Relies on its demanding difficulty to disguise its creative bankruptcy. [Mar 2010, p.83]

The two-player co-op game makes for mild (offline) fun, but the too-short music loops will drive you crazy and your teeth will hurt from the sugar content. The game’s biggest sin? These Bunnies are boring.

Online multiplayer rekindles fond memories of linked arcade machines, and 30 brief challenges break up the solo routine. But clunky handling and crayon visuals are a harsh reminder of why we rarely visit with the ghosts of videogame racing's past. Daytona USA was once a pace-setting leader; now it's a museum-ready relic.

What could have given other wrestling games a run for their money ends up winded before the ring bell even sounds. [Jan 2011, p.66]

While both adults and children might enjoy the silliness, the simple hop-and-bop mechanics grow old immediately, and the camera's a mess. [Mar 2008, p.92]

The fast-paced simplicity of such a goofy goal made BurgerTime a hit in 1982's arcades, but World Tour tosses in fresh ingredients with little consideration for the damage they do to gameplay. [Oct 2011, p.81]

If you like twitchy old-style gameplay, Konami's Time Pilot port is a much better use of your 400 Microsoft Points($5). [Dec. 2006, p.76]

Don't avoid buying Manhunt because it's sick; avoid Manhunt because it has virtually no redeemable gameplay quality, period. [July 2004, p.87]

You never truly get the sense of being a pro podracer, a vicious monster, or a mighty Jedi, leaving you all-too-aware that you're just playing a videogame…and a mediocre one at that.

When stages start stretching past 10 to 15 minutes apiece thanks to minimal checkpoints and dozens of cheap deaths, though, the game known as a breezy pick-up-and-play classic on phones instead feels like a bitter grind on 360.

Here, you’ll find little beyond groaners, pedestrian prattle, and underdeveloped monotony. Find another path to walk.

Sonic is still the fastest mascot on the block, and his audience desperately wants to root for him. But his latest namesake game is big on rushed disappointment and much too light on fleetfooted pleasure. [Jan. 2007, p.79]

Even at $20, scratch this one. [Aug 2006, p.82]

This mediocre trudge is definitely one you'll regret. [Apr 2008, p.79]

At a full $60, there's absolutely no reason to touch this with a ten-foot-pole, especially with so many other, better shooters on the market in this record-settingly awesome holiday season. [Jan 2008, p.62]

It's simply too tedious to work as either a game or as propaganda. [Holiday 2007, p.78]

It all works fine, it's just pretty cheesy and not in the least compelling. [Holiday 2005, p.70]

If this is what like as a drug kinpin is like, we'll stick to our day jobs. [Nov. 2006, p.74]

Throw in groan-inducing power-ups and uninspired graphics, and you'll be bored before the weekend's up. [Feb 2006, p.79]

A survival mode and a handful of inventive multiplayer scenarios add some replayability, but considering that they suffer from the same issues that plague the core game, you're probably best leaving raider in the bomb. [Jan 2014, p.76]

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.

For a rather simplistic platformer, Alien Spidy’s ultimately just too challenging, in all the wrong ways. Even after many play sessions, we didn’t feel like we were learning what we needed to eventually master it, and that’s a big turnoff.

The slow-to-respond point-and-click gameplay is more pixel-hunting than actual deductive case-solving. [Dec 2009, p.82]

This year's PES is a step backward, and letting players fake injury to draw fouls is the least of the offenses. [June 2008, p.81]

FN's only rewarding attributes are the high quality character models and the perfect license. Everything else needs work. [Nov 2003, p.130]

Stylish visuals and a skintight catsuit can't save Catwoman from baffling controls (jump is the right shoulder button?), repetitive combat sequences, and predictable AI. [Oct 2004, p.74]

Lots of blood, but not enough meat. [Jan 2005, p.84]

Poorly designed levels with lackluster textures and little to no environmental interaction only compound the game's senseless enemy AI. [May 2004, p.84]