The total lack of a cluttered HUD, the animation, and the graphic detail are all good points, but lazy mistakes and no palpable sense of fear make Extermination more annoying than alarming.

While it only takes about ten hours to complete Max Payne, it will be ten of the best hours you’ve spent on a computer in a long time.

Handsome and smoothly executed.

With many degrees of selectable difficulty, a wide variety of events, and the ability to customize your own tournament, Sports Jam offers lots of replay value and fun.

A light touch on the analog stick will be rewarded with precise control...There’s no multiplayer mode, so the fun doesn’t last terribly long. Worth a weekend rental.

With its fluid gameplay and easy-to-learn controls, Rugby could convert some Yanks to the intriguing world of rucks, scrums, and grubber kicks.

Safe and insatiable, Pac-Man Collection delivers high comfort but low thrills.

GT3’s razor-sharp handling means you’re always battling your opponents, not the controls. The force feedback and analog responsiveness are particularly impressive.

It loads frequently, the graphics are bland and first-generation, and the music smacks of elevator-itis. Plus, the game’s looping structure is cooler in theory than in reality.

The RPG connection here is saliva thin, but if you’re thirsting for old-school controller-bruising action; you should sink your teeth into DA: VP.

Kinda accessible, sorta deep, and relatively enjoyable, MX2002 may find its true niche with big motocross fans, but casual gamers will likely be left in the dust.

"Final Fantasy IV" is an outstanding and epic work that impresses despite its advanced age...Although the visual and audio aspects have aged poorly, "Chrono Trigger" is nevertheless an invaluable offering to its genre.

Not only is the multiplayer game addictive as always, but you also get an RPG-ish one-player adventure to boot.

True strategy is jettisoned by unpredictable card draws that cause the matches to vacillate between frustrating and extremely boring.

The Dreamcast's analog controller just can't mimick the subtle nuances and control of original trackball games such as Centipede and Crystal Castle, or the simple twist knob in Tempest and Super Breakout.

Newcomers will be pleased, but for rabid fans, this is a mute Roar.

The flaccid sounds are joined by dreadful physics—it’s like driving a balloon. The fighting game-style combo system is unwieldy, and a sense of speed would have been a good idea, too.

It pretty much amounts to an add-on level pack, so you’d have to be ultra-hardcore about Time Crisis to spring for your own copy.

The game is sweet music to all of your senses, combining visual and audio splendor to a degree that few adventures have achieved. This is one classic for the Dreamcast library that no one will forget.

Everything that made EFMI so great on the PC arrives on the PS2 perfectly intact. The game’s many puzzles are perfectly balanced.

Until we see how well EA Sports’ "NASCAR Thunder 2002" turns out, NASCAR Heat is the stock-car game to beat.

Thrilling, addictive gameplay loaded with tough battles and jaw-dropping moves that’ll lure even the most jaded b-ballers back to the court.

Stunning visuals, blistering speed, interactive environments, and explosive gameplay combine to give car combat junkies their fix.

The prerendered scenery would be stunningly beautiful if it wasn’t so darn creepy—it’s some of the best scenery on the PlayStation.

HW:AR creates innovative and white-knuckled gameplay that will strain both your reflexes and your wits, not to mention your cool head.

A limited camera, slightly wonky unit A.I., and a few absent unit-handling features seem like a retreat from ground already covered by other, older 2D RTS games.

Blazing fast speeds with sharp graphics, pulsating sounds and good controls.

This port of the PlayStation classic is easily the most beautiful looking game in the GBA launch lineup, with huge, colorful, and astonishingly well-animated characters and backgrounds.

Set against a myriad of beautifully rendered 2D environments, the detailed visuals convey a feeling of dread.

And even in its diminutive form, the game feels exactly the same as it always has—pros, cons, and all.

The GBA handles the humble graphics and Disney-sweet music without breaking a sweat, and the control—while less elegant than the Dreamcast’s—will feel comfortable to "Tetris" vets.

The impressively goofy/cool audio effects and tunes ring amazingly true to the original’s.

