The gameplay itself is unchanged from 18 Wheeler, with your lumbering truck falling out of control at the drop of a feather and the graphics looking just a shade above Dreamcast quality.

Ultimately, this game’s Achilles’ heel is its unholy union of awkward controls and oatmeal graphics. Still, it’s the best-looking and most in-depth FPS for the GBA.

Bad voice decisions and an inexplicable step back in control tightness make Rayman 3 a disappointment, especially given the series’ usually extraordinary standards.

Without a doubt, the worst Batman game ever. Yes, worse than the 16-bit "Batman: Return of the Joker," "Batman Forever" the arcade game, and even the Game.com Batman.

Miles better than "Kakuto Chojin," but it’s still a few short steps behind "Dead or Alive 3" and "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance."

On the field, player controls are as smooth as a 6-4-3 double play.

For serious motorcycle-simulation fans only. If you’re not interested in the minutiae of the sport, go dust off "Road Rash" and read no further.

It really does grow on you, and once you get past the ridiculous premise you end up with a decent poor-man’s "Twisted Metal" that’s worth the budget price and not much more.

By far, the best element in the game is the hilarious commentary.

It’s no secret that the Xbox looks the best of the bunch.

By far, the best element in the game is the hilarious commentary.

Not as flashy as FIFA, but its overwhelming features and gameplay options have such depth that you could play for several years and still not see or experience everything in the game.

Aero Elite’s true failure, though, is its boring gameplay. Dog fighting and attacking ground forces just isn’t entertaining.

As with other 989 games like "NHL FaceOff," be prepared for a blinding, almost overcaffeinated pace as pitches rip by at a murderously fast clip.

MVP executes one element of its game far better than any other title this year: It’s just stone-cold beautiful.

The 2nd Runner is also easy as hell, and if you're willing to skip through the cut-scenes, you'll button-mash your way through the sucker within six hours.

The game is deeper than "V-Rally 3" (its nearest competition), but the graphics barely even hold a candle to those in Infogrames' title.

It represents Mega Man doing what he does best-beating bosses with cool themes, collecting their weapons, and overcoming well-designed levels that are difficult…but not stupidly-super-frustratingly difficult.

MVP earns props for looking good and trying something new while delivering solid baseball. "High Heat" is a much better playing ballgame, but MVP will appeal to baseball fans intrigued by its individuality.

Whether you want to build a major league franchise or just play two with your favorite team, competing in a complete game of Xbox baseball couldn't be easier or more fun.

The kiddie treatment here is both disturbing and annoying, and the games themselves aren’t all that fun.

Digital déjà vu. Your brain knows that it’s a brand-new game…but you never quite shake the feeling that you’ve played it all before.

Other baseball games might have a more unique feature or two, and several absolutely have better graphics, but only High Heat delivers such consistently riveting gameplay.

The controls are surprisingly cumbersome for a twitch game in which precision is crucial. Steering and aiming is a nightmare, and certain weapons border on unusable.

A very, very, very old-school platformer that doesn’t have enough standout new features to keep it fresh in this day and age.

It’s kinda clever, but once you get the basic formula its not very challenging.

The ambient music and low hum of your engine perfectly invoke the feeling of being out on your own in space, while radio chatter around the various planets and bases only enhance the realism.

Although the PS2 game comes some three months after the Xbox release, this version is the better of the two—mostly because of its superior controls.

You'll play through the same environments in each campaign, and despite multiple enemy layouts, that lack of level variety lessens the replay value.

Overall, the fielding controls are just good enough for the “Bigs.” As with earlier ASBs, timing buttonpresses for defensive moves like diving to stop grounders or sliding to snare low line drivers to the outfield is more adventurous than it has to be.

A masterpiece of cinematic, anime-inspired, science-fiction storytelling, but only if you have the patience (and time) to endure cinemas that can last upwards of 45 minutes.

The de-emphasis on micromanagement is welcome, but the feeling that the game is doing too much for you might kill it for intergalactic armchair generals.

As always with the McRae series, the sublime handling of your car is what makes this game so appealing.

