The challenges are so easy they're laughable. The graphics haven't improved. The framerate chugs. [Jan 2003, p.101]

Long story short, the adventure motif simply didn't catch. [Sept. 2006, p.88]

One of the crappier basketball games on the planet. [Mar 2002, p.79]

An experience that is unquestionably less fun than doing one's taxes. [May 2005, p.116]

Punch Time Explosion had a good opportunity to impress 3DS owners hungering for a worthwhile experience following the handheld's weak launch lineup, but it simply falls in line with the other disappointments. Cartoon junkies may love seeing their heroes in action, but those used to Smash Bros. polish will want to pass on this one.

This is a shameless cash-in on a popular formula. Don't give Konami the satisfication of duping you. [Nov 2008, p.126]

In short, playing this epic-sized monstrosity is similar to being scratched to death by a house cat...not only is it painful, it's also embarrassing. [Sept 2004, p.104]

You should avoid this game like you would skinny-dipping with your grandparents. [Jan 2003, p.110]

From design to execution, this is a mess of a game, and a new low point for the once-loved marsupial.

The icing on the proverbial cake of poo is that PK has only a few levels with overly linear layout, bland textures, and sub-par cel shading. [Mar 2003, p.85]

I don't use this example lightly, but think back to "Grabbed by the Ghoulies," a similarly good-looking, but unfun and almost unplayable nightmare of gameplay design missteps. [Nov 2005, p.178]

Outside of clips stolen from the motion picture, you won’t find any kind of story here, either. Pandemic worked wonders with Star Wars, but couldn’t grasp the One Ring. Conquest is a joyless trip through familiar territories, and sadly, nothing more than that.

From design to execution, this is a mess of a game, and a new low point for the once-loved marsupial. [Dec 2008, p.110]

In short, playing this epic-sized monstrosity is similar to being scratched to death by a house cat...not only is it painful, it's also embarrassing. [Sept 2004, p.104]

Initially amusing, but it wears out its welcome quickly thanks to a lack of variety. [Mar 2012, p.95]

This Wii shooter is hardly worthy of its namesake, delivering a predicable and ultimately forgettable shooter hampered by poor controls and uninspired level design. Let's hope Future Soldier has a more promising battle plan.

Wow, generic platform games have reached a new pinnacle of dull and cliche. [Feb 2005, p.113]

Anyone looking for a quick car combat fix before next year's Twisted Metal might be able to waste a few hours on this title, but they won't be wholly enjoyable hours. Since you can't save in the middle of a tournament, and some the later cups last a couple hours, the game eventually tests your endurance. I'd rather give bone marrow than sit through this Blood Drive again.

The general structure is annoying, but it's really the obtuse design that ensures that every second you play Valhalla Knights is irritating. [Mar 2007, p.107]

I hope some developer takes the gaffe that is Raw Danger, extracts the great idea at its center, and creates the blockbuster experience it has the potential to be. [June 2007, p.110]

Anyone looking for a quick car combat fix before next year's Twisted Metal might be able to waste a few hours on this title, but they won't be wholly enjoyable hours. Since you can't save in the middle of a tournament, and some the later cups last a couple hours, the game eventually tests your endurance. I'd rather give bone marrow than sit through this Blood Drive again.

It's not as if the game itself is bad, it's that the technology is so horribly mangled that the delicious puzzle-laden universe is almost unplayable on Xbox. [June 2005, p.132]

The game is generic at best, broken at worst, and falls short in its attempts to innovate cooperative play.

The game is generic at best, broken at worst, and falls short in its attempts to innovate cooperative play.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

The game is generic at best, broken at worst, and falls short in its attempts to innovate cooperative play.

Reshef feels like it was assembed from various rejected design concepts and shards of concentrated boring. [Sept 2004, p.118]

A game that is likely to be frustrating to experienced players of the miniature game and nearly impossible to grasp for newcomers. [Dec 2006, p.157]