Hidden beneath that glossy surface is a game that takes almost everything that's annoying with real-time strategy titles and fixes it. It's deep, yet accessible. It's action-packed, yet manageable. In short, it's everything you could ask for in a real-time strategy game.

Bruce Campbell voices Ash's dialog, which should please fans of the movies, but his deadpan delivery might come across as bad acting to those not familiar with the distinct style of his character.

If you've grown accustomed to 16 on 16 battles in other shooters, nothing, we repeat, nothing, will prepare you for combat in Planetside.

While it does supplement the story exceptionally well, Enter the Matrix lacks anything that would make it stand out as a great or even good game.

As close to a full-blown sequel as we've seen to the original "Sims," and is sure to hold most gamers over until 2004. More immediately enjoyable than "The Sims: Online," it's the type of open-ended game you can intensely play over time or just spend a few hours with here and there.

Best of all, the numerous bugs and glitches that brought the PS2 version down a notch have been cleaned up and eliminated, for the most part. Enemies no longer shoot you through solid walls, you no longer randomly lose health while running, and cars remain in your garage until you take them out.

Precisely more of the same. It's bigger, stronger, and deeper. Even the flaws are repeated, as party members still need a lot of hand-holding.

While it's not the unplayable mess of the "World War II Online" debut, Eve is still firmly in the beta stage in all respects except monthly fees. [19 June 2003]

The gameplay is limited in scope and the maps are repetitive in theme, if not design. The visuals are decent enough, but definitely not up to the standards of most modern releases.

A great game. Harnessing the power of your enemy's soul at least superficially changes the ancient formula and incorporates a limited link cable mode for the bartering of souls.

The game doesn't feel entirely new or original, but it's well executed and consistently fun.

Awful plot, abysmal gameplay, crappy graphics, and spartan sound bytes: these features do not a winner make.

Easily the game's worst trait is its sound. The Formula One cars sound more like lawn mowers burning nitrous oxide than like the most responsive and powerful automobiles in existence.

The game is pick-up-and-play, it's beautiful to look at, and it raises the cultural precedent bar to backboard level. Even if you don't like sports games, you'll love this one.

A solid, good-looking, and fairly robust little stealth action game that sticks to the mission plan of its bigger console co-operative.

With more imaginative level design, The Clone Wars would have been near-perfect. As it stands, the multiplayer mode is so good, it makes up for most of the title's shortcomings.

Lacking in virtually every area. The graphics are terrible, the controls are clunky, and the gameplay is uninspired.

An average game that is easy enough for anyone to play, but it lacks the overall depth and variety needed to keep you coming back for more.

Lockups were frequent enough to be annoying, and since the game only saves at certain checkpoints in a level, you'll probably be replaying more of this game than you'll ever want to.

It doesn't help matters when Purge looks as bad as it does. It's an ugly little game. The maps are genuinely uninteresting, with far too many forced corridors designed to help you set up choke points.

Niggling inconsistencies and slightly bland between-race presentation aside, Colin McRae Rally 3 is a beautiful, realistic, and smooth translation of rally racing. The tracks are gorgeous, challenging, and addictive.

A perfect example of why shooters have become such a niche genre. It's a good game that's well made. It's even got an interesting hook to keep the hard core happy. But the insane difficulty will keep most players from getting past the first level before giving up. And with the ultra-short playing time, even shooter fans might not find enough to like here.

No sane person could dispute the sicko nature of Postal 2, but it's clearly presented in an utterly goofy, slapstick manner and prefaced with warnings for the easily confused.

Lives up to its exceptional pedigree. Not only does this sequel bring back all that was great about the original, but it's longer, harder, and more involved.

Constant camera-fixing is still a big problem, however. Add to that the uninspired gameplay, and it's just not enough that the game looks good.

Perhaps unfulfilled potential and a hard-to-learn layout detract from the product's charm. Details be damned.

Just simply on the jittery, crunchy, slow, and empty side.

Tense gunfights, unnerving corridor crawls, a surprisingly engaging plot, fantastic sound work, and gameplay that provides an entertaining mix of old-school action and exploration all help make this a solid science fiction gaming experience.