K-1 packs fluid, responsive controls of the "Tekken" variety (left punch, right punch, kicks, etc.) combined with trouble-free 360-degree movement. [July 2003, p.76]

What's surprising about Outlaw Volleyball is that it plays as well as it looks, like "NBA Jam" on the beach... With its sexual references, tan lines, and gyrating asses, Outlaw Volleyball makes "DOA" looks like McDonald's Playland. [Sept 2003, p.71]

There's so much new content, it's more like an excellent sequel to the original. [Sept 2003, p.70]

These ladies are hamstrung by weak animation, dinner-theater accents, and brain-dead A.I., and you can't appreciate their asses - uh, assets thorugh the long-range camera or motion-blurred replays. [Sept 2003, p.69]

We'd feel good about recommending this game to RPG fans if not for the stuttery framerates. [Sept 2003, p.75]

A lot of fun, but if it has one problem, it's that it is too similar to the previous game. But hey, the first game was great. [Aug 2003, p.71]

Spartan in its design and curiously devoid of such necessities as customizable bikes or the option to change the controller configurations, Superstar can barely keep pace with the middle of the pack. [Sept 2003, p.67]

If only the battle system were as imaginative as the character creation, Magic Pengel would be one of those quirky and lovable games everyone looks back upon fondly. As it stands, it's just quirky. [June 2003, p.69]

The textures aren't quite as sharp [as the Xbox version] and the framerate is a little dodgy, but Indy controls slightly better on the PS2 controller, thanks to the additional shoulder buttons. [Sept 2003, p.69]

Overly generic... This game has been made before, and its has been made better. [July 2003, p.71]

The strategy serves as a fine complement to the otherwise problematic action, and, ultimately, Gunner hits its mark - but just barely. [Aug 2003, p.72]

Just make sure you tell people you didn't realize it was a Trek game, considering how cool it looks and fun it is to play. [Sept 2003, p.69]

If "Battle Network 2" was a tasty burrito, Battle Network 3 is a tasty burrito stuffed inside a larger, tastier burrito. [June 2003, p.79]

The game has changed just enough to please loyal fans, and when you've got a formula that makes for such a compelling gaming experience, why mess with it? [July 2003, p.80]

Nothing more than a crappy checkpoint racer. [Sept 2003, p.69]

It's a fun, imaginative platformer that, though easily and quickly completed, is another solid first-party GameCube title. [July 2003, p.74]

Controlling Lara is like a dream - that one where you simply can't get to where you want to go fast enough, no matter what you try. [Sept 2003, p.74]

The pace is so fast, however, that you'll likely finish the entire game in less than three hours. [July 2003, p.76]

The bad news is this: The game's graphics look dated. Most characters are blocky and reek of a poor PC port job. And Xbox Live support...needs an overhaul. [Aug 2003, p.74]

The game alone is worth the price of admission, but this version features an all-new Mission mode that, while fluff, is nonetheless fun, plus 12 entirely cool Sonic games taken wars and all from the Sega Game Gear. [June 2003, p.72]

A "Metroid Prime" wannabe that fails on almost every level. [Sept 2003, p.76]

Having every move consume HP is somewhat unbalancing when enemies already do so much damage, and the reworked HP/LP setup can be bafflingly random. [July 2003, p.72]

To get the most out of this game, start the expansion pack with a brand-new character. We imported a high-level cleric - Beaverskull Bablicious - from NWN and found Undrentide to be too easy. [Sept 2003, p.76]

Better than the original in almost every respect. [Aug 2003, p.80]

A perfectly competent single-player shooter with neat space-sim elements (and Henry Rollins!), but if you absolutely need multiplayer replayability, look elsewhere. [Aug 2003, p.77]

All traffic and pedestrians are removed from the game. Fortunately, the capture the flag and tag style modes are plenty entertaining, especially with a larger group. [Aug 2003, p.78]

Under normal circumstances, this would be just tedious, but combined with endless deadite enemies and little in the way of ammunition and health packs, it's a sermon on frustration. [July 2003, p.79]

With a less-frustrating difficulty level, revamped weapons system, and a graphical look that wasn't so...dull, Transmission could have been very good. [June 2003, p.72]

If hauling junk from A to B holds any sort of appeal, it withers in record time. [Aug 2003, p.72]

The title's most remarkable feature is the towrope's physics. Whether you're taking in slack or using it to slingshot around massive lakes, the rope feels absolutely real and must be played to be believed. [July 2003, p.73]

