Final Fantasy VIII has been called an epic game. And it is, if epic means "boring."

Going about 600 scale miles per hour it is nearly impossible to discern what's going on with your gauges, not to mention the fact that it's really tough to know when you're about to destroy yourself...Only the most jaded of Wipeout players will feel cheated by purchasing this game and even they'll secretly have fun.

More an interactive movie than a game, RE2 looks pretty but lacks challenge.

The control's not user-friendly from the get-go; you'll need time and patience to hang with the big boys.

Perhaps the biggest complaint about EQ over UO is the utter lack of an interesting dynamic economy and the structures UO allowed you to build before they ran out of room.

The high degree of difficulty is matched only by the high degree of bad music.

The empire component, while solid, is a little bit shallow, the AI is weak in crucial areas, and the game is also buggy on some systems.

The game's lack of speed and overwhelming number of moves make it less of a draw for non-fans, but fans will be thoroughly floored.

All in all, this is another fine addition to the genre, but how many can one gamer take?

The aspect of contacting and interacting with demons was also an element that I fully embraced. It broke the monotony of simply killing and killing in order to gain experience points.

Some console role-players might just find this style of deep preparation and chess-like battle sequences too sluggish. Strategists who have been truly bored by trying to play "Panzer General" or even "X-Com" on a TV screen, however, will appreciate how much lush graphics, soundtrack, and effects can goose up a wargaming system.

Nothing less than a solid role-playing game with old-school style and flair.

It's not pretty, and the sounds may drive you batty. However, if you can get past the primitive and cutesy graphics, you'll find a fun and addictive experience that offers an enjoyable--and certainly more cerebral--PS2 experience that's currently unmatched.

The funny thing is that the makers of this game actually guarantee to improve your real pool game. Speaking from experience, their claim turns out to be true, and spending a good amount of time on VP3 is analogous to attending a billiards clinic.

It is extremely awkward trying to control your basic movements with the left analog stick while at the same time controlling your look and aim movements with the right analog stick.

If you're a big Star Trek fan, you'll enjoy this game immensely. If you're not, you'll still enjoy this game, but some of the more subtle nuances will be lost on you.

Has it turned out to be everything fighting fans had hoped and dreamed of? In a word, no. But the game is still a good fighter.

What could have been a groundbreaking title has been reduced to an exceptional weekend rental.

A silly little action shooter that takes a smidgen of brainpower and a tongue placed firmly in cheek to fully appreciate.

The 24 mini-games that make up the whole present a pretty good cross-section of every gaming style imaginable. They're all handled well.

The first thing that should be done is to fix the frame rate problem. Next, throw some cops in there -- after all, I am breaking the law.

The super-sugary-sweet music and the cutesy characters are enough to bring you to tears.

The game's depth and challenge factors are found sorely wanting. But what's on display isn't bad, remains perfectly replayable, and outfoxes the competition by a long shot.

Sporting sharper, smoother graphics, and a few new odds and ends, fans of the RE series who haven't tromped through the many PlayStation iterations will appreciate this conversion.

Great visuals coupled with great atmosphere and music makes this a must-have for fans of the genre.

Players expecting next-generation gameplay to accompany the update in the graphics may find themselves a bit disappointed. But if mind-numbing powerslides pulled off in polygonal heaven is your thing, then RRV does indeed fire on all cylinders.

I'm not saying that the 2001 version is a bad game. It's just one that suffers from the same engine that has been tried over and over again for the lifespan of the series.

We deserved stronger gameplay, better AI, better graphics, and better physics.

"Heavy Metal" magazine is known, well known in fact, for way-over-the-top action, violence, and gore... There is none of that here.

Certainly a feast for the eyes, but questionable AI and control issues keep it from instant-classic status.

For the first time, a mech-style game makes you feel like you're actually inhabiting the suit, not controlling it from afar.

If you're willing to look past some minor gameplay quirks and some initial frustration, "Madden" is a worthwhile purchase.

I was extremely disappointed in the lack of real improvements to the newest Faceoff game, as I almost always am.

"Tenchu 2" is, when you get right down to it, a great game trying to escape from a mediocre shell.

