You'll get most out of the game on Xbox Live. Working alone or with friends, Carve's online races are unique as the properties of water allow for some novel gameplay. By crossing in front of rivals you can create waves that make life more difficult for them - something that works particularly well when working as part of a team. [Feb 2004, p.120]

With just as many levels where you'll pray for it to be over than where you're actually having fun, the game turns out to be a mixture of styles that don't meld together as solidly as they should, as well as having several frustrating joypad-throwing moments and often demanding extraordinary feats of memory from the player. [Mar 2004, p.114]

If you've already got a version of Winning Eleven 7 or "Pro Evo 3," this is not enough of an update to warrant re-buying, but newcomers who have the means to play import games may want to consider picking it up. [May 2004, p.111]

With just as many levels where you'll pray for it to be over than where you're actually having fun, the game turns out to be a mixture of styles that don't meld together as solidly as they should, as well as having several frustrating joypad-throwing moments and often demanding extraordinary feats of memory from the player. [Mar 2004, p.114]

With just as many levels where you'll pray for it to be over than where you're actually having fun, the game turns out to be a mixture of styles that don't meld together as solidly as they should, as well as having several frustrating joypad-throwing moments and often demanding extraordinary feats of memory from the player. [Mar 2004, p.114]

If you were piecing together the ultimate stereotypical PC game, our guess is that the end result would look a lot like Spellforce. [Christmas 2003, p.127]

If your appetite for RPGs is insatiable ... then four-way multiplayer and online capabilities are excuse enough for a purchase. [Apr 2004, p.116]

Most gamers will complete Nightshade within a weekend - it's a fine example of style over substance. But this game is all about its scoring system and it offers plenty of incentives to ensure that you'll be going back for just one more go. [Mar 2004, p.110]

It's the game's bare-bones approach (card battling, deck editing and very little else) that makes WCT 2004 so damn intriguing. Under the simplistic exterior lies a game so laden with strategy and tactics that it makes our brains hurt just thinking about it. [Apr 2004, p.118]

The biggest problem with Colosseum is that you'll find it not only filed under 'mixed bag' but practically stapled to the sign itself... It seems that one man's inter-console collectathon finale is another's last ditch attempt to save the over-flogged horses of connectivity and Pokemon. [May 2004, p.116]

As much as we enjoy Zero Mission, we can't help feel disappointed with the many boss encounters you'll face throughout Samus' adventure. ... It's all very well filling Zero Mission with an array of huge, well-animated bosses but they're crippled by extremely poor attack patterns and being incredibly easy to dispose of. [Apr 2004, p.104]

Unfortunately, though the multiplayer game is certainly better than the experience offered by playing alone, it has its own flaws that turn what could have been great fun into something lacklustre. Perhaps if Square Enix had tried something a bit more traditional rather than being blinded by Nintendo's claim that connectivity is the way forward, this wouldn't have been the case. [Mar 2004, p.102]

The unmistakable quality persists but only the keenest fans are likely to find the online component draw enough to upgrade, while the same newbie-repelling difficulty as before may struggle to attract fresh followers. [Jan 2004, p.115]

It's possible to sit through the game in one (admittedly long) sitting and this comes dangerously close to ruining the game. Fortunately, with five initial characters to play as and the typical Dark Alliance secrets, you'll still find yourself going back long after the main adventure is finished. [Feb 2004, p.100]

A no-nonsense, honest-to-goodness platformer. It knows what it wants to do and presents things in a way that looks good and works well. But despite being sturdily put together and instantly enjoyable, it's hard not to think that it loses the impact it once held in the face of the latest batch of fresh and technologically impressive titles in the genre. [Feb 2004, p.106]

It's possible to sit through the game in one (admittedly long) sitting and this comes dangerously close to ruining the game. Fortunately, with five initial characters to play as and the typical Dark Alliance secrets, you'll still find yourself going back long after the main adventure is finished. [Feb 2004, p.100]

While it may not be anywhere near the calibre of the PC titles, it does become a perfectly playable action RPG (with the emphasis on 'action') after the first trudging hour or so. [Apr 2004, p.122]

While the game mechanics are solid enough, the Street methods and ideals simply don't work when transferred basketball to American football. Gamebreakers are now far too effective, basically giving guaranteed points rather than the more balanced advantage of "NBA Street." [Feb 2004, p.117]

If ever a title were to prove that 3D fighters don't work with sprite-based characters on a small screen, Sonic Battle would be that game. Attack connection is nothing short of a joke and the appalling character balancing doesn't make it any funnier. [Feb 2004, p.116]

While matching up well to its obvious inspiration, CT Special Forces still lacks the spark of imagination and intensity that made Metal Slug so special; nevertheless, it's a pretty good take on the landmark game and a blast to play. [Oct 2003, p.118]

For what it is and on its own merits, it's the ultimate version of the world's best online game, period. However, we can't escape the fact that this is little more than Counter-Strike 1.6 with decent bots - a game we've been playing for years and for free. [May 2004, p.118]

It's the faintest of pulses on a cadaver we've seen many times before - identikit dungeons, faceless monsters and convoluted menu systems should be a thing of the past by now. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

For every area in which Max slips up the sheer magnitude of the technical achievement saves the day. Aside from slight grievances with accuracy and unseen foes, this is as faithful a port as you're likely to play on a handheld this year. [Feb 2004, p.108]

Despite a veritable host of respectable changes and additions, this still can't live up to the standards of the original game. An improvement over the last console effort, but with so much more potential than is actually realised, Bustin' Out still disappoints a little. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

Ironically, the developer has actually been very successful in mapping a superbly intuitive control system to the gamepad, and by enabling direct control of your Titan a basic action element is introduced. Yet by totally amputating any strategic scope from the RTS equation, the ensuing battles becoming virtually pointless affairs. [Mar 2004, p.111]

Despite a veritable host of respectable changes and additions, this still can't live up to the standards of the original game. An improvement over the last console effort, but with so much more potential than is actually realised, Bustin' Out still disappoints a little. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

Despite a veritable host of respectable changes and additions, this still can't live up to the standards of the original game. An improvement over the last console effort, but with so much more potential than is actually realised, Bustin' Out still disappoints a little. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

Rather than force you from one style of gameplay to another depending on which level you're on, BG&E blends the transitions together almost seamlessly. The additional styles never really encroach on the main crux of the adventure; they're always peripheral and therefore serve to enrich the experience, rather than dilute it. [Dec 2003, p.114]