Short but sweet; put Spy Hunter down as one of life's nice little surpises. [June 2002, p.87]

The camera is extremely clunky, but this game charmed me more than I thought it would. [Nov 2002, p.144]

The biggest issue I have with this title is that the weapon switching is pretty awful...Other than that small complaint, every facet of Unreal II is very solid. [Apr 2004, p.105]

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India is a disappointment. Outside of the gorgeous, painted art style, it has few redeeming features.

I was deeply frustrated by Ancestors, so it may seem strange for me to say that I found a lot of promise, complexity, and nuance here as well. The novel concept and grand scope are far more appealing than dozens of other action or survival games on the market. This is a deeply flawed but richly imagined effort, but like many ambitious gaming projects at launch in recent years, it can now either die off like the Neanderthals, or evolve into something better from here.

It's not enough that Trials Frontier has mastered the gameplay of the series on its new platform. The inflated structure that surrounds it – whether you pay or not – obscures what makes Frontier worth playing.

Smart playing can minimize (but not eliminate) the annoyance of the VP gauge, leaving you with an entertaining strategy experience. However, with Level 5’s Jeanne D’Arc out there, Wild Arms XF certainly wouldn’t be my first recommendation to someone looking for an original, tactics-oriented PSP game.

Chasing Aurora has some cool elements, but overall I found the experience lacking. Flying the birds feels fluid, and the art style and character design of the birds are very enticing, but this game needs to be more than an incredibly shallow single-player experience and half-baked multiplayer modes.

It's a servicable and innovative effort, but there's still room to grow. [Mar 2004, p.107]

For the very young, or serious Harry Potter collectors only. [Jan 2002, p.88]

As far as handheld baseball games go, this one is probably the best I've seen. [Apr 2002, p.89]

Being average isn't what anyone aspires to be. [Dec 2001, p.109]

Terrible when it comes to gameplay. [Apr 2002, p.83]

I just didn't find myself very addicted to this game. [Nov 2002, p.134]

Magikarp Jump doles experience out at a steady pace, so it took a long time before I considered looking at the available microtransactions. This bodes well for the game, but even if there is nearly always activity to do without having to wait too long, it doesn’t mean I enjoyed doing them. Training is boring; the jumping competitions are boring; and having to click through the dialogue of the guy who can’t tell if I am a boy or a girl who gives me a handful of coins is incredibly boring. The lack of interactivity sometimes makes it feel like a visual novel, but without any real story. The bits of enjoyment I did draw from the game were based mostly on the goofiness of the silly premise, but repeating jokes only makes them less funny.

Given time, Maxis could clear up the problems with SimCity. The studio could deliver consistent server performance, restore cheetah speed, patch the AI, and give players larger cities. But games can’t be reviewed based on the product they might become; Electronic Arts and Maxis are charging gamers for this experience right now. At this point in time, it just isn’t worth your money.

Lacking the foundation of gameplay to offer the kind of choices that strategy fans have grown accustomed to, LOTR: Tactics is a disappointment. [Jan 2006, p.155]

While it does have its weaknesses (the levels are a bit generic and there was a bit too much backtracking for my taste), Musashi succeeds with great visual style, excellent humor, and rock-solid gameplay. [March 2005, p.128]

Starships is simple, slick, semi-strategic fun. It’s incredibly accessible and lacks the sometimes overbearing menus and micromanagement that can make strategy games dizzying and intimidating, making it a nice point of entry for those looking for a casual experience within the genre.

The controls are hardly the only problem facing this forlorn soldier. Anyone who has played a few WWII shooters will be all too familiar with this cookie-cutter list of tasks: take out anti-air artillery with bomb charges, counter-snipe Nazi snipers so troops can pass through an area, take out a few tanks with a Panzershreck, rinse, and repeat.

Wheelman has enough explosive thrills that you’ll be yelling and laughing the whole time.

Despite its sparse offerings, Danger Zone still proves that you can do beautiful things with a car, no matter how damaged it is.

Strafe succeeds at being a suitable homage of referential nostalgia-laden trinkets, but there’s no other real reason you should play it. If you want the feel of an old shooter, you should probably go play one of those instead of Strafe.

