Fun and even a little addictive - it's still an interesting walk down memory lane for us twenty-something geezers. [March 2005, p.101]

If Snowblind had a more compelling story or rewarded you for exploring its complexities, it could have been an instant classic. Ultimately, though, it's yet another solid shooter in a season of solid shooters.

An oversimplified career mode, lack of game modes, shoddy dribbling physics (the ball seems magnetically tied to a dribbler's feet), and complete lack of responsiveness mean you should wait for the sequel to get your kicks.

The manual camera constantly begs for your attention, never where you want it to be. Probably great fun for "Dynasty Warriors" fans.

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]

There isn't enough blood in the universe to distract you from how utterly boring this game is. [March 2005, p.100]

In the end, it feels more like "Xenosaga Episode I: The Deleted Scenes." [March 2005, p.96]

Suffers from one of the most useless cameras since the advent of 3D gaming. [March 2005, p.101]

Neither heavenly nor hellish. [May 2005, p.94]

It's sad that some of the best pure action on the PS2 is paired with such amateurish stealth. [Feb 2005, p.85]

Note to the videogame industry: Mapping attacks to the right analog stick isn't a good idea. Put all the crossover dribbles and jukes you want on the analog stick, but for brawling games like Death by Degrees, this method of control simply doesn't work.

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.

If nothing else, it beats spending around $200 to $300 on a NeoGeo cartridge the size of a small rodent... Worthwhile for the hardcore crowd. [Jan 2005, p.109]

The limits to which the team has managed to stretch the PS2's capacity are pretty amazing - it's hard to believe this is the same graphics engine that was used in the first game. [March 2005, p.98]

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

There's no challenge, and there's no variety. [Apr 2005, p.103]

It's by no means a spectacular game, but then again, it did make me want to watch the show, so it's done its job. [Feb 2005, p.80]

Ultimately, what Virtua Quest proves is that putting great characters into a lousy game doesn't make the game any less lousy. It just robs those characters of their dignity. [Feb 2005, p.87]

Surprisingly good. [March 2005, p.100]

Worse yet, it's even simpler than "Suikoden II", which is a PS1 game that came out in 1998. [Feb 2005, p.80]

Oversimplified controls and an atrocious camera. If it were a movie, you'd leave the theater halfway through and not care about the conclusion. [Feb 2005, p.86]

I'm sure its stunning presentation and ambitious structure will surprise you. I hope they do a sequel. [Feb 2005, p.78]

Only if you really, really liked the first one - or if you didn't buy it at all. [Feb 2005, p.84]

That constant activity is one of the series' greatest strengths since it allows objectives and plans to change as battlefield conditions shift. More than most strategy games, the Growlanser games make you feel that what goes on in the skirmishes is the plot, rather than something that happens between the story sections.

VJ2 is the better overall game, but it's a very rudimentary and evolutionary step rather than a revolutionary leap forward. [Jan 2005, p.108]

And while the whole trial-and-error mechanic is enough to make you throw your controller down and never return, there's a rewarding feeling when you do finally win.

The moments of inspiration are there to be found, but they're much less common than the moments of wanting to throw your controller in disgust. [Dec 2004, p.114]

Battle Assault 3 is almost, not quite, a clunker, existing in the space between serviceable and irritating.

You may be as annoyed by the new direction as I am, or you may think it is a brilliant move. But you're not going to mistake this for anything but Prince of Persia.

Lobotomized teammates, restrictive environments, and enemies with X-ray vision make it necessary to memorize entire levels. [Feb 2005, p.90]

Did I mention the shooting interface itself? Picture the annoying timing of the triple-tap Hot Shots model combined with the occasional imprecision of the analog Tiger model, and you'll have some idea of what we're talking about here: It's the worst of all possible worlds!

Unfortunately, slick powers, moderately competent A.I., and amusing deathtraps can't save Rogue Agent from being bland, linear, and repetitive - it tends to give too much of the mediocre and not enough of the awesome. [Feb 2005, p.88]

Most of the Atari 2600's great titles had little to do with Atari.[Feb 2005, p.91]

It never stops being either stylish or fun, though, and how many games can you say that about that feature a goofy-looking yellow alien? Just one.