Where Super Dodge Ball Advance really shines is in two-player link mode where all the most intense action occurs.

The amazing create-a-wrestler feature easily exceeds most console titles: From appearance to specific moves, your mini-grappler can be made to order.

Challenging both in terms of difficulty and convention (you do more than just run to the right), Pitfall looks gorgeous on the small screen, especially its fluid character animation, while the controls respond well and the sounds are sharp.

Tracks are short, plus the extra game modes don’t do the game any justice.

Portable and pure, Namco Museum is an old-school must-own.

Despite the dents, GT Advance is a solid early contender in the handheld racing championship—just be sure to drive with the lights on.

MG2 doesn’t move the series forward far enough from its PlayStation roots, but if you’ve got a melodic itch to scratch, it’s still worth renting to make your own boogie-down productions.

Does the basics right—sound effects and control—but is also completely uninventive.

World Party’s simple goals and humor are universal, and can easily be enjoyed worldwide—but the game’s dragging pace and frustrating gameplay will have you swearing at the screen no matter what language you speak.

Innovative, groundbreaking, stylish, and enjoyable.

This mediocre conversion is better than the last Game Boy effort, providing gamers with fairly short-lived button-mashing fun.

If you're looking for some classic shooter action on your new GBA, Iridion 3D will fit the bill nicely without blowing you away.

A spotty story and monotonous gameplay keep Dark Cloud from rising to new heights.

Tokyo Xtreme Boredom.

Unfortunately its new innovations and features aren’t worth the sticker price. The game’s hardly a lemon, but it can’t quite make it off the test drive rental lot.

That immersive, macho feeling makes the otherwise just-okay CART Fury worth at least a rent.

With its innovative Geo-Mod technology that allows players to blast away the environments as well as enemies, and an awesome (and lengthy) storyline, this game packs in plenty of thrills.

No real levels have been added to the original arcade version, so the game ends just when you’re revving up.

"SSX" is the better game, but Cool Boarders 2001 has a more lifelike—but still over-the-top—style plus more game modes that should appeal to real and wannabe snowboarders.

Even though a better BMX game—"Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX"—has been released since the first Dave Mirra, the core gameplay of Mirra hasn’t been much improved, just expanded.

Its excellent mix of driving techniques, fantasy physics, and gigantic cities will keep couch drivers burning onscreen rubber for some time.

Thanks to fresh physics challenges, ample combo lines, and trick-filled locales, Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX is the game to get.

While this shooter hasn’t been a total hit in the arcades, Confidential Mission is right on target for the Dreamcast.

Translates very well to the home. Boogie down!

It comes down to whether you prefer the presentation and atmosphere of "Triple Play" to the interface and shine of MLB. Surprisingly, 989 has strengthened MLB’s baseball simulation.

Don’t get rid of your N64 yet—Mario Party is one of the last and best games you can play on the system with up to three buddies.

Gauntlet attempts to exercise the PS2’s graphical muscles, but because of the locked overhead-camera angle, there’s only so much detail and special effects to see amidst the tiny characters scurrying about.

The graphics—still blocky and pixilated—look worse when compared to this year’s crop of PlayStation games, and the controls are still frustrating and complicated.

Even devout soldiers of the KISS Army expecting pyrotechnics, blazing lights and vomited blood will be disappointed by dismal gameplay set to interminably looped hot licks, disorientating camera panning, and sterile voiceovers by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

Excellent A.I, sharp graphics, and addictive gameplay combine for an unabashed good time. Sim freaks need not apply—Rumble Racing is pure, unapologetic arcade goodness.

offers enough challenge and replay value to be a good party game for younger Star Wars fans.

KoF '99 retains all the fighting fun of the previous years, though the load times will wear at your patience and make you long for the Dreamcast version.

Has it all—Spider-Man not only looks, sounds, and plays remarkably well, but it also places you firmly in the comic-book world of its hero.

For a refreshing RPG that will satisfy all but the most blowhard dungeon hacks, take a trip to Evil Islands.

