Retribution's grim, obscenity-packed narrative fails to hit any high notes. [July 2010, p.83]

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

A case of Jekyll and Hyde. Single player isn't bad, but the multiplayer is head and shoulders cooler than than the PC version, thanks largely to the clever use of the Xbox Communicator. [June 2003, p.76]

The second major problem is that the game is unbalanced. [Jan 2004, p.63]

Two-player action(over Live, even)is a nice modern addition, but odds are, you'll feel tapped out after just a few minutes. [Mar 2007, p.81]

Aqua's combat and controls are quite good, and yet it feels a bit sleepy, even if the campaign does grow more interesting as you progress. [Aug 2010, p.81]

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]

It's a wise parent that rents, as those tiny gamers will make short work of this fun but brief experience. [Aug 2007, p.81]

But unless you're an absolute aficionado of international soccer, you'll be lost. [Holiday 2009, p.85]

Multiplayer offers little besides in-person crowing or comfort, and the difficulty ratings for songs are somewhat uneven, but for $10 plus roughly another $20 for a dance mat from eBay, Dance! does a cheap, solid job of training you to hop between four arrows effectively. [Nov 2010, p.67]

Technically proficient with an interesting gameplay system, but with no polish or soul to back it up. [Mar 2002, p.76]

It's a damn good hack'-n'-slash game based on and sharing a name with the game that spawned the genre. Elf may be about to die, but let's hope this series doesn't. [Feb 2006, p.78]

The problem here is that little about Lotus Challenge really stands out. [May 2003, p.79]

Some of the bigger bosses are fun to take down, and the grim backgrounds are often quite pretty, but robotically pounding or charging the X button for hours on end will wear down the will-power of even the most stalwart gamers. [May 2011, p.71]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Entertaining, but hardly groundbreaking. [Holiday 2004, p.64]

Six original Transformers episodes and other unlockables are a sweet treat; if only the rest of the game felt like such treasure. [Oct 2009, p.75]

It's a fun, exciting template; hopefully it'll return in a bigger, smoother sequel. [Feb 2012, p.747]

Maddening difficulty spikes. [Nov 2009, p.84]

Granted, the controls are easier to manage than those in this game's Wii counterpart, but the playbook is as thick as they come. [Holiday 2009, p.85]

As much as Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends looks the p;art--with 50-plus vehicles sporting fantastic detail inside and out--its humdrum and overly difficult career disappoints, while spotty handling and physics keep this simulation strictly for diehards. [Aug 2012, p.80]

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

It might not hold your attention for too long, but it's not meant to.

Nitpicks are plenty, but so are the surprisingly fun aspects — whichever side of planetary strip-mining you fall on.

It's intense, destructive fun while it lasts, especially with two players. [Aug 2010, p.79]

It takes a minute or so to get used to controlling your hovering, weapon-packed F1 Speedster, but once you do, it's a snap and the entertainment kicks in. [Nov 2007, p.97]

Despite quirky animations and some long-drawn-out relationship-building, I found myself quite enthralled with the magazine-publishing gameplay. [March 2005, p.82]

So-so gameplay can be confusing. [Sept 2010, p.81]