It's just a matter of personal preference, but I'll take Alex Trebek over the You Don't Know Jack pinhead any day. At least the free bag of microwave popcorn that comes with the game was good.

Like "SimCity 2000" and "SimCity 3000," this version can be extremely challenging and requires more micromanaging than even New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani would want.

Even with its flaws in gameplay mechanics and visual presentation, Capcom's port of Resident Evil 2 is a thing of beauty, preserving the euphoric atmosphere of a game that no other gaming company has been able to duplicate to date.

My only major beef with the DR2 is that the problems of unit pathfinding that plague just about every other strategy game are alive and kicking here as well.

Doesn't really add enough that's new to the game, nor does it tweak the gameplay enough to fix some of the problems in "Pharaoh."

My big issue with ESPN MET is the AI or lack thereof. On several occasions I was able to bring my opponent's goalie out of his box and leave the goal wide open. In addition, taking the ball from players is as easy as running into them.

It's a bit of a step backwards, taking the more exploratory 3D incarnations into consideration. Still, if you're looking for some chaotic old-school 2D side-scrolling mayhem, it's worth checking out.

The bugs are inexcusable, but when it comes to baseball, there just isn't any other game that comes remotely close to being this deep and endlessly replayable.

Still the perfect choice for casual fans that want to take some cuts as Manny Ramirez or bring some heat as Randy Johnson, but the lack of any new features is disappointing.

The mission battles are intense, and the environments are varied. And the battle environments aren't just eye candy; they actually effect the strategy necessary for success.

A brilliant 3D world overrun by control and camera issues.

The online play takes this game over the top, as you no longer just win money from your game console's unlimited bank, but you actually get to grab it from other human racers.

For a budget title, Blade of Darkness ain't so bad, despite its weaknesses. If you've run out of games to play, give it a whirl, just don't expect the world.

Ridiculously long load times. Even with added structure, gameplay eventually goes stale.

While it has nothing on "Marvel vs. Capcom,"" Mutant Academy" plays uniquely enough to warrant a chance from fighting game aficionados, as well as from X-Men fanatics, old and new.

If I never again see a story that contains color-coded heroes, it will be too soon.

Aside from the graphics, the PS2 version of Live 2001 can't hold a candle to its PSX counterpart.

Maybe the best entry in the all-too-often disappointing "Star Trek" category.

What? That's it?...The above text is not a direct quote from my last date, but rather my initial reaction to finishing this fun, but brief, expansion pack.

It's got scary atmosphere, decent graphics, excellent sound, great dinosaur enemies, ominous locales, and plenty to do. If you've already played through the PlayStation version, there's little reason to run out to get the Dreamcast rendition.

A few aspects may appeal to those of us without a pilot license, but most players will have little desire to struggle with this game beyond the early missions.

Staggering amount of customization, a virtual fleet of licensed vehicles, and an effective cross-platform online experience that gives a whole new meaning to the words "replay value" for a console game.

But if you subject the actual gameplay to any real scrutiny, you'll see all sorts of cracks that mar the game's beauty.

After spending solo time with the game, I've decided that Mario Party 3 is like that last guest who refuses to accept that the party is over.

It looks, sounds, and even plays old school. Are you sure you want to go back to school?

But if you move through the settings from easy to normal to hard to very hard, you've got a challenging shooter that is as graphically appealing and fun as any out there--except, of course, for "Radiant Silvergun."

Part of the pleasure in playing Sheep is just experiencing its originality and sense of humor.

While the learning curve is as steep as some of the game's slopes, patience does pay off in this game, which should appeal to snowboarding fans. Unfortunately, the rest of us will find the game's strict guidelines to reality a detriment.

An absurdly non-existent damage model causes the game to seem so stunningly unrealistic that it's little more than a goofy cart racing arcade game.

"GameDay 2001's" crime is, plainly and simply, that it's not "Madden."

Good ideas clash with rigid mission architecture and fruity design work. This is the same game in which you can authentically throttle a foe to death, but half a dozen body shots won't ice an opponent.

It's difficult to get excited about muddy graphics and visuals that look almost identical to those circa 1995.

