Of all of Zin's improvements the most marked is the fun factor. A big part of this has to do with the toned-down difficulty - instead of being next to impossible, Zin is merely <I>really freaking tough</I>. [Feb 2004, p.100]

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

Despite .hack's inarguable flaws (it's repetitive, kinda ugly, and...er, <I>really</I> repetitive), the game remains one of the freshest concepts of this console generation. [Jan 2004, p.132]

In short, Shattered Universe just doesn't deliver. The onscreen action never heats up enough to be considered exciting, and even if it did, the shoddy control scheme would keep it from being any fun anyway. [Dec 2003, p.176]

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]

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]

One thing I can guarantee: If you like to be scared, you owe it to yourself to play this game. [Feb 2004, p.102]

The notion of a story-driven racing game is definitely something I'm getting used to, and after an initial feeling of resistance, I have to say the game got to be quite fun...It's not the greatest racer ever made, but it is pretty darn good.

The bigger problem is that 2000 and 2001 aren't the best games in the series. [Jan 2004, p.123]

But most unbelievable is the fact that there's almost nothing here I would classify as fun. [Jan 2004, p.118]

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]

Surely, I thought, the challenge level has a setting other than "stupid easy" or "mind-bogglingly confusing because the mutant aiming system bites." I thought wrong. Encounters in Space is just that bad. [Dec 2003, p.164]

Do you like "Monopoly" but wish it featured more fantasy trappings and colorful cards? Well, has NEC got a deal for you with Culdcept. [Dec 2003, p.156]

Matches basically boil down to ridiculous standoffs that are won by whoever can bust out kamehamehas the fastest. Not exactly the best way to channel your competitive spirit.

A blast to play - it's just that you're likely to spend as much time watching cinemas, storyboards, and loading screens as actually <I>playing</I> the game. For a six-to-eight-hour game, that's just not right. [Feb 2004, p.104]

Looking for a serious challenge? Then don't bother with Masters of Metal! The competition drives like a raccoon drunk on moonshine! Drunk raccoons! [Feb 2004, p.104]

A big, fat disappointment...SpyHunter 2 simply lacks any soul.

Goes from merely mediocre to appallingly bad.

I know this all sounds ridiculous, and it is. And yet, there's a certain goofy, tacky charm to the game that's oddly appealing. [Feb 2004, p.103]

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]

Almost nothing about this game has any redeeming value. The levels are dull and repetitive. The control is whack. The gameplay is busted. It's boring. It's dopey. [Jan 2004, p.123]

Despite some gorgeous visuals and intriguing gameplay elements, Kya simply isn't any fun. And just like the wind, that really blows. [Jan 2004, p.123]

There's a surreal sweetness to Spanx and Redmond that makes everything in this game very enjoyable. [Jan 2004, p.113]

With this much style oozing from the game, it saddens me to find it wrapped around something so average... Strip away the gorgeous visage and you have a typical shooter with some good tweaks. [Dec 2003, p.174]

Besides the shocking, desensitizing violence that borders on being pornographic (there's no actual sex, but there is plenty of penetration and spraying of bodily fluids, all viewed from lurid camera angles), Manhunt turns out to be a pretty solid game.

The unbelievable brutality of the enemy A.I., even in Normal mode, means the game can vacillate from challenging to downright frustrating. Yet, for all the times I was pissed off, I still felt compelled to move on... [Dec 2003, p.164]

If only Fugitive Hunter, the game, wasn't saddled with broken missions, pathetic animations, a sorry fighting system and a sorrier button-mashing mode. [Jan 2004, p.118]

The most fun I've had playing a Final Fantasy... In terms of pure fun? This one rocks. [Dec 2003, p.149]