Despite its impressive depth, this game is no masterpiece... But if you find yourself intrigued by its premise, there’s enough quality adventuring here that it can almost become an obsession.

With its martial arts action, Kung Fu Chaos is a bit like "Mario Party" with a mean streak.

The combat is especially well executed, although the amount of punishment opponents can take is a tad unrealistic.

2004 is the best ASB yet, and fans of the series won’t go wrong with any version. The game’s tunable to all tastes and skill levels; it’s baseball at its almost finest.

In terms of the batting cursor interface, the GameCube version offers the tightest joystick control in the batter’s box with the Xbox version being a little too stiff and the PS2 version a little too loose.

Other baseball games might have a more unique feature or two, and several absolutely have better graphics, but only High Heat delivers such consistently riveting gameplay.

Visually, the game is just beautiful—the eye-popping lighting in particular is remarkable. The audio also shines.

An addictive and undeniably daring game that feels more urgent and less epic than most RPGs, and the battle system is masterful. But it’s nothing like previous Breath of Fire games, and the forced repetition might kill it for you.

Most importantly—and this will make Dark Cloud fans very happy—Level-5 has fixed nearly everything wrong with the first game.

If it wasn’t for unbalanced controls, Apex could have taken top honors in the Xbox racing category.

Probably best appreciated by newcomers to the Yu-Gi-Oh game who want to learn how to play.

The best way to describe Disaster Report is "Silent Hill without the monsters."

The sound is purely 8-bit NES quality; in short, the music needs to die. The control interface, however, is quite inspired.

Pride FC’s gameplay style is exactly the same as all of the "UFC" titles, which shows that THQ put little thought into making this game.

There’s nothing really new here, save for some neat time-based puzzles, [but] the game is far more engaging than you’d figure from first glance.

Some lag issues and controller preferences are the only strikes against it.

Despite the simple battles and plain story, .hack is addictively fun for the 15 hours it lasts. [Nov 2002, p.182]

Generals has a rock-solid single-player game and the most addictive multiplayer skirmishes of the year... A gaming masterpiece.

If you’re an RPG fan with tons of free time and patience, or if you’re an EQ fan dying to see what Norrath was like hundreds of years ago, EQOA is a great time.

Essentially an add-on pack for the original with four dozen new tracks, 97 cars to unlock, and that sort of urgent Euro-beat music that apparently must be included in every racing game.

Despite the clumsier controls, the GameCube version has the PS2 version beat simply because the graphics look cleaner and the frame rate is better.

It speaks like no other game in the genre, loud and with feeling, and tells a story worth telling among all the explosions.

The immense depth of strategic planning and historical accuracy combine for an intensely addictive experience.

But while putting the psychokinetic kibosh on telepathic geeks is fun, the endless wandering and backtracking hell is a straight-up drag.

GGX2’s stunning anime-inspired graphics more than compensate for the lack of a Z-axis.

Yawn-inducingly generic level designs and poopy graphics would have been forgivable had Griptonite Games implemented this neat little invention called collision detection that most games use today.

The story, though, is the best part—Vyse and crew are the most extroverted RPG heroes ever, and there's none of that Final Fantasy–style self-abhorrence present.

Black & Bruised isn’t "Knockout Kings," but it doesn’t try to be, and it certainly doesn’t have to be. All it has to be is fun and engaging, and on those levels, Black & Bruised succeeds.

With plenty of gameplay modes, secret fighters, and varied styles, there’s a good chunk of replay value here.

What’s really missing is the intense, edge-of-your-seat close-quarter combat that made the first game so arresting.

Offers an addictively eclectic mix of item collecting, gambling, and relationship building; tantalizing eye candy; and one outstanding game of volleyball.

In between some breakneck driving and intense gunplay, you get plenty of tough guy angst, wicked doublecrosses, and excruciatingly brutal thuggery.

Aquila isn’t a must-play game, and many gamers can probably get their fix with a rental. But if your trigger finger’s itching for some challenging combat, it’s worth a tour of duty.

