Just as "Madden" continues to dominate gridiron play, so does ESPN NBA Basketball on the hardwood. [Dec 2003, p.84]

Nearly perfect. This release from MS Game Studios, despite the glaring lack of competition, is one of the best tennis game you can get.

The addition of legendary club swingers such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to the roster adds credibility to balance out the fantasy golfers. It's also refreshing to see so many new courses. [Nov 2004, p.116]

Plenty of cars, silky-smooth graphics, and of all things, a story mode. Best played with the Jogcon controller. [Feb 2003, p.97]

Countless mascot racers flooded store shelves during the PlayStation era, and Crash Team Racing was the only good one. Really. [Feb 2003, p.97]

It's also an enjoyable game with a huge collection element (there are hundreds of different clothes, shoes, and other accessories that will actually have an effect on your stats), unconventional game modes, and fantasy courses and golfers.

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

An incredibly deep strategy RPG with a branching story line and a rewarding battle system. [Feb 2003, p.97]

Insomniac's terrific action-platformer has you jumping from world to world in search of new weapons and gadgets. [Feb 2003, p.93]

NCAA 2005 is not as good as "NCAA 2004." It's more on the level of colossal disappointment, actually, considering the hype surrounding 2005's release. [Sept 2004, p.87]

The graphics are beautiful, the characters original, the story entertaining, and the control dead-on. [Nov 2004, p.128]

Offers up some solid gameplay, sharp visuals, likable character designs, and a fairly compelling (if somewhat typical) story. Fans of "Advance Wars" will particularly enjoy it. [Dec 2003, p.102]

There's almost enough new gameplay in Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots for a full-fledged sequel instead of an expansion pack. [July 2004, p.86]

But whoever designed the final level) filled with screen-obscuring lightning attacks) and behemoth boss is a cruel, cruel person indeed. [Jan 2004, p.52]

It's very clever; the political overtones are great for that last-minute term paper. [Feb 2003, p.97]

Enemies and weapons are well balanced, progression through the Mars base is even and steady, and the locations are varied enough to keep things interesting. [Oct 2004, p.100]

Old annoyances have been addressed: You can use voice chat in the lobbies and put your buddies on a friends list to find them and send them messages (even when they are in a game). Also, cheating should be cut way down by other added measures. [Dec 2003, p.94]

It's a great challenge, and it gets tough near the end - but the lead-up to this difficulty level is perfectly executed, and the amazing graphics, weather effects, and car crashes keep you entertained during the frustrating parts. [July 2004, p.88]

A beautiful-looking "Dungeons & Dragons"-based hack-and-slash. [Feb 2003, p.92]

The extra game modes add quite a bit to the simple concept. [Feb 2003, p.96]

An exhaustive open-ended RPG that essentially allows you to make it up as you go along, with hundreds of people to talk to. [Feb 2003, p.95]

One of the best reasons to own a Game Boy Advance. [Feb 2003, p.97]

Still derivative, and slightly bizarre, but better than the previous game, Jak II is a trip worth taking. [Nov 2003, p.82]

A great RPG strong on replay value (the item trading and link-up systems are particularly handy) with great visuals and art style to match (Akihiko Yoshida's character designs have never been better). [Oct 2003, p.79]

The mix of 2D characters on a 3D plane not only looks appealing, the gameplay that's designed around the concept (Mario's transformation skills in particular) is a creative fusion of art and design. [Nov 2004, p.105]

Yeah, we'll say it: Mario Kart: Double Dash is the most fun you'll have with a game this year. And probably next year. And maybe even the year after that.

Nothing's more hysterical than replacing Solid Snake with an old office lady, and watching her sneak off to take care of business on Big Shell, SOCOM at the ready. [Apr 2003, p.63]

An amazing-looking game with some pretty serious muscle under the hood. If only the game actually <I>played</I> better - especially the batting - you'd have the "Madden" of baseball games. [Apr 2003, p.65]