Perhaps the biggest problem in Magic Pengel is that it relies too much on a gimmick—fortunately, the some of the game’s shortcomings can be overlooked because the gimmick is done so well.

Finally, in what is perhaps the best ‘extra’ I’ve yet seen, a special cheat code can unlock the gray hulk, which in true gray hulk style, cracks wise at every opportunity, laying his opponents down with his special brand of verbal abuse.

With timid gameplay and puzzles that are either too simple or very difficult, it isn’t an easy game to sit patiently and play. If you can wade through that, you’ll find a rather captivating storyline awaiting you.

A game that grows on you, the more you play it the more you will like it, unfortunately there are enough missteps early on to dissuade many players from sticking with the game and realizing its full potential.

A fun game to play, a great reminder of what made "Ghosts ‘N Goblins" such a blast at arcades – but it’s repetition can’t help but place it firmly in the realm of rental.

A fun and addictive cooperative game in the vein of "SOCOM II."

Don't come in expecting anything groundbreaking or technically refined, but if you've been harboring a grudge against the cute platform creatures of the world, you may want to check out Raze's Hell to satiate those urges.

The controls for instance are easy to use and the AI is good enough to keep the enemies from being sitting ducks but not impossible to destroy.

A decent RPG where you can indeed actually advance your character and choose one of many paths through the story.

Although there are a few areas that could have been better, the overall game will keep most fans playing until next year.

Most of the hardcore strategists will probably only find a bit of eye candy wrapped around a good, but uninspired plotline, and little to add in replay value.

Exceeds the original arcade version by a mile and then some.

A downside to the game is that the levels are very tunnel like in their lay out. The inside levels are all fairly linear and the outside levels are typically in the recesses of huge trenches, so you don’t do a lot of meandering. Although the level design is lacking in some ways, the game developers have done a good job of finding strengths in the maps.

Anyone who is into WWII games, or who feels capable of leading troops into combat, should give this game a try...with all the improvements being made the score could easily jump to 87/100.

The game is well designed and had decent depth to it.

The idea of being able to design your own prototype and then race it is an excellent one, but it just wasn’t carried out very well in this game.

Save tilting and smashing the glass with my fist, I experienced many of the same challenges, frustrations, and triumphs as with my family’s old Williams Pinball machine.

Older kids and most adults will tire of the gameplay, but young children will think the game is cool with its movie cutscenes and easy controls.

Several transitional animations are somewhat uneven and detract from the overall aesthetic package.

Mindless fun.

Dead-on perfect for enthusiasts. It includes the entire Ducati heritage and is accurately designed with the details in mind.

While [it] improves upon last year's version in almost every area, most of these improvements -- other than the additional (and much needed) modes of play -- are subtle rather than drastic. Thus, as a complete package, it still seems lacking.

The good news is that although it does require more patience than most games, you at least are rewarded with stellar visual effects that make it worth your while.

Manages to accomplish more then you would expect with such a simple gameplay structure and limited environment. It doesn’t break any new ground but fans of adventure games will find enough motivation to capture all 999 ghosts.

For a console RTS, Aliens versus Predator: Extinction isn't half bad but compared to a PC RTS, however, Extinction is too simplistic for it's own good and hardcore RTS fans would do best to avoid it.

The game does have the most realistic feeling of pitching and changing speeds that I have ever seen and it is chock full of options. If you are not concerned with graphics, you should enjoy this game.

Visually and audibly pleasing, and professionally done, but for some reason, lacks replay value.

Not as innovative as "Suikoden III" was, but then again it does improve a number of weaker aspects such as combat control that held back the last release.

If your stomach is strong and the "Evil Dead" movies are your thing, this should be right up your alley.

Doesn't offer up a lot to warrant buying it if you already own the original Ultramix, but it's still a blast to play.

Although this latest release does attempt to freshen things up it doesn’t quite make a complete break from the arcade racing style, ending up in limbo and not performing either style at a high caliber.

The sheer amount of things you can do in ASB 2004 guarantees you’ll be playing this one faithfully until the next season and maybe even after that.

The Xbox controller, even if you’re using the S-type controller, isn’t suited for a game like this, which really needs six thumb buttons. You can compensate with the trigger sticks, but not well.

