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.

You could also research a serviceable AI aid that would organize units into groups and automate functions like repair. Teleportation was a significant travel mode for many of the units. But unfortunately, cool ideas don't sell games until they're implemented into cool games.

But boring combat is just one half of the misery pie that this game serves up, with half-baked role-playing elements comprising the rest.

In this case, "RC" stands for "really crappy." Unless you truly enjoy subpar courses, low-grade weapons, ho-hum racing, and pre-Newtonian physics, you should probably avoid the lifeless RC Revenge Pro.

The game itself lacks heart. [July 2005, p.74]

The game itself lacks heart. [July 2005, p.74]

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

Unfortunately, the graphics just aren't up to snuff, the character models, aside from being horrendous, repeat often and your character moves with all the zip of a drugged elephant.

Crazy Machines Elements gives me a similar feeling where I just want to play with the pieces and see what can be built. But, like a parent worried their child will choke on the board game's tiny pieces, Crazy Machines Elements doesn't trust players with all of its tools from the start, preventing many from ever finding the fun lurking just beneath the surface.

Utter frustration. Every part of the controller is used, including both analog sticks, which have dual functions. It's nearly impossible to master these controls.

For someone interested in videogame design or history, The War of the Worlds is an interesting case study. But is it fun? Dear god, no. Just, no.

Graphics and sound alone can't save sub-par gameplay, however, and even the most staunch WWII shooter fan won't find much to enjoy with Heroes 2.

The combination of puzzles, exploring, and Phoenix Wright-style point-counterpoint gameplay is honestly an interesting concept along with the attractive art, but the production is mired in soulless English dialogue, badly looping music, and awkward navigation controls.

Wii Play: Motion offers a better balance of quality to questionable content than the original release, with more total games and play variations in the package, but in this day and age the experience feels very insignificant. Along with Mario Sports Mix, Nintendo's Wii offerings to date in 2011 seem content to mine past concepts with middling success, which may be fine to the dwindling number of new console owners -- but it's tough to believe existing Wii owners will feel the urge to rush out for another unremarkable mini-game medley.

Corridor-shooter gamers in general should be pleased with Blood II, but bloodthirsty fans of the original game may be disappointed. Spilling Blood is still a thrill, but it was more fun the first time around.

While there are some cheap thrills to be found in the title's rail-shooter segments and hardcore Terminator fans will no doubt want to rent the title just for the chance to go toe-to-toe with a T-600, I can't recommend Salvation as anything more than exactly that: a rental.

You like nice graphics? Go and buy it. Otherwise, stick with your current copy of "SimCity 3000"... and save your kopeks for the new crop of exciting releases scheduled to hit stores in the next couple of months.

A neck-stabbingly frustrating bore. [Apr 2004, p.86]

Even with the odd original game in the mix, these still aren't the type of things you want to do everyday - especially with the lame scoring system.

The worst part is that Jake Hunter had a lot of potential. [July 2008, p.84]

In truth, the biggest mystery here isn't how vampires evolved and rose to power, but how any publisher could justify a $60 price tag for a tiresome exercise in imitation and slipshod execution.

It probably would have been best if the PSP version of Untamed were kept in its cage.

A young fan of the TV show could theoretically search out a modicum of fun from this game, and perhaps they would find the puzzles more brow-furrow worthy. Maybe. I have a feeling, though, that this one will make its way swiftly to the bargain bins.

You’ll often spot limbs and objects poking through solid surfaces, but you’ll almost never see your opponent properly framed—the camera angles are simply dreadful and rarely offer a decent view of the combat (or even the immediate surroundings).

An evil off-road ATV racer that will sap the happiness and energy out of all who play it.

A watered down racing title that won't do much for even the most dedicated dirt bike or ATV enthusiast.

The mind numbs along with your thumbs. Though the streets fill with indistinguishable enemies, clogging the frame rate, you'll never find the excitement you crave amid the mechanical melee, only a dull realization that you can't tell which thug is yours, and that you don't much care.

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.