Why can't you have more than six players at a table? [March 2005, p.95]

The most noteworthy part of the game is easily the end sequence. Without spoiling it, it's a chase that combines elements of MGS, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Return of the Jedi", "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker", and "Ico" into an utterly engrossing and visceral ride.

The game is one long wave of monotonous, sloppy combat. [Jan 2005, p.102]

For me, it became much more enjoyable as something to pick up and play for five or 10 minutes at a time rather than for prolonged sessions, but this is somewhat contrary to the way it's designed. [Nov 2004, p.130]

Offers classic teams, clothing, and a new college classic mode where you can relive some of college basketball's most famous moments - it's just too bad that there are so few moments like that in the game. [Jan 2005, p.100]

For the online play, it basically comes down to this - College Hoops 2K5 has all the features that "March Madness 2005" has and more. [Jan 2005, p.100]

The absence of Ed Norton's and Brad Pitt's likenesses makes the generic characters look like a pack of half-naked Ken dolls, excepting the one with man boobs. [Dec 2004, p.108]

What really makes this game a disaster is the presentation. The character models and environments look like they were made using "Fighter Maker," which is to say that one one with a fundamental familiarity with 3D modeling was hired to make this game. [Feb 2005, p.91]

A surprisingly stirring, entertaining experience. [Feb 2005, p.82]

As bad as the roster is, the game itself is fine, and by fine I mean you couldn't have possibly made it more boring. [Jan 2005, p.109]

The kind of game Dragon Ball fans can enjoy without feeling guilty. [Jan 2005, p.110]

After that brief spasm of historical insight, the charm rapidly wears off, mostly due to clumsy programming. [March 2005, p.95]

The sound effects are without any shadow of a doubt the most amazing I've ever heard in a videogame. The rasp of the engine is so unbelievably believable that you can actually feel the reverberation of the exhaust as the ower surges through it. It will change your expectations of what a game can sound like. [Dec 2004, p.120]

Track design is unimaginative, the cars look like they're made of plastic, it's not fast, and the gameplay structure feels clumsy and unfinished. [Dec 2004, p.128]

It's pretty elementary and it won't take you very long, but at $20 it's a good starter option for the young race fans in your life, who should get quite a few hours of enjoyment from it. [Feb 2005, p.83]

The problem is, right out of the gate, the career mode makes things way more boring than it needs to be. [March 2005, p.95]

When even a game's manual asks, "Wouldn't you rather play something else?" consider taking the hint. [Feb 2005, p.83]

I'll admit it's nice to play as a girl instead of watching one prance around the ring for the boys. Unfortunately, the experience bogs down amidst the sex appeal; for a game with such an overage of cleavage, it's ironic that after a couple hours, Rumble Roses starts to feel flat.

It's not an awful game, just shallow and aimless. [Feb 2005, p.83]

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]

It's rather like cotton candy - fun if insubstantial, without any redeeming nutritional value. But there are times when cotton candy hits the spot just fine. [Jan 2005, p.102]

It's an uninspired, uninnovative platform game with incredibly annoying flaws. Combat is brainless - I died more times from wandering into mud puddles (which are apparently deadly and kill you instantly) than I did from enemy attacks. [Dec 2004, p.125]

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]

Once you get past the negligible new features, there IS some fun hack-n-slash gameplay to be had with the four new characters. [Jan 2005, p.118]

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]

While the shot aiming is smart, the shooting meter is funky - you have to use timing to ensure the biggest blast. [Jan 2005, p.111]

Apparently, it never occurred to anyone at Cavia that using a first-person shooter setup to control a game seen in the third person is a little like putting "Resident Evil"-style controls in a "Mario" game: technically possible but deeply stupid. [Dec 2004, p.102]

Friendly enough for the first-time platform player, deep enough for platform veterans, and funny as hell...It's a brilliant game. [Dec 2004, p.126]

Substantially deeper than any EyeToy title I've seen so far. Granted, that's not hard to do, but it's still a nice surprise.

While Killzone delivers on visuals, it mishandles movement. This is a game that looks better in screenshots than it does in motion; simply put, the PS2 can't handle what Killzone is throwing at it. [Dec 2004, p.110]

A sloppy fighting game that may be good for a few laughs and nothing more.

