In order to derive any worthwhile enjoyment out of Atelier Iris 3, you pretty much have to be a big fan of both anime and dungeon crawling. [June 2007, p.110]

However, Dynasty's old faults--poor AI and monotonous battling--are readily apparent. [July 2007, p.107]

In the time it takes to create any sort of viable or interesting content in RPG Maker, you could play through a real game. [Aug 2005, p.101]

Between the receivers’ lack of ball awareness and the game’s horrendous slowdown – which interferes with just about every play – this title is anything but high octane.

Mario Sports Superstars delivers five fun, surface-level sports experiences in one package. Individually, these sports would be unable to stand on their own. However, as a compilation, the variety helps compensate for the lack of depth. Still, the more I played, the more this package felt like a collection of minigames than a value-packed compilation.

It’s a mix of exciting and overwhelming as you try to maintain what feels like 50 pots boiling over at different times.

FlatOut desperately wants to be the trailer park version of EA's slicker racer, but without the polish, it succeeds in being only a pale imitation. [Aug 2005, p.98]

The characters, their stories, and world they inhabit are divorced in a way that doesn’t make The Fidelio Incident a rewarding journey. When complete, I could look back on the story and appreciate it. But the two hours it took me to finish the game and gather the narrative components made me doubt it was worth the effort.

The PS2's library is already stocked with at least four snowboarding games that are infinitely better than this. [Jan 2002, p.83]

I went from disliking the lack of depth in EOE, to enjoying all the extras, to getting fed up with the control flaws; all in the span of one sitting. [Apr 2002, p.74]

I want to love Payday, but sadly I can't recommend this barebones PS3 port to anyone but the most die-hard of co-op shooter fans.

I wish I could say that Prisoner of Azkaban was a bold new start for the series. It's not, but this is a significantly better game than either of the previous two entries. [July 2004, p.111]

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.

Given time, Maxis could clear up the problems with SimCity. The studio could deliver consistent server performance, restore cheetah speed, patch the AI, and give players larger cities. But games can’t be reviewed based on the product they might become; Electronic Arts and Maxis are charging gamers for this experience right now. At this point in time, it just isn’t worth your money.

Even so, for gamers who don't know jutsu from chakra, don't expeect the game to give you any real incentive to play independent of its source material. [July 2006, p.106]

The lack of multiplayer on or offline seems truly misguided. The occasional challenging dogfight and the thrill of the open countryside below may entertain for awhile, but if I were you, I'd just go beat "Crimson Skies" again. [Nov 2004, p.163]

Even with relatively few RPGs on the GameCube, Falsebound Kingdom's relatively simple approach isn't that captivating - unless you're a Yu-Gi-Oh fan who is a newbie to the RPG genre. [Jan 2004, p.141]

In the end however, these extra layers can’t fix the subpar combat and disappointing storyline at the game’s core, leaving Avatar a lackluster, though not entirely unpleasant, experience. While forgiving sci-fi fans might still appreciate this intergalactic romp, the average gamer is left with an easy choice: this game is a rental at best.

Unlike "The Sims," which allows you to build your own destiny from the ground up, Playboy: The Mansion is done in by the very fact that all you can do is be Hefner. [Apr 2005, p.117]

Strange missteps abound in Heroes Over Europe, but glimmers of fun WWII arcade flight shooting shine through from time to time. [Oct 2009, p.90]

Despite my multiple gripes with Sonic Forces, I still enjoyed the adventure. 3D Sonic games still aren't to where they should be after such a long time of iteration and experimentation, but through improved gameplay and level design, Sonic Forces continues the series' evolution in the right direction.

Despite my multiple gripes with Sonic Forces, I still enjoyed the adventure. 3D Sonic games still aren't to where they should be after such a long time of iteration and experimentation, but through improved gameplay and level design, Sonic Forces continues the series' evolution in the right direction.

While I like the added emphasis put on replaying older levels, I am frustrated and baffled that the action-stopping tutorials from the earlier levels persist on repeated playthroughs.

Only a diehard Wild Arms fan will be able to take these physics, and much of the game, seriously.

I just wish I was rewarded with a bit more humanity and meaning to my struggles by seeing them create that memory for themselves.

Despite my multiple gripes with Sonic Forces, I still enjoyed the adventure. 3D Sonic games still aren't to where they should be after such a long time of iteration and experimentation, but through improved gameplay and level design, Sonic Forces continues the series' evolution in the right direction.

It's about as fun as a bowl of wheat. [Aug 2004, p.107]

If Rainbow would have made it competitive, I would have loved it, but without challenge, there really is no reason to continue playing. [Apr 2002, p.75]