Illbleed scores major points for twisted originality, even if unfocused and clunky execution keeps it from turning horror on its gory, severed ear.

Delivers the goods for a perfect arcade-to-home port, while the game’s console-exclusive features deserve a gaming medal of honor.

Fortunately, the simple yet dead-on controls react perfectly and never make the game unintentionally frustrating.

A “game” that’s awful in every respect and will ultimately be a textbook example of a wasted license.

A killer combination of awesome controls and realistic details, proving to be much more fun than EA Sports' "Triple Play Baseball."

If you're patient and spend a good amount of time playing against the AI bots, your enjoyment of Tribes 2 will increase tenfold.

Pokémon fans can't go wrong with Stadium 2. You can work out your home-grown Pokémon in N64 color, and the Transfer Pak enables you to play any Game Boy Pokémon game on a big screen.

The much-improved PS2 version flies mighty high with spectacular visuals and improved gameplay.

Despite its averageness, WinBack: CO is fun, satisfying stealth/action fare. If it were the only game you had, it’d be great.

A fun game with tons of character. The difficulty and control tweaks mean that all that good stuff won't be lost in a flurry of frustration.

An enjoyable action title that's easy to pick up and play. If you can get past the preachy narrative and dialogue, you'll be immersed in intense combat and cool weapons.

Black & White miraculously pulls you in and doesn't let go until you've sacrificed many hours.

Quake III Revolution’s frantic combat is wicked fast and packed with addictive, exciting action that heavily favors quick reflexes and itchy trigger fingers over deep strategies.

The dance floor has never looked so dismal.

Serious Sam has some of the most exciting and addictive shooting action in years.

A fun, but pretty conventional ride.

An unstable mix of ambitious ideas and poor execution makes Aidyn a case of too little, far too late.

The extensive character techniques and engrossing story line will keep gamers glued to their controllers for hours.

Throw in some wild game-rule-altering "mutators" and pleasantly brief loading times, and Unreal Tournament delivers a high-speed, high-adrenaline package that never even has the chance to be boring. It packs more personality than "Quake III Arena."

Despite slow and repetitive gameplay and the lack of a compelling story, the premise is cool and the low-tech mech shootouts are tense. Ring of Red will be hypnotically fun to some and sleep-inducing to others; rent first.

Triple Play's biggest new feature -- cursor-based pitching and batting -- is also its biggest shortcoming.

All-Star Baseball was always one of the best console baseball series when it was on the Nintendo 64, but it's amazing how much the PS2 and Acclaim Sports' two years of development have added to the series. Most impressive are the excellent player models and faces.

Triple Play delivers zero innovation with a game that's virtually identical to Triple Play 2001. But that still means it's the PS one's top baseball game.

Okay, so maybe a re-release/upgrade of racing games from five years ago isn't something to cheer about -- but it sure is a slick retrospective, and a fun one at that. Daytona USA is an arcade classic, perfectly preserved.

Brings more than just fierce punches and kicks -- it features an engaging story and plenty of gameplay modes that offer a high replay value. Hands down, this is one of the best PS2 games.

It's a brilliantly bizarre, insanely fun 3D-platformer extraordinaire, and a wonderfully ironic swan song for the N64.

This Jet Ski racer looks fine, but it lacks the addictive gameplay of its aqua-racing predecessor.

Leaning on the selling power of its namesake, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 limps its way through a mediocre round of golf that's less fun than its proud PGA predecessors, and doesn't even dent the PS2's graphical capabilities. Worst of all, you must hit the ball with analog controls.

It might not strike anyone as exceptional, but with real-world car details, challenging A.I., and a nice upgrade system, 4x4 Evolution is worth checking out, especially if you’re an SUV fanatic in real life.

Well done, but with a few tweaks to the graphics and sounds, it could have been a very good game.

With a creepy, excellent story and perfectly paced, complex action, Undying oozes freaky atmosphere.

Complete with a unique visual scheme, engrossing story, and vibrant characters, the effect of Retro Helix will be felt for quite some time.