CT Special Forces introduces few new ideas, but offers an impressive collection of everything good in 2D action platformers.

This game would smoke "Tokyo Racer Extreme 01" off the line. But, "Initial D," "Auto Modellista," and "Gran Turismo 4 Prologue" are all better.

Card game fanatics who are willing to accept that victory or defeat is often out of their control will probably enjoy the game a great deal. However, those of you who wish to have a greater hand in your own fate will likely be frustrated by the sheer randomness of it all.

A step backwards from the previous title. There were fewer voice-overs, a worse story (if that was ever possible), and a more limited fighting system.

But the fact is, I've never seen the concept handled so well. Despite the fact that you can't tune an individual Borg (like you could do in Custom Robo), you can build such a dizzying array of different lineups that this game has so much more playability than almost any other Gamecube action game.

Like its predecessor, DX2:IW is stunning both in technology and in design, and should be required playing for anyone interested in the evolution of gaming.

The additions alone make it worth picking up, and, at the end of the day, it still manages to tell a hell of a story. After all, isn’t that what really counts?

Literate, funny storytelling is at a premium in gaming these days, so it’s really good to see developers making a real effort to make their audience laugh – even if they have to rely on semi-frequent potty humour to get the yuks.

Easily one of the most interesting, if not most fun, multiplayer games to grace the GameCube’s purple presence.

If you’re willing to take a bit of a downgrade in control and gamble with a bit of frustration in exchange for a terrifically paced story that unfolds in just the right way.

A game that already has a limited target audience and it is further restricted by its one-dimensional gameplay.

A game that all serious puzzle fanatics were waiting for. It offers evil, sadistic brain exercises, which will prove challenging even for the most experienced gamers.

The game feels rushed and cheap. With the wide variety of games to choose from in the PS2 library, it would be strange to even give a recommendation to rent this game.

It quickly becomes apparent, though, that there is actually very little depth.

Since there are absolutely NO categories that this game can claim to have completed, it gets a 0. In everything. Gameplay is a 0 because those goal you have in the game isn't really a goal. With no competition, and no cargo, it's degenerated into 3D connect the dots. With no clipping, the Graphics score a 0. There's no audio, and with no gameplay, there's no replay. It's an aboslute failure in all departments of what a game should be.

I just wish George would stop flooding us with mediocrity and take a break from new releases to give us a helping of something special.

The gameplay is tedious and repetitive, the graphics are sloppy, and the story isn’t entertaining enough to allow the player to look beyond the game’s flaws.

The game could have been excellent if they would have worked out the bit with the cel shading properly. The game could have been above average if they would have added a decent quick-save, and not pissed off the remaining few who did like the game by adding in a decent ending with a hint of closure.

Extremely violent and even a bit disturbing, but it is also one of the finest games to grace the Playstation 2 in some time.

The incredible graphics and the sense of grandeur that comes along for the ride bolster the game's average gameplay, and save it from being something mediocre. If you don't buy into the hype, you're probably going to find it enjoyable for the most part...although you will cringe. [Import]

Definitely a fun rental, as long as you aren’t expecting it to be a hardcore flight sim. For airborne novices in particular, Secret Weapons is a blast, even if the difficulty is fairly light and the missions short.

The relative lack of multiplayer variety, coupled with a disappointing single player mode, make Counter-Strike difficult to recommend to anyone who is not already a rabid fan of the game, and downright impossible to recommend to anyone who doesn’t have a Live account.

I've never had this urge to unlock all the cars in a racing game since the old San Francisco Rush series. In fact, it probably gets my vote for best game of 2003.

A decidedly average hockey game in a field of above average hockey games.

The spell effects are fantastic, and the arenas are cool-looking, but the duelist models and the in-game videos clearly needed some more work, both on the graphical AND content fronts.

Stick to Star Wars, Mr. Holland.

By far the best platformer this year. Period. End of discussion. If you disagree, you're wrong.

An outstanding adventure game. The story is engrossing and authentic. While quite linear, it is very well told, and it almost feels like you are watching a movie where you play the lead role.

Some of the games control so poorly that they’re unplayable, there are glitches and some lazy emulation, and the DVD content is disappointing, to say the least. That said, if you’re willing to look past its faults (which is easier to do given the $20 price tag), there are some gems to be found here.

A guilty little pleasure. It is easy to pick up and hard to put down. The open-ended gameplay makes for a unique experience for every player.

The first few hours of the game can be extremely tedious, and thus the game may not be for players who have limited time for games and really can't dedicate a good amount of play time to the game.

So without the best gameplay, CIMA: The Enemy should hold you in for the long run to unravel the great plot and adventure. For those who are more into puzzle solving than fighting, this should have some appeal as well.

The unlockables really make this a sound purchase.

Nice eye candy, but without any substance. The features that made the PC version so addictive and well balanced are all gone, and what remains is only a shell of the original game, which is little more than an unresponsive electronic sandbox.

Unfortunately, there is very little replay value to this game. While kicking the crap out of Willy hasn't really lost its magic after all these years, you can only go through this game at most a handful of times before it becomes repetitive.

