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

If you like slower-paced, realistic hoops for less than half the price, ESPN will keep you happy. If you want amped-up gameplay with polish, "NBA Live 2005"'s got what you need. [Dec 2004, p.128]

A great game for the over-30 crowd, though, which is something we don't get to say often. [Dec 2004, p.108]

A bummer - it's a tragic tale of missed opportunities, as a funny, engaging platformer shines through the me-too muck. [Nov 2004, p.124]

Rocky's programmed punch placement and combination systems can't help but seem slow and artificial. [Dec 2004, p.108]

It has more of the same clunky controls and general lack of fun for which the series is known. [Oct 2004, p.92]

It does such a great job of mimicking the flow and feel (albeit a little faster) of basketball that you really can't go wrong. [Nov 2004, p.140]

Saves itself from mediocrity through sheer force of its oddity. I honestly don't know what to expect next from Nautilus. [Nov 2004, p.138]

Your average uninspired kids game. [Jan 2005, p.106]

Should actually be called "Headhunter: Generally Good Like the Last One But Still Pretty Flawed." [Nov 2004, p.120]

It's the most feature-packed DDR yet (inlcuding ithe return of workout mode - yes!), and it holds up every bit as much as any of the series' previous releases. [Oct 2004, p.92]

You can see the potential here the instant you set foot in town, but the real fun is found only online. The rest of the elements are merely so-so. [Nov 2004, p.134]

Anyone looking for a sweeping epic with interesting characters or unique gameplay mechanics will be sorely disappointed by what it has to offer. [Nov 2004, p.120]

On its own merits, XML is a solid action-RPG, but as an X-Men game, it's a superb representation of the mythos. [Dec 2004, p.112]

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

Offers tons of new things to see and do, but relative newcomers to the game may want to hold off...for now. [Dec 2004, p.102]

If you're looking for a finely crafted, thought-provoking story to go with your psychic phenomena, look no further than Second Sight. [Nov 2004, p.128]

YYH's problem is with the controls, which are shallow yet complicated. [Jan 2005, p.107]

Though absurd, the story is one of Blood Will Tell's best features. [Dec 2004, p.114]

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]

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]

The players look great, but there's too much hitting, too much speed, and too little hockey. [Oct 2004, p.99]

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

If you think "kick their asses" is an acceptable game objective, then drop the 15 bucks. If you desire more, save your $15. [Nov 2004, p.130]

I can't help but grimace every time I think about someone dropping 40 bucks on this thing. [Jan 2005, p.118]

Soon enough, though, the novelty wears off, and you start to realize the incredible tedium involved because the entire game is a fetch quest - with the ultimate goal being to free some bitch (literally) that got picked up by the dogcatchers. [Sept 2004, p.89]

It's just too bad that there isn't much to it beyond the standard gameplay. [Oct 2004, p.92]

Beyond atmosphere, ShellShock pretty much, well, sucks. Probably the biggest irritation is the simply horrifying level design. [Oct 2004, p.88]

Being able to play as all three members further fleshes out the mission variety - I couldn't tell you the last time I've had so much unadulterated fun playing a game. [Nov 2004, p.126]

I don't care what it is, you watch it 30 times in 33 minutes and it starts to get old. [Nov 2004, p.136]

Boring fights, easy puzzles. [Oct 2004, p.96]

Dino Thunder is obviously trying to mimic the feel of free-roaming gameplay, but it fails to be entertaining about it. [Jan 2005, p.106]

The actual platforming is fairly blase. It's a solid-enough game with neat invention-based hooks, but that's about it. [Jan 2005, p.107]

Part of the feeling of powerlessness comes from the awful controls. [Nov 2004, p.120]

Fans of the show will dig the humor and graphics. [Jan 2005, p.105]

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

If you don't like Burnout 3: Takedown, there's something wrong with you...It has completely spoiled me, making it near impossible to enjoy other games in the genre. [Oct 2004, p.102]

