Swansong is this year's Forgotten City, a distinct narrative adventure that soars from the chances it takes. Player choice is front and center, and it’s nice to see these decisions turn into little games that carry significant narrative weight. Rarely have I played a game where I wanted to restart a scenario to undo bad decisions as I have here. Swansong makes you pay for your missteps and should be an excellent game for watercooler discussions with others who have played it.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD recreates the gameplay that made the franchise famous, but to mixed results. It lands the trick, but doesn't do it cleanly.

It's too bad that there's nothing but straw where R: Racing Evolution's heart should be. [Jan 2004, p.121]

What kills this title for me, though, is the ridiculous emphasis on scouting. How am I supposed to conquer the continent when I can only see what's happening on 20 percent of any given battle map? [Jan 2006, p.138]

Merely a slightly annoying, if charming, run-of-the-mill platformer. [June 2005, p.136]

The Wii version has less annoying traits than the others and still retains all the usual mediocrity. The motion-control elements in the Werehog levels add an extra dimension to the action, and the hub worlds are entirely text-based and aren’t nearly as annoying. If you can stand the diminished graphics, the Wii version actually edges out the PS3 and 360 entries.

I rolled credits on Pupperazzi after a few hours, having completed almost all of the objectives in that time, and I have little reason to go back. However, my brief time was stuffed with lighthearted amusement, marred only slightly by a few annoyances. Its animated levels, playful attitude, and pleasing premise make Pupperazzi a wonderful game to jump into when you just want to escape and play with pretend puppies for a while.

It’s all decently fun, and the Wii controls are utilized to good effect. But, you know, there’s only so long something like this is going to hold my attention. If you’re of an advanced age like myself, say over 10, this is probably going to seem a bit dull.

The Outer Worlds is not at its best on Switch, since the visuals and performance take a serious hit on the system. The textures, framerate, lighting, and more have been downgraded to run on the hardware.

Even if you had fun with Point Blank, you'll forget it existed minutes later. [Aug 2006, p.92]

Punishing players and withholding any reward adds replay, right? At first I thought this game was a joke, but I was wrong. It’s a joke and total garbage.

Shades of Darkness is a fine addition for fans of Heroes VI, but I cannot recommend it without the serious caveat of rampant AI cheating and a sad sigh for a game that I want to love more than I do.

[A] half-assed port. The camera is still a problem, controls are still awkward, and save point restarts are still a pain in the butt. However, unlike on the PSP, there are fewer excuses for these flaws on its more established big brother.

If you're looking for a reinvention of the franchise, you'd best spend your money elsewhere. [Aug 2005, p.108]

If you've got a lot of friends to compete against, Crash has a good amount of life in it. Otherwise, single-player doesn't take long to dry up.

Despite the new gameplay types, Re:coded's mostly recycled content feels too stale to recommend to anyone outside of the most diehard fans.

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]

Had the enemy AI been better, the speed not so sluggish, and the combat a little bit more on the arcade side like "Secret Weapons Over Normandy," this game could have been something special. [Feb 2004, p.97]

Even if you consider yourself a fan of the series, don’t waste your time here. There was a time when the Mana name meant something, but this is a disappointing entry that drags the franchise through the mud.

When you're pulling switches, backtracking, and participating in boring combat through these large areas, you tire quickly. [Jan 2003, p.122]

The Frogger-inspired log jumping stage is one of the most ill-conceived moments in gaming, and is the perfect example of the uneven difficulty level in this title. [Apr 2004, p.110]

If you can take the time to understant the nuances that went into this game, you'll come to the startling revelation that Enclave is a medieval "Max Payne." The control schematic is a perfect match. [Aug 2002, p.84]

The gameplay formula [is] a complete and utter catastrophe. [May 2002, p.84]

Citizens of Earth is a cleverly written, charming, and nostalgic game that is hindered only by repetitive combat combined with a high encounter rate. Those who see past the minor design flaws and few technical problems will find a strong EarthBound-inspired RPG that is entertaining from start to finish.

Bottom line: if you expect nothing out of the Tree of Tranquility except the same old same old, then this will do the trick. [Oct 2008, p.106]

The game doesn’t have much new content. A few new courts and characters won’t attract anyone who’s spent serious time on the GC version. Still, I couldn’t help but find myself getting wrapped up it the game again, even if I had the nagging feeling that this version seemed a little easier than it had before.

I'd estimate that Reiner and I completed the four main missions and fifth bonus mission on normal difficulty in about three or four hours. [Nov 2004, p.152]

Multiplayer is what’s really going to get the fans riled. After fine-tuning your ideal mech in single player, you can bring it online and face off against anywhere from one to seven opponents. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of match variety outside of deathmatch and team deathmatch, and there’s no respawning so matches don’t last much longer than five minutes tops.