This isn’t a reinvention of Agetec’s half-arcade/half-hardcore mech battlin’ series, it’s just another step…and a rather small one at that.

Freekstyle is kept from achieving the classic status of Tricky, however, by some heinous rubber-band A.I.

Even taking the gameplay at face value, there are still flaws like horrendous enemy A.I. and a severely limited set of offensive and defensive moves.

Without even a hint of fun multiplayer competition, you and your friends will certainly catch an unfavorable fever caused by a dismal showing of Pac-Man Fever.

It’s a well-crafted, brilliantly designed, and lovingly developed space adventure that’s every bit as gripping as "EverQuest" ever was.

Despite the great visual and sound package, Sega GT's gameplay isn't tuned for a fun ride: Competitions can be won only through buying the best parts - and not through your driving.

Blade II has a lot of good raw materials, but the end product doesn’t congeal into a bloody good time.

With subpar graphics, the action doesn’t get as bloodied as it should.

Clumsy computer A.I. and awful multiplayer games nick this game to only a single-player and a nice rental adventure.

A decent next phase for Turok.

It’s a driving sim devoid of personality.

This will definitely fit the bill when you need your free-roaming Guilt trip, but there are better GBA fighting games on the market.

Like a new year’s line of automobiles, Onimusha 2 has a sleeker look, more bells and whistles, and improved standard features over its predecessor model, "Warlords."

After a few plays, though, the game becomes tiresome—mostly due to repetitive gameplay and lack of balance.

The only downer to this great game, however, is that you’re allowed to leave a dead SEAL behind, which in real life would never happen.

Although some may be put off by the its slow pace, those with a little patience and ingenuity will feel very rewarded once objectives are completed.

A masterpiece of superior game design, infinite gameplay variety, creativity, and life-and it's got a water cannon…and a damn brilliant one at that.

More like an expansion pack than a full-blown sequel…but so what? There’s no way that more monkeys in plastic balls could possibly be a bad thing.

Even punters of the GameCube version will find a host of new options in this Xbox incarnation—most notably extra players and multiplayer games.

As far as the three main game systems go, the Xbox graphics—as usual—look the sharpest...NFL 2K3 is a straight-ahead, hard-as-knuckles football game.

Seriously gory but realistic environments and an action-heavy gameplay mix make The Thing a satisfyingly disturbing must-play...Terrifyingly good.

It's worthwhile to trudge through the occasional dull punch-fight and inane spat of dialogue to get to the next wicked little gunfight.

Buffyphiles will be pleased; Willow, Cordelia, Giles, Spike, Xander, and Angel are all voiced by the actual actors from the show, and the actress voicing Buffy does a fantastic Sarah Michelle Gellar impression.

It doesn’t deserve starter status because its competition has a bigger head start with their titles, but it’s definitely a big step in the right direction.

For fighting enthusiasts still holding on to their PlayStation, Capcom vs. SNK Pro will entertain you. PS2 owners, though, should skip this title and just pick up "Capcom vs. SNK 2" instead.

Straddles the line between arcade and simulation nicely. Players move, look, and behave in a realistic fashion, but fatigue, substitutions, and playcalling don’t interrupt the fun.

With smart A.I., great controls, and a take-no-prisoners approach to football, it should earn All-Pro status again...a straight-ahead, hard-as-knuckles football game.

Offers no major surprises but plenty of refinements to a proven formula. It’s a major improvement over the first game.

The advances in gameplay, graphics, and features are quite noticeable as GameDay is a solid, enjoyable football experience; however, it’s still not yet ready to take the starter position.

Even beyond the football gameplay, you have to appreciate the wealth of extras and activities that make Madden NFL 2003 such an entertaining and complete package.

Straddles the line between arcade and simulation nicely. Players move, look, and behave in a realistic fashion, but fatigue, substitutions, and playcalling don’t interrupt the fun.

