It doesn't quite have the depth or legs to carry it into longevity like an "EverQuest" or a "Final Fantasy," bit that's for later patches and expansions. [Aug 2004, p.87]

The massively muliplayer RPG that's so addictive it makes crack look like Sanka. Play this game at your own risk. [Feb 2003, p.94]

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]

This is in fact everything you have ever loved about Onimusha buffed out to the max. [June 2004, p.75]

As frivolous as it seems, FFX-2 is most effective later in the game, when the light stuff gives way to more serious tones. A bizarre, feisty triumph. [Dec 2003, p.90]

It kind of works, if only as a surprisingly challenging, exceptionally beautiful time capsule of Tezuka's greatest hits. [Sept 2004, p.82]

A shooter/strategy hybrid full of weird British humor, unique and beautiful 3D graphics, and naked lady sea monsters. [Feb 2003, p.94]

When the amazing, talented artists from Square join forces with the amazing, talented artists from Disney, good things happen. [Feb 2003, p.92]

The refinement of the Kudos point system is the biggest difference between Project Gotham and its Dreamcast predecessor. [Feb 2004, p.95]

It's almost like a bawdy, medieval "Animal Crossing" for adults. But you lack true control; moreover, things don't change unless you change them, making the world feel shallow. Though you usually have the freedom to do as you will, important characters are often completely exempt from your meddling (or even exist only in cut-scenes).

The gameplay is what will make or break Covenant for you; to be honest, it's nothing new. But the game is so chock-full of clever little intertwined ideas that you won't mind. [Nov 2004, p.126]

If only the visual polish matched the immaculate accuracy of the gameplay. [Oct 2003, p.67]

Submission moves finally makes sense, thanks to a logical location-based damage system, and wrestlers' weights are accurately presented. [Jan 2004, p.92]

The worst thing that can be said about Viewtiful Joe 2 is that it's a lot like the first game, and that's a good thing. [Jan 2005, p.123]

Throw in three difficulty levels and multiplayer support (with either a Multitap or a Network Adaptor) and you've got a lengthy and highly replayable adventure. [Mar 2004, p.86]

Hardcore fanatics may grouse about its simplistic flight model, mouse control, and repetitive missions, but for everyone else, it'll provide endless hours of exploration, random violence, and, most important, fun. [May 2003, p.69]

Takes an excellent original game, loses some ground on control, but gains it back with variety. [Feb 2005, p.109]

Unhealthily addictive. [Feb 2003, p.96]

It can be frustrating at times, but it's not until around levels 18 and 20 that the true appeal of the game even makes itself known. [May 2004, p.83]

It's fun and impressive, but neither the drama nor the realism will convert anyone who isn't already planning on naming their first-born "Dale." [Nov 2003, p.88]

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

Deadly Shadows sticks closely to the formula, albeit with a highly refined touch. [Aug 2004, p.101]

Takes everything The Two Towers did well and improves upon it in every way.

The A.I. of the genome soldiers has been drastically improved—they're able to hear and see you much better, even from above and below. If Snake is detected, they'll coordinate their searches and look in every room—and when it comes to looking under nondescript orange boxes, they're total jerks.

A brutally lifelike affair that firmly drives home the fact that 21st-century videogaming is rapidly approaching an era of photorealism. [Apr 2004, p.81]

Offers great rewards to gamers willing to commit the time to it (player-vs.-player between warring nations is coming in January), and the community is filled with surprisingly helpful players, which makes for a deep, compelling, and perpetual gaming environment.

Combining the reckless, breakneck speed and high-impact collisions of "Burnout" with the neon-tipped street culture of Fast and the Furious (and, more specifically, "Midnight Club II"), Underground is the new definition of white-knuckle.

The game's biggest weakness is the lack of any levity or humor to counterpoint the story's overwhelmingly serious tone. [Sept 2003, p.68]