It's not "Burnout" by any means, but the way the whole experience revels in its country-boy demeanor oddly satisfies. [Oct 2004, p.100]

The only aspect of the game helping it avoid becoming a complete disaster are the arenas. [Jan 2005, p.106]

Blasting is fun, the game looks great, and the front end is on brand. But the difficulty will you reeling. [Nov 2004, p.132]

The races are boring...There's just no drama to the thing, and even once you've cranked your Mitsubishi crapbox up to 400 hp, you still don't feel the power. [Oct 2004, p.100]

A geriatric "MGS" clone burdened with the identity (and scene) thefts of "Mission: Impossible." [Oct 2004, p.88]

It's sad to see an old franchise become something so generic. [Feb 2004, p.102]

It's really fun to have one version of a character go up against another version of the same character to see who's better. [Sept 2004, p.92]

Simple prebattle strategy does a lot to enhance an already strong gameplay formula, more addictive than ever. [Oct 2004, p.110]

At first, this combat exhilarates, but A.I. flaws appear soon enough...Fighting also gets frustratingly hard, which annoyingly necessitates battles solely for leveling up. [Sept 2004, p.91]

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

A nice simulation of horse racing and alll the decisions and action associated with it. [Oct 2004, p.108]

One big piece of crap...The pacing is slow and boring, the chicks aren't attractive, and the gameplay is poorly constructed. [Oct 2004, p.98]

"Burnout 3" may beckon for the sheer thrills, but Chase is one of the best sports racing games ever released. [Oct 2004, p.108]

No game will drive you to REM sleep like Rapala Pro Fishing, the greatest sedative available for PS2. [Oct 2004, p.98]

Bells, whistles, and foghorns aside, it really <I>feels</I> like hockey. And it's only 20 bucks. [Oct 2004, p.99]

This title is a steady study of patience, and downing a buck after a seven-minute game of cat-and-mouse is wholly rewarding. [Oct 2004, p.98]

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

Fanboys will love being Astro so much that the negatives won't be enough to deliver them; anyone else should prepare for a slow-paced, meandering ride. [Oct 2004, p.96]

Throw in lukewarm A.I. and some clipping problems, and you've got a scary, pretty game that's just not a whole lot of fun to play. [Sept 2004, p.96]

Unless you're into cartoony characters and an overdose of wackiness, there really isn't much here beyond simple competence. [Oct 2004, p.98]

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]

One of the most comprehensive entries in the music-creation genre. [Jan 2004, p.120]

The result is a few moments of fright and a whole lot of trial and error, backtracking, and head-scratching frustration. [Sept 2004, p.97]

As cool as the sword fights and boss battles may be, Bujingai may frustrate you for hours at a time with poorly designed levels that depend too much on jumping puzzles. [July 2004, p.88]

If Crimson Tears did a better job of eliminating or even just disguising its leveling grind, it could have started a BrawlPG trend. For now, it's merely good but repetitive - it could have leveled up more before its release. [Aug 2004, p.98]

It's as if someone took the "Prince of Persia" formula, added a dash of digital Halle Berry, and then gave this recipe to an imbecile for actual execution. Everything that "Prince" did oh so right has been oh so bungled here. [Sept 2004, p.89]

It's worth pointing out that most of these new options simply add a layer of polish to preexisting aspects of the game. [Sept 2004, p.93]

Once again, it's easily the greatest college football game ever made. Once again, it's my new favorite videogame of all time. But despite some really cool additions, NOT once again do I feel entirely wowed by it. Mostly wowed, yes...but not entirely, as I always have been in the past. [Aug 2004, p.88]

When I was a kid, I used to play my sister in "Summer Games" on our Apple IIe. In Athens 2004, I discovered that Olympics-type gameplay hasn't evolved one iota in the past 20 years. [Aug 2004, p.93]

