Although it's a beautiful game full of nonstop, relentless action, Chaos' flaws turn a potentially stellar title into merely a solid one for genre fans. [July 2003, p.96]

Generic and ultimately forgettable. [Sept 2006, p.81]

Straightforward, short, yet ultimately fun arcade port. [Jan 2002, p.142]

Control is also a bit gimpy, particularly with some of the special movies, which only adds to the frustration. [Sept 2002, p.119]

The most fun I've had with a Resident Evil game in years. [July 2003, p.98]

Maneuvering and combat are both very clumsy, and the whole game leaves you wondering about the choices the game designers made. [June 2005, p.95]

At certain points, you simply feel total frustration - you just wanna stop playing sometimes. Of course, you're better off never starting at all. [Dec 2003, p.162]

Formulaic and unchallenging. [Apr 2006, p.94]

It's dull to look at, and, due to a lapse back into the more tactical, strategic gameplay that categorizes all of Koei's other war games, it's also fairly dull to play. [Apr 2004, p.100]

Sam has some of the craziest yet most ingenious enemies in a shooter - I dare you to come up with a better enemy than the headless screaming kamikaze bomber. [June 2004, p.96]

Actually worse than its recent predecessors. [Feb 2002, p.116]

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

An excellent game crippled by bad control. [Aug 2006, p.82]

MS Saga succeeds in creating one of the first truly accessible Gundam experiences while still giving the hardcore fans a reason to play. [Mar 2006, p.87]

The simple infrastructure multiplayer adds some replay value, but overall this port is poorly thought out. [Mar 2006, p.97]

While Revelations adds a moderate amount of content to "Warrior Within", at its core it is essentially the same game. [Mar 2006, p.92]

Nightmare isn't a spectacular game, but the development team has done an excellent job of capturing the film's style and spirit (pardon the pun). [Nov 2005, p.96]

After a few songs, keeping tempo and varying the strength with which you hit a single button gets pretty old. [May 2002, p.101]

Why does the game look like crap? [Jan 2002, p.141]

It actually focuses on solid gameplay. What a concept. [Sept 2003, p.100]

A feast for the eyes. [Oct 2002, p.147]

There's no denying its fun gameplay and flat-out likability. [Dec 2001, p.172]

Is this what real snowboarding is like? Because if it is, I don't want any part of it. [Feb 2002, p.106]

Merely a decent game dragged to mediocrity by general tedium and a horridly paced beginning. [Mar 2004, p.98]

It's not the deepest game ever made, but it is one of those things that you can use to get a quick fix of gaming. [Oct 2001, p.135]

Although not as bad as "Tomb Raider," MI is marred by an appallingly complex control system that (if you're anything like me) you'll never get used to. [Feb 2004, p.103]

An excellent action-strategy fix for the "Dynasty" and "Samurai Warriors" fan. [Apr 2006, p.94]

Welcome to Sonic Hell, where it feels like you're stuck in Rome and some gladiator prisoner that is being forced to compete mercilessly non-stop with other combatants. [Jan. 2007, p.91]

A surprisingly solid platformer that fans of the genre will definitely enjoy. [June 2002, p.101]

Solidly mediocre. [Oct 2002, p.146]

The main problem is that there's just no sense of speed. You can be going Mach 1.2 and it feels like you're driving a charter bus. Uphill. Against the wind. In a foot of snow. Towing another charter bus. [Apr 2003, p.84]

While the show features remarkably choreographed fight scenes (certainly by television standards, much less so in general), the game's fights are stilted and spastic.

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]

Devil Kings' mailed-in gameplay is a classic example of what developers should avoid at all costs in the future. [Nov 2005, p.117]

It's too scattered and feels poorly designed. [Jan 2002, p.134]

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]

Fits the format very well...Not very ambitious. [May 2006, p.96]

It's quite ironic that a game based on a license that is the progenitor of sci-fi gaming ends up feeling like a kludgy, mediocre hodge-podge of better sci-fi shooters. [Nov 2003, p.147]

Fantastic 4 is short. Most players will finish it in less than six hours--and judging by the fact that finishing levels within certain time limits is among the mission bonuses, Activision doesn't expect anyone to take too long to play it.

The expanded table and wacky ideas are great, but it's the novel stuff that wears thin first. [Aug 2005, p.83]

If I could've set things up more like the controls in "Quake" or "Half Life," I think I would've enjoyed it more. [August 2002, p.108]

Non-fans just won't have much reason to play. [Jan 2002, p.134]

A giant mess on the whole. For starters, you encounter plenty of nice little glitches throughout the game, including random spots where characters just fall through solid objects because of some lame collision detection. [Feb 2004, p.98]

The story for this survival-horror game will have you hooked. [Mar 2002, p.34]

Plenty playable, even for more experienced gamers. [Feb 2002, p.118]

Riddled with some clunky and stiff gameplay that can lead to plenty of button mashing. [Apr 2002, p.109]

A by-the-book tactical RPG that takes no chances, but can be engaging. It's also short (campaigns under 15 hours) and whoever heard of a short RPG?

Despite Musashi's quirky look and interesting mechanics, the elementary mistakes made with the camera and the poor pacing ultimately make the game feel more like its 1998 predecessor than a modern sequel.

The multiple-character combos are a nice touch, but the execution is so poor as to make it a moot point. [Feb 2002, p.106]

It is without a shadow of a doubt the perfect example of the most mediocre racing game I've ever seen. [July 2002, p.100]

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.

