Like the "Armored Core" games, Chromehounds feels like an amalgam of smart and goofy, and while it will appeal to fans of the former series, finicky casual types will probably be bored, frustrated, or both. [Sept 2006, p.82]

A few standard scare tactics (dramatic music, flickering lights) and gory battles may satisfy hardened fans of horror, but loot-hunting and taxi missions will likely haunt your dreams more than the given monstrosities of death.

A very bare-bones expression of the genre. [July 2010, p.80]

A decent upgrade or introduction to the series. [Feb 2010, p.88]

It's an intriguing new piece of the puzzle, to be sure. But the two-hour Lost Archive quest doesn't go quite far enough in pushing forward the overall series storyline, making it less essential for those who care more about Assassin's' open-world adventuring than the lore behind it.

It's reasonably fun, but "Jewel Quest" is better, deeper, and more addictive. [Jun 2006, p.62]

It's all very violent, weird, kinda fun, and frequently cheesy. [Oct 2005, p.108]

But the real stars of the show are the battle sequences in which you lead an army of literally hundreds of NPCs into full-on raging wars. It’s just a shame that there’s so much filler between the fights.

Arkanoid is Breakout without the boredom. Well, without as much. [May 2009, p.83]

While Juiced 2 isn't the smoothest-driving Xbox 360 racer on the market, it's definitely one of the more filling. [Nov 2007, p.97]

Still, hardcore nostalgia buffs will re-discover a deceptively simple addiction that's worth a five-spot. [Jan. 2007, p.75]

Ballers aspires to be about street culture and cred, but it has all the authentic urban flavor of Jamie Kennedy. [May 2004, p.81]

Problematic moments of senseless enemy invulnerability and camera management siphon off some joy, but ultimately, this glorified plushie is fun enough to avoid extinction. [Dec. 2006, p.84]

But between its quaint characters and charming attitude, it's still an entertaining enough way to while away a few afternoons in service to imaginary nobility. [Jan 2011, p.66]

While CellFactor is more fun with real humans, it never feels like it'll lure you away from other shooters. [Apr 2009, p.75]

For us, Gel never quite...gelled. [Aug 2009, p.77]

Despite the awful visuals and crummy combat camera, watching the world react to your different play styles makes this short story a satisfying feudal tale that's worth seeing through. [Dec 2009, p.80]

But ultimately, it's hard to whole-heartedly recommend this game to anyone but the most diehard turn-based--RPG fanatics. [Oct. 2006, p.73]

Feels a bit too easy, too slight. [June 2009, p.78]

But Create is clearly aimed at a younger audience, so it may be right up the alley of anyone with equal parts patience and creativity. [Jan 2011, p.73]

Nickelodeon may typically shoot for the young 'uns, but this cel-shaded RPG-ish action/adventure is loads of beat-'em-up fun for adults as well. [Holiday 2006, p.86]

Poker purists will hate it, and poker haters may be totally uninterested. But if you like goofy games with surprising depth, this one's worth a try. [Apr 2009, p.65]

Finally, we have a Warriors game with some substance. [Oct 2011, p.75]

The actioner certainly has polished visuals, but too often suffers from repetition: see enemy, cast spell, repeat. [Jan 2011, p.75]

All that backtracking might've floated back in the day, but now it just feels repetitive and tedious. [Holiday 2005, p.90]

Diluted by hours of confusing side quests and repetitive battles, these original moments don't shine as brightly as they should. [Mar 2010, p.78]

Gun-crazed gamers just looking for another run-and-shoot romp will find the plodding pace and home-spun presentation distasteful, but Darkest of Days offers everyone else enough fresh and rewarding gameplay to offset its worst problems.

Only PC-less coaster fanatics should even think about purchasing. This is still fun, but anti-enhanced. [July 2003, p.84]

We had fun with Last Agent's streamlined story and missions, but navigation issues and faults left over from other episodes make it unworthy of the series' legacy. [June 2014, p.78]

Addictive, but the gameplay and tired humor makes this series a knuckle dragging Cro-Magnon compared to the telekinetic flying super-ape it should've been. [Dec 2005, p.112]

Only the most avid Minesweeper fans will find the game entertaining for more than a couple of hours - but for five bucks, that's a pretty fair deal. [Mar 2009, p.83]

But ultimately, the choppy multiplayer options and ultra-disbelief-suspending campaign deliver an uneven "What If" history lesson. [Apr 2008, p.74]

Is New York really this drab and uninteresting of a place? [Jan 2006, p.82]

Ultimately, though, there's nothing here we haven't seen before, and only the most hardcore NeoGeo fighting fans should consider Coliseum a must-buy. [Oct 2010, p.74]

If you don't mind solo workouts, Zumba Fitness delivers in spades. [Jan 2011, p.79]

It's nerve-jangling fun while it lasts, but unless you're a score whore, Contra loses its appeal once you beat its five missions. [Jan. 2007, p.77]

Unbounded can't compete with the genre's best, but it's not devoid of value.

