Improved, but still trails EA's "NCAA 2003" in every conceivable department. [Sept 2002, p.52]

Competent, and it's really nice to look at, but it's also terribly uninspired. [Oct 2002, p.50]

The city in the Glitter Oasis level quickly morphs into barren roads and cliffs, making an initially fun level barren, bleak, and boring. [August 2002, p.48]

The game is truly at its best in two-player mode, where you'll probably be more evenly matched against your opponent.

So-so platform elements. [Feb 2003, p.43]

As far as party games go, this is still your best bet. [Jan 2003, p.49]

Not that the missions in this game aren't good - they're just hampered by a control scheme that needs to be more intuitive. [Aug 2003, p.36]

Other than the lame enemy A.I. and the sometimes wacky camera, the major downside to Clock Tower 3 is its short playtime. But it's very fun while it lasts. [May 2003, p.46]

First of all, there's the asinine boost system. As in the previous game, you must link powerslides to keep your boosts going, forcing you to keep your kart at a 45-degree angle during races. Blech.

A standard 2D fighting game - not as deep or involved as your typical Capcom fighter - but it's still fun to play. [May 2003, p.45]

It's too bad that poorly designed levels, headache-inducing obstacles, and an embarrassingly cliched story spoil so much of the fun. [Jan 2004, p.59]

Mediocre on all fronts....This game does nothing new except offer a ton of foul language to get you in trouble with the 'rents. [Nov 2003, p.60]

Patience is required to get through this game. [Jan 2004, p.60]

A masterpiece, plain and simple. From the opening Pearl Harbor sequence, to the rain-soaked midnight raids, to the machine-gun-mounted elephant rides, Rising Sun oozes with jaw-dropping quality at every single turn.

This game has an innovative battle system, but it's not much fun. [June 2003, p.40]

Are you into horse racing? OK, then you'll absolutely go giddyap over GR03. Are you into racing games in general? Then you ought to give GR03 a test ride. [June 2003, p.50]

Biggest letdown: the lack of open worlds to roam and trick around in. [Mar 2003, p.51]

Building energy for certain basic moves, such as boosting and sending a Bludger, takes too long, which keeps the general gameplay pretty basic for much of the game. [Dec 2003, p.74]

Games this intense are rare, and DMC2's minor flaws are well worth dealing with. [Mar 2003, p.45]

One of the ugliest, sloppiest, silliest games I've ever played. [Nov 2002, p.60]

Grandia Lite. Nothing more, nothing less. [Nov 2002, p.75]

The random, unavoidable battles also get a bit tedious. [June 2002, p.85]

A masterpiece, plain and simple. From the opening Pearl Harbor sequence, to the rain-soaked midnight raids, to the machine-gun-mounted elephant rides, Rising Sun oozes with jaw-dropping quality at every single turn.

A suitable distraction if you're bored. But then again, so is bird watching. [Apr 2003, p.54]

This game may be deep and technical, but playing it is almost as fun as getting beat up. [Aug 2003, p.34]

We're talking Forrest Gump-simple, people. [August 2002, p.54]

A solid yet basic and dated RTS. [Jan 2004, p.67]

This game adds a lot of great stuff to KOEI's long-in-the-tooth Dynasty Warriors formula, but the sum experience is still way too repetitive to be enjoyable. [Oct 2002, p.42]

Slick cut-scenes. [Feb 2003, p.38]

Boring... If you didn't dress up as Yugi for Halloween, don't bother with this one. [May 2003, p.37]

FMX is crippled by a trick-modifier system that makes big combos too irritating to complete. [Aug 2003, p.34]

The on-track action can only be described as skatey, as your tires never seem to grip the road. With a bit of practice, you can compensate for this, but the game just never feels right because of it.

The on-track action can only be described as skatey, as your tires never seem to grip the road. With a bit of practice, you can compensate for this, but the game just never feels right because of it.

