Simply smashing... Hulk is easily one of the best superhero games, mainly because it feels like Radical took the subject seriously, rather than treating the game just like another licensed title. [Sept 2005, p.88]

There's just an undeniably addictive aspect to Ridge Racer's single-player and multiplayer modes. [May 2005, p.111]

DT does a great job of showing what the genre is capable of on a next gen system. [Oct 2002, p.146]

Another deliriously creepy adventure. [Oct 2004, p.90]

The best thing about Play 2 is the fact that almost all 12 games are actually collections of three or more games. [Sept 2005, p.90]

The Franchise Mode is 10 seasons of blissful replayability. [Nov 2001, p.160]

No other game out there offers such a chaotic yet brilliantly visceral gaming experience. [May 2003, p.96]

The gameplay has been dramatically tweaked, but the changes haven't detracted from the quick and responsive pace of the previous game. [Dec 2003, p.182]

I'll be happy to say that this is the best hockey game on the PS2. [Nov 2002, p.188]

Don't mistake this for some nostalgia-warped vision of how all the "real" RPGs ended with the death of the 16-bit machines - Lunar deserves to be played based on its own merits. What little it lacks in visual punch, it more than makes up for in style, story and wholly engrossing gameplay. [July 1999]

If you're willing to invest a few weeks...or months...the results are well worth the effort. [Nov 2001, p.46]

It's safe to say that Fight Night Round 2 is the best boxing game to come along in the past 15 years, and only slightly riskier to say that it's the best of all time.

All-around solid play, responsive controls, and great bonus features separate this game from the pack, with only a few flaws keeping it from being a perfect hardball sim. [Apr 2005, p.110]

Speaking as a true Winston Cup fan, I can't say enough nice things about this game. [Dec 2002, p.169]

The regular duets mode lets two singers meld their vocal stylings on karaoke duet standards like "Love Shack," adding the points into a composite score. [Dec 2004, p.106]

It takes that same GTA structure but gives it a fresh setting and story that's focused to a much more manageable size. [Dec. 2006, p.120]

It may be more like THPS2.5, but that doesn't mean you won't love it. [Dec 2001, p.174]

The levels are massively, monstrously gargantuan. [August 2002, p.107]

It's the trick system that makes all the difference. [June 2001, p.98]

Steambot is so much fun and so full of possibilities that, while playing, I mentally outlined not just my next playthrough, but the one after that. [May 2006, p.80]

An excellent refinement of the previous Hitman game. For newbies, a spectacular assassination sim with few flaws, but for veterans, perhaps a little underwhelming. [June 2004, p.85]

The series captures the claustrophobic feel of pack racing beautifully, and that's no small feat. [Oct 2005, p.106]

Whether you're a fan of hip-hop or not, Def Jam Fight for NY delvers on all fronts and simply shouldn't be missed by fans of fighting, wrestling, or brawling games. [Oct 2004, p.87]

All of the ports are about as perfect as perfect gets. [May 2006, p.92]

Story aside, PRD is a damn fine racer... I'm completely addicted. [Feb 2003, p.109]

The game's secret weapon this year, though, is the ball-juggling minigame... I killed more hours trying to keep David Beckham's balls off the ground than I can reasonably justify. [Nov 2005, p.123]

The learning curve is still cruelly steep...I still say, though, that it is the best golf game on the market. [Dec 2002, p.174]

Out of nowhere, BloodRayne 2 ranks among PS2's best hack-n-slash titles. [Dec 2004, p.124]

Stunningly beautiful - jaw-dropping at times... One of the finest action games I've ever played. [Jan 2003, p.137]

The best Diablo-style action/RPG ever produced. [Jan 2002, p.130]

Original addictive gameplay, elegantly simple graphics, and an awesome soundtrack - all for $20. [Nov 2004, p.131]

This is a game that's revolutionary in so much more than its art style. [Sept 2006, p.72]

The game's remarkably astounding... but is it better than "FIFA 2005"? For American fans, not quite. [March 2005, p.94]

The most important thing is that Crystal has recaptured what made the first "Tomb Raider" so fun: climbing through tombs, discovering artifacts, and piecing the puzzle together to find the solution. Archaeology is finally cool again. [May 2006, p.84]

Purely from a gaming standpoint, it's so brilliantly crafted, you should try it. [July 2003, p97]

It was worth the wait; this is every bit the Wipeout you've been waiting for. [June 2002, p.100]

The most fun you can have racing and watching vehicles blow up since "Burnout Revenge." [Dec 2005, p.120]

The best football game of the 32-bit generation. [Oct 2001, p.136]

It's gorgeous. Without a shadow of a doubt, it's the best-looking game on the system—it's a case study in how to portray the speed and ferocity of racing.