It's not clear why handling, top speed, acceleration, and braking improvements apply only to specific livery paint jobs instead of to entire vehicle classes, and we never did figure out how the useless "clutch boost" feature was supposed to help us.

It could bring a whle new edge to the game if it had an online mode. [Holiday 2005, p.68]

The main problem with Spawn is that it's simply dull... The entire game feels as though it was just phoned in. [Jan 2004, p.82]

Lack of variety and depth. [Apr 2010, p.83]

As with other Namco Live Arcade games, the coin-op's alternating-turns two-player mode is gone(update the emulator already, Namco!), so you New Rally-X replay value depends entirely on how much nostalgia you've got in the tank. [Mar 2007, p.81]

If you still have Pac-Man Fever, this game is a must-own. Otherwise, just sample the remix with the free demo. [Sept 2007, p.76]

Warrior isn't nearly as deep as other Arcade fighting games, but when buddies and beers are near, it's a decent choice. [Oct 2010, p.81]

Most adults will want to look for more sophisticated fare. [Oct 2009, p.82]

When it works, Fable: The Journey is one of the best Kinect games to date. But far too often, it doesn't work correctly. We recommend moving your couch aside so you can play sitting in a high-back chair, but that's hardly an ideal solution. As fun as it is at times, The Journey feels like a trip that's gone on too long, eventually growing irritating and annoying.

It's intriguing to see the evolution of Agent 47's murderous tactics across these seminal entries, but much as Silent Assassin was lauded upon release for its many kill options, it's a startlingly clunky experience nowadays.

If you're looking for tactical depth, environmental variety, or anything resembling a story, you'll be left wanting. But if you're in the mood for a blissfully mindless fire-and-forget shooting gallery, you could do a whole lot worse.

For that reason alone, we'd say this game makes a great distraction for younger kids(especially since you can share the mini-game fun with any friend who wants to jump in), but the young at heart will likely need something more. [June 2011, p.85]

If you can get some pals together, have a stable connection, and don’t mind interrupting your game for a level-up session, you’ll have some fun here, but Battle Grounds still falls short of being the sleeper hit it could have been.

We're getting a little tired of playing essentially the same game that was in arcades years ago. [Oct 2002, p.99]

Tedious ground combat makes up the majority of the game, and the cool cover concept and sci-fi story are strong, but blown opportunities. [Feb 2010, p.86]

An entertaining experience in short bursts - assuming you can overlook the occasional misstep.

While its gameplay and visuals are better than they were in 1992, what was groundbreaking back then feels merely average 20 years later.

This game is anything but polished, but it's also solid enough that you get more than what you paid for. [May 2010, p.77]

Playing alone is a tepid affair(even with create-a-clip Director Mode), and we would've liked meatier mini-games and more interactivity in general(waiting and watching are your primary actions), but this $70 package offers enough amusing antics and cheesy clips in it's four-player mode to warrant an audition at your next party or family gathering. [Jan 2009, p.75[

Omega has little narrative impact on the main game. Omega has snatches of rich backstory, but it's a limited, pricey thrill aimed only at the series' most devoted fans.

A merely adequate, uninspired, but occasionally funny soccer game. [Oct 2002, p.108]

We enjoyed Special Forces’ team-focused tweaks, even with the game’s dull maps and balance inconsistencies, but this multiplayer-only shooter doesn’t make a very strong impression. It’s a couple of ranks below the genre's best — and that’s something a $15 price can’t fix.

Unfortunately, in the few areas where this version aims for freshness, it comes up flat. [Holiday 2008, p.83]

In short, there's little to distinguish Green Lantern besides its top-notch production values (polished combat, vivid graphics, good voiceovers), two-player co-op where a buddy plays as fellow GL Thaal Sinestro, and support for both stereoscopic and anaglyph 3D.

High Moon clearly did all they could, but ultimately, Dark of the Moon is a small package with too much filler to be worth more than a rental. Though we're betting it's still better than the film it's based on.

