After finally learning and understanding the nuances of the game, I was hooked on one of the deepest GBA titles available. The game has its flaws, but the plusses clearly outweigh the minuses.

While Vexx eked out a win on the Xbox, its PlayStation 2 outing is held back by considerably worse graphics, longer load times, and stiffer competition.

Pride FC has one-upped UFC's efforts and is clearly the champion of MMA games. Though they are very similar on paper, Pride FC has more depth than its UFC counterpart.

It's not terrible, but it's not terribly good, either. It's just good enough (and just bad enough) to qualify as neither; The game is perfectly balanced in a state of Swiss-like neutrality.

It's hard to get the most out of it with an Xbox pad. Neither the original pad or the Controller S is well-suited to hosting a six-button fighter.

An underwhelming, choppy mess.

The story integrates so well with the faux-online theme that it drives you to continue playing almost as addictively as the real social interaction of a legitimate online game does.

It listened to the criticism of its 2002 release and came out with a highly polished 2003 edition. The latest game has significantly cut the distance between itself and the top soccer titles on the shelf.

Like Westwood's real-time strategy games, there's a lot of flash here, some of the same old interface problems, and more than enough "yee-haw!" enthusiasm to make up for any shortcomings. Well, almost.

Provides a great, online fantasy-gaming experience, albeit one that's not quite as grueling, unforgiving, or complex over the long haul.

Although several light years ahead of the quality present in "The Sum of All Fears," the major reason the PC original received such kudos ... -- online multiplay -- is missing.

The ability to quickly save your progress and not have to deal with lengthy and cryptic passwords, though, is an immeasurable improvement over the first game.

The game isn't a complete donkey, but it's painfully undernourished in the fun department. A real Mickey Mouse game, to be sure.

Basically, it's for the young-ins that aren't tall enough to peer at the DDR monitor: a harmless sort of Dance Dance Junior, and not much more.

Maia’s running animation is perhaps the silliest any main character in a game that was not intentionally funny has ever possessed.

Sorry, it's been an epic wait for the tech upgrade... It's a good game, but too often resorts to recycling a number of first-person shooter clichés instead of breaking new ground.

Anyone playing P.T.O. IV is much less interested in graphics than gameplay, and P.T.O. IV delivers heapin' helpings of the latter.

The game's reliance on padding is its biggest sin. Since there are very few environments, the designers force you to explore every nook and cranny of each one repeatedly, from every direction.

Groundbreaking and triumphant. Lesser words just don't do justice to the superior graphics and general aesthetics of Guilty Gear X2.

The maps are excellent, and while we would have liked a few more new vehicles, the ones that are here are a nice addition.

A simplistic beat-'em-up that turns out to be little more than a generic brawler at best.

Deserves praise for the innovative manner in which it presents its 3D locales.

For a game with a cartoonish bent and over-the-top character design, the gameplay seems a bit under-the-top at times.

Isn't worth the cost of an Extra Value Meal, let alone two.

But while there may be an uneven touch to it, the various game modes and a well-executed cel-shading technique save it from being a dud.

Almost every gameplay change in DMC2 is ill-advised, and does far more harm than good. It's like curing a man's cold by chopping off his head... DMC2's most painful flaw: Without the unique weapons of the original game, DMC2 also loses its compelling strategic elements.

While I clearly had fun with the game, there's simply not much to it. The volleyball is definitely faster than "Beach Spikers," but the moves aren't as varied and once you've figured out how to win, victory becomes automatic.

A decent racer, but unresponsive controls prevent the Xbox version of QPR2 from outshining the pack.