It boasts a fun engine, endearingly weird characters, and funny voices and sound effects, but lacks a few key customization options that keep it from becoming the ultimate champ.

Visually, the game doesn’t disappoint—lots of shiny cars, detailed environments, and lighting effects that prove crucial during these after-hours races.

The too-twitchy controls (which aren’t laid out logically or comfortably) and easy crash deaths belie an inappropriate commitment to realism in a patently arcadey setting, while other elements simply need more polish (spotty collision detection; some tricks that aren’t “seen”).

Sonic's got the best portable pinball game on the market now—his tables are dead simple to get into, and there are enough extras to keep any Sega fan enthralled. It's also the closest thing to a new Nights game you'll ever get.

The new levels are just plain boring, and the action doesn’t really pick up until you hit the original PC missions. Far worse, the game completely—and lamely—lacks multiplayer action or online support.

While all the aforementioned features make Iridion incredibly unoriginal, they also make the game finally worth playing for more than the visuals. [June 2003, p.99]

The video-game equivalent of fast food—quick, easy, and disposable. Its main problem is that poor game design choices.

Brute Force is fun for a while, a forgettable destruct-a-thon with an OK squadly gimmick, but that’s about it. This gang of four doesn’t add up to one Master Chief.

A poor fighting system + awkward cameras + endlessly respawning, cookie-cutter bad guys = (it turns out) hours of frustrating, ruin-your-day gameplay.

Hulk provides thoroughly enjoyable action interrupted by moments of painfully simplistic stealth gameplay.

Hours of it at once will make your eyes glaze over. That's why this title's so good for "casual" gamers-it's a blast in 15-minute spurts, and if you stick to that schedule, there's enough action inside to keep you engaged for weeks.

Naturally lacks the novelty of the original, but it succeeds in correcting nearly all its faults... even if it creates a few in the process. [June 2003, p.112]

Rise of Nations’ biggest weakness—lack of variety—becomes obvious. Every nation is the same, except for some bonus modifiers; there really aren’t that many units; and in the end, you wind up wielding them as a jumbled horde.

Online FPS fans who like the heat of tactical team action will really dig the constant squad-level action of PlanetSide.

The beautifully lit ballparks look great, and the solid audio nicely re-creates the ballpark feel.

The more you play this half-baked sack of pixels, the more you become convinced that there is no The Matrix game, and the only thing being played here is you.

Lovers of Le Matrix should play just to see all the official Wachowski peripheral story stuff—it’s really quite cool, and actually adds to the story—but the PS2 game was jacked out of its own development Matrix too early.

An old-skool movie-based game in the worst way, taking you back to the days when a Hollywood license was a recipe for a giant ball of suck.

Somewhere along the way, someone forgot to implement the core of any action game: comfortable controls.

Simply an extension of Infection—muddy graphics, questionable control, and a story concept that’s just interesting enough to keep you going.

A superior GBA adventure in every respect and a marked improvement on "Harmony of Dissonance." Still, it is another "Symphony of the Night" clone—if you’re feeling a little sick of the same ol’ thing, this game may be the breaking point.

It doesn't shine as bright as "Golden Sun," nor does it have the complexity of "Tactics Ogre" - it's just a good-natured dependable RPG that never did any harm. [Apr 2003, p.63]

If anything, the whole game feels a little stiff—it’s visually arresting and robust but not as immersive as some other first-person games.

Although the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions of the sequel have been available for some time, the Xbox version nudges ahead of the other two as the best looking of the bunch.

Essentially the same game with a slew of slick improvements, and gamers will have an absolute blast throwing down dunks while exploring its new features.

Essentially the same game with a slew of slick improvements, and gamers will have an absolute blast throwing down dunks while exploring its new features.

Essentially the same game with a slew of slick improvements, and gamers will have an absolute blast throwing down dunks while exploring its new features.

A platformer with more than just jumping and crawling around, though it can get tiring for those looking for a more fast-paced adventure.