A game that moves fast, controls brilliantly, and looks utterly fantastic. [July 2003, p.77]

If you just like insanely fast arcade racing, go ahead and pick it up. It's a gas. [Aug 2003, p.73]

A true love-it-or-hate-it game; try before you buy. [Aug 2003, p.77]

Most of the game plays out like "Pokemon" with bad wiring. [Mar 2003, p.65]

The physics engine is dead on: Balls handle as they would on a real table. [Aug 2003, p.80]

You actually control things like the bit and the horse's lead leg in turns. [July 2003, p.78]

Despite some well-done presentation and solid controls, major missteps in the level design and entire multiplayer system cause Brute Force to lose all the fun from what should be a great time for you and your friends. [Aug 2003, p.69]

Remains an uneven effort because the fighting is so good while the sneaking is downright disappointing. [Aug 2003, p.73]

Since the fighting lacks rhythm and finesse, pounding one button can and will defeat a player who's foolishly making a good-faith effort to control his character. [July 2003, p.78]

A collection of over 200 totally unexpected, random, frighteningly creative "microgames." [Aug 2003, p.79]

The games survive in excellent fashion on GBA, with sharp colors and fast framerates. [Sept 2003, p.80]

Without a doubt, a contender for racing game of the year. [June 2003, p.74]

A poor camera system forces players to constantly readjust their view, which is annoying, certainly, but becomes seriously problematic later in the game. [June 2003, p.69]

Playing Rise of Nations won't make your jaw drop in amazement, but you'll probably still have lots of fun as long as you like RTS games. [Aug 2003, p.74]

Finding a hot zone that doesn't play like a deathmatch in a broom closet [or getting to a hot zone at all] takes more legwork than you'd expect for the payoff. [Sept 2003, p.65]

The pitcher/batter interface is shallower than Bank One Ballpark's swimming pool... Overall, Inside Pitch lacks just about any sense of baseball spirit. [June 2003, p.68]

As passive entertainment, ETM isn't bad...As interactive entertainment (as a game, that is), this Matrix is quite simply spectacularly average. [Aug 2003, p.76]

Playing out your career is fun for a little while, but there's just too much tedium and repetition involved to inject freshness into a tired franchise. [Sept 2003, p.67]

Open-ended and uproariously funny. [Sept 2003, p.67]

The visuals aren't as impressive as the movies, but the underwater aesthetic and various effects (currents, bubbles, steam) are pleasing to the eye. [Sept 2003, p.77]

Introduces a rather swift prebattle system. It's a welcome addition for "Total War" players who want better control of forces and reinforcements. [Aug 2003, p.75]

We keep stumbling onto funky new aspects the more we play it - like the fact that your relationships with your pals in this faux-MMORPG depend on the time you spend with them and the gifts you give them. Just like in real life. [June 2003, p.73]

Little more than an exercise in monotony. [Sept 2003, p.77]

Day of Defeat isn't the most powerful gun in the armory, but it is the most reliable. [July 2003, p.73]

If "Harmony" was dinner, then Aria is surely dessert: short, sweet, and to the point. Not bad if you don't mind too much of a good thing. [June 2003, p.76]

Excellent gameplay and some damn-fine GBA RPG graphics. [Mar 2003, p.72]

Two-player co-op is decent fun, and it makes the single-player campaign a lot more manageable and enjoyable, but the real meat of the game is the XBL multiplayer. [July 2003, p.68]

What keeps Street hot in any of its addictive modes is its tight controls, great graphics, and awesome play-by-play commentary (you go, Bobbito!). [May 2003, p.72]

It's a good game, but it lacks the qualities that make the greats - the Marios, Castlevanias, and Metroids - absolute must-haves. [June 2003, p.79]

Every bit as good as the movie upon which it is based, and no better. [July 2003, p.78]

Players will find themselves replaying missions again and again because, as in real war, life is cheap and death is all too common. [June 2003, p.75]

The best Tube Slider can come up with is a fancy-looking plate carrying a healthy portion of "been there, done that." [July 2003, p.75]

Better graphics and more modes equals better value. [May 2003, p.71]

If Codies opened up the format and provided more variety in the Championship mode, it would be a king. [May 2003, p.68]

Playing it is slightly more fun than swallowing a lawn mower. [July 2003, p.72]

For newbies, this is still a great game, but for veterans of previous iterations, there's no reason to switch. [July 2003, p.75]

It's a claustrophobic eye-dryer whose thrills are offset by the demands it places on the gamer. [May 2003, p.65]