While the battle system is solid, the battles themselves are dreadfully boring.

Taking an obvious cue from Xbox Live, the online mode is seriously user-friendly, providing tons of community-building tools—the polar opposite of Offroad Fury 2's laughable online attempt.

There are no previews of song titles, so it's hard to keep track of what you've done and what you haven't. [Feb 2005, p.87]

Most Guilty Gear fans will enjoy thse new features, but the incessant manual turning will undoubtedly prove irksome to some, as will the chaos of four-player battles. [Nov 2004, p.142]

The game's simplicity makes this a questionable choice for anyone over 8, but young kids will likely enjoy it. [Jan 2005, p.106]

In the ring, inconsistencies abound-weird collision detection, random selling, neutered submission moves, and A.I. that revolves between timid and simply schizoid.

This collection almost perfectly illustrates why Sonic achieved what he did. [Jan 2005, p.98]

I imagine myself back in the cafeteria, all the geeks, myself included, huddled around the folding banquet tables, oblivious to appearances, just having fun. [Feb 2005, p.87]

Appropriately enough, InuYasha plays like self-insert fan fiction: It's just as trite and doubly as embarrassing. [Feb 2005, p.85]

Don't be too put off by the T-rating, if you're fine with your kids seeing the movie, the game is safe. [Jan 2005, p.105]

Provides precious little depth, but as a way of getting the kids up out of their seats, the collection works nearly as well. [Jan 2005, p.106]

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]

San Andreas is shocking, not necessarily because of its typically contentious subject matter (though there's plenty in it to rub those of a conservative disposition the wrong way) but because of the sheer scale of the experience...Is it really the best game ever made? Quite possibly, yes.

Very fun, and the graphics are incredibly endearing. [Dec 2004, p.106]

Anyone who has enjoyed any of the technical, aesthetic, and gameplay improvements of the past decade will probably want to pass this one up [Dec 2004, p.114]

For the rest of us [non-Yu-Gi-Oh! fans], it's a passable strategy RPG. [Jan 2005, p.107]

The trouble is, all this story is presented with some of the most god-awful writing and voice work I've ever heard. [Dec 2004, p.112]

You've seen all of this stuff in at least a dozen other games, but the whole package is well put together and surprisingly enjoyable.

Ultimately, though, even "five Pipo monkeys in different colored pants!" aren't enough to make the same repeated games and gadgets interesting—unless you're a 7-year-old or a stoner.

The development team should've built more levels instead of relying on the rating gimmick to extend Neo Contra's longevity. Without question, it's worth a rental since it only takes a few hours or so to complete. [Dec 2004, p.124]

Zone is a hard game, easily the toughest Crisis yet. You'll be frustrated, but you'll still be entertained. [Nov 2004, p.138]

The original arcade TMNT may reward your perseverance - but it's not worth the pain. And that says a lot. [Nov 2004, p.132]

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

Novices can string combinations together within moments of picking up the controller, regardless of their familiarity with the series, but there's not much depth for fighting fans to plumb. [Dec 2004, p.118]

The game constantly kicked my ass, but the content is so good that it just motivated me to try harder. [Nov 2004, p.122]

Ty 2 seems to have it all: a huge open environment, gorgeous graphics, superb production values, myriad fluffy animals with Australian accents, and a ton of different gameplay styles. [Jan 2005, p.107]

Besides a few special items, the replay factor offered more repetition even in the additional tag and trial modes. [Nov 2004, p.130]

For my money, I think I actually like this one better than "Winning Eleven 7." FIFA is packed with more features than you could possibly explore unless you play nothing but this for the next six months. [Nov 2004, p.138]

As long as you and yours can stand some frustration, it's a solid purchase. [Jan 2005, p.106]

The collection is worth it just for the two "Mortal Kombat" games. [Dec 2004, p.119]

If you want to impart the important skills of twitchily thwaking bad dudes in dungeons on to a younger sibling, SD Gundam Force: Showdown! is a good start. [Jan 2005, p.107]

Ironically, MCL turns out to be a better boobtastic party game than "The Guy Game." [Dec 2004, p.118]

The various hip-hop accoutrements that GODM outfits its players with do little to alleviate the fact that the core element, actual rapping, is weak. [Dec 2004, p.106]