When it really comes down to it, what this game's about is no-frills rocking. And no-frills rocking is what it does very well. [Nov 2005, p.98]

As much as I enjoyed the aerial combat, its overuse makes the innovative gameplay element a little less exhilarating toward the end. [June 2002, p.96]

No superhero game I've ever played made me feel more like, well, a superhero. [July 2004, p.89]

The PS2 release alleviates the GameCube version's insane difficulty, thanks to a simpler difficulty level known as Sweet. [Oct 2004, p.94]

The real bonus, though? You can open an entirely new game! Not just a few bonus levels, mind you - these are 14 stages you didn't play in the arcades. [Nov 2003, p.142]

If this is what happens when you make a game on the PS2's supposed deathbed, then we might not need the PS3 quite yet. [May 2006, p.78]

As a value proposition, there's nothing on PSP that comes close. It's a gigantic game; the core gameplay will probably take you 40 or 50 hours to get through, and it has 33 additional "games" that have the potential to occupy you another five or even 10 hours, if you really want to push it.

It's all very, very solid, but perhaps the biggest surprise was what a good fit the arcade mode is for a portable system. [Sept 2006, p.84]

An unbelievable amount of gameplay, solid online play, plenty of different modes, that delicious analog swing. [Nov 2004, p.140]

The surprising thing is that while it may sound like a bad afternoon in school, the game is actually astonishingly addictive. [Mar 2006, p.96]

The EyeToy camera tracks the position of your head and hands and translates your movements into character action. And it works amazingly well. [Dec 2004, p.118]

With balanced gameplay, lots of depth, 20-plus-hour play time, and online play, this is what sequels should be: better than the original. [Dec 2005, p.122]

Spectacularly good value, despite some of the same old problems. [Aug 2006, p.74]

Given the overall level of quality and activity in TOAU, it looks like Square Enix's first MMO has plenty of life left in it after all. [July 2006, p. 74]

Lead Blocker - the new Madden feature that, unlike last year's passing cone, actually revolutionizes gameplay. [Sept 2006, p.82]

The most obvious change from "F1 2001" is that the graphics have been given a major overhaul yet again. It's faster, more detailed and packed with fancy effects. [Sept 2002, p.112]

EA has tweaked the right analog stick moves, so now more than 10 skill moves exist, including stepovers and drag backs. [July 2004, p.97]

The hardcore may gravitate toward more advanced games like "In the Groove," but this is an excellent dance title for the rest of us. [Nov 2005, p.94]

It engrosses you in the way that only a great video game can. [Nov 2001, p.163]

The best hockey game I've ever played, hands down... ESPN's goalies look so good between the pipes, it's almost scary. [Oct 2003, p.120]

Perhaps the best licensed game on PS2, and one of the best brawlers in years. [Jan 2006, p.74]

A fantastic package, and to my mind it's easily the best racer on the system. [Nov 2005, p.120]

Doesn't do anything particularly original, but that's not really the point. The point is the content, the script, and the wit, and in these areas it excels. [Nov 2004, p.118]

There's a whole damn lot of game here, no matter what your tastes. [Dec 2004, p.116]

Kong radiates the ultimate gaming feeling: being a total badass.

