I think I'd rather have Gandalf turn me into something unnatural - like a hairy newt - rather than play this game again. [Dec 2002, p.150]

After this miserable showing, the only waters that Jaws will be patrolling are those of the great video game toilet. [Aug 2006, p.84]

I also ran into a series of technical problems, including crashes, falling through the ground, and audio glitches. These technical missteps are distracting, but they aren’t the most serious problem. Daylight’s inability to terrify you and present a world you want to explore is its ultimate undoing.

Please don't do any more games like this, The Rock. You deserve better. [Nov. 2006, p.130]

The combo system is definitely cool, and the controls are fashioned nicely, but the remainder of the game is just downright appalling. [March 2005, p.132]

Brooktown High is a place where you want to spend a good deal of time, but the barebones gameplay, repetition in conversations, and fact that most of your success relies on exploiting these elements sucks all the fun out of this dating game. [June 2007, p.117]

Even when the game seems to be working against me at every inopportune time, the drive to see the fate of Heinrich and Gretchen made me push forward. I'm glad I did. I didn't see the ending coming, and I love how the story concludes.

The new gun combat is horrid. [Jan 2006, p.138]

It's a shame that Shinobi uses a password save, because I really would have dug this game if it wasn't for this blunder. [Feb 2003, p.110]

It's clear that the team didn't have the time and resources to really do Bodycount right, and the departure of at least two high level people during development didn't help either. What's left is a bland and essentially incomplete game that fans hoping for more Black, or simply a decent shooter, will be disappointed in.

The story and setting are fun, but after 10 minutes of wrestling with wonky controls, the nostalgia wore off. A little later, after Conrad’s body somehow fused with a platform and forced me to restart, the contempt began.

Alien Escape delivers in mindless fluff. [Sept 2002, p.81]

There's a refreshing non-linearity to Postal 2. [June 2003, p.116]

Ugly and boring. [Jan 2003, p.121]

Your objectives change so constantly that it's easy to forget about the blurry graphics and simplistic combat. [Feb 2004, p.114]

Features level design that would have been sub-par 15 years ago, terrible graphics, and wretched control. [Dec 2003, p.159]

The levels and missions are equally unremarkable, which makes for yet another promising stealth title that doesn't live up to its potential. [June 2005, p.127]

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.

Infinite Air offers a lot to like on a conceptual level, but its faulty trick system creates a hole that is impossible to fill.

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

After the novelty fades, Truckers 2 starts to feel more like a job than a game, as you realize life on the road is just one repetitive haul after another. [Oct 2005, p.128]

Its boring, unimaginative combat lays shame to the fact that Philip K. Dick (whose short story the movie is based on) came up with a pretty original idea to write about.

This title is exactly what all the haters were afraid of when the DS was originally announced: boring, tired game design with crappy touch screen control tacked on. [Jun 2006, p.118]

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.

Makes some strides in the genre, but it seems like the company didn't finish the job. [Oct 2002, p.85]

Graphically, the cutscenes are very stylish, exhibiting some striking sequences and Gigeresque character desings... Despite its shortcomings, I was charmed by Galerians: Ash. [Mar 2003, p.83]

In the end, I think all Left Brain, Right Brain reliably tests is patience. [Feb 2008, p.102]

Empire Earth III’s handful of units per tech tier, problematic unit AI and pathfinding, and lackluster factional differences between the West, East, and Middle East types do little to give RTS players anything they haven’t seen before.