The game looks like a first-generation title Playstation 2 title. It even plays like one as well, with basic controls that feature perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves in video games: the combination attack/search/open/event button. [Jan 2002, p.82]

Part of GTC's woes is that the textures smell as bad as hot camel breath - even if the tracks themselves are cool. [Sept 2002, p.81]

Manages to maintain a tongue-in-cheek cheese factor that makes the journey entertaining enough...in that shameless softcore kind of way. [July 2004, p.114]

It doesn't rely on technical gimmicks. Instead, it delivers cathartic action and an absorbing story. [July 2003, p.114]

The AI is bumbling and unbalanced. [August 2002, p.82]

The graphics aren't much either, but the tracks are well designed and there's a genuine sense of fun here. [Aug 2006, p.85]

I was hoping that 2K would build on last year’s foundation. Instead, the foundation has been altered to be more appealing to the masses. That’s difficult logic to argue with, but 2K’s approach is way off the mark.

As it is, this is no more than a briefly amusing spectacle for fans of the series.

C&C 4 is not without redeeming qualities, and in the right situation it offers something truly unique to the RTS genre. I have no doubt that there will be gamers who fall head-over-heels for its tightly engineered co-op design. The binding dependence on teammates can be a pain, though, and legacy issues like bad keyboard shortcuts and unit AI persist. I can recommend the game, but only to a certain style of gamer and only with a handful of caveats.

Although Mad Riders might not feature anything in the way of innovation in either its core gameplay or race modes, I appreciate how developer Techland has honed its racing craft and made it so I never have to let up on the throttle.

Even though I’ve got the gas pedal down as far as it’ll go, the game fails to satiate either the need or speed parts of the equation.

When a mission is underway, Warframe is at its best. Getting to that point is a challenge of menu navigation, unexplained features, and a lack of crucial stat comparisons when choosing weapons. Right now, Warframe is definitely worth your time, but a UI tune-up would make it worth your money.

The missions have a shocking lack of variety, mostly just forcing you to do the same handful of things, but with stronger foes.

Basically, play it for the multiplayer, or don’t play it at all.

Like a pizza covered in chocolate, this game's touch screen swing is appealing for about half a second before you swear it off forever. [Feb 2005, p.125]

Unfortunately, the entire affair is filled with repeated waves of what amount to the exact same enemies, and it doesn’t take long for boredom to set in.

Is it great? Heck no. Does it offer little substance, but an enjoyable handful of thrills? It does, more often than not. [Aug 2005, p.97]

The trick system gets points for being integral to building speed, but its execution is uneven, meaning you don't always perform the tricks you've punched in. [Feb 2004, p.108]

Since there are a number of cool Alien and Predator units that are fun to see and play, Extinction does have some redeeming value. However,...the lack of online support or multiplayer of any kind is unforgivable. [Aug 2003, p.99]

In the final assessment, Full Frontal Assault feels like an experiment that produced mixed results. If I squint, I can just make out the vision of the perfect melding of tower defense and third-person action that the game was meant to be. However, the true image of FFA is a game that feels as though it's attempting to complete two different objectives, and failing to fully carry out either one. I admire Insomniac for continuing to take chances with the Ratchet & Clank series, but I'd rather the studio devote its resources to the new action/platformer that fans want.

It has a blemished, blood-soaked face that's going to scare off some gamers, but there's a lot of heart and fun to be found by those willing to dig beneath the ghoulish surface.

If you have the choice, I’d recommend the VR version slightly over the traditional display, but not to the point where anyone should pass up a fascinating experience because one is more immersive. [VR Tested]

Merely mediocre action. [Dec 2005, p.161]

Forspoken's story and combat fail to reach the heights of its movement and exploration, but thankfully those two latter elements make up most of the experience. I sprinted, often literally, through the campaign in about 15 hours, and now I have a large world filled with nooks and crannies I'm eager to run through and explore. The narrative won’t linger with me, and I avoided combat in the open world often, but I loved making Frey leap and fly through Athia to discover all its treasure chests and secrets.

