My main gripe comes from the game's seeming inability to provide consistent gameplay...the game's performance couldn't equal its scope. [Jan 2002, p.95]

Don’t forget to go into the sound options and turn off the god-awful music.

If you have an affinity for the classic franchise and an interest in proving you’re the best in the world at the steeplechase, this game may do it for you. Otherwise, it’s not worth the possible risks to your DS and blood pressure.

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]

Its gimmick doesn't overcome its bland gameplay. [Dec 2004, p.190]

Haze’s saving grace is its co-op gameplay, which can be fun when you shoot a friend’s Nectar tank from behind to watch him freak out. But these short experiences do nothing to offset the major disappointment the rest of the game delivers.

If nothing else, AEW: Fight Forever has potential. I’m happy to have a more arcade-style wrestling game, especially one based on a major promotion. The gameplay has a strong foundation, and when it's firing on all cylinders, the action channels the simple fun of the ‘90s and early 2000s. The rest of the package just needs to catch up. Until it does, even the most passionate AEW fans may have a hard time sticking around for this main event.

The idea behind this game is intriguing, but the execution is way off the mark. [Mar 2002, p.91]

As a stealth game, Shinobido 2 is successful and rewarding. I could even confidently recommend it to Metal Gear fans looking to scratch a sneaky itch in the beginning of the Vita's life cycle. Outside of sneaking up behind people to perform kills however, the game feels unpolished and not entirely thought-out.

The dark setting just wasn't enough to keep me enthralled, and I found myself longing for an end to the saga. [Nov 2005, p.155]

The camera often becomes a liability, especially in areas where you can't zoom out. Character advancement is bare-bones, which hurts replay. [Sept 2003, p.107]

Unless you're a hardcore fan of the book series and film, I'd take a pass on Eragon.

It's hard to forget the unresponsive controls, ludicrous story, and questionable combat encounters. The game is uneven and inconsistent enough to scare away even eager fans who have patiently waited 20 years for another swing. [June 2009, p.83]

For crap's sake, I can't even run down a corridor in Dino Crisis 3 with any semblance of accuracy... This game plays like a blind, drunken monkey has been given full control of the camera. [Oct 2003, p.135]

The overriding feeling during my entire playtime was, "Oh no. I have to do another race." [Dec 2005, p.156]

In Other Waters’ gameplay and story aren’t enough to fuel the exploration it demands, but its world building is commendable. Unfortunately, this makes it suited more towards amateur biologists and cartographers than those looking for a gripping adventure.

Outside of new pitch types and fielding animations, the over-the-top angle hasn't evolved at all in this iteration, and the new simulation aspect pales in comparison to al of the other titles on the market. [July 2004, p.114]

No ambition equals low score. That's just the way it goes. [May 2003, p.90]

The dialogue is actually charming and sometimes clever, but the loose controls found in the main game also plauge the arcade port to a degree, which to me, is the biggest bummer of this outing. [Jan 2006, p.138]

All in all, Pursuit Force is an acceptable racer with a few unique features, but it just doesn't pack the punch that it needs. [Apr 2006, p.135]

Delivers simple but enjoyable gameplay. [May 2005, p.136]

Difficult to control, slow, and(as the game goes on)more and more arbitrarily forced fights suck fun directly from the player. [Oct. 2006, p.100]

The swordplay is simple, and dreadfully dull. [July 2008, p.86]

Not bad, but not good either. [Dec 2002, p.123]

Whoever designed Avalanche's trick system obviously got his or her doctorate in stupidity. [Jan 2004, p.136]

The dialogue is actually charming and sometimes clever, but the loose controls found in the main game also plauge the arcade port to a degree, which to me, is the biggest bummer of this outing. [Jan 2006, p.138]

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

The four-player Xbox Live mode may offer some thrills for devoted brawler fans, but everyone else will want to stay away from this stale relic. [June 2005, p.132]

The swordplay is simple, and dreadfully dull. [July 2008, p.86]

The video editor is kind of a cool extra, but it’s done way better elsewhere. Too bad the controls are as painful as most of the stunts you perform otherwise this might have been a decent handheld distraction.

Unless you know who Tucker Hibber is, avoid this one. [Dec 2002, p.144]

The dialogue is actually charming and sometimes clever, but the loose controls found in the main game also plauge the arcade port to a degree, which to me, is the biggest bummer of this outing. [Jan 2006, p.138]

Animation is generally poor, facial modeling is bland, and the AI manages to feel artificial but without the intelligence. [May 2005, p.136]

It's hard to forget the unresponsive controls, ludicrous story, and questionable combat encounters. The game is uneven and inconsistent enough to scare away even eager fans who have patiently waited 20 years for another swing. [June 2009, p.83]

I guess this might be a fun game to rent and beat on a Saturday. After all, developer Collision does add a little something at the end of the game to make it not as much of a downer.

