The intensity of battle, breathtaking graphics, and intriguing story are powerful enough to overcome any shortcomings in the game. [Sept 2003, p.118]

With speeds that border on being too great for the human eye to comprehend and computer opponents that never once falter, F-Zero GX is designed specifically for hardcore gamers and people who are gluttons for punishment. [Sept 2003, p.112]

Almost every texture in the game is soaked in bright neon colors to deliver a stylistic sci-fi setting. Unfortunately, where Alter Echo excels in graphics and gameplay, it comes up short in plot and personality. [Sept 2003, p.107]

If you like brawlers, platformers, or both, Alter Echo should be on your list of must-plays. [Sept 2003, p.114]

The cutscenes are great, making an episode's worth of good animation here for the viewing, but I wouldn't want you to pay $50 and suffer through this hack-job of a game just to get to it. [Sept 2003, p.109]

The visuals are a throwback to the early days of PS2, if not Dreamcast. [Aug 2003, p.91]

Playing Lionheart could easily be a completely different experience every time. [Oct 2003, p.141]

Consider it a stand-alone update priced fairly at 20 clams. [Aug 2003, p.86]

The sheer depth of your duties can leave you swimming. [Sept 2003, p.109]

It may be management freaks like myself who derive the most from this year's Madden. [Sept 2003, p.105]

Madden is still excellent, but has left the door open to its competitors. [Sept 2003, p.117]

There are still gameplay additions, but without the Madden 101 tutorial - found in other versions - you're kind of on your own. Also, a difficulty level between Pro and Rookie would be helpful. [Sept 2003, p.113]

The vehicles don't act how they would in real life and it's so short on thrills that it needs to sit atop a stack of phone books to see over the dashboard. [Oct 2003, p.145]

Overall, this game performs like a solid pro baseliner - playing it safe, but hitting a majority of its shots in-bounds. [Oct 2003, p.139]

The nonstop action Chaos legion exhibits is unparalleled. [June 2003, p.101]

If you're the methodical type who loves to drown in the details, set up intricate raids, and get your hands dirty (so to speak); I see no reason why you won't enjoy this release. [Aug 2003, p.96]

The racing is slow as molasses, the weapon selection is pathetic, and it only supports two-player split-screen. [Aug 2003, p.91]

Silent Hill 3 embodies the true essence of horror and never once gives the player a moment to relax or breathe. [Aug 2003, p.88]

This is an incredibly ambitious project, yet everything it attempts exceeds all expections. [Sept 2003, p.104]

Midway tried really hard to inject humor into the characters and cutscenes, but as is often the case in games, it comes up short. If there aren't developers who can be funny, I suggest companies hire somone who can. [Aug 2003, p.98]

Trite dialogue, mindless quests, bland gameplay, and boring textures. [Nov 2003, p.170]

The devil is in the details, and Ejay Clubworld's clunky controls will wear on you after a while. [Aug 2003, p.91]

You'll miss things like camera control, intelligent AI, and set battle formations for your units. Also frustrating is the fact that you don't carry over supplies or accomplishments from mission to mission. [Aug 2003, p.89]

The sense of speed is somewhat equivalent to the electric carts available to the recently injured at grocery stores. [Oct 2003, p.123]

I'd say it was as horrible as the N64 "Superman" atrocity, but since Aquaman has always been a lame character, having a crappy game is at least conceptually sound, given the subject matter. [Oct 2003, p.139]

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]

Mario worshippers will be entranced. To the rest of us, it's just a fun little golf game. [Sept 2003, p.110]

It pretty much fails on every conceivable front and can't hold a candle to 99 percent of the games currently in the Xbox library. To serve, protect, but more realistically, to suck. [May 2003, p.91]

This game does the quivalent of grabbing you by the groin and tossing you off a cliff. [Aug 2003, p.87]

While the controls on this PC port are okay, they are clearly not refined for a console experience. [Oct 2003, p.139]

Call me crazy, but punching an enemy while doing the doggy paddle doesn't exactly generate a whole lot of excitement. [Oct 2003, p.131]

For me, the infectious old-school vibe and the fact that it delivers a ton of nerve-wracking situations were enough to make me ignore any frustration I have with the less-than-perfect execution. [Sept 2003, p.120]

The most interesting addition is the ability to create your own AI in Arena mode. [July 2003, p.107]

