Primitive and unpolished, but its relentless goofiness, perfect use of the license, and twists on the stealth-action genre make it worth playing anyway.

While No Man's Land may not offer the depth of Microsoft/Ensemble's "Age of"... games, it's still a good value, with lots of gameplay and eye candy along the way.

A decent offering and an affordable way for a player to build skills and eventually enter the fray in "Warbirds" online.

The new simulation aspects are a good attempt to make this year's game appeal to every type of hockey fan, but the game still feels like it's caught in transition.

A competent and occasionally compelling hack-and-slash, but fans of the PC games will continue to dream of the true RPG they'll never get, and fans of Dark Alliance would presumably rather play "Dark Alliance II."

A deeper, better game than "Naval Ops: Warship Gunner," an RTS-lite with gobs of replay value...I just hope the next entry in the series addresses its weak graphics and lack of multiplayer.

If you're an action game fan and you want something that you can pretty much jump into and play without having to pore over a manual -- and you need something to occupy your time while you're waiting for those other, bigger games to come out -- BEA is a good candidate for your time.

While it's about as edifying and substantial as potato chips, it's also just as engaging and tasty.

A solid, competent shooter, one with a unique presentation and a story just intriguing enough to keep you playing through the end. The simplistic combat, generic design and savegame oddities keep it out of the realm of greatness.

Keep an eye on the patches for Kingdom Under Fire, once the major AI and multiplayer issues are resolved, it will be worth a second look.

Bomberman fans aren't in for anything really new with Bomberman Jetters, but it's hard to knock yet another faithful adaptation of one of gaming's most successful gameplay formulas.

Weird, sometimes wonderful, and certainly unique.

A solidly entertaining and charmingly classic role-playing game sure to delight anyone looking for hours of adventure.

It's way too easy to dash off a cliff into an instant death, which seems totally out of place these days.

It's not the most original or innovative of games, but when was the last time you got to face off against Dracula, the Wolfman, and the Frankenstein monster in the same sitting?

Being able to explore Hogwarts as not one, but all three of your favorite characters is, as Ron would put it, brilliant. But older gamers will find little challenge in the game's simplistic block puzzles.

Underneath the technical problems is an innovative, creepy, and intense experience.

Not as good as "Guilty Gear X2" and maybe "Capcom vs. SNK 2," and is so complex and steeped in tradition that it's not the best introductory package for someone wholly unfamiliar with The King of Fighters.

The intelligent touches and relative difficulty make Rogue Ops generally fun for fans of the genre. The unevenness in the presentation and controls keep it from really setting the genre on fire.

Acclaim's long-running series continues to get on base with its fundamentals, yet strike out when it comes to flash.

An entertaining, but shallow, experience. This game has some sweet graphics and some fun combat, but not a whole lot else.

For every innovative new feature, there's a gameplay gaffe or design flaw that drags it down; it's certainly better than last year's hyperactive NBA Live 2003, but it's still a year away from being something truly special.

It's challenging, the graphics are beautiful, and the gameplay is easy and accessible.

For most people, the Music Generator will provide much more creative fun than they expected out of a console.

More fun than not, but the repetitive nature and framerate problems dampened my enjoyment. I couldn't help feeling that it was a PC game slapped on a console.

There's not even the slightest attempt to string together the gameplay with a storyline; every mission is a self-contained hunk of hardness.

It's very derivative, and beyond a few puzzles requiring you to use all four characters in tandem, there's not a lot that's new here. At the same time, it's mostly enjoyable while it lasts.

The core mechanics and level designs are all excellent enough that the extra characters won't detract from the game should you decide to ignore them. In the end, this is the best and most realized of the Sonic Advance games.