With too much backtracking between locations..., short play time, and a frustratingly inconclusive ending (closure be damned), Still Life limits its appeal to the already converted. [June 2005, p.81]

The gameplay takes its cue mainly from games like "Phantasy Star Online," except simpler, a lot rougher, and yet plenty more convoluted. [Sept 2005, p.80]

All told, Advent Rising does a whole lot more right than it does wrong. If this really is the first of a trilogy, we'll be first in line for the next installment. [July 2005, p.86]

Admirably, it doesn't just resort to predictable, cliched platformer gameplay - it resorts to that and a respectably varied selection of other gameplay interludes. [Sept 2005, p.80]

If you want an action-packed ride that finally allows you to cut loose as Darth Vader, then you've come to the right galaxy. [July 2005, p.84]

While Pariah tastes fine and won't leave you gagging, it's doubtful you'll be hankering for seconds, either. [June 2005, p.84]

But the overall experience just somehow feels a tad incomplete, like a shiny Ferrari Enzo with an old Burger King wrapper on the passenger seat. [July 2005, p.80]

Sadly, we can't even write this mess off as a movie tie-in rush job. It's just unforgivable. [June 2005, p.78]

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]

Mostly, it's recipe for frustration. [July 2005, p.85]

The videogame equivalent of all-you-can-eat shrimp week at Sizzler. [June 2005, p.86]

Call us crazy, but we're willing to bet the farm that the world of Psychonauts is the most inventive, creative, and downright vision that's ever graced a videogame. [May 2005, p.76]

The franchise is clearly in need of an overhaul to address those core gameplay frustrations. [June 2005, p.76]

Almost the definition of a triple-A title. It's got everthing - good online play, amazingly fun and addictive action, options up the wazoo, a graphics engine that will make your eyes well up - and it's all polished to a glistening shine... It's a spectacle to behold. [March 2005, p.32]

Jade's world is its foremost strength. A fantastical mix of myths and pure fiction, you'll find it hard to put the controller down once you've been sucked in. [Apr 2005, p.40]

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

If there's one notable flaw in Midnight Club 3, it's that the graphics can't quite hang with "NFS Underground 2." [June 2005, p.72]

A madcap, farcical mishmash of both online and offline multiplayer options, along with a fairly weak, platformer-centric single-player Story Mode. [July 2005, p.89]

If more attention was paid to the actual mutant -fueled action, it could have been a heck of a lot of scary fun. Instead, it hardly elicits a goose bump. [June 2005, p.81]

Close Combat also includes co-op and deathmatch, but you'll only lose friends by exposing them to this trash. [May 2005, p.88]

It's a cute toy without enough pieces to build anything truly great. [May 2005, p.84]

The Hell levels are beautiful in their nightmarishness. Add in cool features like online play and the inclusion of older Doom games, and you've got a genuine horror masterpiece for the Xbox. [Apr 2005, p.82]

An all-killing, all-leaping game in which you can neither kill nor leap...that truly does spell the end of honor for this Ninja. [Apr 2005, p.87]

This genre still has potential, but Spikeout just doesn't tap it. [June 2005, p.80]

A fine translation of last year's PC adventure. [June 2005, p.82]

Between the compelling gameplay of the single-player missions, the value of the versus mode, and the perfect integration of co-op play over Live, this is the definitive Xbox game. The zenith of the platform... An utterly spectacular accomplishment. [Apr 2005, p.72]

Cheap games don't have to be devoid of imagination, and Combat has no excuse for stapling together a bunch of tired cliches and calling it a bargain. [June 2005, p.82]

While the character models may leave something to be desired, the environments in Iron Phoenix impress with detail and variety. [June 2005, p.85]