Although it hasn’t made up any ground against its competition, it doesn’t step backwards either. What World Tour Soccer 2005 does offer is an enormous variety of options ranging from over 900 teams to 18,000 plus players.

Tough call, but I do know that there's more then enough here for pure fans of Tony Hawk games.

This game is for the serious and possibly hard core soccer fan. Everyone else should just take a seat in the stands and enjoy the action from afar and let the pros go to work.

A superb game. Well done, complex, and challenging, it presents an experience that is worth the play. It suffers only in difficulty and specialization. If you’re into simulation racing games, you’ll like this game.

There’s a level of immersion that’s created flawlessly through the often sharp visuals and impeccable sound, and if I weren’t the observant type, I’d be sure I was in the Matrix myself.

I can't figure out what made them decide to connect such a mediocre feature as the Virtual Voyager with such a strong game as "Elite Force."

You will find that it is a much better and more realistic game if you play against another human instead of the computer.

Could have been better in many areas but still gives a solid performance. It's not cutting edge or innovative but fans of this genre will be satisfied.

This is a game for the die-hard off-roader. There is more to planning and buying vehicles and parts than there is to racing at times.

The awkward camera angles used in the games do make movement and fighting difficult in some cases, but fans of adventure games will find plenty to enjoy.

Except for the cut-scenes, the graphics weren’t too exciting and the sound is just blah. The sloppy control and light gravity also don’t help too much. Despite all this, I still found this to be a fun game once I got the hang of it and I also found myself becoming strangely addicted to it.

Even though I had a blast browsing through all the game had to offer I found that it was basically a re-release of the "Atari Hits Volume 1 and 2."

As an interactive cinematic experience, it ain’t bad, but if it had to rely entirely on its own gameplay, then it’d be something else entirely.

Golf fans will eat the title up and love doing it, but for the casual player, it may be too lacking in its final product.

The most innovative aspect of the game is the formations feature. Large groups of soldiers can be controlled with considerably reduced effort and the flavor of the game is enhanced immensely.

The fact that there aren’t any incentives to finish specific missions may be a disappointment for those that are more goal orientated but the number of missions available should justify the $30 for fans of pure combat flight simulators.

One major problem is the lack of strategy required at what initially appears to be a game ripe for strategy. A one-dimensional approach can be adopted and applied to almost any circumstance as you attempt to overwhelm your enemy.

An enjoyable rental game. Rental game, of course meaning, rent this game. After a few hours, maybe a weekend at the most, the game begins to lose its shine and quickly becomes dull.

A fun game that fills the action RPG genre adequately. I look forward to the next wave of titles in genre where developers may have more time to incorporate voice acting, more robust cities and more varied quests.

Stepping in the right direction to make RPGs a bit more varying. However, it does tend to bog down at times and you'll feel like you’ve done the same thing more than twice, making it a little mundane at points.

Madden 07 doesn’t take an revolutionary leaps this year but does make some strides with new gameplay modes and gameplay tweaks.

The interface is simple and easy to learn, and thanks to a few good decisions on laying out the controller, you won’t get lost in a haze of menus.

The slow paced gameplay and unthreatening opponents will turn off some, but if you’re interested in hunting, then Hunting Unlimited 2 warrants a look.

What this game lacks on a strategic side, it makes up for with its aggressive side. This game is a sweet addition to the tradition of Blitz titles.

If you're still charmed in the slightest by the Dance Dance Revolution franchise, then Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 will likely put a big grin on your face, and if you're anything like me, it'll complement those unstylish dance moves just fine.

Prey offers solid FPS action with enough new elements to keep things interesting. As with most FPSs these days, the real action in online and Prey won’t disappoint here either.

Even at the later stages of the game, it seemed quite easy to progress, offering little challenge.

My only real complaints are that the game is too easy, too short, doesn’t have enough players, and doesn’t let you fight nearly the same amount of walking dead as in the first one.

When manipulating the camera, things tend to get sluggish and all fluidity is lost. Graphics are further hampered by the prevalent pop-up due to the small draw-in distance.

Although the multiplayer options seemed underdeveloped, the strong plot element and gameplay mechanics will keep most satisfied with their purchase.

Suffers from a lot of minor issues from bland graphics to somewhat unresponsive play.