We Ski tries, and is largely successful, at creating a casual skiing game with a novel control mechanic. Which is great, but the actual content wouldn’t have held my attention for even an hour if it were just some old PS2 game (which, graphically, it sadly resembles).

There are far too many flaws for it to compete. [Dec 2002, p.123]

Technically adequate, exceptionally beautiful, and continuing the story of some great characters...but still no fun. [Nov 2004, p.163]

As one of the devoted franchise enthusiasts who are presumably the target audience, even I feel like it loses sight of the magic, narrative weirdness, and dark tone that makes the show so captivating. And without tactical sophistication or a meaningful engagement with the lore, I can’t recommend joining this resistance.

39 Days to Mars does a better job of relaying comedy through gameplay than most games, but the jokes it tells aren’t worthwhile. Little is terrible about the core concept or its execution (aside from the awful single-player mode), but nothing was outstanding or notable, either. I had a few laughs with the people I played, but by the time I reached Mars, I was ready to just shrug my shoulders and go back home.

Mowing down wave after wave of comatose fodder kills any chance of this game’s strategies having any meaning. An overhaul on the battlefield is sorely needed.

The combat feels relatively imprecise, button-mashy, and quite random. [Jan 2003, p.114]

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]

If you’re a Silent Hill fan interested in a fresh take on the stale formula, this Wii entry may be the Cheryl you’ve been searching for – but it comes at a cost.

The game's one noteable feat - online, cooperative multiplayer. This, I am delighted to say, works swimmingly. [Feb 2006, p.102]

This Olympic hopeful loses its flavor after you play through each event just once or twice. [Aug 2004, p.100]

Although there's really nothing outrageously bad about Dino Thunder, I ofter found myself a little bored with being a giaint robotic dinosaur, which just shouldn't happen. [Dec 2004, p.16]

The Just Dance series was design to be a party game, and, sadly, it doesn't perform well outside of that kind of atmosphere.

WWE 2K18 features some incremental additions, but the action is largely similar to last year’s game. In fact, there were moments where I worried that I’d accidentally booted up 2K17. As it stands, 2K needs to do more to expand its reach beyond the hardcore audience that comes back year after year.

When you look past the mask of satirical humor this game puts on, My World, My Way is just a parade of tired mechanics orbiting a single cool concept.

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

As beloved as the subgenre and the original Nexuiz mod are among a certain crowd, this Xbox Live Arcade remake is nothing more than a haphazard port of a 2005 mod for a game that came out 10 years ago – except you have to pay money for it. Those of us older folks who are nostalgic for the gameplay Nexuiz emulates likely have a PC that runs any of the dozens of excellent alternatives, and the younger console crowd has plenty of more modern shooters to choose from.

Boom Beach gives you more strategic options than its predecessor, but it is still designed to create lulls that encourage you to pay to speed up the clock, limiting the average player’s access to its best features.

A fairly well-rounded angling title that doesn't really jump off the deep end in any particular area. [Feb 2002, p.100]

The root of the problem is gameplay balance and enemy AI. [Feb 2003, p.96]

I applaud the ambition, but not every grand venture ends with triumph.

Apart from the animal stuff, the core game has also undergone some tweaks, like a greater sense of ownership of your surroundings. It doesn't make Pets more fun, though; the lack of sufficient rewards and direction neuters the whole experience and makes it a chore to play.

The problems with the passing game are major, including a lack of touch on the ball, receivers who stop to catch passes, and iffy collision detection in general. [Jan 2002, p.83]

When you’re dancing Spotlight is fun, but it is easily the weakest game in the Dance Central series.

Simply put, this title's characters, plot, and dialogue are hackneyed and verging on painful. Every joke falls flat, and every plot twist seems scraped from the bottom of Indiana Jones' barrel. [Apr 2004, p.91]

The level designs are simply atrocious and have no flow to them whatsoever. [Jan 2005, p.145]

The novelty of playing around with augmented reality will quickly wear out under the weight of the game's shallowness and obnoxious demeanor.

A great concept, but I just don't think the PS2 version of the EyeToy technology has the horsepower to pull it off. [Dec 2005, p.176]

The brightest moments are when the action gives way to pure chaos. I watched electricity arc between humans, made brains pop out of heads, and turned a secret base into smoldering ruins with my spaceship’s death ray. But like a person floating above the ground in the glow of an abducto beam, those moments aren’t connected to anything substantial; they just make some noise and get flung aside.

I had a good time playing Cloud Patrol for a few minutes here and there, but I could never see myself playing for extended marathon sessions. That addictive "one more game to improve my score" quality isn't there.

How does this game handle? Well, to quote "Airplane"'s Ted Striker: "Sluggish - like a wet sponge." [July 2002, p.83]

The story may be new, but the boring battle system and frustrating quests are all too familiar. Its simplicity is charming at points (especially in the dialogue), but ultimately isn’t enough to salvage the whole game.

