Unfortunately, the good parts like the unlockable skills are obscured by generic enemy designs, monotonous combat and the most tedious boss battles I’ve seen.

Pretty uninspiring stuff, but I guess if you’re a parent looking for a (relatively) harmless game to pick up for a small child it might do the trick. I’d like to think your kids deserve better.

Fundamental gameplay mistakes and atrocious designs run rampant through every inch of this miserable PlayStation 2 application. [June 2003, p.104]

The game, however, is a complete disaster, and is just barely playable. The content is definitely worth seeing, but you'll have to trudge through gaming hell to see it.

Like a Quidditch player falling from a broomstick mid-match, this installment loses all forward momentum and goes plummeting toward a faceplant at top speed.

Though the developer has some horror highs in its catalog, The Casting of Frank Stone rests six feet at the bottom of it.

Street Hoops is so bush league it's not even funny. Call it "Barkley Shut Up & Jam 3." [Sept 2002, p.89]

This lack of depth, coupled with the weak combat and repetitive levels, equals a pirate game that won't even manage to steal away an hour of your precious time. [Sept 2003, p.126]

Borderline unplayable due to terrible collision and sloppy mechanics. [Dec 2003, p.174]

Pretty uninspiring stuff, but I guess if you’re a parent looking for a (relatively) harmless game to pick up for a small child it might do the trick. I’d like to think your kids deserve better.

Like a Quidditch player falling from a broomstick mid-match, this installment loses all forward momentum and goes plummeting toward a faceplant at top speed.

You might have some fond memories of this series, but I suggest you avoid eye contact with this game the next time you're at the store. [Feb 2009, p.86]

While Gortys is a fun new addition to the cast, most of the episode feels stale. The action continues to shove annoying quicktime events down your throat, with more chase and combat sequences with no consequences – in fact, at this point I don't I feel like I've made a single significant choice in the series.

Most of this game’s content is in betrayal of the license, and it’s not all smut, either. In one mission, you are tasked with assassinating Fidel Castro, an act that ends up being just as comedic as The Naked Gun’s assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II. Unfortunately, the intent of this sequence isn’t to make ­players laugh.

I’m sad to see that the Spider-Man games have fallen this far, because the formula once worked exceedingly well. Beenox’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 is trying to cash in on its film’s popularity while emulating many of Treyarch’s touchstones, and in nearly every area, this game is inferior to a title that came out nearly a decade ago.

The PC original had the same problems, but a post-release patch made a marked improvement by adding a useful dodge feature that allowed player skill to overcome some of the horrible combat design. Unfortunately, that addition is not included in the console version. Publisher Deep Silver does not have any plans to release it later, citing the space restrictions "certain first-parties" put on title updates. Between that and the inferior graphics, framerate, and interface, I strongly recommend going with the PC version over this lackluster console port.

The combat is dull, the side missions are uninspired, and swinging around New York has been done to death. Activision probably hopes to attract a crowd of Spider-Man fans who are simply happy to squeeze into the hero’s spandex for a stroll through Manhattan, but even they don’t need to bother with this title, because they’ve probably played it several times over the years.

The PC original had the same problems, but a post-release patch made a marked improvement by adding a useful dodge feature that allowed player skill to overcome some of the horrible combat design. Unfortunately, that addition is not included in the console version. Publisher Deep Silver does not have any plans to release it later, citing the space restrictions "certain first-parties" put on title updates. Between that and the inferior graphics, framerate, and interface, I strongly recommend going with the PC version over this lackluster console port.

ReCore is a poster child for wasted potential. At its heart is a good (though not great) game, marred by long load times, technical problems (including frame rates dips and the occasional crash), and bad pacing. The infuriating and frivolous road blocks may have doubled the length of the 20-hour game, but they also halved my fun.

This formula was a blast back in 2004, but history has been repeating itself for a decade. Unfortunately, Spider-Man’s open-world shtick has been overplayed so many times that his puns look fresh by comparison.

A serviceable platform title that neither offends nor inspires. [June 2002, p.87]

If Tyler Durden saw you sitting on your comfy couch, and playing Fight Club (possibly over your fancypants internet connection), he would probably hit you as hard as he could. [Jan 2005, p.119]

I can honestly say that the CPU AI knows nothing about the sport. [June 2003, p.113]

WWE '12 only introduces a few welcome elements. Setting up opponents for finishers with wake-up taunts is fun, the new comeback moments are a nice way of getting back into the match, players can now target specific limbs during grapples, and new creation options (like the new create-an-arena) make the series more customizable than ever before. However, none of these can make up for the awful Road to Wrestlemania.

WWE '12 only introduces a few welcome elements. Setting up opponents for finishers with wake-up taunts is fun, the new comeback moments are a nice way of getting back into the match, players can now target specific limbs during grapples, and new creation options (like the new create-an-arena) make the series more customizable than ever before. However, none of these can make up for the awful Road to Wrestlemania.

While the cameos are amusing, the games just aren't much fun. [June 2003, p.120]

The developers failed to develop a camera system capable of dealing with the 3D action. [Apr 2002, p.79]

Ultra Despair Girls would be easier to bear if it were just an incidental side story that fans could ignore. Unfortunately, it is important to understanding the world of Danganronpa, but the gameplay and dialogue make you suffer every step of the way.