It’s a shame that the city shows no real personality, I would have hoped that a city in the year 2090 would have looked futuristic or something. This one could be any of the current major cities with nondescript skylines and very plain colors.

You're left wishing that the planets were a bit more interesting after you touch down on them, though. The RPG elements are not fleshed out too well, though, so don't expect "Morrowind" in space.

An action-focused, arcade-like strategy game that can provide some frantic gaming fun. However, a lack of depth makes it wear thin after a bit and hurts its long-term appeal.

The 1-900 telephone number that has to be called in order for the secrets to be unlocked. What the heck was Codemasters thinking?

The sound in the game is also phenomenal. The sound is so well done that you can sit still and listen, and you'll be able to tell the direction that guards' footsteps are coming from and whether or not they are coming towards you.

Simply a terrific RPG that is so well polished you might need sunglasses to play.

It has a narrow niche and it fits it well – better than any racing game I’ve ever seen. I did notice some jerkiness on my older system that just barely meets the requirements, but other than that, the game ran well.

Its arcade style dogfights provide enjoyment, but the whole thing may begin to get repetitive after a while.

The good parts might not be enough to overcome the poor camera and game control.

Whether or not you'll enjoy the experience will depend on your patience level with the game's control and camera.

Vexx gets a lot of things right as a platformer, but all of the good parts are completely negated by a lousy camera system. It’s too bad because Vexx could have been special.

A challenging game with a lot of play options and an immense number of teams. Don't expect NHL-like scoring, though.

Exciting and great looking real-time strategy action. But what happened to the single player campaign?

If you enjoy hacking a lot of monsters and are willing to put the time into the game that it demands, you'll probably have a good time with EverQuest Online Adventures.

A great game ... just not on the GameCube.

If you loved Battlefield 1942, then you'll love the new maps.

It's like dating a gorgeous woman with a vacuous personality and intellect, eventually you'll start wishing that there was more there and will want to move on.

It’s much easier to do some of the crazier tricks here where you don’t have to worry about some other psycho rider knocking you off of your ride!

Worth checking out just for the driving sequences through an ultra-realistic London alone. However, the gun fighting action just does not deliver the same level of gameplay.

If you're a more patient gamer and enjoy a more passive experience, you'll probably find The Sims fascinating. It certainly is a unique game.

Provides some fun racing action, but it's not outstanding.

It has a few problems, namely the advanced AI's preoccupation with power-ups, lack of a good storyline to go with the monsters, limited combos, and a lack of online play. However, the great environments and the sheer level of destruction that can be wrought will make this the favorite of a lot of gamers.

The amount of detail, information, and control in SimCity 4 is nothing short of amazing - wannabe city planners and mayors will be in city management nirvana.

The greatest chat room ever, or the most boring online game in quite a while?

There are certainly worse budget titles out there, but if you tire of a game after less than an hour of play how much of a bargain is it?

While it may be on the shorter side of RPGs (say around 20 hours), it is certainly time well spent.

Lucas Arts impressed me in some areas (graphics and concept), while disappointing me in others (sound and of course you can’t forget, nauseating camera angles—I’ve ridden roller coasters more stable than the camera was!) with this title.

The game does a good job of ramping up the difficulty in all modes of play. The tracks get progressively more difficult to navigate, and the AI competition becomes tougher.

Individual matches are easy to win and the career mode quickly becomes an exercise in repetition.

If you're an aficionado of the series, then you won't be disappointed with the quality of this title. However, as a fighter the game falls short of the top titles in the genre and will more than likely be too simplistic for fighter fans.

If you have kids around that you can pass the game on to, take a chance on it. Otherwise, PK will leave most gamers feeling like not-so-super heroes.

Veterans of the genre will probably find it limited and simplistic.

While not as hard-core as some tactical FPS, Ghost Recon nevertheless does take a little getting use to if you’re new to this genre.

It's the poor man's "Diablo."

As the matches drag on, you can't help but to use repetitive moves and you don't have enough control over things to be able to regularly generate positive reactions.

The quality of the graphics look as if they are dated by at least a few years. If we were able to see crisp characters, it might add something to the game.

Well, ladies and gentlemen we have a new winner, or loser as the case may be. Legends of Wrestling II is the worst game I have ever played.

A good little portable trick riding game that really needs to lose its overly constraining clock.

All of this detail and complexity may be a dream for micromanagers, but all of the options do not seem to have much of a noticeable effect on the game.

How could such a complex war inspire such a shallow game?

The primary problem with the game is that your additional form and your primary weapon, the Sword of Light, draw power from your spiritual energy. This energy is fast to drain and very slow to regenerate, giving you just a few swings of your sword before you are left without the ability to attack.

Terrible control issues and seemingly endless jumping puzzles.

A winner with at least majority decision, if not a knockout.

A year ago I would have been hard pressed to recommend Dead to Rights. But now that’s it’s part of the budget-priced “Greatest Hits” line I say that it’s worth checking out as long as you’re not expecting state-of–the-art gameplay or graphics.

This could very well be a prototype for the next generation of city building games to come.

A pretty enjoyable fighter. A deeper Konquest mode that compelled players to complete it and Xbox Live support would have made this an even better game.

A game that relies so heavily on precise timing of jumps needs to provide the player with tight, responsive controls, something Dragon's Lair 3D fails to do.

If you like your RPGs heavy on the action, Dark Alliance provides some great monster-kicking gameplay.

A short but enjoyable hack and slash romp that is even more enjoyable when played with friends.

