Junction Point's obvious affection is the most redeeming element of this sequel; from the structure of puzzles to the implementation of the cooperative experience, nothing ever coalesces into consistent entertainment.

Treachery in Beatdown City didn’t work for me, but it’s a far more creative and ambitious project than many of its contemporaries. Its subject matter is timely, and I enjoyed the attempt to reinterpret some of city life’s biggest problems through the lens of old-school games like Double Dragon. The idea of RPG-style menu-selected moves in a beat-em-up is very clever, even if the implementation here didn’t hit the mark. As it is, even with a lot of creativity on display, it’s just not a city I recommend visiting.

Controlling your hero directly, action game style, is a neat gimmick even though it's in poor execution. [Aug 2006, p.88]

This game is like your favorite team going from a 5-11 season one year to a 6-10 record the next. Regardless of whatever improvements have occurred, you aren’t going anywhere with that kind of record.

The Wii version looks just like the DS version, which is to its detriment since the DS visuals don't look very good blown up on a big screen. [Apr 2009, p.82]

I might have recommended this simplistic formula for younger gamers except for the fact that encounters with Omnidroid are some of the most tedious and unforgiving bouts I've ever fought. [Jan 2005, p.118]

The Vita is a great home for many games, but this is not one of them. As a standalone product, this version of Borderlands 2 has little value, living in the shadows of its superior iterations. It gives dedicated vault hunters even more ways to spend time on Pandora – but if you love the core gameplay that much, its implementation on Vita is bound to disappoint you.

For the God of War completionist, there is a story incentive to play through Sons of Sparta. It builds on Kratos’ character well, shows a part of his life we have not had the chance to experience, and there is at least one small detail related to modern Kratos and his son that I am glad I learned. But it underwhelms on nearly every aspect of Metroid-inspired design without outright failing. Controlling Kratos, fighting, and exploring just isn’t particularly fun on a basic level. A just below perfunctory genre experience alongside characters and in a setting I admit I like spending time with.

Plagued by rampant balance issues, miserable AI, and more focus on attacking prone, defenseless opponents than I've ever seen, Maximum impact makes a lot of rookie mistakes. [Nov 2004, p.158]

Long story short, this is a flawed game through and through. Even the most devout Spyro fans should avoid it.

It's a pretty loaded disc, but how much do you want to eat at a buffet where everything tastes like crap? [Feb 2006, p.109]

What was an average nostalgic sword-slashing game on the PS2 has become a choppy, awkwardly-paced handheld adventure with a soundtrack player and a couple of new minigames tacked on to throw you off the obviously evil scent. [Apr 2006, p.133]

White Knight Chronicles was a disappointment for me, especially coming from a quality developer like Level-5. Some of the studio’s trademark customization helps to give the game some legs, as does its hefty multiplayer component. However, for interesting combat, deep characters, and an engaging fantasy, I’d look elsewhere.

Biomutant consistently shows glimmers of promise but it takes patience and a pair of rose-colored glasses to see them. I genuinely loathed my first several hours with the game, but once I made cooler weapons that made combat more tolerable or admired another postcard-worthy sight, I felt more disappointed than anything. Biomutant has all the ingredients of a unique, entertaining adventure. It just spends too much time doing everything possible to try and impress its audience instead of polishing its handful of strengths.

Nothing stands out here to make this a must-play title in any sense of the word. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some average-quality anime-infused hack n’ slash, though.

I would easily put it above "Mace Griffin" and "Return to Castle Wolfenstein."... Most definitely one of the top FPS games on the PS2. [Nov 2003, p.140]

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.

Fans will probably dig the game’s cool set pieces and the story, but the save points are placed too far apart, many puzzles require too much random experimentation, and the dialogue system seems like an afterthought. [Nov 2008, p.118]

There’s certainly a lot here to love, and a lot more that you want to love, but most of your time in Kane & Lynch is spent shaking or scratching your head. The problems are just too visible for it to be taken seriously as a gritty thriller.

The NASCAR Heat series is three years in and is just now hitting its stride. This year’s addition to the career mode is a solid foundation that pays off in the present and sets it up for the future. I don’t think the game has necessarily locked down each of its main components – gameplay, online, and career mode – but it’s making its way through the pack.

Crimsonland feels like an incomplete game. It has all the gameplay mechanics in place, but its backgrounds, character assets, music, and general presentation look and sound like they were put in for testing purposes while awaiting the real art and music to arrive. The twin-stick shooting at the core is fun, but the experience can’t help but be diminished by nearly every other aspect of the game.

Few remember the old Silpheed games, and few will remember their slightly respelled 360 sequel – but those who do will do so with fondness.

This is the first licensed game I've played that is actually shorter than its movie. [Aug 2007, p.93]

Combat is stale and repetitive outside of boss battles, and several stages are filled with copy and pasted sections and artificially lengthening collect-three-gems-to-open-door setups. [Feb 2009, p.87]

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.

You could have a worse time than banging the boards with NBA Live, but htis offering does nothing to service fans. [Dec 2005, p.164]

If you're really in the market for a stealth shooter, there are plenty better out there. [Apr 2003, p.95]

In what seems like a profoundly misguided step, four players can't play as the Fantastic Four. [Sept 2005, p.101]