The core gameplay(which is lifted almost entirely from the Mega Man Zero series on GBA)is nearly perfect, but nobody bothered to implement all of the other things that a game needs to be truely exceptional. [Oct. 2006, p.112]

There’s no getting around that Full Throttle is a 22-year-old adventure game and still plays like it. The puzzles are occasionally frustrating. Your character moves at a slow pace, and some of cultural humor is outdated. Still, the quirks of the original game are as attractive today as they were then, and this version does a fine job smoothing out the rough edges, making Full Throttle Remastered a road trip worth taking.

I can't think of a single part of this I'd like to see again - unless it's the graphics engine being reused in a completely different game. [Oct 2005, p.136]

The fact that the gameplay never evolves and the defensive stops are too powerful means this game's legs aren't very long - just like Mario's stubby little limbs. [Dec 2005, p.178]

I never would have thought that Mario and Jose Canseco would have a lot in common, but they both tarnish this great sport. [Sept 2005, p.104]

Perhaps hoping for steps forward this late in a console generation is too much to hope for. But if the past is prologue, Madden 25's inability to separate features from fluff and meaningfully execute them has me worried for what we'll be asked to accept as progress in the next generation.

The final sequence is so charming that it makes me wish there were more story cut-scenes throughout the game. As it stands, all of the light drama is mashed into the last 15 minutes.

Mercenary Kings is a testament to the idea that you can get too much of a good thing.

On the one hand, Atomic Heart is a good game on its own merits. The fun and frantic gunplay, outstanding visual design, and intricate level of detail in its world amount to an experience worth your time. On the other hand, it could have been so much more. The story and characters simply don’t do justice to the game’s thought-provoking premise, and some better writing would have done wonders. Despite that, Atomic Heart is still an exciting and memorable first outing from Mundfish.

The repetition of Dynasty Warriors pervades throughout Hyrule Warriors, but this unexpected crossover with the Zelda universe works. It might not be the Zelda game we expected for Link’s first original Wii U debut, but it will happily hold us over while we wait for the console’s first true Legend of Zelda experience.

This game earns its stripes by letting players have more of a hand in creating their own style of mayhem to spice up a scene, and trust me, you’ll take every opportunity you can get.

Legion feels like the realization of the hacker fantasy the first Watch Dogs tried to capture. Between the fun team-building, fantastic mission design, strong narrative, and a gorgeous world, everything comes together in a largely entertaining and cohesive package. Whether you’re controlling a trained super spy or a gassy grandmother, Watch Dogs: Legion is a ton of fun.

Payday obviously comes with some caveats, but it's a great game when everything goes right.

Color Splash’s RPG elements might be paper thin, but fans of the series won’t be disappointed with this latest adventure. While the game’s combat isn’t much deeper than Mario’s paper-thin body, this plumber’s antics and colorful world are worth the price of admission.

Superfly's career mode doesn't have the kind of depth found in other sports titles these days, and that's the next step it needs to take. [August 2002, p.79]

Easily reigns as the best dungeon crawler on the PS2, and one of the most engrossing RPGs around. [Nov 2002, p.122]

One of those game where you can actually enjoy driving. [May 2003, p.83]

The game's disarming voyeurism, bizarre camera angles, and exceptionally well-placed tension is what the series has been trying to do all along, but The Room is the first entry to do it right. [Sept 2004, p.104]

Despite some slightly better AI, a new defensive swarm button, and setting up a qualifying schedule (then monitoring your roster to see who's morale is low), there isn't much here. [July 2004, p.112]

If I didn't know better, I'd think I had mad skillz. The computer is a pushover, and easily stolen from, dunked on, and blocked. [Jan 2002, p.86]

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]

Even with so much of the gameplay clinging to the formula Traveller's Tales created for its first LEGO game, The Clone Wars offers a vastly different experience that captures the best of both of the LEGO and Star Wars licenses. It's easily the best LEGO game to date.

Artifact pulls a ton of flavor from Dota 2, but it’s not necessarily a game for Dota 2 players. Artifact is instead a highly cerebral card game of push and pull, with intense resource allocation and randomization management. Artifact is absolutely not for everyone, but it excels at creating a crazy strategy cocktail pulling from every bottle on the shelf. For card game fans, Artifact is not to be missed.

I played through the game once and was disappointed by its unsatisfactory ending. After running through it again and making different choices, I have a better appreciation for how well the dialog is crafted and delivered, even if the mystery’s resolution was just as flat the second time around. My initial feeling of “That’s it?” gave way to a bittersweet feeling that, just as in real life, “That’s it?” is sometimes all there is.

Reverts back to the old formula, taking the existing mechanics and just adding a few new bells, whistles, and (inexplicably) the chance to become a day-fearing vampire. [Oct 2005, p.148]

None of these sports are fully fleshed out, and they simply represent a range of motions to perform with the controller.

The library with history, trivia, and details for each game, as well as galleries of old artwork are a nice addition to this collection. However, I can’t recommend this to anyone other than fans of the old games.

Spidey's acrobatic moves are also captured perfectly, and experimenting with his powers is the most enjoyable aspect of this adventure. [Nov 2005, p.142]