This was a great game...15 years ago. The new Micro Machines fails to offer anything new or exciting to an already stale series. [Sept 2006, p.79]

A new beginning is a step in the right direction, but Spyro still has a long way to go before being "good" again. [Jan. 2007, p.89]

While details like the appearance of the movie's actors in their same roles (the tutorial is standard fare, except it happens to be delivered by Liam Neeson, of all people!), the Burnout 3-inspired Batmobile sequences, the quirky minigames, and the moments of sneaking and combat make the game fun to play, its linearity keeps it grounded to the "average licensed property" area.

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]

Just because most of the 60-plus games in this collection are nearly unplayable by today's standards..., that doesn't mean they all blow. In fact, some remain downright fun. [Feb 2004, p.103]

Too simple for strategy fans and too complex for fighting fans. The occasionally interesting creature design and accompanying animation can't save this one from its cliched premise, uninteresting gameplay, and interminable load times. [Mar 2004, p.103]

Easily the best-ever portrayal of the Man of Steel in a video game. [Dec 2002, p.174]

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

I just wish it had that pick-up-and-go, addictive quality of its predecessors. [May 2005, p.104]

But this year EA slapped handcuffs on gamers trying to shoot over 50 percent from the field. [Dec. 2006, p.126]

There's nothing quite like throwing up your own thunderdome(minus the Tina Turner)and shredding enemies once they've stepped into your invisible arena. [Nov. 2006, p.121]

It's mildly amusing at best, but one thing's for sure - you definitely get your money's worth. [Oct 2003, p.118]

The sloppy swordplay and imprecise magic attacks just make the game look like an alcoholic staging of Medieval Times. [June 2002, p.97]

I'll stick to paper and pencil versions of sudoku until a cleaned-up sequel appears. [July 2006, p.82]

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

A slightly improved port of the GameCube multiplayer party combat game, but it's still too chaotic and random for anyone born before the '90s. [May 2006, p.92]

If it weren't for all the basketball in Sony's new NBA 07, I'd give the go-ahead on trying this one out. [Nov. 2006, p.110]

The best part is that some jittery-fingered button-masher won't necessarily win. You actually have to box. That's something the arcadey "Ready 2 Rumble" couldn't figure out. [Apr 2003, p.84]

The fighting system isn't particularly deep (throws and specials tend to win fights), and the graphics are the antithesis of PSP quality. The levels are bland. [Nov 2005, p.121]

So there you have it: a typical Japanese RPG. With pets. [July 2006, p.85]

Pac-Man World 3 shows up to class every day but settles for straight C's. It will mostly appeal to youngsters, and I'm sure that kids will find something in it. But the folks who grew up with Pac-Man won't find much to love in this lazy cash in.

The levels are huge, but you don't feel like there's much freedom because the game very strictly controls where you can and can't go. [Feb 2003, p.109]

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

A huge, solid game that's seriously crippled by an unworkable control scheme. [July 2005, p.78]

It's the closest thing to an honest-to-God flight sim a PlayStation has seen. [Nov 2001, p.160]

There's surprising depth and lots to do for a younger crowd. It's perfect for an under-13 gamer. [Feb 2003, p.101]

All the features added to Genki's long running game of after-dark street racing are cursory at best and cosmetic at worst. [Jan 2004, p.130]

This game is about a realistic Texas Hold 'Em experience against the computer, and not much else. [Aug 2006, p.75]

It was quite the pleasant surprise. [Dec 2001, p.175]

And, much like a real sweatshop, WTF provides little incentive to keep you going. [Dec. 2006, p.136]

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!

Other than that, Miami Vice is the most unremarkable eight hours you'll sppend en route to a lousy concclusion this year! [Oct. 2006, p.91]

To put it simply, there are so many small fundamental problems--the passing feels stiff and has some weird bugs that cause the ball to fly off in random directions (not to mention the fact that the AI, while mostly consistent, does have a tendency to cheat a little bit when intercepting passes, at least more than any human opponent would).

There's no excuse for such an absurdly awkward control scheme. [Apr 2003, p.92]

The fact that I got so involved in the solo portion of a multiplayer game meant they were doing something right. [June 2002, p.99]

Aside from getting to tote around the world's longest hose for hours, this game is just not very fun. [Apr 2004, p.98]

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 shocking to see how well Finding Nemo's story and settings translate into a game. [Aug 2003, p.99]

It's minaturized, astonishingly deep, and loads of fun. It's also super cheap. [Mar 2003, p.114]

It's hard to call a game good when it features such shoddy controls and camera positioning. [July 2002, p.102]

The package's presentation is incredibly minimal as well, with the games dropped into the most generic of interfaces. [Mar 2006, p.94]

The season and extra modes are all pretty standard, offering little beyond what's been out there nearly since the inception of videogame basketball. [Jan. 2007, p.70]

Britney's likeness and her songs lend themselves especially well to this style of game. [July 2002, p.99]

It's extremely awkward. [Oct 2002, p.148]

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

Forsakes any sort of previously demonstrated variety, great story, or awesome atmosphere all in favor of fight, fight, fight. It only needs the "POW! WHAP! BLORP!" [Nov 2003, p.130]

Despite its lousy gameplay, Drakengard's story is what makes me absolutely hate, hate, hate it...Just <I>try</I> to like any of the characters. Impossible. [Mar 2004, p.98]