Takes so many facets of game play, and does them all so well, that this game is one of the must-own games of the year. I’d be satisfied with half a game this good.

While it does feel a bit more like an expansion pack than a full sequel, the original was so good that just more missions and cooler weapons with a few incremental improvements is more than enough to make Going Commando a blast to play.

The real shame is that the lack of single-player or online Skirmish mode really destroyed any chance of me being able to recommend this game as a purchase; the lack of replay value really hurts the overall package tremendously.

Easy, pointless missions, with a bad AI, and staff who can't write? Simpsons Comic Guy would say it best: Worst...Strategy RPG...EVER.

The best way for me to describe it is the same of everything you love about kart games rolled into one. There is nothing shockingly new here.

Although this game is not the greatest golf game I have ever played, it is one of the deeper ones I have cracked. With a fun yet challenging offline mode and fun Xbox Live action, this game will be in my console for a few months.

Aside from a weak combat system and poorly designed jumping puzzles, the game is just a tedious scavenger hunt that usually feels more like work than entertainment.

We've been playing games almost exactly like this (though not nearly as pretty) ever since the PlayStation/Nintendo 64 days. While the graphics and audio are just above average, compared to its contemporaries, Sphinx is a rather anachronistic play experience that falls short when seen next to some of the more brilliant and innovative platformers (e.g. "Jak II") around today.

If you’ve already played Mario Party in any of its other incarnations, there’s really nothing new for you here. The mini-games and boards may be different, but the game’s the same.

It's great fun, and I don't know how Koei does it, but they manage to keep this series fun and entertaining without really changing the overall mechanics all that much.

The complete lack of innovation, uninspired online play and the inability to have a variety of units (why lump Dwarves, Elves, and Men into the same side?) cause the game to lose a lot of its luster.

Everything about The Sacred Cards, with the possible exception of the RPG overworld, is a step (if not several) backward from the standard that "The Eternal Duelist Soul" and "Stairway to the Destined Duel" established.

Nothing more than a fair game. It's not quite as innovative as Advance Wars, but it still manages to offer a fun, nice-looking strategy gaming experience despite the frustration factor.

Instead of the perfect, mind-blowing game it should have been, True Crime ends up being an unacceptably flawed title. If you've got infinite patience for random crashes and sloppy graphics, go ahead and pick this one up.

One of the worst games I ever played. It doesn't feel or handle like an adventure game, yet it is marketed as such. The interface is terrible, the puzzles rely on chance, and the action sequences are very frustrating. To make matters worse, the game suffers from severe clipping problems, frequent crashes to desktop and show-stopping bugs.

A gigantic disappointment. The gameplay is boring, the graphics are boring, and everything else is just plain boring. Even the multiplayer, when it WAS playable without all the debilitating slow-downs, was boring.

The AI in the game is rather incredible. Most titles’ AI enemies are either idiots or precognitive, with no real middle ground. Call of Duty manages to get to that middle ground.

A solid and entertaining game in its own right. The relatively short single-player game and lack of Xbox Live! support, however, make it hard to recommend the game as anything more than an extended rental.

Due to the controlled nature of the game, the battles and leveling system are very tight and logical. It's the perfect game for a cold winter's day inside, and it can be played almost forever. If you want to know what the world “epic” means, then just go ahead and play Gladius.

The graphics are absolutely amazing.

The best strategy game I have played this year. It offers just the right mix of features I'm looking for in a good game: great balance, easy to learn basic principles and a behavior that is tightly controlled by the developer.

Top Spin may be a good tennis game, but it really doesn’t improve upon the legend of "Virtua Tennis" enough to really make me want to recommend it wholeheartedly.

The sad truth is that after playing the first level, you’ve already seen everything that the game has to offer. The game’s unique take on the typical shooter is interesting and well executed, but it isn’t enough to justify Kill.Switch’s decidedly one-dimensional gameplay.

The story mode, however, doesn’t make as much of an impact as one would expect it to, and the new gameplay elements end up being more of a hindrance than an improvement.

As far was wrestling games go, it gets no better than this. With the new additions to the roster and the modified gameplay, fans of the series will not be disappointed, so don’t believe HCTP is the just the same old song and dance, because simply put, this is where it’s at.

It offers over forty hours of a great story, very engrossing world, tough puzzles and believable characters. Veteran adventure gamers will find this game to match Syberia, not only in graphics, but also in sound and the script.

"Rave Mode" looks cool, but offers little "wow" factor after a few minutes, and the "create-a-club" mode that was supposed to be deep just wasn’t. It just felt like a whole bunch of promises that were never fulfilled.

If you're hesitant to buy this game because you can't sing well, don't worry- the flexible judging level makes it easy for just about anyone to pick up this game. This is definitely a must-have title.

A game that has “only above average” written all over it.

This shooter's probably the best out there for the PS2, and the best ever on a console with the exception of "Elemental Gearbolt." The driving mission where you blow up the Jeeps is probably my favorite sequence ever in a light gun game.