The bulk of the game is really a pretty standard adventure game steeped in average but not too puzzling puzzles.

All in all, if you enjoyed The Movies, your experience is only a fraction of what it could have been without the Stunts and Effects expansion.

With few improvements over the last version, NBA Live 2002 is taking a risk by opening the door to its competitors.

Ultimately creates a frustrating experience stemming from both the deep difficulty and buggy programming. But, underneath these problems lies an extremely realistic and engaging squad-based combat sim.

Entertaining to play, had nice features, intuitive controls, and was a nice adaptation of the original, but it just lacked that extra something to score it as a "keeper."

If Shrek’s trek weren’t such a short one, then Shrek 2 would get the full recommendations, but it’s hard to justify putting down 50 bucks for a game that’s beatable in a rental period.

Probably isn’t going to satisfy those who are looking for an in-depth stealth game requiring strategy and calculating maneuvers.

A great single-player game with truly unforgettable courses, but the plain multiplayer levels, ho-hum graphics and bad sound keep this game from making my must-have list.

The slow start and heaver tilt toward exploration may turn off some who need a steady dose of action, but for the rest of us find Suikoden V worth the time.

Vexx toes the party line for platform games but at least adds more style then most.

A clunky fighting system which doesn’t seem to rely on tactics at all and camera angles that make gameplay at times both hard to master and frustrating to endure, hamstring what could have been a fantastic game.

In essence, it seems for every good point to the game there's also a negative counterpoint in the same category.

I’ve heard it’s possible to get up to 16 people on a single game, each controlling a worm. With those kinds of numbers, and this kind of destruction, Worms 3D can be a good evening’s worth of entertainment.

A definite must for racing fans who don't have the similar "NASCAR 4" and for hardcore gamers who want the latest tracks and don't care about the price tag.

Much improved graphics. The player models and stadiums received a much-needed facelift with a much higher level of detail and color.

When will Acclaim learn, and design a wrestling game more like "Def Jam Vendetta"? Imagine if you combined that imaginative play technique with good old fashioned wrestling?

A title most gamers will probably want to leave at the store. However, if you're a serious fan of music and all the design that goes into it, this may be one of the better PS2 titles you could buy.

As much as I love my PS 2, this version is the ugly cousin in the Max Payne family. Rent before purchase.

Although the graphics and sound are not noticeably improved, that won't affect the experience as Activison takes us back into the Xmen universe.

Just seems to be a poorly designed port of a rather good console game.

Bomberman Jetters does offer a few new features but unfortunately not enough to substantially impact the gameplay.

Even with its difficulty problems, the only really bad thing I can say about this title is that its way too short, and there’s way too little to do.

A worthwhile purchase for a big time fighting fan, just remember that with this one, you'll be left feeling a little deprived, and without much replay value, it will probably collect a lot of dust on the shelf.

A game that is generally easy to control, but that has a lot of issues when it comes to the finer movements usually associated with the special attacks and combos used by most characters.

The graphics are solid and set the right tone, the story line will keep you playing to the end, and the gameplay will keep your Spidey sense tingling.

Getting comfortable with the cycle controls will take some time and I actually found it easier to go on foot whenever possible than mess around with the cycle mode.

IF you are not concerned with these other options and are looking for a game to play against you buddies on or off-line, you should be pretty satisfied.

Your classic RPG in shiny packaging, brand-new packaging.

A medium of the road horror adventure that has unfriendly controls and a less then inspiring storyline but with slick graphics and spot-on audio, all of which disappoints because I could see how good this game might have been with minimal adjustments.

Creepy, glowing red eyes, odd rituals, and other suspenseful items seem to be aimed toward a bit more mature audience than the average Nancy Drew reader, and the title’s E rating (compared to the much more tame Danger on Deception Island’s T rating) confused me even more.

Brings some interesting gameplay elements to the table, but the execution falls short and it ends up being simply average, along with a thousand other no-name action titles.

The biggest flaw that I experienced while playing was the simple matter of the gameplay, as no matter how fast you go or how well you fly, a great deal of winning the race simply rests in picking the faster aircraft and getting fairly lucky.

The environments and enemies will meet most expectations but there are times when slow down becomes a factor.

It's quick, simpler and more fluid game play.