Definitely follows the standard formula, bolstered by some nice additions. Then again, it’s an enjoyable formula that works—so no problem.

The graphics are the main differentiator with the Xbox version looking sharpest, the PS2 version sprouting typical jaggies, and the GameCube version appearing slightly soft.

Even beyond the football gameplay, you have to appreciate the wealth of extras and activities that make Madden NFL 2003 such an entertaining and complete package.

Looks pretty, but the flawed controls prevent it from having the wide appeal a sport featuring toned female athletes in bikinis should have.

While all this is great, it still comes up a tad short compared to EA’s NCAA football game, especially in the college atmosphere category.

Despite its questionable ethical objectives, Warzones is simply a frantic driver.

This game dances down the sideline between football sim and football arcade game, and it scores.

It’s puzzling that this game could look better on the Dreamcast than on the PS2, but it does.

The depth and design of each stage, in fact, is what makes this game addicting to play—there’s so much to see and do in each level.

Solid and well-built—it’s just not going to knock your mechanical socks off in the imagination department.

As original in gameplay as it is in visual design.

The glitches and sense of sterility make everything feel just a little out of alignment, but Totaled!'s arcade-sy core and multiplayer mode still make it fun. [August 2002, p.82]

A well-made, well-presented, potentially thoroughly enjoyable hack-n-slash-a-thon that’s plagued by a Frustrating Cheap Death spell and the lack of any mid-game save or checkpoint feature to combat it.

For the first rollerblading game on the Xbox, Aggressive Inline sets one hell of a standard.

The graphics look crisp, but the slowdown on parts of Glitter Oasis is a major disappointment.

If a Playstation is all you have and three Syphon Filters just isn't enought, then C-12 is worthy of your attention. [August 2002, p.86]

Excellent controls deliver a highly responsive feel and a huge roster of cool moves, including a new defensive ball swat.

The three versions of NCAA are virtually identical... The main points involve graphics, and the Xbox version clearly looks the best, sporting the crispest details, richest colors, and best lighting.

The three versions of NCAA are virtually identical... The GameCube version doesn’t control quite as comfortably, but that’s mainly because the controller layout isn’t as suitable for sports games.

WarCraft III doesn’t revolutionize the RTS genre, but a well-executed story, drum-tight gameplay and a long shelf life as a multi-player title make WarCraft III a must for and PC owning strategy fans.

The game itself quickly bogs down into a long, repetitive walk-and-punch beat-em-up game.

Looks and plays almost exactly like the original GT Advance—not a problem if you liked powersliding around the first game, but disappointing if you were expecting fifty dozen cars and pages of intricate tuning options.

One of the most frustrating games in the entire PlayStation 2 library, thanks to a few design flaws that could've been easily avoided.

With just mediocre features, Barbarian weighs in as just an average brawler. [July 2002, p.76]

A deep and time-consuming game. It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s fun in a unique sort of way.

While you’ve gotta love Stuntman’s originality and electrifying stunts, its high level of frustration and repetition will drive many gamers away. Far, far away.

Fighting is a blast, especially when you link up with a friend, but the cramped controls and tiny GBA screen occasionally make you feel like the computer is unfairly trouncing you in battle.

Overall, though, if you’ve already conquered the PS2 version, you can safely skip right past this game.

With its deftly meshed story lines, deep use of spellcasting, and innovative insanity system, Eternal Darkness is a unique and tasty addition to the survival/horror genre.

Looks aren't everything, and the game falls directly on its noble ass. [August 2002, p.78]

The game motocross wannabes have been craving for years—and it’s just what you’d expect from EA’s Big series.

Although it doesn't break much new ground and the series' vibe has become more mainstream with age, Wipeout Fusion is simply an excellent, action packed racing game. [July 2002, p.73]

Deceptively engaging.

It's like every other mission-based helicopter shooter, except that it lacks a personality. Fireblade? Firebland.