Does an admirable job of using the Scooby license to its full potential. [Oct 2003, p.56]

Raster productions has done an excellent port of the single-player missions from both the Xbox and PC versions of RTCW. [Aug 2003, p.35]

Still, if you're like me, you'll find yourself living with these problems just because of Auto Modellista's solid online aspects, and right now, that's what every online racing fan needs. [June 2003, p.48]

If only it were more polished, this could've been a fantastic sleeper hit. [Mar 2003, p.46]

For those who aren't impressed by flashy graphics, Tapout 2 doesn't present as much innovation as other recently released fighting games on other platforms. [May 2003, p.52]

A boring, repetitive snoozefest that can't decide if it's for kids or adults. [Jan 2004, p.64]

Unfortunately, its excellent concept, experience system, and humor aren't enough to drag Whiplash out of a sea of average gameplay. [Jan 2004, p.60]

The fighting system is fairly shallow, and once you become callous to the flashy moves and explosive pyrotechnics, the action starts to feel repetitive. [Jan 2004, p.56]

For all their visual individuality, the 14 fighters play exactly the same. [Apr 2003, p.42]

The on-track action can only be described as skatey, as your tires never seem to grip the road. With a bit of practice, you can compensate for this, but the game just never feels right because of it.

The game doesn't control very well; sluggish fighting mechanics spoil what would otherwise be a worthwhile package. [Sept 2002, p.40]

First of all, there's the asinine boost system. As in the previous game, you must link powerslides to keep your boosts going, forcing you to keep your kart at a 45-degree angle during races. Blech.

While the online component is nice, actual gameplay is where things really fall apart. [Nov 2003, p.53]

Naval battles are where Pirates shines. The game's ocean settings look spectacular, with some of the most gorgeous graphics on Xbox. [Sept 2003, p.56]

Flawed, but fun. [Feb 2003, p.43]

This game is utterly and completely insane. [June 2003, p.54]

A masterpiece, plain and simple. From the opening Pearl Harbor sequence, to the rain-soaked midnight raids, to the machine-gun-mounted elephant rides, Rising Sun oozes with jaw-dropping quality at every single turn.

Apart from the minute-to-minute madness, Chaos Legion rocks a pretty cool amount of depth. [July 2003, p.56]

Just an average Resident Evil knockoff with a gimmick. [July 2003, p.58]

The physics are off, the referee makes questionable calls, the line changes are ridiculous, and the gameplay is too sluggish to be fun. [Jan 2004, p.63]

There's a lot to like about Transmission, but its difficulty really drags it down. If you can handle it, though, you'll have a good time. [June 2003, p.37]

Once you see through the game's flashy veneer, its true nature is revealed - that of a somewhat stilted and deeply flawed fighter. [May 2003, p.52]

What it lacks in curves and naughty bump-mapping, it makes up for in sheer gameplay. [Sept 2003, p.54]

The puzzles suck; they're often obscure to the point of being ridiculous. Key items are frequently out of frame or hard to see, making progress without a cheat sheet nearly impossible.

The missions are somewhat predictable. [Apr 2003, p.50]

Cheap play mechanics and absurd difficulty level totally sink the experience. [Sept 2003, p.58]

The graphics are muddy and blocky, making it difficult to tell what's happening, even with the brightness turned all the way up. [June 2002, p.86]

If it wasn't for the inexcusably idiodic enemy intelligence and questionable controls, this might have been a great game. [Aug 2003, p.30]

A console-friendly RTS that delivers lots of tactical action without the headaches of ports like "Commandos 2." [Sept 2003, p.59]

You'll probably even appreciate its tight gameplay, too, but just be prepared to get real sick of waiting on robots and tanks. [Dec 2002, p.64]

This game does nothing new except offer a ton of foul language to get you in trouble with the 'rents. Next, please.