Some tweaks to the gameplay and a better weapon system would go a long way towards helping this ambitious title achieve greatness.

A definite treat for Rocky fans that comes up a little short as a boxing sim.

The game's developers have done an outstanding job of pushing the Xbox to its full potential and the result is a game with incredible atmosphere and a fully immersive environment.

Just another fighting game, with none of the special appeal of a classic like "Street Fighter." The opponents fight in much the same manner with little variation, and even at the higher levels, the game is far too easy.

The gameplay and adult content both fail to deliver, leaving the game thoroughly Mirra'd in mediocrity.

While it might not appeal to the strategy gamer who enjoys throwing masses of units into frenzied combat, it is an enjoyable change of pace from most other games in the genre and can also be enjoyed by those who like puzzle games.

One of the best looking space games out there. Unfortunately its gameplay can not match its eye-popping visuals... It just lacks the depth and hands on control strategy gamers expect from their games.

Lara has a nice range of moves, but the game is pretty linear and straight-forward. What you have in the end is a nice looking but fairly standard game that will have the most appeal to Lara Croft and action-adventure fans.

A thinking person's shooter, and provides some solid, tense gameplay... The single player mode is good, the multiplayer outstanding.

You don’t get a real sense of speed and this makes the handling very problematic.

Fast and frantic action for the arcade shooter fan, but light on story and strategy. Its graphics are a step down from those of its PC-based predecessors.

The most bizarre of the games is ATV Hockey, but surprisingly it is a lot of fun to play.

The changes did not go far enough and the result is a game that is still a notch below the top players.

There really isn’t anything that separates it from other Spyro games. Actually in a lot of ways the PS1 games are much more enjoyable and original.

The nonexistent tutorial, clunky interface, rough and bland graphics, and quirky AI are all hallmarks of a game released too early... more an exercise in frustration and bewilderment than a game.

Control in the game is excellent, and you'll never walk off a ledge because the controller is slow to respond.

The game feels as if the designers only wanted to put enough effort into the game to make it adequate and passable.

Among the best in the Valhalla of strategy gaming.

Any good feelings generated during the game's opening and initial sequence were quickly squashed by the game's numbing tedium... Looks great, no filling.

The game is most enjoyable for those who like sneaking up on enemy positions and sniping off the guards one by one.

Features some great tracks and can be fun to play at times, but it does not have the challenge or features to give it real staying power.

The idea is great, the execution poor. We can only hope that this is not the only treatment of the subject we'll see in computer gaming.

An interesting premise, but dismal AI and frustrating trial and error gameplay ultimately weigh this title down.

Has its fun and addicting moments, although it is hampered by uneven level design, loose control, and a confusing menu scheme.

The problem is that using the Ring is not critical to success in the game - you can complete it easily enough without ever using the Ring.

Defender can be a fun game ... while it lasts.

A great action-oriented RPG for those who like to spend more time killing hordes of monsters than reading screen after screen of conversational text.

It appears that the developers spent all of their time in creating the city and traffic, and the AI and gameplay took a back seat.

While the excessive combat and frustrating search system can make the game trying at times, overall it is not a bad title. If you enjoy Japanese-style console RPGS, this one is definitely worth a look.

It doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously, yet it provides some good gaming.

The single-player campaign is a blast, but will leave you wishing that it was longer.

The general lack of interesting and fun gameplay makes this a hard sell.

Some great visuals and the ability to pull off attacks straight out of "The Matrix" make this game a lot of fun at times, but uneven pacing and an overall lack of challenge prevent it from scoring higher.

Even though the game is set in the 1930s, BloodRayne looks more like a young high school goth-boy's fantasy woman, with a very trendy hair cut and a mix of leather and Victoria's Secret undergarments.

It might be a budget title, but that's not an excuse to release such a mess of a game. What price would you place on spending your leisure time in a confused state of frustration?

A very fast-paced and more arcade-like basketball experience, but a lot of fun nonetheless.

Poor, unresponsive control and linear level design prevent this game from being enjoyable by anyone other than big fans of the animated series.

As if the a great single player experience wasn’t enough there are some incredible multiplayer games happening here.

Smart and sexy, just like its heroine. It is a thoroughly enjoyable, tongue in cheek romp through the world of 1960s espionage.

A fast-paced, fantastic looking fragfest that is an absolute blast to play... It would be nice if there was more to the single player game, though.

It doesn't cut it as a tactical sim or an action shooter, leaving you with a strictly mediocre title.

A deep and gameplay-packed treat for fans of racing whether they are looking for casual play or a more serious racing sim.

It just seems to consistently fall short in the action, puzzle, and suspense categories.

Large scale real-time World War II combat is a great idea, but Sudden Strike II falls short in its execution. Take away all of the World War II units, and you are left with a very average strategy game.

Although there are a variety of objectives among the new missions, gameplay is not changed significantly in Island Thunder.

Probably the biggest knock against NBA ShootOut 2003 (if you ignore the complaints of defense purists) is the graphics. The player models and faces are a bit rough, and it can be hard at times to see the resemblance of marquee players to their real-life counterparts.

Constrained environments, sluggish controls, and a lack of overall mission variety keep it from realizing its full potential.

Poor translations and horrible voice-acting aside, Super Bust-A-Move 2 is a fun and often frantic game that should be a part of any puzzle game fan's library.

Once the poor bot AI is replaced by human players, the game instantly becomes more challenging and thrilling.