Deserving of the highest accolades, Knights of the Old Republic is a dream come true for Star Wars fans, and the most noteworthy Xbox release since "Halo." [Aug 2003, p.94]

While it has done a really good job of making NCAA its own brand of football, I feel like this franchise continues to be like college football is in real life - very entertaining, but ultimately a prologue for the pros. [July 2003, p.102]

Solid through and through and the new animations are nice, but the changes for this year aren't the kind which make you alter the way you play the game. For a long-running series, this is what's needed to keep it fresh. [July 2003, p.111]

A workmanlike, uninspired racer that just doesn't do enough to sutain my interest. [Aug 2003, p.93]

The development team has put together a diamond in Galaxies that surpassed my lofty expectations. In short, even if this game had nothing to do with "Star Wars" whatsoever, it would still be amazing. [June 2003, p.115]

Its graphics are merely average and the fighting is uninspired. [July 2003, p.107]

"DOA Xtreme" was a day at the beach, whereas Outlaw Volleyball is actually about bumpin', settin', and spiking. [Sept 2003, p.120]

This game is nothing short of an embarrassment. [Sept 2003, p.113]

The quintessential expansion pack; with more to do, see, and experience on many different levels. [Sept 2003, p.122]

I still wish this game was sexier. The play is serviceable - the control scheme grows on you - but the character models are quite shoddy. [Aug 2003, p.91]

The world is truly your oyster. Whether or not there's a pearl in it depends on how much you enjoy the freedom given to you. [Aug 2003, p.97]

RPG fans will love the open-ended feel of the game, but more casual gamers may be put off by the lack of guidance and the game's few minor control issues. [Sept 2003, p.123]

It's cute as hell, fun as can be, but a few steps back on the evolutionary ladder. [July 2003, p.104]

It's virtually void of driving freedom - the map blows. It has no trademark Simpsons charm, either. The gameplay is apocalyptically bad. [Aug 2003, p.104]

It doesn't excel at anything. [Aug 2003, p.99]

For a motocross game, MetalX is pretty hardcore. [Aug 2003, p.91]

Be warned - great skill is required to get something that doesn't just look like a Jell-O mold gone awry. [Sept 2003, p.109]

This title's epic scope, engrossing story, and addictive combat system easily outweigh these minor concerns. [Aug 2003, p.92]

All told, this GBA edition is done well enough that fans of the series will be satisfied with the on-the-go experience, but don't expect to be blown away. [Sept 2003, p.125]

The Masterclass is cool, not so much for its challenges, but more for what it teaches you about your car. [Aug 2003, p.99]

Can't be praised enough for its truly excellent storytelling, but the greatest coup for the title is that the game wrapped around this tale is engaging, surprising, and very well done. [July 2003, p.103]

The number of crafts and items available with which to outfit your ship are nice, but the gameplay seems to keep Naval Ops on a short leash - one that will ultimately keep this title from a lot of mass-market appeal. [July 2003, p.107]

Delivers with an expert mix of action and suspense, and a robust array of weaponry. [Aug 2003, p.100]

Sure, Mini Coopers are neat little cars, but I think I would rather be run over by one than play this game again. [Aug 2003, p.91]

While F1 driving demands a high skill level, I don't appreciate how your car's handling lacks that fine touch. [Aug 2003, p.91]

In a game, you need a control scheme that makes sense and works. Buffy's doesn't. At all... Try as I might, there's nothing that I can compliment or even remotely endorse in this game. [Sept 2003, p.126]

Bereft of any originality, BN 3 plays almost exactly like its predecessors. [June 2003, p.120]

Everything a fan of the series could want. There are more opportunities for dual army control (like the final battle in the original) as well as much more challenging maps to defeat. [July 2003, p.121]

A technologically stunning recreation of the console hit. [Sept 2003, p.125]

Lacks the planned skill of the criminals that the game portrays; and instead, comes off as a mindless licensed product. [Aug 2003, p.98]

No Treasure game would be complete if it wasn't replete with awesome boss battles. Wario World has them in droves. [July 2003, p.108]

This game's formula has been duplicated before, but it's still the king and will make the hours fly by. [Sept 2003, p.126]

