While we miss the tactile feeling of physical pieces, the incredible customization options make Puzzle Arcade a great option for both dabblers and jigsaw enthusiasts. [Feb 2009, p.85]

Could the Xbox 360 use a fun and frantic throwback partier? Sure. But this mess isn't it. [Mar 2007, p.82]

After 13 years, Duke Forever is ultimately and thoroughly mediocre, with heavy bouts of boredom and frustration mixed in. And yet, for anyone with an appreciation for videogame history, we absolutely recommend giving it a playthrough.

Local co-op play requires constant communication and generates some small excitement, but isn't enough to make Shrek-n-Roll more than an overpriced novelty. [Jan 2008, p.69]

Fanciful flight modeling aside, Trickstar did an admirable job with the individual aircraft renders, and when things blow up, they do so spectacularly. The lengthy and sometimes meandering campaign missions could use a rewrite, but Damage's diverting pyrotechnics and shallow learning curve should earn it solid points with the plug-and-play arcade crowd.

These bloodless battles just aren’t very exciting; they’re more likely to elicit yawns than trash-talk. Dollar Dash might briefly amuse younger gamers, but everyone else will feel robbed.

Sadly, the basic objectives in each level rarely change. [Oct 2008, p.81]

The clean, simple interface serves Domino Master well, but complete games (composed of several matches) drag on too long, and the tile-placement guides slice too much of the plotting and planning from the experience. [Dec 2008, p.73]

No amount of staring at Bionicle will allay the feeling that you accidentally booted up a PSOne game. [Jan 2004, p.63]

Death would have been better than lifeless mess. [Aug 2004, p.80]

It both gets old quickly and also feels frustratingly similar to plaing a Roadrunner cartoon in which your target is the fleet-footed bird and you're the poor, starving schlub strapped to the rocket and headed straight for the cliff. [Apr 2003, p.86]

Though long interrogation sequences are tedious, the stories are wonderfully macabre: every character is guilty of something, and only forensic science can separate the red herrings from the incriminating evidence. [Dec 2007, p.65]

You still get a decent value for your $10, though, including fun (if simple) combat, a several-hour career mode, engaging character customization, and serviceable online matches. Plus, minor hiccups are easy to overlook when you're Marcus Fenix flying off the top rope.

It’s not the most standout piece of work in Xbox One’s launch lineup, nor does it pull off any amazing technical tricks — but it’s a fun, cheap ride busting at the gills with an absurd amount of charm.

This is really a review of two games: a derivative story campaign (that you can play solo or with up to three friends in co-op) and a riveting, far superior multiplayer mode that allows you to compete as marines or alien xenomorphs in online matches. Considering Colonial Marines’ relatively long gestation period — roughly six years — it seems more attention was paid to fine-tuning multiplayer than to the campaign.

It's frustrating, it makes no sense, and it just makes everyone involved want to play something else. [Aug 2011, p.76]

If you've ever wanted to be a wheezy, out-of-shape hunter tramping through the snowy Alaskan wilds of Ketchikan and Sitka, then this game's for you. [Holiday 2006, p.76]

Tries too hard to imitate the big boys and is a few Shaq-sized steps behind in nearly every respect. [Jan 2003, p.74]

Realistically, Eragon's appeal won't expand beyond its Potter-like fan base. [Feb. 2007, p.78]

From the initial menu screen, it’s clear that little has changed over the course of a year beyond pasting in David Price as the cover star. The interface is essentially identical, the play modes are unchanged in execution, and the on-field action is precisely where it was last season. Even the Achievements are carbon-copied.

SeaBlade does have a few solid moments. Sadly, they are few and far between. [Dec 2002, p.102]

Even at $40, it's hard to recommend to anyone besides serious thrashmasters. [Nov 2010, p.76]

Sonic Adventure may have been a 3D revolution for Sega's storied franchise when it debuted in 1999, but in these HD-ified days, it just feel dated. [Nov 2010, p.69]

A rental at best. [July 2009, p.81]

The game features split-screen and online multiplayer, but two people flailing their arms next to each other is a disaster waiting to happen. The real killer, though, is that Phelps isn't a good pick-up-and-play game. It's initially confusing, and ultimately, it's not nearly as fun as it should be.

Combat is sluggish and mediocre...Merely a shell of the quartet's former glory. [Holiday 2004, p.68]

It's sad to see an under-the-radar favorite tank so spectacularly in an attempt to revitalize the brand, but Cartel is one call you can clearly push to voicemail.

It's a joyless, grace-free slog dominated by repetitive stop-and-pop shootouts, lifeless linear environments, and inconsistent weapon physics, not to mention full-stop gameplay pauses during certain actions (like detonating a robot with an EMP grenade), obnoxiously tacky dialogue, missed audio cues, and overwrought enemy death screams that replay incessantly.