This one's strictly for import-puzzle otaku who enjoy relentlessly super-happy fun times yes! [Sept 2009, p.85]

If it were a meal, Spider-Man 3 would be a very filling sweet-and-sour dish--often too tough, sometimes uneven, but ultimately very tasty for Spidey fans. [July 2007, p.80]

A seriously clunky interface, on-demand advice from Negreanu that alternates between canny and staggeringly bad, and unimpressive graphics provide no saving graces. [Aug 2006, p.77]

A letdown, but there is a bright side - it may just be the Ultimate weekend rental. [Dec 2005, p.100]

Even with the grisly and serious subject matter, Shellshock doesn't add up to anything more than a by-the-book shooter that completely relies on trigger elements to keep each action sequence fresh. [Oct 2004, p.84]

The fighting engine is too simple, too easy to exploit, and just, well...you know, average.[Holiday 2004, p.78]

Or at least if it were more wildly satirical. Instead, it falls somewhere in between: the middle of the road where nothing really interesting happens except the same repetitive and boring tasks. [Holiday 2004, p.70]

This game should appeal to any Scooby-Doo fan, as well as anyone looking for a low-rent, low-impact platforming workout. [Nov 2005, p.131]

This is just the games: no extras, no goodies, and no style. [Jan 2003, p.90]

It feels like you've played this game before because you have. [June 2004, p.72]

Dumb fistfighting sequences from the original are back. [June 2005, p.74]

Creaky and sometimes clever - yes. Fantastic - not so much. [Sept 2005, p.86]

As it is, the game plays it safe with a by-the-numbers kill-fest that's fast and fun while it lasts, but ultimately, like the movie, feels more like a matinee. [Aug 2004, p.78]

The entire time I was playing, I kept thinking how this cool premise should have made for a better game. Alas, it never realizes its potential. [March 2005, p.78]

Much like Keanu's performance in the film, it just goes through the motions. [May 2005, p.82]

It's a competent, interesting game that will usually entertain but never thrill. [Oct 2005, p.100]

It certainly says something about a game's quality when the most impressive feature is the lighting. [Jan 2003, p.84]

If you've played this game before, there really is absolutely no reason to play it again. [July 2002, p.80]

My biggest problem with this game comes from the extremely unrealistic batting interface. [June 2002, p.78]

Games are meant to be played, not watched, and this one has more cinemas than "Metal Gear Solid." [Jan 2004, p.79]

Fails to inspire but quasi-amuses. [Jan 2002]

Exactly the kind of experience we were hoping to play in this game... too bad we only got to watch it. [Aug 2003, p.79]

Compared to this new generation of arcade hoopsters, Jam feels unambitious and uninvolving. [Dec 2003, p.146]

Button mashers will undoubtedly love it. But shouldn't the debut of a super-villain based on a master strategist be less...shallow? [Dec 2003, p.154]

What hurts the game the most is the vehicle control setup. In a game where you are firing at enemies from all directions you need independent steering and weapons controls. Not so here. [Feb 2003, p.81]

Blame it on bad porting if you will, but "Unreal" has yet to make a name for itself on Xbox, except as a graphics engine. And sadly, Unreal II won't do much to change that. [Apr 2004, p.73]

Its fundamentals are solid enough, but too bland and redundant. [Jan 2003, p.78]

Fails to measure up to Codemasters' other fine racing titles. [Aug 2004, p.84]

It's a game you'll have fun with for a while...until your brain starts to hurt from the randomness of it all. [Dec 2004, p.84]

Multiplayer lets you and up to three friends either break into teams of two for score battles or play cooperatively, sharing dancing and singing duties on songs. Even with four of you, though, you'll still miss the one presence that's in short supply: Michael Jackson.

Despite a few fresh ideas, Lego Batman 2 is, creatively, the weakest game in the Lego franchise.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

A brief Reaper appearance got out attention, but this DLC's climax will infuriate many Mass Effect fans. [July 2011, p.75]

Aside from replacing ancient Chinese warlords with robots from the all-pervasive classic anime series' mythology, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam changes as little as possible. [Oct 2007, p.81]

You might have some fun if all you care about is channeling your grade-school hacky-sack sessions, but if you're looking to actually play street soccer, you'll wonder why your soccer pitch turned into a circus act. [Apr 2006, p.77]

Light, fluffy popcorn fare, with just a dab of buttery thrills.