While Nemo is a short game overall, most of the levels are pretty fun, and I found myself repeating them to beat my playtimes and to win starfish, which open up minigames and concept art. [Aug 2003, p.29]

What a horrible disappointment... Worst of all, BG is a difficult game; I mean, it's hella hard...The first level alone was nearly impossible and there's no training mode! [Jan 2004, p.64]

A really good game, despite the fact that Mickey Mouse is the main character. I just wish it was longer.[Oct 2003, p.52]

The game's one saving grace is the hand-to-hand fighting. It feels good to beat the crap out of people, straight up. [Aug 2003, p.27]

The puzzles suck; they're often obscure to the point of being ridiculous. Key items are frequently out of frame or hard to see, making progress without a cheat sheet nearly impossible.

A mixed bag, providing plenty of fun action, along with some aggravation. [Nov 2003, p.60]

It's too bad that only about half of Rayman Arena is fun to play. [August 2002, p.65]

Tries to capture the excitement and intensity of old-school 2D shooters, but the end product is just a boring hodgepodge of gaming cliches. [Oct 2003, p.49]

Since there are no multiplayer options, replay value is kept to a bare minimum once the ride's all over. [Aug 2003, p.35]

Aside from its lousy story, poorly designed levels, and uninspired character design, Alter Echo does have some good points - tight control, pretty visuals, decent cameras, and smart A.I. [Nov 2003, p.58]

As an online game, Tetris Worlds works really well, and I never encountered a bit of lag. [Sept 2003, p.58]

This title would be a lot of fun, if only the hero wasn't such a headache to control. [Jan 2003, p.58]

A decent soccer game for kids. [August 2002, p.46]

Most combos can be executed by repeatedly pressing either Punch or Kick, and special moves are ridiculously simply to perform. [July 2003, p.62]

Although SOF2 is ultimately just disposable entertainment - the kind of game you'll forget about minutes after beating it. [Aug 2003, p.33]

The puzzles suck; they're often obscure to the point of being ridiculous. Key items are frequently out of frame or hard to see, making progress without a cheat sheet nearly impossible.

The real fun began when I grabbed a few friends and switched from the main Air Ride to the Top Ride and City Trial modes. [Nov 2003, p.66]

My only dis (negative comment) goes to the control and camera, which are both kinda whack (somewhat sluggish), and Timmy's all Fat Albert, yo (moves like a sack of bricks). [Jan 2004, p.50]

Control also lags, as the players here feel more like they're skating around an ice rink tha[n] running around a football field. [Sept 2002, p.50]

Not a terrible game by any stretch, but there's better stuff out there. [Sept 2002, p.48]

A great concept, but it's not worth a purchse. [Feb 2003, p.51]

As you get deeper into the game, the attack/defense system starts to make sense, and the whole play experience becomes very tense and strategic. [Mar 2003, p.40]

If it weren't for the new stages, I might have given this game a whole letter grade higher. Instead, I found myself doing tedious, repetitive work...when I should have been having fun. [Nov 2003, p.70]

Slick enough to make wading through oceans of thugs, robots, and enemy ninjas a pleasure. [Nov 2003, p.46]

If you like strategy, but don't want something super hardcore (like say "Dynasty Tactics 2"), this is your game. [Nov 2003, p.53]

With a long-winded (yet basic) story and frustrating combat, the game just tends to drag on a little too much. [Dec 2002, p.63]

The opponent A.I. is just so incredibly bad that only the most spectacularly untalented gamers will ever have to worry about coming in any worse than third. [Sept 2003, p.55]

Flat, uninspired, and generally unenjoyable. [Mar 2003, p.47]

All told, I wouldn't wish this game on my worst enemy. [Jan 2003, p.61]

Right away, you'll notice that the camera just doesn't work very well.. Promising but poorly designed 3D levels drag down the fun. [Nov. 2003, p.51]

It's more like FFF thanks to the language. [Feb 2003, p.46]

The combo-heavy action sequences are tedious, the stealth controls are sloppy. [June 2003, p.54]

Anytime there are more than a couple cars onscreen, the game chugs and stutters like crazy. That's unforgivable on hardware this powerful. [Sept 2003, p.60]

You know what's really weak, though? There are four Turtles—and they're a team, right? But only two heads can play this game simultaneously. I'm sorry, but I can't explain the logic behind that.