The additions of a medley mode - two to five song clips in quick succession - and a one-song quick-play option are solid improvements as well....It's another must have for singers. [Aug 2004, p.99]

If you liked the first Way of the Samurai, then this provides more of the same type of play. But don't expect anything new or exciting. [July 2004, p.88]

After [a dozen or so matches], Galactic Wrestling's lack of depth creeps in, followed by boredom. [July 2004, p.96]

One of the largest kid games to hit the market - in essence, it's an E-rated "GTA." [Jan 2005, p.107]

Even though the battles may occur in the same settings as the ones in the movie, they lack not only the coolness, but also the soul. [Sept 2004, p.86]

It still has all of the stuff that makes it a nice diversion from the typical baseball title. But that stuff hasn't changed enough to warrant a purchase.

Showdown is just as bad as its two predecessors in almost every way. [Aug 2004, p.93]

Veterans will have to take a little time to adjust, while newcomers will be able to jump right in without even noticing such problems.

Remixing is fine for what it's worth, and you can get pretty intricate with the tools provided for you, but if you try to create your own compositions from scratch, you'll bump up against a pretty low ceiling. [July 2004, p.99]

The 20 percent that takes place on foot takes four times longer than it should because of countless design flaws. In brief: The driving parts are awesome, the running around sucks.

The absolute best possible Pandora experience is when four people who know each other hook up and take turns playing as spies and mercs. It is a spectacularly rewarding experience and unnervingly addictive. [July 2004, p.84]

Outside of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series, nothing surpasses the complexity of FM4. [July 2004, p.92]

A perfectly fun, surreal distraction - but only when playing with live frolfers. If you go at it alone, even the Frolf Referee's entertaining mannerisms won't make up for the frustration caused by the cheating A.I. [July 2004, p.96]

Worthless combos, horrible-looking characters, poor level design, inexcusably low production value (no speech...at all), and absolutely pathetic special attacks that take five seconds to complete. [Sept 2004, p.97]

Pros: Solid physics for the central game, lots and lots of bonus content, dirt cheap. [Aug 2004, p.93]

It doesn't offer anything new to the genre, it's not cheap enough to be considered a bargain-basement alternative to anything, and it has about as much personality as cabbage. [Sept 2004, p.92]

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

Over time, you become so familiar with your player's animation that good swings become second nature, and Smash 2's greatness becomes apparent. [July 2004, p.97]

A mediocre game, not a bad one. However, when you consider how far short it fell of its original promise, it comes across as less than average. [Sept 2004, p.97]

Offers a deeper, more mature experience than the previous titles. [July 2004, p.94]

While encounters with the underling Decepticlones are somewhat dull, Decepticon boss fights are actually quite intense and difficult - at least until a weakness is revealed. [June 2004, p.92]

The real downfall, though, is the waiting. During the enemy turn, you're forced to wait through the individual moves of every single unit. [June 2004, p.84]

The game isn't fun...You'll have a lot more funjust going to the bowling alley. [July 2004, p.97]

Don't be surprised if you find yourself revisiting certain engagements just to perfectly fulfill each of its objectives. [June 2004, p.91]

Surprisingly inoffensive and actually decent. If you don't have lofty expectations and just want some interactive B-movie thrills, this game certainly fits the bill.

The story is prime Syphon goodness, with twists and turns aplenty and several very poignant moments. [June 2004, p.94]

I like the fielding. It's the best for baserunning. But where's the crowd noise? [May 2004, p.99]

Your key characters do much more duing battle than just attack the enemy. [June 2004, p.84]

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]

It may not be the deepest (or longest) PS2 shooter, but it's definitely one of the most entertaining. [July 2004, p.98]

If you have even the slightest love for a warped look at the fairy tales we all grew up with (all based around the new film, of course), you won't want to miss Shrek 2.

It <I>may</I> capture your attention for about one game of 9-ball or doing some trick shots, but career mode will bore the balls out of you. [Jan 2004, p.133]