It’s a unique take on open world play, and its almost nihilistic fixation on violence for the sake of violence has a satirical and darkly comedic edge. Unfortunately, the repetition and lack of substance behind the flash left me cold.

During Dawn of Fate, I would get so turned around, I found myself back at the beginning of a level, instead of pressing on into the next sections. [Oct 2002, p.91]

What makes Regeneration falter is the fact that it's bland, repetitive, and uninspired - like Carson Daily. [Oct 2005, p.126]

An almost totally uninspired 3D brawler that doesn’t avoid any of the common pitfalls of the genre. Locking the camera close in behind the character’s head is almost never a good idea, and certainly not in this case. The automatic targeting mechanic bugs out at least once every five minutes of play. Enemies are too predictable.

With various weapons, mobility enhancements, and a sprawling series of connected maps, Kunai appears to have all the right components, but they aren’t assembled into a cohesive whole.

By the time the final encounter came around, I wasn't looking forward to a satisfying conclusion. I was just ready for the game to conclude.

Playing through State of Emergency 2 is a lot like watching a decent actor try to produce a real performance in a straight-to-video horror movie. [Apr 2006, p.122]

For all the improvement Sarge's War shows over its predecessors, it's still only average at best. [May 2003, p.86]

With multiple collectible gear sets, magic-infused combat, and characters with distinct powers, building up a fun rhythm of play is possible, especially if you choose to tackle the entire game with a consistent group of players who stay in pace with each other’s progress. But even then, the cracks in the core experience are apparent. I wanted to have fun with Dark Alliance’s breezy adventures through a familiar fantasy world, but too many elements left me disappointed, and even the flashing weapons wielded by the Companions of the Hall weren’t enough to blind me to what was missing.

Other than brief moments, no part of The Crew 2 is captivating enough, including the rubberband-based gameplay, the events themselves, and the overall setup of the open world.

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

Other than brief moments, no part of The Crew 2 is captivating enough, including the rubberband-based gameplay, the events themselves, and the overall setup of the open world.

Whip donuts in the dirt with your ATV if you want to go in circles; just don't play this game. [Dec 2002, p.152]

There are even a few lame vehicular bonus stages thrown in for good measure, but none of the various stage types offer anything close to depth or originality. [Nov 2004, p.145]

Other than brief moments, no part of The Crew 2 is captivating enough, including the rubberband-based gameplay, the events themselves, and the overall setup of the open world.

It's almost embarrassing how behind the times this series has fallen. [Nov 2002, p.137]

The short cutscenes that bookend the level do little to set up the overarching narrative, and would be forgettable even if you didn't have to wait a month for the next few minutes of story. This simply isn't enough, even for devoted fans like me. I'm still optimistic that Hitman will end up being a good game, but you very well may have to wait for the full bundle in January to play it.

When a game is unpredictably rendered unplayable, spending even one minute with it is one minute too long. [May 2005, p.132]

It comes up short. It's split into three uninspired levels of repetitive knife stabbing, sloppy platforming, and switch hitting to drain out toxic sludge. [Mar 2011, p.98]

It's a nice homage to wrestling's past, but just can't compete with the wrestling games of the present. [Aug 2004, p.96]

It comes up short. It's split into three uninspired levels of repetitive knife stabbing, sloppy platforming, and switch hitting to drain out toxic sludge. [Mar 2011, p.98]

Not the open-world game I was hoping for, but it is on the right track. This is a genuine attempt to create the type of experience the Adventure Time license deserves. It comes up short in many ways, but I still did get to have an adventure in Ooo, even if it was flooded with both water and technical issues.

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

Repetitive quests that require taking down specific enemies or fetching items in areas you'll revisit multiple times over becomes dull quickly. [Mar 2011, p.98]

Saw fails to deliver the suspenseful crescendos, surprising twists, and apprehensive atmosphere of the films. Instead, it’s padded with unremarkable gore, poor pacing, and uninspired level design.

Top off the list with repetitive and uninspired boss battles, an off-kilter depth of field and a one-dimensional economy, and Fairytale Fights is offensive, just not in the way Playlogic intended.

World’s End Club tells an uninteresting story full of obvious twists and turns that’s segmented by linear exploration and low-stakes action. On normal difficulty, you’re killed in one hit, which doesn’t mix well with the finnicky controls. Some character designs and their accompanying abilities are particularly inspired, but I didn’t fall in love with any of their static personalities. World’s End Club ultimately wound up feeling like an unimaginative afterschool activity.

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.

Here to demonstrate for us what happens when you take away good physics and the feeling of speed from a racing game. [Jan 2004, p.135]

In the end it's all about the racing and nothing here is that compelling. [Dec 2001, p.93]

I guess not being interested in the game's rules themselves is a basic qualm. [Jan 2002, p.87]