When combined with the original game, Tribunal's features make an excellent role-playing game even better.

Technically a pretty solid add-on to last year's distinctive martial-arts-themed real-time strategy game.

It's advisable for both general enthusiasts and die-hard hockey fans to avoid this game for fear of losing interest in the sport.

Prettier, more exciting, and more involving than any other golf game on the market and can rightfully claim its place alone at the top of the PC golfing leaderboard.

A train wreck of a game that has no direction, no technical merit, and little appeal except as a game design house of horrors and a showcase for some good music by Stewart Copeland.

There's really no shortage of games that pull off the action sports formula with more style and enthusiasm, making Whirl Tour somewhat irrelevant.

The absence of a basic team-building mode, a few minigames, or at least some other method of drawing out the overall replay value is really the game's only significant shortcoming. Otherwise, it's an immensely fun product.

A good entry point for people interested in discovering the tactical espionage genre, but it doesn't offer anything over and above the older "Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear."

As a game, it's slightly above average--an interesting combination of puzzle-solving and action that's plagued with camera issues and poor difficulty tuning.

A fairly decent "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" clone, putting a different face on a familiar game.

G.I. Combat's biggest shortcoming is that it has very little gameplay. Instead, it has a heap of confusion.

Other than a few specific problems, O.R.B. is a well-made game. It lacks inspiration, but it's a good enough real-time strategy game for those who are tired of being confined to terra firma.

A fantastic platformer in every way and qualifies as one of the best games the genre has seen since consoles went polygonal.

While the game is sometimes hampered by its nostalgia, it successfully and entertainingly captures the feel of controlling a giant robot like no other game has in the past.

It's astonishing just how much Driver 2 Advance looks, feels, and plays like the PlayStation version of Driver 2.

The game could've benefited from a greater number of arenas, a more diverse variety of scoobees, and more gameplay modes.

The extras in Substance--while perhaps not as substantial as Metal Gear fans had hoped--help make the wait for this Xbox version justifiable, but in the end, it's the core game itself that's still very worthwhile.

As the spiritual successor to "Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge," Zapper delivers more challenging action puzzle gameplay in a colorful, upbeat setting.

A good, solid 2D shooter, even if it is over before you know it.

The updates really don’t do anything to improve the gameplay and in some cases actually detract from it.

As the spiritual successor to "Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge," Zapper delivers more challenging action puzzle gameplay in a colorful, upbeat setting.

Fans of the genre or of the original game would be better off renting this one first, as it doesn't really go too far out of its way to distinguish itself.

Make no mistake, the pace can still be inordinately fast unless you choose to slow it down, but this may well be the FIFA that hard-core fans have been waiting for.

Completely substandard in nearly every aspect.

Plays remarkably well. Featuring lots of interesting, inventive design decisions, plenty of fun-to-use units, and tons of variety, Age of Mythology is the last real-time strategy game you'll need for a long time.

It's relatively fun in small doses, but Project Nomads doesn't live up to the potential that its unusual design suggests.

Even serious strategy fans will find it to be a nice diversion... It's short and sweet--just not very deep.

It's a little rough around the edges, but it's both exciting and technically impressive enough to hold its own against its full-priced competition.

The gameplay still might be a little too fast-paced for some, but Shut Your Mouth tries to balance it with a more useful grappling, submission, and counter system.

Really fun and truly invigorating--at least until you play through all 16 levels or grow tired of killing things.

It may not look as nice as the PS2 version, but for all intents and purposes it feels identical.

Still lacks some of the finer details of the sport as well as some features that are being offered by the competition, most notably online play.

This awkwardly designed and rather ugly-looking game can by no means be recommended to everyone, nor is it necessarily suitable for fans of other GBA role-playing games.

A paint-by-numbers adventure game, lifting its premise--and even some of its puzzles--from countless similar games that have preceded it.

All the innovations and improvements in Barbarossa to Berlin... take a great game and make it even greater.

A near-flawless game of golf that somehow manages to appeal to every breed of golfer.

Provides just about everything you'd want in a follow-up to an outstanding game. It's bigger, badder, and better in almost every imaginable way.

The collision problems outlined above, however, are what ultimately transform this average attempt at nostalgia into a frustration for all but the most devout He-Man admirer.

Scarcely meets average in most respects, although the core gameplay can be very fun.

An all-around solid game with some spectacular visuals and fun multiplayer modes.

The end result doesn't quite live up to those expectations--for one thing, it's easy to tell that Shenmue II was originally a Dreamcast game, since its technical aspects aren't nearly as impressive now as Shenmue's were in 2000.

A near-flawless game of golf that somehow manages to appeal to every breed of golfer.

Despite the game's flaws, it's still as addictive as ever, and you'll find yourself playing it for hours on end.

A nearly flawless game of golf that somehow manages to appeal to every breed of golfer.

A deceptive game, because while its theme suggests fast-paced arcade-style golf, the actual gameplay really isn't like that at all.

Mostly geared toward EverQuest's dedicated, hard-core following.

A good middle-of-the-road trick-based racer that should please fans of the genre, and it's an accessible entry point for newcomers as well.

Really just a slight refinement of the well-established DDR formula.

The games are certainly strong enough to stand on their gameplay alone.

