The AoEII environment is extremely rich in detail. Even more than the original, details on buildings are captured right down to the dead leaves resting on the rooftops.

While it does suffer some faults, the magic is still there and the package is a solid purchase for those looking to relive the glory of RPG's gone by.

Grandia's one really serious failing is its difficulty. My first run through clocked in at about 52 hours, so it certainly doesn't have a length problem, but however long and satisfying the journey, the experienced RPG player is unlikely to find many moments of genuine challenge.

Even though they did try to clear up a lot of issues some people had with the game, it just didn't seem to come off like the epic that was Suikoden I. It's not a bad sequel at all, it's just more of the same.

Tony Hawk definitely contributed all of what he knows that makes skating fun and incorporated it into a game that lets anybody feel like a professional skater.

Aurally, WipEout 3 is a masterpiece. In fact, it's almost worth buying just so that you can listen to the music in your CD player.

With increased detail running at a higher resolution and maintaining the same frame rate, it quite literally leaves the arcade version for dead. That's 640x480 at a constant 60fps.

Aside from the true graphics engine, Square has gone above and beyond the call of duty with FFVIII's Full Motion Video sequences. The CG's quality is unmatched.

Not only has control of this environment been handled well, but the smoothness of overall presentation and gameplay seem to reflect an excellence from RTS titles that we should all be looking forward to in the future.

The visuals are incredible... [and] environments are jaw-dropping.

A cross between "Destruction Derby" and "Grand Theft Auto," an interesting mix of driving, story, action and a heavy film influence thrown in, Reflections has created one of the best games the PlayStation has ever seen.

Although I feel it is sufficiently simple for anyone to jump into and enjoy, there are those who simply don't like golf. If you really don't like golf, this is obviously not the game for you. However, to anyone else, Mario Golf is a truly fantastic title that you must try. It's simple and fun, while still being true to the game of golf.

Pokémon Snap is a poor effort on Nintendo’s part. It is completely obvious that the game was rushed in order to cash in on the Pokémon frenzy. They could have spent six more months creating some new areas and adding all the available Pokémon into it and then it would have been a much better overall game.

A potentially brilliant RTS title sadly damaged by a lack of polish, TA: Kingdoms is still a hugely entertaining experience if you have the hardware (and the patience) for it.

If there was some more powerful hardware behind it, some more tweaking done to the control, and a little more variety in the gameplay (capturing monkeys for over 30 something levels can get tedious) it would have made this a definite A game.

This has to be one of the most beautiful titles I have ever played on my computer. It looks as if Outrage has thrown in every visual effect in the book, and in doing so, removed the monotony of the previous Descent level designs.

Gamers will no doubt enjoy the flexible interface with its different options, not to mention the game as a whole.

World Driver’s faults can be easily overlooked. Midway and Boss have managed to offer up a simulator that sits just this side of “arcade style” and actually do it right. Anyone with a little patience will get good at this game fairly quickly and find that it’s quite hard to put down. World Driver’s definitely a keeper.

This game just seems shallow in the gameplay department.

As with most board games, Mario Party relies heavily on luck (the roll of the dice) and has little to do with skill. Although most of the mini-games are fairly simple to learn and to play, I must warn potential buyers of Mario Party that this game is extremely tough on your controllers.

I really want to like Castlevania, but I can’t. Konami made a truly complete quest by throwing in a very long section leading up to the Castle, but ultimately it becomes boring. Once you actually get into some of the architecture, the bad camera angles and less than perfect collision detection makes the game an exercise in frustration most of the time.

If the inexplicably maze-like levels weren't irksome enough, the fact that you will spend quite a bit of time negotiating them looking for save points will really strain your tolerance. Turok 2 is Quake with gorgeous graphics, poorly-planned (but attractive!) levels, and gimmicks out the wazoo.

This is a title that no self-respecting N64 owner should pass up. Nintendo has created the first true N64 classic since "Mario 64."

It’s too short. Sure, there are twenty-five levels plus hidden areas and bosses, but they're limited to variations on about five different time periods, and they’re very short.

Wipeout 64 isn't a bad game by any means. It just doesn't have the same level of adrenaline pumping action and playability that Miyamoto's racer has.

The only complaint I have to make about the game is that the difficulty levels are a little imbalanced.

Along with great platforming action and pretty graphics, Abe’s Exoddus is riddled with some of the highest quality and most hilarious video sequences I’ve ever experienced.

The framerate and action more than makes up for the slightly less than average graphics. This is a title that no self-respecting N64 owner should pass up. Nintendo has created the first true N64 classic since Mario 64.