertaining only if your other option is taking an algebra test... You know, maybe I'll grab some pals and play "Risk" instead. [Nov 2003, p.175]

08 gives good fan service, but the car nut in me is more satisfied with the recent releases of "Dirt" and "Forza 2". [Sept 2007, p.92]