The GameSpeak feature alone is reason enough to play this one. [Nov 2001, p.50]

A tense, exciting and genuinely thrilling experience. [Jan 2002, p.125]

The obvious choice for baseball enthusiasts for this new season. [May 2004, p.99]

The landscape could be considered a character in itself - it rivals the state of San Andreas in size and detail. It's one of the few landscapes where you can look in any direction and realize that the mountain in the distance isn't scenery. [Dec 2005, p.116]

The other big addition offers a nice contrast to the traditional franchise mode, which returns as fully featured and deep as ever. In NFL superstar mode, instead of focusing on the fortunes of one team, you follow the career of a character you create (or import from "NFL Street 2" or "NCAA Football 06"). [Sept 2005]

Surpasses "NFL Blitz" in just about every conceivable manner, thanks largely to gameplay that places greater emphasis on individual player capabilities as opposed to overall team performance. [Mar 2004, p.100]

It really does feel like an interactive Bond flick. [Jan 2003, p.130]

Whether embracing one's inner interior designer or one's inner "Porky's," players of all types have something to enjoy in Bustin' Out. [Jan 2004, p.126]

A supremely worthy successor to the most-frightening throne.

It may well be the best-looking PS2 game yet. [May 2003, p.89]

It's filled with cool ideas and a control system to die for. You're not really sneaking around, but you are hiding a lot - and it's the mechanics behind the hiding that makes the game so damn satisfying. [Dec 2003, p.164]

Basically more of the same, but with better graphics and some nifty new gadgets and vehicles. That's a good thing, by the way. [July 2003, p.92]

The Dual Shock 2 is kicking out vibes that will make you drop it if you don’t hold on tight. [Feb 2002, p.113]

Ranks among the finest titles of its genre on the system. [Mar 2002, p.106]

The awesome combat system throws out most strategy-RPG genre conventions. [Oct 2004, p.110]

The last level at Helm's Deep is possibly one of the most incredible-looking levels I've ever seen in a game...It's simply breathtaking. [Dec 2002, p.163]

It's an undeniably great game - it's just not meant for the casual player. [Jan 2006, p.80]

Just like the best Contra games before it, Shattered Soldier puts your gaming skills completely to the test, but can still be mastered. [Jan 2003, p.126]

This game plays with Warrick Dunn quickness, and the player models are the best in the business. But somehow the athletes feel sluggish, like they're chugging along with a slab of marble Velcroed to their backs. [Sept 2002, p.117]

Like last year's game, VCS impresses like few other games on the PSP. [Jan. 2007, p.90]

If you can appreciate artistry in games, if you hanker for an experience that transcends genre, if you want to see what happens when a creative design team is allowed to ignore sales numbers and flavor-of-the-month trends, by all means bring yourself into Shadow's world. [Oct 2005, p.98]

It lacks a certain "oomph" I get out of EA football. [Sept 2003, p.98]

This is exactly the kind of game the PSP needs. [Jan 2006, p.106]

It's still great, great football, and al the new stuff makes it the best one yet. I'm just not so sure it's worth 50 bucks if you already have last year's edition. [Aug 2004, p.87]

It is really freaking hard. Holy hell. [Jan 2002, p.136]

This Katamari is delightulish. [Nov 2005, p.94]

It has you working through a story that's both compelling and, unlinke so many games these days, not utterly ridiculous. [Dec 2002, p.160]

Controls are practically perfect, plane selection is extensive, and the whole package is exceptionally polished. [Dec 2001, p.160]

Nowhere near as tough as "Jak II" is. Those of you who pride yourselves on your old-school hardcore platforming skill may find this disappointing, but it's great news for the rest of us. "Hard" does not necessarily mean "good," and most of us don't like feeling as though a game is trying to give us an aneurysm. [Dec 2004, p.104]

By far the coolest feature, though, is the ability to partake in the park's attractions. [May 2003, p.97]

There's a constant sense of achievement and unlike many sci-fi-themed racers, it doesn't get old as it always manages to stay so exciting and fun. [Apr 2002, p.106]

Yes, other games have stuff you can unlock, whether it's extra clothing or modes, but NBA Street V3 integrates it all so well and has such a high level of polish that you'll find yourself drawn into it as if it were some epic RPG.

This slick spy shooter makes it easy to pretend "The Omega Strain" never happened. [May 2006, p.91]

When playing offline, the best time to be had is during the historical campaign, which offers a Star Wars history lesson. [Nov 2004, p.114]