Including a coin-op arcade game called "Fag Hunter" in the game world is not only not funny, it's disgusting and hateful. [July 2003, p.73]

Seriously, if you haven't finished the first installment of Camelot's sprawling GBA epic, it's likely you'll be baffled, at least initially, by this direct follow-up. [May 2003, p.73]

MC II should ship with a free sample of Ritalin. The amount of concentration required to maintain control of your car at such incomprehensibly high speeds almost requires some sort of chemical assistance (just joking kids). [June 2003, p.66]

It's missing the original game's great controls and sense of speed, rendering all that other good stuff a wasted effort. [Sept 2003, p.80]

Few racers match the sheer excitement of unleashing the boost on a straightaway to the accompaniment of wailing guitars. [June 2003, p.68]

An otherwise pedestrian city-building game, only Tropico 2's setting salvages it from being a complete shipwreck. [July 2003, p.79]

Textures are muddier, the framerate is choppier, lighting effects are faked (faked well, but hey), and the image quality isn't as clean. [May 2003, p.71]

For those who are just curious, it might not be worth your time, but with teh Amano art gallery, an Easy mode for "FFI," and other improvements, the old school will be pleased. [Mar 2003, p.65]

One of the fastest-paced, most exciting wrestling games we've ever played... [But] effectively dealing with multiple opponents is highly problematic. [Apr 2003, p.70]

The game may be too complicated and difficult for most, but you've got to appreciate its dedication to realism and great graphics. [June 2003, p.75]

The best damn puzzle game of the last 10 years has finally made it, in perfect form, to GBA... The game is, however, excruciatingly difficult, so consider yourself warned. [Apr 2003, p.73]

One of the fastest-paced, most exciting wrestling games we've ever played... [But] effectively dealing with multiple opponents is highly problematic. [Apr 2003, p.70]

For a game that's more than a decade old, The Lost Vikings looks and plays great. [June 2003, p.77]

What would have been the game's ultimate saving grace - infinite human opponents online, courtesy of Xbox Live - isn't available either. [June 2003, p.75]

A kick for a while, but it quickly becomes unmanageable. [May 2003, p.72]

Powersliding, for a start, is a disaster. It's nearly impossible to do with any level of consistency, and no amount of fiddling with the car's setup will fix it. [May 2003, p.60]

Has the most ambitious plan for post-treadmill play of any MMORPG released to date. [July 2003, p.71]

At worst, it's a standard adventure game that wastes good graphics, competent voice acting, and an engaging plot. [May 2003, p.71]

Imagine the leap a game like "Dead or Alive 2" made when it became "3," and you can see the potential being wasted here. [May 2003, p.63]

It never really evolves beyond the point-to-point errand running through relatively small environments. [May 2003, p.69]

Nothing but simple, addictive fun. [May 2003, p.68]

A totally new game. Unfortunately, it lacks the depth of the other games here, and therefore won't satisfy hardcore baseball fans. [Apr 2003, p.64]

A beautifuly and highly enjoyable game... Yet it's disappointing in other ways, including the small number of dungeons; overdependence on sailing; easy boss battles; a meaningless, pace-killing treasure hunt; and a less-than-satisfying finale. [Apr 2003, p.58]

All the atmosphere is here - the confusion and fear - but beyond that, DFBHD doesn't involve much more than mowing down hordes of mindless enemy drones. [June 2003, p.73]

It's the shiny A.I. upgrade that's the game's biggest improvement (though it's still not perfect). [May 2003, p.64]

Ruby and Sapphire stick to the script - there are few surprises here. Yes, the world is all new, and yes, there are 100 new Pokemon, but it's still basically the same game. [June 2003, p.78]

Snide voice acting turns cutesy bit players Globox and Murfy into electronic annoyances, and Hoodlum Havoc revels in its lame humor. [Apr 2003, p.68]

These brief spurts of action are entertaining, but between them lie only painfully simple puzzles and, as previously mentioned, lots of running around, avoiding your idiotic pursuers with the same tricks over and over again. [June 2003, p.71]

The game's charm doesn't save it from supershort (though plentiful) levels and opponent A.I. that'll keep you playing the early levels over and over and over again. [Apr 2003, p.71]

Snide voice acting turns cutesy bit players Globox and Murfy into electronic annoyances, and Hoodlum Havoc revels in its lame humor. [Apr 2003, p.68]

Sporting spiffy 3D graphics but little in the way of bang for the buck, Tao Feng quickly sinks into mediocrity and takes up permanent residence there. [May 2003, p.65]