The training levels are a little tedious, but serves it purpose to have you naturally thinking and reacting as if you're Batman by the heart of the game.

The camera is pretty awful, requiring way too much fussing by the player to maintain a clear field of view.

Mafia's solid script, impeccable voice acting, and overall mood makes it worth a rental, though you're better off playing the PC version if you get the chance. [Apr 2004, p.65]

The controlls are tight with crisp response for the most part...There are plenty of weapon skills and magic attacks to master. [Apr 2004, p.70]

It's the desperate lack of innovation that's the problem; everything here has been done a hundred times before.

Problematic, though, are the sequences in which you have to swing around confounding and shoddily rendered 3D hub areas to capture Doc Ock, access new chapters, and unlock bonus missions against a timer.

Fights are fast and furious, and there’s no shortage of splashy, flashy special effects.

True-blue Medal of Honor fans will still enjoy Rising Sun’s cinematic style, respectful and historically accurate atmosphere, and heavily arcade feel. But for many, the game will feel too familiar in a fast-food way, lacking that old Medal of Honor magic.

Smarty Pants definitely has a more youthful vibe than SceneIt! but it's designed in such a way that both adults and children can have fun with it. [Feb 2008, p.82]

An even larger frustration, though, is everyone's inability to recover lobs. In most tennis games, if you hustle you can often find some way to smack the ball back over the net, even if it's behind you. Here your characters just give up even if you are clearly within a reasonable rescue range.

What was supposed to be a revelation, a next generation of sorts, has become instead a disappointing follow-up to a beloved game. [Mar 2004, p.68]

Phantom Brave is definitely a great game, but this low-effort regurgitation just doesn't impress like it should.

It's not quite Mirror's Edge or Dead Space, but if you like DMC, pick it up.

It isn't the best open-world game out there, but it does a sublime job of capturing what it feels like to be the head of a virtual crime family. [Apr 2009, p.81]

If you’re really serious about this, better game-creating titles do exist, especially on the PC, offering easier interfaces and more freedom to mess with the basic building blocks. Still, this makes for an entry point into the vast realm of game design.

One thing's for sure about The Sims 2 on PSP: when load times comprises 30 to 40 percent of the gameplay experience, it's excruciatingly boring.

This game makes me a little sad, because it's a fun action-RPG with a lot of potential that just feels a little bit undercooked.

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.

Even with some minor hiccups, 4 Elements HD is worth the price. If you're a match three-fan looking for a game that will bring back fond memories of turkey legs, flowing white beards, and pointy hats, you'll get your money's worth out of this title.

It’s too easy. You'll be able to breeze through the game's 13 levels and only encounter about three tough bosses, which comes out to roughly $17 a challenge.

Baja aspire to be a simulation, yet it ends up losing its appeal in the process

Sure, the gritty atmosphere and balls out gunplay offers up some thrills, and yes the multiplayer options hold some potential but the hard-boiled noir tone and interesting amalgam of varied ideas never truly comes together to form the cohesive action thriller that the game aspires to be. [Dec 2007, p.121]

Though Opoona is original and exciting, there are too many problems for it to be anything more than an interesting diversion. [May 2008, p.84]

Wants to be the PlayStation 2’s "House of the Dead," but it lacks creativity and spooky bite.

An interesting action/shooter and a worthy side story for the series. Forget about the ill-fated "Survivor"— Dead Aim is a first-person Resident Evil game that works.

Mindless, twitchy, quick-shot FPS fun...but it’s so hyper-generic it seems like a clone of a "Doom" clone.

With plenty of frenetic crossfire, you’ll get more frustrated with the controls than with the Iraqis.

The control mechanics are intricate, though quick tic-tac-toe passes with the right stick, more in-depth faceoffs, and speedy line changes using the directional pad are nice features.