Small Brawl could function as a gateway for younger kids interested in the series, but are not quite ready to tackle the difficulty of "Twisted Metal: Black."

Not that Azurik is the most painful experience I’ve encountered, but the game offers nothing new to the genre, and seemingly borrowed everything from elsewhere. The pain is there though, believe me.

What an absolute disaster. These games are classics, and the only folks old enough to remember these will be put off by the sub-standard conversion done here. These games deserver better treatment. It could have been so much better.

Like getting an unexpected gift envelope from a good friend. The single-player campaign? It's the receiving of the surprise itself - short but nice. The multiplayer component, however, is like opening up the envelope and finding a certificate for a year's supply of free lap dances at Scores - it absolutely can't be beat.

In terms of sheer pace, NFL 2k2 and Madden are truly apples and oranges when it comes to game speed. I frankly feel that NFL 2k2 plays too fast.

It makes nice use of various special effects and never slows down, but those with epillepsy problems will probably want to stay away. However, if you're familiar with raves, you'll feel right at home.

Control difficulties with multiple opponents may be too much for some to overlook.

Graphically the game looks fantastic. The game is insanely colorful and the sprites are well animated.

A bigger problem on the visual side is the framerate. A lot of the time the game is running at 60 fps. But depending on the level, there can be considerable slowdown...Other than it being short and containing a few minor problems, it's an excellent launch title that is extremely fun to play.

If you have the PS2 version of the game, it may not be money well spent trying to gain some visual improvements at the cost of some game speed and a more convoluted control scheme.

The steering feel[s] somewhat awkward at first as well as stiff. This to me interrupts the smooth control design of the original game and complicates it for no other reason than to be complicated.

It wasn't the visuals that impressed me the most; it was the design of the audio. On paper, the audio might scare someone away as it only has one basic tune through the entire game. Yet that one tune never becomes tiresome.

It is likely that a few months from now, Super Monkey Ball will be one of the few launch titles that you still will be playing, especially if you have friends to play with.

Although Tarzan looks like a free-roaming 3D platformer in pictures, you actually navigate extremely narrow paths. Sometimes only one exact line will allow you to complete the level.

While the characters gained even more charm and personality, the gameplay has suffered.

The game most easily comparable would be "Half-Life," but even that just pales to the overall scope and vision of Halo.

Midway unfortunately neglected to realize what made Hydro such a great game to begin with; Great course designs and enjoyable gameplay.

They have done an amazing job of re-creating the intense thrill of being out in the ocean in large surf. I know from experience. The very first time I started a session with the game I got butterflies in my stomach.

As bland as they come. The cheesy plot and acting come with gun game territory but the horrendous gameplay doesn’t do much to make this game a keeper.

I've played nearly every version of THPS 2 out there and none can hold a candle to 2x...[but it's] not better than the 3rd game in the series, nor would I suggest picking up this game over that.

A fantastic graphical showcase for the Xbox hardware, but once past that, adult and child gamers alike will have a hard time finding anything to keep their interest in this adventure.

The graphics are the crowning achievement for the game after plays and during replays, but it looks pretty rickety in motion during the actual game play.

Speaking of the A.I., this is where my biggest gripe with the game lies...The control is overall a bit slippery at times, even when using a 4WD car with a high Handling rating. That is a bad combo usually, and drove me crazy on several opportunities.

An upgraded, yet still very lacking, installment in the air combat series that continues to be outclassed by Namco’s efforts.

It is gorgeous, full of different modes to play and things to unlock, and most important of all, fun to play and accessible.

Fits in the normal expectations for a launch title: visually pleasing with repetitive long-term gameplay.

The link feature is great, but the online play is wonderful. It’s a shame there isn’t a server to allow people from all over the world to play against one another.

While Angel Studios does have something to build on here such as the cool Career progression and checkpoint-based races, they need to seriously consider what they are doing with the control and AI.