They just don’t make games like this any more, and this particular game really shows us how far we’ve come and that you don’t need flashy graphics and surrond sound to have a mind-blowing game.

In addition to the missions being dumbed down, the whole upgrade system that was on the PC is gone, and that's a severe disappointment.

Easily the best in the series so far. It rejuvenates the formula, radically changing the game enough to make it a completely new experience, while at the same time retaining enough of the SSX formula to still satisfy the series’ faithful fans.

I realized that in addition to a good interface, story and puzzles, I needed a matching presentation to fully enjoy the game. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and Black Mirror thus ranks barely above average.

While it is a very serviceable try, Altar isn't going to be convincing anyone this is the second coming of X-Com.

With the lack of really fun and interesting missions (I never want to have to say, “That’s it! If I have to protect one more transport, I’m joining the Empire!”), and the flat-out boring commando missions, this game falls far short of the high standards Factor 5 has set for themselves.

To make matters worse, there are long loading times in the game. Mega Man X7 is one of those games where the player will be afraid to press the wrong button on the menu screens, because doing so will lead to much waiting and thumb-fiddling.

With over 20 hours of core gameplay within, and every minute of it more fun than the last, I can't help but enthusiastically recommend Jak II.

Complete in just about every aspect. Apart from the irritating escort missions and the short first run through, Max Payne 2 is perfect.

EA, please learn how to make a basketball game that's actually based off of basketball next year. Buy an NBA rulebook and have the lead designer thoroughly study it, please.

I’m sure that if you play with the right people, multiplayer can bring some entertainment, but if you are looking for a title with staying power, a plethora of unlockables and an actual challenge factor, look some place else.

Clearly, this is a game with an identity crisis. Kids can’t play it because of the scary ghosts and more mature gamers will be turned off by the puzzles that would be ridiculously easy if not for the occasionally wonky controls. So who’s left?

This game had serious potential amongst fans of the genre, but Eidos and Paradox have totally sacrificed depth and mechanics and put out true garbage.

The weak control scheme, combined with parts of the game that are completely counter-intuitive, hamper the game tremendously to the point where a serious gamer will, at best, pick this up for a rental. I think Capcom became so blinded by the concept that they forgot that the execution is just as important, if not moreso, than the design.

The squad-based AI is definitely worth a look, and despite all the flag-waving, the game manages to tell an involving story. It’s a shame that more effort wasn’t put into the graphics, or more variation wasn’t put into the gameplay.

There's just no challenge there at all, the Chain Tactic system just allows you to buy a bunch of straightforward Attack techniques and stab the crap out of everyone.

Of course, every Bemani freak will want this, but anyone looking for a challenge or the more traditional arcade feel will either want to pass on this or just import the Japanese version. Konami seems to forget that what worked in Japan is working here. You shouldn’t try to mess with a good thing.

The control, along with a small number of other poor design decisions, takes the game from being a blast to being an expensive bundle of frustration.

Dynasty mode will be a draw for those who have an interest in the management side of hockey. That aside, ESPN NHL Hockey is simply the better game in just about every respect.

No matter how much fun I had while playing through Academy, I could never shake the feeling that I was playing an expansion pack to Outcast rather than a full-fledged sequel.

There's something immensely satisfying about plowing through hordes of monsters with a group of friends, and Heroes does that exceptionally well, despite its other flaws.

Incomplete, plagued by gameplay bugs and experiencing more technical difficulties than any other game since the infamous "Pool of Radiance 2."

The overall size of the maps, the idiocy of finding all the remaining units down to the last probe before moving on, and the sheer imbalance and poor tactics brought it down.

The missions seem varied at first but then start to repeat with minor differences as the game progresses.

The puzzles are easy, the game gives you more health power-ups than you will ever use, and there isn't a single enemy that's remotely challenging after you pick up the second gun frame in the Prologue. All the "innovation" that this game was supposed to entail amounts to nothing but a big pile of Company Dinner-Fed, Marketing Grade manure.

May not be the best Banjo Kazooie, nor is it very long, but it's sure to be enjoyed by BK fans and any person who is looking for a fun little game to play on their GBAs. If you didn't like the first two games, then chances are you won't like Grunty's Revenge.

Not only does ESPN NHL Hockey retain all of the rock-solid gameplay the was present in NHL 2K3, but it couples it with a presentation that is the closest to a television broadcast feel as any hockey game has ever come.

It's simple, it's elegant, and most of all, it's a blast.

While the plot does advance quite a bit, Bandai got a little sloppy with some of the threads, and you get the sense that they fell in love too much with the idea of a cliffhanger.

It is a little light on the value side, and you're going to have to put up with a couple of doozies in the way of missions.

It's good...but not great. As far as strategy RPG games, this pales in comparison to both "Disgaea" and "Final Fantasy Tactics."

The absence of a true Story mode and a roster lacking many of the top WWE superstars may sway wrestling fanatics away from this one. Despite the fact that the game is missing those aspects, however, Wrestlemania XIX is still an excellent game.

The best game I've played this year.