There are a handful of other first-person shooters on the GBA, and a few of them are certainly more complete when it comes to overall design, but none are as vicarious or as stimulating as Doom II.

Despite some strategic elements, it really is a pure action game at heart, filled with plenty of targets to shoot at, plenty of power-ups to collect, and a good variety of tough missions to accomplish.

A horrible train wreck of problems ranging from poor rebounding and passing to inconsistent shooting percentages and a worthless post-up game.

The core gameplay is actually quite good, and it's tempting to just overlook the bugs and missing features and focus on the game's strengths. Unfortunately, there are too many of these bugs and missing features to ignore.

A quirky strategy game that's interesting to play--at least for a little while.

The game has a laundry list of problems, from being too short to suffering from horrific slowdown, that prevent it from being as interesting as its source material.

While Toxic Grind has the standard complement of features you'd expect from an action sports game and mixes things up by including a clever back story, the actual gameplay ruins anything else the game has to offer.

Unfortunately, the multiplayer is also an unmitigated disaster.

If you're a longtime flight sim fan who has played that title to death already and you're eager for another visit to the western front, Combat Flight Simulator 3 is a reasonable choice.

Its story doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and it's sometimes frustratingly difficult, but Iron Storm is a reasonably successful action game, which is what counts.

A little rough in spots, but it has the makings of a classic.

If you're already worn out on the gameplay of other rail-based light-gun games, you'll find little to draw you back in House of the Dead III.

A solid puzzler with an almost impeccable presentation.

A solid puzzler with an almost impeccable presentation.

Anyone with even a remote interest in either the genre or the real-life sport should purchase this game as soon as possible.

The characters look just like their onscreen counterparts.

A fantastic entry in the series and one of the best action sports games for Nintendo's handheld.

Released years after either of its predecessors, in turn borrows elements from both games but combines them in a way that, quite simply, isn't very fun at all.

The deeper single-player and improved multiplayer modes makes Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 the most tightly-packed installment in the series to date, and the slightly refined gameplay is still unmatched in the action sports arena.

The deeper single-player and improved multiplayer modes makes Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 the most tightly-packed installment in the series to date, and the slightly refined gameplay is still unmatched in the GameCube's action sports arena.

Very middle-of-the-road in most aspects of its execution, and none of it is as fun or as inspired as the Hot Shots Golf games that Swingerz was obviously modeled after.

Excitement quickly fades, leaving you with a game with unresponsive controls and lackluster action.

Much like Nintendo's "Super Smash Bros. Melee," the game is just plain fun.

It just isn't that much fun to play, thanks to its control and camera problems, along with its occasional crashes and lack of an autosave feature.

It could have been a great driving sim were it not marred by its poor control.

It doesn't really go too far out of its way to distinguish itself.

Die-hard Contra fans hoping for a pure Contra remake may find themselves a little disappointed that, for all its similarity to its classic predecessors, Contra: Shattered Soldier takes a few too many liberties.

Anyone with a modicum of gaming experience will probably find Sneakers to be boring and tedious.

This excitement always quickly fades, leaving you with a game with unresponsive controls and lackluster action.

if you either don't have a PS2 or overlooked Dark Alliance amid the holiday rush last year, then you shouldn't miss this opportunity to get what's easily one of the finest action RPGs ever made.

Deathrow's graphic violence and excessive swearing mean it's not exactly the game to get your kid brother, but most Xbox owners should find in it a highly gratifying experience that's equally well suited for single-player or multiplayer mayhem.

While it isn't quite as successful as "Spy Hunter" at re-creating the feel of the old game, Defender still puts on a decent show.

The new expansion pack features some new zoo animals, new exhibit types, and the entire Dinosaur Digs expansion, but nothing else.

Occasionally intense but lacks the personality and polish of its source material.

Fans of the first film will definitely want to pick this one up, but those who enjoy action games in general will also find a lot to like here, in spite of the game's short length.

It certainly is a good arcade-style driving game, but it's nowhere near as fun as the PlayStation 2 version.

There's so much variety and personality, however, that the odds are good that you'll find your money's worth in some aspect or another.

While more accomplished gamers may find some of the minigames too simplistic, this accessibility ensures that Mario's party is one that just about anyone can enjoy.

The overall product is so underdeveloped and the quest is so short that most casual players will feel shortchanged.

Seriously stripped down compared with its console cousins, and it doesn't have enough PC-specific features to make up for what boils down to a sparse and unentertaining racing experience.

Though it's disappointing that the developer chose to spin its wheels rather than improve upon its past efforts, Disney golf still stands up as a worthwhile arcade-inspired golf game.

It's not going to replace or even come close to your fighting game of choice.

Clearly one of the most flawed games of 2002. So flawed, in fact, that a 30MB patch has already been released, and another is on the way.

You'll probably have a hard time believing that you waited so long for what the sequel has to offer: the same old graphics, the same old rides, and the same old objectives.

Because of its great looks, gameplay twists, and good cast of characters, Wild Arms 3 should appeal to most anyone who likes games of this type.

A decent adaptation of the arcade series, and offers a sometimes enjoyable but extremely brief experience.

The slow start can make BloodRayne a tough game to stick with.

A must for all those who liked the original, as they'll find in Red Faction II a similar yet much more intense experience.

Merely an average adventure game with a high-profile license attached.