It's 2003, yet I'm still stuck turning six hidden gears in order to open one friggin' door? That's just archaic. Games like "Deus Ex" and "Eternal Darkness" have proven that puzzles don't have to be ridiculously monotonous. [Aug 2003, p.90]

Relatively funny, has an excellent soundtrack, a bunch of cool missions, and a clever economy mechanic. Why the mediocre score? You're in a truck. Driving a semi will just never be fun. [Sept 2003, p.121]

This obscure video game brew not only sounds like a garbled mess, it plays like one as well. [June 2003, p.60]

Any game with 55 single-player missions is worth checking out. Add to that equation Double Helix's excellent graphical system and blistering gameplay and you've got a hit on your hands. [July 2003, p.116]

The pumped-up graphics look pretty mediocre at best... the game mechanics are bland and simplistic - like the worst of the Genesis era. [May 2003, p.87]

The cheesy sci-fi atmosphere won't do much to convince you to play this game, and neither will the derivative gameplay and level design. [July 2003, p.106]

The space combat portions are incredibly short, which is a godsend since the vehicle controls are abysmal. [Aug 2003, p.92]

Interaction within the environment and the board game movement and structure are tedious and archaic. [June 2003, p.102]

While this is all well and good, I simply don't like this series as much as the "Baldur's Gate" or "Icewind Dale" epics. [Aug 2003, p.103]

You really couldn't ask for a better version of Space Channel 5 on GBA. [Fall 2003, p.126]

A slightly above-average game with unrealized potential. [July 2003, p.122]

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

In all honesty, I enjoyed the main bulk of gameplay about as much as I do that throbbing sensation when a Q-tip is jammed just a little too far into my ear. [July 2003, p.115]

Holds its own as an action title. If you happen to be a fan of "Evil Dead" or Bruce Campbell, its faithfulness to the films' essence makes it a must buy. [June 2003, p.114]

It's definitely different, but in ways that are detrimental to the experience you'll have with it. [June 2003, p.108]

If you're a patient soul (there is a high frustration factor here), the strategy of Hitman 2 is very rewarding, and it fills a unique niche on GameCube. [July 2003, p.111]

Saying that Big Mutha needs more freedom and faster driving may sound damning. However, the game's got a great head of steam going already, and it's definitely got more teeth than the other slack-jawed truckers already on the road. [May 2003, p.82]

The missions are quite ingenious and the multiplayer modes are wildly entertaining. [July 2003, p.107]

Co-op is the most entertaining multiplayer mode I've played in a long time. [July 2003, p.115]

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]

There's a certain intensity of action and sense of urgency that only a 2D platformer can deliver. This game is a great way to rediscover that feeling for yourself. [June 2003, p.118]

What I really enjoy is buying painted Muscle figures from the in-game vending machines. [July 2003, p.110]

While the quality of the polygonal models brings back memories of the 386 processor, the fact that developer Raylight Studios was able to create convincing and enjoyable gameplay around it is an impressive feat. [Aug 2003, p.104]

An expansion pack worth having if there ever was one. [Aug 2003, p.102]

It's not only gorgeous to look at, it's blazing fast with gameplay that constantly has you sliding in and out of traffic riding on the edge of disaster. [July 2003, p.113]

The tricks are nice, but executing them is also uneven. I wouldn't say this title isn't fun, but "Burnout 2" is simply a better experience in almost every way. [July 2003, p.117]

Solid physics, colorful graphics, and bearable sound do make this a decent pinball title. [July 2003, p.122]

Unlike its Xbox cousin, this version of the PC mega-hit offers no compelling content other than slightly reworked levels and a prologue mission that adds about two hours of gameplay. [July 2003, p.105]

Unlike the hollow gameplay experience of the first, this title gives fans more classic shooter action. [May 2003, p.94]

You'll reach velocities so incomprehensible that your reflexes are paralyzed. [July 2003, p.107]

Like "Gallop Racer 2003," this is a darn good horseracing game. However, I can't see gamers having more than one filly in their stables, and this one loses by a neck. [June 2003, p.105]

This is strictly for hardcore chess players..., but I can't think of a game that can deliver the amount of depth of Chessmaster. [Sept 2003, p.109]

Last time I played this game, it was being released by THQ and was called "MX Superfly." I didn't really like it then, and I don't cotton to this generic motocross stunt title now. [Aug 2003, p.93]