Adding to the pain are the annoying escort and defense missions, the meaningless story line, and throwaway two-player modes. This is the rare sequel that gets it all wrong.

But POP's only really significant flaw lies in its adventure/action ratio: Both aspects are thoroughly fleshed-out but rarely intertwined.

A stellar third-person shooter that pulses with feverish invention, A&D welds together top-notch controls, a truly mental plot, and some of the most strategic gunplay to hit consoles in ages.

The popular Japanese anime gets butchered here, and the in-game characters seem to have been modeled after the developers' nose goblins. [Mar 2004, p.93]

A hateful creation, demanding more attention than a sugar-buzzed toddler and never showing you what you need to see, including anyone who might be shooting holes in your stomach.

No better and no worse a game than its predecessor, and there's absolutely no shame in that. And it's no airport novel, as it requires some serious time investment.

A stellar third-person shooter that pulses with feverish invention, A&D welds together top-notch controls, a truly mental plot, and some of the most strategic gunplay to hit consoles in ages.

A great realization of Nintendo's much-vaunted connectivity strategy.

Diehard EQ addicts and RTS junkies will get some fun out of this game (especially with its monstrous 12-player LAN/Internet support); everyone else should probably just stick to "Warcraft III."

Once you begin playing, though, you realize that Sword of Mana's interface is among the most ill-advised in recent memory.

What Avalanche does right is give the gamer the sickest sense of speed in any snowboarding game to date.

Parents will probably have to play this one along with their toddlers. When they do, they'll find a fun but flawed kid's program.

A decent racing game if you're into monster trucks and stadium races that are just over a minute long... Barely worth the effort. [Dec 2003, p.82]

A gritty, stylish noir sequel built to please the first game's many trigger-happy fans. [Feb 2004, p.86]

Problem is, the missions are largely cookie-cutter (do tasks like "destroy four generators without being spotted" sound familiar?) and lack the thrill found in similarly themed games, like "GoldenEye 007" (N64). Worse yet, your opponents are unbelievably excellent shots who almost never miss.

Adding to the pain are the annoying escort and defense missions, the meaningless story line, and throwaway two-player modes. This is the rare sequel that gets it all wrong.

The emulation is solid, delivering sound and gameplay that's up to par. [Jan 2004, p.86]

Armageddon, real or video style, should not be this uninspired. [Jan 2004, p.91]

All would be forgivable if the core gameplay were decent, but it sadly consists of pressing one button over and over again. There's absolutely no sense of rhythm, and results seem arbitrary at best.

There are no more than a handful of truly danceable tracks. The rest are either slow, boring, or both. [Jan 2004, p.64]

Controlling the camera is a minigame all its own. [Jan 2004, p.72]

A clear case of style over substance, XIII is pretty to look at but a bitch to play. Even all of its snazzy extra features can't make up for the hole that the evilly accurate A.I. puts in its head.

Problem is, the missions are largely cookie-cutter (do tasks like "destroy four generators without being spotted" sound familiar?) and lack the thrill found in similarly themed games, like "GoldenEye 007" (N64). Worse yet, your opponents are unbelievably excellent shots who almost never miss.

Ultimately, however, Manhunt becomes more laborious than shocking. Along the way, the vaunted enemy A.I. turns transparent, detracting considerably from its aura of paranoia.

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]

A modern-day masterpiece that will be talked about for years to come.

The schizophrenia works, but just barely, because the game does nothing particularly brilliantly. [Jan 2004, p.72]

Or you could get them and play them again and again the way you play a favorite album, because your $30 will get you two of the funkiest, most charming grooves you'll ever see in videogame form. [Jan 2004, p.90]