If you're morbidly curious or looking for a weekend rental, Urban Chaos is nowhere near as crummy as its first impression would lead you to believe. [July 2006, p.85]

With a greater focus on improving teammate intelligence and smoothing control quirks, UEFA could be a great soccer game. Until then, it remains merely good. [Apr 2007, p.90]

A good step in the right direction for a great franchise. [Aug 2005, p.81]

Hardcore Battlefield 3 strategists will be disappointed by the sudden emphasis on breakneck speed over deliberate tactics, not to mention Close Quarters' 16-player limit and infantry-only focus. But even they'll be sucked in if they give this add-on a chance.

The graphics are pretty drab and there are some pretty nasty glitches that take it down. [Dec 2002, p.108]

Playing with a buddy in same-screen co-op is your best bet to enjoyably sate your shooter lust. [Holiday 2007, p.70]

Its monk-like devotion to pure racing simulation is remarkable...and kind of a turn-off for the rest of us. [Feb 2009, p.80]

Flag-wavers for hexagonal turn-based strategy games, take note: Commanders' less flexible squares won't offer up the daunting depth of a full-priced title. [Apr 2008, p.76]

Narnia lovers will enjoy taking part in the classic story, but you'll likely play it once and put it away like a childhood toy. [Holiday 2005, p.83]

But with a core game that stands strong, and Live matchups that are fairly smooth, Samurai Shodown II remains an enjoyable beatdown for fighting fans. [Dec 2008, p.93]

You'll just need some patience and a love of the sport to value it properly.

Deep, wonderfully balanced Magic battle system. [Dec 2003, p.100]

The revolution, this year, belongs to EA's "Skate", but evolution remains Proving Ground's domain. [Holiday 2007, p.76]

Warlords is feel-good nostalgic fun, especially played against other humans - though it's missing one key ingredient: those spinner paddle controllers that let you block with fast, pinpoint accuracy in the game's original Atari 2600 version. That rush is something an analog stick just can't replicate.

GripShift includes a ton of new tracks and a brand-new deathmatch mode--which lets you face off against your pals on Xbox Live--but this game isn't worth the points. [Jan 2008, p.65]

Cars 2 isn't quite gripping or original enough to top the more notable racers that inspired it, and regrettably, its aimless career mode and lack of online play are slight downers. But kids' games and movie games are rarely this polished and entertaining, so we commend Disney for doing this one right.

Demon Stone is absolutely relentless. [Jan 2005, p.81]

On the whole, this inspired, if somewhat contrived, tale offers a satisfying close to the season. [Jan 2010, p.81]

It’s a giant, busy sandbox full of all kinds of fiery and destructive toys, but you have to get a firm handle on the game’s uneven tempo and immersion-breaking little quirks to fully enjoy the amount of freedom it offers.

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

It's about beautifully crisp handling, absorbing gameplay that rewards both finesse and testosterone, and a relentless stream of holy-four-letter-word moments of automotive annihilation. [Dec 2004, p.96]

Most maddening is the game's unstable framerate. [Oct 2004, p.76]

Amped 3 gets everything right that's wrong with "SSX." [Jan 2006, p.72]

If Midway's goal was to make a first-person shooter that was as deep as the lightgun blast-'em-up arcade game of the same moniker, it's succeeded admirably. The problem is, this is 2005, and the simple run-and-gun FPS went the way of the crop circle about six years ago. [Apr 2005, p.78]

Climax’s brand of dogfighting is certainly straightforward and repetitive, but it’s also ludicrously fast-paced and highly addictive. Hardcore flyboys might sneer, but most others will have a hard time tearing their eyes from the screen.

Online play over Live will enhance this game's replayability, but a little more content would've made it an epic crossover. [Holiday 2008, p.80]

It may not share the same rarified air as Microsoft's genre-leading "Crimson Skies", but Blazing Angels 2 elevates the franchise a helluva lot closer. [Dec 2007, p.66]

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