While it pains me to say this, maybe Crash should make like the entire cast of "Blossom" and disappear. [Nov 2004, p.146]

Many [games] don't quite play the way they should since you don't have the keypad, which was one of the system's highlights. [Feb 2004, p.103]

Firmly back in the second dimension where it belongs, this portable entry in the "Worms" franchise will take you back to the glory days of "Armageddon" and "World Party". [May 2006, p.113]

TNA Impact reminds me of a bratty little kid. You know the type, always running around making bold claims, kicking people in the shins, and talking about how big and strong he’s going to be when he grows up. Since he’s just a kid, you have to give him the benefit of the doubt — someday he might accomplish impressive things. However, right now he’s still just a punk.

Creating a fast racing experience sounds like a fundamental requirement of any racing title, but Nail'd isn't just a game that blows by low expectations. It's a focused experience that sticks to a tight racing line and captures the essence of speed in a flash.

Intriguing – despite a mounting pile of evidence showing that it should be terrible. The characters and story are so outlandish and bizarre that they are fascinating – but the nonsense and clunky mechanics never coalesce into a satisfying experience. It lures you in with the promise of something unique, then botches the execution.

The graphics are dull, the combat is clunky, and the pacing is incredibly slow. [Mar 2004, p.107]

Sheffield tried too much and didn't focus enough on the gameplay necessities. [Nov 2002, p.113]

You absolutely need at least four people to play this game, which means it’s useless if you don’t have friends around.

Beautiful background details, dull play. [July 2002, p.87]

The 2D platforming is clever, the co-op game separates itself from the main game in an interesting way, and the Kinect implementation works well, even if it is just the typical minigame addition. Ubisoft has succeeded in making a fun complement to the upcoming Spielberg film that young fans should appreciate.

Insect Armageddon lacks the clueless earnestness of the last entry and carries over some dated concepts, but it fully captures the same breed of unapologetic run-and-gun action. Ultimately, that's what kept me playing EDF 2017 for dozens of hours, and that's why I've got dozens more in front of me with Insect Armageddon.

198X reminds players that even simple arcade experiences (or their recreations) can provide an interesting escape.

At its best moments, Suikoden IV sits right up there with the most outstanding RPGs ever created. [Feb 2005, p.114]

Destiny is a fiction and gameplay I deeply love, and I’d be delighted to continue to invest time in its characters and adventures. But the bloat of currencies and systems on display at this point is a major turn-off, and The Edge of Fate’s new additions and changes don’t make me feel compelled to play more. I’ll continue to cheer for the game to grow and expand, and I believe there’s some strong potential to this new saga focused on issues of freedom and pre-determinism. But the current thrust of this expansion just isn’t working.

What this franchise did to deserve a sequel I really don't know. [Apr 2006, p.118]

Top off this stubbornly shoddy gameplay with un-funny cutscenes and a glaring lack of online play and, well, there isn't much here to be super happy about. [Apr 2005, p.117]

Dungeon Hearts’ basic mash-up of ideas and charming aesthetic could have set it on the path to casual-game stardom, but fun gameplay would have done a whole lot more. This may have match-three and RPG elements, but Puzzle Quest it most certainly is not.

A shadow of its former self. The graceful gameplay offers a higher level of excitement, but the plot and characterization - two large components from which I expect great things from any Star Wars journey - makes this experience one of 2010's biggest disappointments. [Nov 2010, p.92]

A monstrous letdown. [Dec 2004, p.165]

These improvements stand in contrast to the continued weak goalie AI, unhelpful camera work, and iffy passing.

With gliding players prone to stepping out of bounds, animations that lock you out of reactionary movement, and lackluster commentary, the on-court action offers a similar dose of mediocrity as years past. The low post game is a mess, the strategy suffers from simplicity, and the defensive system lacks the sophistication (and usefulness) of its competition.

Not only is it the best in the series, by far, but it actually supports a decent combat system with a fairly balanced cast. [Jan 2003, p.102]

With a history including games like Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights 2, the team at Obsidian Entertainment knows role-playing. Alpha Protocol isn't necessarily a counter-point to that expertise; the RPG systems under the hood are solid. I just wish that I could experience them in the context of a compelling espionage adventure, not a last-gen third-person shooter.