This is not a bad game on the whole. If you've got the patience to get through it, and if you can bear with the shabby controls and sometimes maddeningly awkward camera angles, there are plenty of rewards.

All praise the lord of the church of the swollen-thumbed messiah--this game is a kick!...You pound endlessly on two buttons until either the event is over or you've lost feeling in your hand, but virtually every other aspect of the game has been improved.

Innovative gameplay, clever level design, and an abundance of mini-games serve to spice up an otherwise generic experience.

This was a good, but glitch-plagued game on the PC, and it may be just a little too complex for an easy transition to a console.

Such a pleasure for longtime fans. The series keeps getting better, rather than rotting like the game's antagonists and citizens of Raccoon City...What makes Nemesis better than the previous installments is the improved interface.

If a game doesn't bring anything new to the table, one must wonder why the developers even bothered in the first place.

The main problem with the gameplay, as it was with the first, is that there's no real reward for shooting well. As long as you duck at the right time you can hit a very low percentage of your shots and still finish the game.

Shows brief glimpses of that old EA excellence with its new dynasty mode, but sadly, the overall game slides weakly into the realm of substandard.

I've come to the conclusion that if there is even a glimpse of something with even the tiniest bit of fur on it, peeps will flock to it in droves, and it's to this I also attribute the success of "Basic Instinct."...BR3 is best left to the novice.

If you are a World War II buff or a strategy enthusiast, by all means take PGIII for a cruise, but if you want variety and visual stimulation from a game, search elsewhere.

It's cool to look at and has excellent sound, but it lacks fundamental gameplay elements that make kart racing the good time that it is.

Serves up a decent game of b-ball, but sluggish gameplay and the lack of a few fundamental options keep it from reaching its full potential.

A solid--albeit brief--game. However, because of the game's flaws, it makes a prime rental candidate.

Has everything an F1 fan could desire. But for experts it may be a little too easy, and for outsiders it's just not as fun as some of the other racing games out there.

The few new game modes and extra features hardly justify the price tag. Nor does the fact there are already numerous similar games available for free on the Web.

The combination of the beautiful visuals, awesome sound effects, simple control, and hysterical power-ups really makes Looney Tunes Racing an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, the whole thing is noticeably short-lived.

This becomes a case of hurry up and wait. I found myself frantically trying to fit all of my moves into the eight minutes that constituted my turn, then going and fixing myself a sandwich during the AI's eight minutes.

I actually think GigaWing 2 is a great game in many ways, but it is so short it makes even the super-low $20 price tag look steep.

Delve a little deeper, and you'll find annoying graphical glitches, shifty control, and a frustrating interface that detracts enough from the overall game to make it a mediocre title at best.

After spending a week tiring of this title's company, memories of the countless frustrations encountered are also taken away from the affair.

You get the feeling that the voice work was done by people that roll their R's when ordering the "Burrito Supreme" at Taco Bell.

Attempts to bring back to the DC the excitement that HOTD2 gave us and, as we all know, it's not 1999 anymore, and the Dreamcast is no spring chicken.

In a word, it's crap.

Given the sordid history of Looney Toons games, it's simply enough that this duck doesn't suck.

Deep Fighter ranks only behind the superb "Resident Evil: Code Veronica" in bringing mood to the table.

Scary it ain't, but D2's got its morbid charms.

As my son put it, "This game was designed by mean old men who just wanted to twist our minds." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Bear in mind that you're buying into a hard-core simulation, not a flashy pseudo-realistic game, so a troubled conscience won't be an issue.

Once the nostalgia wears off, you’re left with a mediocre game show game that can hardly compete with the likes of Sierra On-Line’s successful "You Don’t Know Jack" franchise.

A good three to four hours of fast-paced fun if you take the time to find the secrets, thus making it perfect for a weekend rental.

For all the complaints you can level at the game--serious though they might be--the fact remains that the combat controls are well designed, and kicking ass in this game is incredibly entertaining.

The vehicles have a silly propensity to flip upside-down (even at 20mph), and stupid proportional gaffes abound, like a dune buggy that's able to muscle an SUV over a cliff. Which is just insane.