Just way more trouble than it’s worth.

Movement feels floaty, hit detection and collision issues are everywhere, and enemy AI is painfully stupid. [Jan 2005, p.118]

Focusing on detail over substance is definitely an interesting design, but without a solid gameplay package, it amounts to nothing. [Nov 2003, p.168]

Top off this stubbornly shoddy gameplay with un-funny cutscenes and a glaring lack of online play and, well, there isn't much here to be super happy about. [Apr 2005, p.117]

Sure, Pokétopia might sound a lot like the trips you took to Pokémon Stadium 1&2 or that weekend at Pokémon Colosseum. That’s because this is the same trip, we’ve just repainted the signs and moved to a different system.

Without any degree of difficulty, however, you don't feel like you are doing anything other than making your tour guides talk.

There are things about Mario Party 9 that make it a better experience than previous entries, but overall it's still a disheartening experience. The best times I experienced with the game were the times when co-workers and I were laughing at each other's stupid mistakes while playing, but you really don't need a video game to fuel stupid mistakes worth laughing at.

Just a mishmash of concepts that never really gel into anything great. [June 2004, p.139]

Super Bomberman R 2’s best parts are the ones carried over from older games in the series. Messing around with friends in local and online matches is still fun, and if that's all you're interested in, it's a fine enough experience. Unfortunately, that’s a small portion of the game, making it hard to recommend.

Unfortunately, the cartoony graphics, stilted shooter gameplay, and completely rancid car missions fail what could otherwise be a passing game.

Top off this stubbornly shoddy gameplay with un-funny cutscenes and a glaring lack of online play and, well, there isn't much here to be super happy about. [Apr 2005, p.117]

Moments of interesting presentation appear here and there, but too many other aspects of Tiny Brains are sloppy and incomplete.

Unfortunately, the cartoony graphics, stilted shooter gameplay, and completely rancid car missions fail what could otherwise be a passing game.

Tiresome and repetitive.

If you liked the boring, archaic gameplay in the first volume of the new .hack trilogy, you can look forward to more of that junk here.

Unfortunately, the cartoony graphics, stilted shooter gameplay, and completely rancid car missions fail what could otherwise be a passing game.

Challenge mode offers a few uninspired minigames like banana catching and log hopping.

Movement feels floaty, hit detection and collision issues are everywhere, and enemy AI is painfully stupid. [Jan 2005, p.118]

Ultimately, Kingdom Come feels a bit like homework. If the historical setting and focus on realism appeal to you, then the deep gameplay systems and methodical pace are worth learning. If you'd rather be a magic-wielding wizard or the unequivocal hero, on the other hand, the source material will bore you almost instantly.

I think it's worse than its predecessor. [Nov 2005, p.163]

With an archaic graphics engine, dreadfully awful camera tracking, extensive load times, and some of the most atrocious mission challenges known to man, it becomes quite clear where this game went wrong. [Jan 2003, p.89]

It can sometimes be literally painful to make your way up to the top of the mountain, but the reward is impressive. Being in VR adds a level of believable mobility where you can track and admire the progress you make by pausing and looking around. I felt like I was up high, and the reward of getting to simply look around when making it to the top is one worth pursuing. Some of my favorite moments involved trying to figure out where the ambient sound of birds or helicopters were coming from as I looked around, taking a break from the climb. Unfortunately, the impressive vistas were not enough to keep me from dreading the next ascent. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Something hard to define is missing from My Time at Portia. It mechanically ticks many boxes that simple-life fantasies are supposed to, but it lacks the charm and satisfaction that springs from its peers in the genre. It demands your time without enticing you, and places you in a world that feels hollow. Games like this are supposed to make chores fun and rewarding, but playing My Time at Portia feels more like actual work.

It’s not frightening or disturbing. It’s just extremely frustrating.

The huge level of frustration is not worth the time it takes to master the awkward gameplay idiosyncrasies. Instead, it’s more tempting – even as someone with experience – to just spam the waggle movements for a passable high score.

The only thing this game does right is not inflict an ancient curse on the player. [Aug 2006, p.85]

Where X2 really makes its rushed development cycle known is the camera, collision, and enemy AI. [June 2003, p.109]

A colossal disappointment, largely because Acclaim lost sight of what made gladiators cool in the first place. [Nov 2003, p.144]