Although you’ll encounter heavy slowdown and flat textures, the graphics are pretty slick.

A nostalgic experience with the Resident Evil franchise should always include number two.

Only rabid third-installment fans and RE newbies need apply for this last escape.

More structure proves more comfortable for the console environment, and the addition of two-player really opens up the game as something more than just a spectator event.

Light years better than its ugly-as-sin predecessor and is already worthy to compete against Sony's Offroad Fury series.

Only two humans can play War at once and fight up to two CPU opponents. This is a distressing flaw—especially considering how repetitive the single-player adventure mode gets after a while.

While Bandai's record with anime licenses is spotty at best, they always seem to devote ample time to the graphics—something fairly obvious when you see BattleSpirit in action.

The new features, refined interface, and (above all) near-perfect sense of balance make this old dog feel vital and new.

Like taking a trip through a modern art museum…except all of the paintings are moving, all the sculptures are breathing, and every display is shooting swarms of genetically enhanced laser missiles at the thoughts inside your head.

It's repetitive and (to be honest) gets dull after a while, but the sheer scope of Xtreme Legends keeps it engaging for a reasonably long time.

The mini-game stages can be disappointing (the hamster-ball sections have completely unrealistic physics), but overall Crash is not a bad little platformer at all. Unoriginal but not bad.

It's hard to get excited unless you're on a big nostalgia trip. Yes, it's cool to explore the castle in full 3D at last, but the mechanics within are almost a little too tried and true.

There’s a major Nostalgia Factor for those who were playing PC games in 1994, and the single-pak multiplay helps, but if you’ve never heard of Jazz, “old-school” will just mean “kinda generic.”

For some inexplicable reason, it’s addictive. These types of games are perfect for portable systems, too…simple and endlessly replayable.

The way the game taxes your mind isn’t necessarily enjoyable, and many times you’ll find yourself falling back to simple tactics just to survive, instead of creating elaborate, elegant combos.

You can't beat the game's presentation-the glorious visuals, real cast voice-overs, and Howard Shore score are so faithful to the film it's frightening.

The real fun for many IC players will be the Army Editor, which lets you play with combinations of animals and create your own creatures.

There’s just one problem with The Sims Online: It’s almost not a game. The slow-paced activities rely so heavily on social interaction that in some ways it feels like a glorified chat room.

By far, The Sum of All Fears for the GameCube is the most disappointing, if not one of the worst, first-person shooters on any system.

The biggest crime, though, is that there's simply nothing at the core you haven't seen a zillion times before.

The only things holding this game back from true greatness are the jumpy camera and choppy controls.

With more bump mapping and shading combined with beautiful particle and lighting effects, Nightcaster II's visuals are a few steps ahead of the prequel's, but overall the graphics look plain and at times muddy.

If you’re looking to play hockey of the NHL variety, to tackle pro challenges and use real-life strategies, NHL 2K3 will thrill you as much as watching your team heroically survive a five-on-three penalty kill.

Sounds disastrous, right? Well, it mostly is—except for multiplayer, The Clone Wars' only saving grace.

The story is laughably bad, and McKane has to be one of the most unlikable protagonists ever. Even worse, the racing gameplay just isn’t that exciting, largely due to lackluster handling and A.I. competition.

An interesting “abridged retelling” of Lunar: The Silver Star that’s missing a couple of the original’s most charming aspects...but it’s still a darn good RPG.

May be repetitive, overwrought, and fraught with unimaginative puzzles and enemies, but those of you dying for some bloody GameCube fun won't get it much better than this.

The targeting system is well executed, but the camerawork is not. In enclosed areas it can go ballistic, often pointing in a direction that obscures your enemies.

MotoRacer nearly bursts with playability.

Non–Dragon Ball Z fans, however, may have a hard time not only grasping the quirky DBZ story, but also wrapping their fingers around the repetitious controls.

A thoughtful, huge, rewarding classic.

Where the wheat gets separated from the chaff, however, is the A.I.; and Sega’s game is all whole-grain goodness.