Character upgrades, including a useless superpunch for Olimar and Louie, highlight Pikmin 2's greatest flaw: it relies too heavily on the collection of stuff. [Oct 2004, p.104]

While the monster creation is excellent, the minigames feel more rudimentary. [Sept 2004, p.93]

Simply put, you need to play this to understand. [Oct 2004, p.94]

Bomb-collection out the wazoo, a grim but bland story line, and everything old packaged as if it were new. [June 2003, p.75]

What little real challenge there is exists solely because of the horrendous camera controls. [Oct 2004, p.98]

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

The real selling point is Ghosthunter's presentation, and the graphics, script, music, and acting are all first-rate. [Sept 2004, p.96]

It's faced paced, full of creative shot making, and chock-full of fun unlockables - there's no denying the addictive power. [Oct 2004, p.98]

It still doesn't own the grahics category, but Madden controls better with that same great pace it's known to have. [Sept 2004, p.86]

Unfortunately, like its prequel, Black Arrow's single-player campaign is still a collection of trial-and-error missions that require you to memorize the location of every hostage and enemy while perfecting your run through linear levels. [Sept 2004, p.93]

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]

It arrives on Xbox as both a has-been and simultaneously a never-ran. [Oct 2004, p.120]

Gamers who are interested in a horror title without needing to scrounge for ammunition and health packs should give Echo Night: Beyond a go, but players who are used to fighting for their survival will find the game dull and repetitive. [Sept 2004, p.94]

Even if the image of the precious Hamtaro in an apple suit makes you cringe, there's a solid game behind the cuteness. [Sept 2004, p.94]

The combat is fantastic, but...everything outside of combat is pretty bland. [Aug 2004, p.100]

This is one of the slickest-looking games on the PS2. [Sept 2004, p.88]

While "Madden's" a better game in the way that Peyton Manning is better than Steve McNair (marginally), it'll be fun to see if ESPN can beat the daunting spread with its budget-priced equalizer. [Sept 2004, p.87]

The game ends just when the story starts to get interesting, and hardcore RPG fans should be able to beat it over a single weekend of dedicated play. [Oct 2004, p.114]

It's difficult to justify the price tag when the single-player campaign offers little lasting value. [Sept 2004, p.84]

Fever feels like some shareware game you could download for free on a PC. [Sept 2004, p.92]

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]

Competing and breaking records proves to be the main source of excitement, but wearing out your fingers gets old fast. [Sept 2004, p.82]

Charging $40 for a glorified expansion pack is a bit pricey, but fans will find everything they love about the original and more. [Aug 2004, p.91]

The game's not just about kicking ass, though. It's also about gorgeous graphics. [Aug 2004, p.99]

Basically an expanded version of the original game. It won't win over any of the game's skeptics, but fans of the original will definitely find something to like here. [Aug 2004, p.100]

Brilliant graphics, incredibly detailed environments, smart controls, and 30 sinister standalone missions. [Oct 2004, p.120]

Gone are the cel-shaded cartoon graphics, replaced with rougher texture-mapped models that lack the same action-figure sheen. [July 2004, p.90]

If there's one complaint, it's the visuals. They're not bad, just more or less the same visuals we've seen since part one. [Aug 2004, p.89]