The slowly paced story turns the fossil digging into a chore, and the real-time battle system starts to feel the same not long after that.

Avoid this unless your space dogfighting itch is keeping you up at night. [Sept 2010, p.93]

I particularly appreciate how I can earn points to boost my attributes and buy stuff in every nook and cranny in the title – yet another example of how I played this game almost in spite of itself.

In terms of depth, the Wii version doesn't offer much outside of a barebones Franchise mode. [May 2008, p.95]

Outside of the art style, The World Next Door feels generic and doesn’t do enough to make the adventure feel exciting. I expected something to pay off in the long run, whether it was the story, my choices, or time I spent with characters, but I instead ended the game saying, “That’s it?” It made me feel like I wasted my time getting to know this world and the people who inhabit it.

The deep Dynasty mode is the only feature worth the price of admission. The day-to-day tasks are organized better than NBA 2K7’s Association mode, and new features like the NBA rumors and managing assistants give sports fans a greater sense of control.

Sadly, that gameplay doesn't hold up for very long. Combat is too simplistic, and the unintelligent AI governing your enemies doesn't help. [Jan 2010, p.91]

In short, there's fun to be had here if you're willing to put up with the stuff that sucks. [Nov. 2006, p.146]

With 50 new levels, 50 favorites from the past, some cool new minigames like the FPS Monkey War and a version of air hockey, plus single-cart multiplayer, this is yet another nice addition to the DS library. [Apr 2006, p.134]

Most of this game’s content is in betrayal of the license, and it’s not all smut, either. In one mission, you are tasked with assassinating Fidel Castro, an act that ends up being just as comedic as The Naked Gun’s assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II. Unfortunately, the intent of this sequence isn’t to make ­players laugh. [May 2009, p.82]

With so much conversation with characters that feel like they'll be left in the past after this episode, a dreary prison setting, and gameplay that generally fails to engage, Jailhouse Block is the weakest entry of the season. The fleeting high moments like the difficult decision or the climactic battle don't save the episode. However, like most episodes Telltale releases in any of its myriad licensed series, it ends on a solid cliffhanger that has me intrigued about what happens next.

Decent play mechanics aside, the gameplay doesn't excite. [Jan 2004, p.151]

These improvements stand in contrast to the continued weak goalie AI, unhelpful camera work, and iffy passing.

I wish I could warp back to the time when Power of Illusion was full of mysterious promise.

I can only say one good thing about War in the North: It could have been awesome.

It's definitely a puzzle game like no other, and even offers a nice level create function and four-player support, all for a 10-dollar price point! [Oct 2003, p.123]

Like Capcom's "Power Stone," Barbarian steps up to the plate, and whiffs. [August 2002, p.79]

While I have to quibble about the juming controls being clunky; the action is well-paced, the graphics match the cartoon in lively colors and interesting layout, the story is respectable, and the sound is a nice touch. [Feb 2003, p.110]

The main reason I am less than enamored with this title is that it features some of the worst jumping controls in memory. Frustrating and painful. Bad Mickey. Bad. [Oct 2003, p.145]

Merely an okay game that benefits greatly from its movie license. [June 2003, p.106]

I found a few bizarre control and collision hiccups that furrowed my brow, but by and large this is a game that starts with a bang and doesn't quit. [Aug 2003, p.103]

NBA Playgrounds may not revolutionize arcade basketball, but it’s a welcome newcomer. If Saber Interactive tightens its gameplay shortcomings and introduces more ways to play, the game could have a healthy run as an alternative for those who don't want the heavy investment of a sports sim.

The portable versions of the LEGO games have been disappointing, and the trend continues. [May 2011, p.97]

Thank God. Now I can stop pretending that I was having fun rocking out to Metallica and live my dream of playing backup cowbell in a cruise ship band version of “Yankee Doodle.”

You have to be way more forgiving than the gameplay is to enjoy Lucidity.

The wry subtlety of the novels' text pops up once in a while, but not nearly enough, which leaves only a derivative and dull game where there could have been a humorous midadventure. [Jan 2005, p.119]

This might not be Clover Studios' best effort, but as ports go this is far from terrible. [May 2006, p.110]