Best of all is the vicious melee attack, dealt out with a forearm blade. It's enough to make the Fett family green with envy.

Having to worry about more than button mashing is something new for Devil May Cry, and it can make things tricky in the beginning--even on the easiest level, you'll need to fight intelligently from the start or you'll die a quick, painful death.

Where "Full Spectrum Warrior" offered a fairly straightforward series of forking streets, Brothers' battlefields are big--so much so that you never feel bound by arbitrary barriers, wondering why you're funneling into forward fire when crossing the low wall on the left or the field to the right will take you well around it.

A fine expansion with fun locations and seductive opportunities, but it needs a bit more gameplay balance before graduating to the "real" world.

The most striking change is in the innovative control scheme--where you use the right analog stick to throw jabs, hooks, and uppercuts--which has now been slightly altered to enable you to fight more like a professional pug in the ring.

The game was number three in a field of three last year, but this season it looks great and has dramatic gameplay improvements for all skill levels. [Apr 2005, p.97]

LucasArts has done a super job in bringing this game to life thanks to the outstanding story, tight controls, and the hefty amount of intense action, while also including a standard list of multiplayer modes and Xbox Live online support. That it won't win critical acclaim for being revolutionary is beside the point.

The most striking change is in the innovative control scheme--where you use the right analog stick to throw jabs, hooks, and uppercuts--which has now been slightly altered to enable you to fight more like a professional pug in the ring.

It's a serviceable game, but it doesn't excel in any regard. [Apr 2005, p.85]

Thanks to the GameCube's unfriendly button layout, performing the new demanding dial-a-combos is harder than ever. Patient players, however, will uncover an almost overwhelming array of play modes and hidden features.

The most striking change is in the innovative control scheme--where you use the right analog stick to throw jabs, hooks, and uppercuts--which has now been slightly altered to enable you to fight more like a professional pug in the ring.

An excellent game, better than it has any right to be. But the premium bonus content (including arcade-perfect ports of the first three Tekken titles, plus a spiritual successor to Tekken Force) catapult the entire package to "must-have" status.

This game require real patience. There's no way to speed through long-distance trips, so it pays to keep a magazine handy (psst, you're holding one).

Don't get fooled by the cartoony visuals--this is one game that'll make you think long and hard in a good way.

Once you get the hang of the game engine and acquire better strike craft, the game becomes a very pleasurable experience. Ace Combat Advance is the perfect stopgap between an air-combat sim and an arcade top-down shooter.

The game was number three in a field of three last year, but this season it looks great and has dramatic gameplay improvements for all skill levels. [Apr 2005, p.97]

Flawlessly paced progression keeps you playing for leaner lap times; a newfound sense of speed makes each race seem like protracted suicide; and down-to-the-nuts-and-bolts details assure authenticity--as the box says, this is the drive of your life.

We praise the designers' decision to make Adol a speedy little devil, so darting around towns and inevitably retreading terrain isn't such a tedious chore.

Easily forgotten, Project: Snowblind delivers on the promise of an FPS game and nothing more. Were it the only option, it would be instantly snatched up; however in a crowded market, there's no reason to settle for "average" when you could be playing "great."

While two buddies playing each other can certainly appreciate FIFA Street, competitions against the computer can quickly turn into a repetitious chore.

Even while having more twitch-combat, the strategic aspect has not been compromised, making the game approachable for both hardcore and casual audiences.

MVP retains the Gold Glove for controls, but the competition has made up ground. [Apr 2005, p.97]

As a top down RTS game, Super Army War would have been great. But as a 2D side-scroller, this game is a logistical nightmare.

Easily forgotten, Project: Snowblind delivers on the promise of an FPS game and nothing more. Were it the only option, it would be instantly snatched up; however in a crowded market, there's no reason to settle for "average" when you could be playing "great."

MVP retains the Gold Glove for controls, but the competition has made up ground. [Apr 2005, p.97]

Second Sight's visuals are more balanced than its gameplay.

A brainless, gratuitous gashingfest that means well but just doesn't play well.

A beautiful composition, but restless gamers will have a hard time sitting throught the constant cinemas... Perhaps next time developers will seriously consider integrating the story through an increased amount of real-time gameplay. [March 2005, p.90]