Even crash-test dummies would yawn at this wreckage. [June 2004, p.96]

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

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

Pretty dull, even for a first-person shooter. [Dec 2004, p.150]

Unfathomably derivative. [Aug 2006, p.90]

This is the first game to successfully mix death-on-the-freeway antics with a plot you might actually care about, and it's worth a shot for that alone.

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]

With its bleak environments, surreal plot and button mashin' gameplay, Eve of Extinction is one big mess. [May 2002, p.106]

Though it's a solid entry to the staid genre, World Rally is a bit too kid friendly to recommend to anyone who reads past a fifth grade level. [Sept. 2006, p.99]

Wow, is Deep labyrinth ever boring. [Sept. 2006, p.106]

Many of the characters that are included in this game are awkward to control or just plain boring. The gameplay itslef is fairly bare bones. [Holiday 2004, p.115]

It doesn't look any prettier on the more powerful Cube - the periodic slowdown is inexcuseable (especially in a Sonic game), and the camera is still awful. [June 2003, p.122]

By axing most of the series' normal role-playing elements, the developers have effectively devolved Dawn of Mana into a linear adventure-platformer. [June 2007, p.90]

The moronic A.I. and repetitive missions will bore you, and the irritatingly humongous levels just prolong the torture. [Aug 2003, p.123]

An epic game. But like other grand-scale projects, say the movie "Waterworld" for example, it ends up spreading itself too thin for its own good. [Apr 2002, p.144]

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.

Unlocking new tracks is a tedious chore - and even then, the tracks all look too similar. [Dec 2002, p.228]

A bland flight-combat shooter. [June 2002, p.114]

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]

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]

And I'm somewhere in the middle, because even though Contagion does have an interesting techno facade and a completely tolerable control scheme, it still feels like every shooter I've ever played. [June 2007, p.95]

The action isn't bad - just appallingly generic. [Jan 2004, p.110]

I'm thinking Koei should've just dubbed this one My First Dynasty Warriors, as this romp through ancient China is ridiculously basic. [Aug 2007, p.81]

Screw fighting, I surrender--anything to keep me from wading through this awkward war game. [May 2007, p.81]

The arena-based combat is banal, combos are almost accidental, the dialogue consists of goo goos and gah gahs, and the difficulty curve seems designed to boost a baby's confidence. Overall, it's an all right little game, provided you're still in Pampers.

Fun dance patterns, not great music, make dance games worth playing. It's an interesting idea that doesn't quite work. [Sept. 2006, p.106]

Any aspect of the game that apires to distinction is negated by mediocrity. [May 2003, p.126]

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