If you’ve lived in the city your whole life and don’t know a dang thing about cows, don’t fret none: the controls are easier than ’possum pie.

Outshines "Splinter Cell" and is one of the best handheld titles out. [Apr 2004, p.86]

A wacky, wonderful meditation on the Mario phenomenon. As for the game itself: The combat system is clever, nicely varied, and wickedly fun, but a little more depth to the adventure would have sealed the deal.

While CIMA’s concept is indeed very cool and refreshing, interface issues frequently get in the way. When your group gets large, the point-and-click interface can be confusing, and herding the whole lot requires patience.

While the first-person shooter levels are average, the third-person levels are substantially well balanced. The A.I. is very intelligent. [Apr 2004, p.86]

One main feature that clearly separates Underground from other street racers is its visual presentation. The nighttime glow in the metropolis does take some time to get used to, but the evening air quickly adds to the stunning scenery and detailed avenues as you travel at high RPMs.

By a fair margin, NCAA March Madness 2004 comes out on top in the showdown against "ESPN College Basketball."

The gameplay remains fast and furious, and the simple controls do a masterful job of literally keeping you on track. The interplay between the characters in two-player mode is particularly impressive.

One main feature that clearly separates Underground from other street racers is its visual presentation. The nighttime glow in the metropolis does take some time to get used to, but the evening air quickly adds to the stunning scenery and detailed avenues as you travel at high RPMs.

While the story line is relayed in a disappointing series of 2D images and conversation captions (no animated cut-scenes or voice acting), and even the fights don't push the PS2 to its graphical limit, the interactive gameplay is entertaining enough to make up for it.

It’s not the dominant game that its NBA brother is, but it’s still very worthy of a look.

There are some great innovations, like the lead pass from this year’s ESPN NBA game, that are sorely missed in the College version. This becomes a crucial factor considering rival March Madness bases its game engine on basically the same one as its newest NBA Live installment.

Better suited for the GBA format than most of the muddy faux-3D titles out there.

The only thing that could have made this slapdash and sloppy game any weaker would have been to throw in Aquaman. [Apr 2004, p.86]

Disappointing gameplay will plague anyone who has ever experienced previous Rainbow Six games. On the other hand, if you’re new to first-person tactical shooting, this game is a perfect starter.

Defiance shines with pure entertainment value, with crisp and gorgeous visuals and squishy sounds that invoke the feeling of steel crushing flesh.

It never really lives up to its title - a vision that could have benefited from a little more focus. It's a tired cliché but one that Beyond Good & Evil exemplifies: jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

BR4 takes the franchise’s wild fighting to the extreme with a massive sensory assault. Every strike rattles the speakers, and lengthy combos are common, all accompanied by spellcasting-like bursts.

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.

A magnificent example of fine-tuning, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando sculpts the successes of the first one to near-perfection...but too many similarities to the original make it all seem just a teensy bit stale.

While CNK may not break new ground, it does a quality job of delivering another kart racer in Crash’s universe. It will put gamers' mettle to the test and offer hours of "wait, one more time..." gameplay.

Despite its shortcomings, Onimusha Tactics is a solid game with an engaging story. If you're looking for a casual strategy game without the tedious character setup options, then Tactics is for you.

These are minor problems, however, compared to the mind-numbing frustration of the A.I.’s catch-up programming, which makes your opponents inexplicably faster when you’re ahead in the last legs.

Excellent car models, lighting, and reflection effects help the smooth visuals create a sense of blazing speed, and the beautifully detailed tracks are punctuated by vicious turns and loops that require you to master braking and powersliding without losing too much velocity.

Smart new theory kicks a dying genre in the butt and makes for a unique single-player and terrific two-player game.

Add to this the fact that the total gameplay time (minus cut-scenes) clocks in at a measly two and a half hours, and this game is definitely only a weekend rental.

While CNK may not break new ground, it does a quality job of delivering another kart racer in Crash’s universe. It will put gamers' mettle to the test and offer hours of "wait, one more time..." gameplay.

Defiance shines with pure entertainment value, with crisp and gorgeous visuals and squishy sounds that invoke the feeling of steel crushing flesh.