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]

A decent kids' game, but only if you've got at least two people playing. [Jan 2006, p.99]

Goes right off the deep end with its length - the entire game can be completed in one six-hour sitting. [Apr 2005, p.102]

Untamed true fun lies in its extreme sports-type levels. [Jan 2002, p.141]

The visuals might pass for first-generation quality at best. [August 2002, p.110]

Everything is passable--no aspects of the game are missing, nothing's technically wrong. It's just that it doesn't strive above any of the old, established conventions of the genre. It has an average overwrought RPG story line, average graphics, and an average (to poor) combat system that has shifted from turn-based combat to real-time combat.

While that addictive quality that the best games of this genre have is missing, Frantix isn't a bad way to waste time. [Oct 2005, p.108]

A cool-ass shooter... Honestly, at $15 bucks, it would be a serious crime for shooter fans to pass this baby up. [June 2003, p.105]

The game itself seems to suffer from a ridiculous lack of balance. [July 2002, p.100]

"NBA 2K2" is still the obvious choice for basketball fans. But 2Night's stock remains on the rise. [May 2002, p.99]

Another thing that really sets this game apart is its rather obscene reliance on gore. [Jan 2002, p.136]

When you have something that's this cool to start with, even a fairly average gameplay experience is enough to hold the torch.

I couldn't get over the tiresome switch from the adrenaline-pumping action of shooting rival families to suddenly having to play a game of Risk. [Nov. 2006, p.122]

Despite all the effort clearly put in to make it otherwise, FIFA Street is still boring. [Apr 2006, p.78]

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.

It's a bite-size nugget of nostalgia and mindless fun. [Feb 2006, p.77]

All the cars suffer from terrible handling physics, which are only made worse by the appallingly sensitive setup on the analog controls. [Mar 2003, p.114]

Solid voice acting from the entire cast of the show, unlockables aplenty, and cool quips almost - but not quite - sweeten the sour medicine that is Futurama to the point of redemption. [Sept 2003, p.92]

Too slow and clunky, and the load times will put some softcore gamers to sleep. [Feb 2003, p.104]

Everything about Roses is designed to make you feel like a total loser. The difficulty level is ratcheted up so high, you're bound to lose billions of battles before you can build a decent deck. [Apr 2003, p.98]

Once you get past the counterintuitive controls, Rescue serves as a completely serviceable hop-a-thon for tadpole gamers. [Jan 2004, p.133]

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

Avatar shows flashes of brilliance at first, but sadly those don't last long enough to sustain the entire game. [Jan. 2007, p.88]

True hunters will see nothing but shortcomings. [Apr 2003, p.87]

While the game may not fully reach its heroic potential, it does competently adapt the greatest sword-and-sorcery epic of all time. [Dec 2002, p.162]

Shallow combat meets nonexistente level design in a battle for FPS mediocrity. [Aug 2005, p.89]

By no means perfect, but it does do a fine job of realizing Bilbo Baggins' Middle-earth adventure. [Jan 2004, p.120]

The game gets unreasonably hard near the end, where you really start to hate the archaic continue system. It frustrates me that I haven't beaten Shredder--I can't even get to him. I feel so turtle powerless.