Offers more multiplayer options than you’ll likely ever use combined with a single-player experience that’s wonderful but somewhat typical. Still, it’s the best PC D&D game ever, bar none.

This is the best instance of video game flipper mashing since "Pokémon Pinball" on the GBC.

Although each car handles differently, the off-road speedsters are extremely loose, which makes for perfecting turns a frustrating task.

While still basically a Pokémon clone, Robopon 2 is a far better game than the short and unsatisfying Game Boy Color original.

Sometimes you just want to drive. You want to jump into your car and jam on the accelerator. That’s Test Drive.

A disappointing game that will have GameCube owners going to their PS2-owning friends’ houses to play "SmackDown."

This title features surprisingly solid gameplay reminiscent of SNK’s "Metal Slug" series.

An ungodly huge, ambitious, daunting, free time–consuming vortex of RPG goodness.

Despite some impressive world-map graphics and extremely catchy anime-style music, Digimon World 3 disappoints in countless ways.

While not as deep or fine-tuned as it could have been, Endgame is quite fun in a low-budget action movie kind of way.

The characters are sloppily animated, and when the camera zooms out, the fight is shown in an odd, blurry style that mars the action.

Plays like Zelda with bombs instead of swords and shields.

Lethal Skies attempts to compete with the big fly boys, but with mediocre graphics and sounds, this aerial mishap crashes and burns straight to the bottom of the rental barrel.

The real joy of Samurai lies in the replay as you repeat the game, experimenting with characters and conversations armed with what you learned last time around in a Groundhog Day–style effort to try to get things "right."

One of the most maddening problems is that each time you die (which happens a lot), you respawn at the beginning of the level. There is no continue option, and you can’t skip the-story-so-far screens.

The transition from flying a plane to steering a four-wheeled armored truck to shooting a gun in first-person view is smooth, addicting, and, best of all, keeps the pace of the action consistent enough for you to be involved to the very end. [July 2002, p.74]

Riveting first-person combat set across a mesmerizing WWII landscape. A game this good is practically a recruitment poster for the PS2.

Without the ability to play with more than two people, you’ll eventually have to resort back to playing the actual card game to get the full DBZCCG experience.

Test Drive needed this reboot, and the gritty, underground-racing angle isn’t bad; it just doesn’t feel as thrilling or daring as it should.

Aside from the usual jump-trick combo gameplay, Inline contains innovative character actions that make virtual roller skating even more enjoyable to play.

Lost Kingdoms may not have much of a plot, but the battle system makes it a fine game worth the attention of all action/RPG fans.

Aching to be more than it is, Hunter: The Reckoning is a pretty-looking, atmospheric action game that makes a decent weekend rental with pals.

If you like first-person shooters with lots blood, fire fights, screaming and explosions… then you’ll rip through this – loving every minute of it.

Despite the sluggish controls, the beautiful presentation and groundbreaking team building mode make for a very rewarding experience that Soccer fans shouldn’t miss.

The gameplay is on-the-money with great baseball that ought to attract Xbox sports gamers and just plain baseball fans alike.

Its cool graphics, story, and gameplay variety are buried by the brutally bad camera and controls.

It seems like half of the enemies can’t hurt you while the other half can kill you instantly, which means repeated saving and loading until you get used to the battle system.

The linear gameplay can get extremely frustrating.

Aero does provide a fun ride, albeit one you’ve taken many times before.

Though the implementation of combat-enhancing Force abilities is a welcome addition to the sequel, overall the game lacks depth—mostly because by now we should expect more intricate enemy-A.I. routines.

While it’s not quite as deep as the older SNES game, there’s still a whole lot to like, and with so many potential character customization options it’ll keep you preoccupied for many, many an hour.

One of the better dance/rhythm games out there, and with so many unlockable goodies, it’ll make Britney fans want to consistently play it, baby, one more time.

The smaller GBA screen means you can't see as much of your surroundings as you could in the originals, making it easy to sustain damage from something you can't even see.