Just try getting Rhama to climb up a wall, and watch the camera flail around behind you. Puzzles are clever, but that doesn't mean they're fun. Boss battles are repetitive, and at times, insanely drawn out. [Sept 2004, p.74]

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

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]

Not only is ESPN an outrageously inexpensive AAA-level game, it's also the best NFL title on the Xbox at any price. [Sept 2004, p.83]

This is easily the most realistically simulated home field advantage in all of digital sports. [August 2004]

Though the inclusion of sometimes mind-numbing "climb the tower" segments in Story Mode, as well as occasional enemy AI that ranges from stupid to cheap, keep it from mass-scale beat-'em-up greatness, Samurai Warriors satisfies an appetite for destruction in a way that few other games can. [Aug 2004, p.80]

Slinging, jumping, and crawling your way up to the very tip of the Empire State Building and surveying the traffic below is almost worth the price of admission alone. [Sept 2004, p.78]

In the end, the arcade-y goodness of SlugFest is fun with your friends, but if Midway wants to earn respect as a single-player sim, it has a long way to go. [July 2004, p.82]

All we're left with is an arena full of great classic wrestlers, still wishing they were in a better game. [Aug 2004, p.83]

It's an amateur music maker's tool, but a very potent and easy-to-use one and everyone from hardcore wannabe producers to b-boys sitting around Mom's living room really should have it in their library. [Aug 2004, p.84]

Fails to measure up to Codemasters' other fine racing titles. [Aug 2004, p.84]

Playing DRIV3R is as much of a chore as watching some crappy old cop movie at 3:00 A.M. All we want to do is close our eyes and make it all go away. [Sept 2004, p.80]

If you've ever played a platformer, you've seen it all before, and Memorick doesn't push any envelopes. [Sept 2004, p.84]

While it doesn't have the style of "Halo" or the myriad of gameplay choices like "Splinter Cell," Shadow Ops is a decent throwback to simpler shooter times when running and gunning was all that is to be expected. [Aug 2004, p.77]

The union of the overtly realistic (and sometimes troublesomely so) Havok physics engine sharp visuals, and a staggering amount of extra content make this a smooth ride until some of the slightly more cumbersome activities in Psi-Ops' later levels. [Aug 2004, p.81]

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

Plus there's no Quidditch - what's with that noise? [Aug 2004, p.78]

What's fundamentally so appealing and refreshing is how Full Spectrum Warrior is a breath of fresh air nor not one but two genres, with the unique gameplay, stellar presentation, and sweet two-player Xbox Live co-op play adding up to make this a winner. [Aug 2004, p.74]

This cracking game also proves the Xbox truly is the only console capable of running games with this level of immersion...Riddick should be waved in the face of every PS2 fanboy with a taunting "nyah, nyah." [Aug 2004, p.72]

It's tough in the way classic arcade games make you dump good quarter after bad - pitching you against waves of enemies, offering loads of alternate paths, and serving up some seriously demented import-centric humor. [July 2004, p.78]

The tense atmosphere conjured in the Thief universe is fantastic. [July 2004, p.74]

The pace is slow - even for a tactical title - and once you figure out that "strategy" here consists entirely of shooting something, then finding a place to hide, you've pretty much cracked the whole enchilada. [June 2004, p.81]

As it is, the game plays it safe with a by-the-numbers kill-fest that's fast and fun while it lasts, but ultimately, like the movie, feels more like a matinee. [Aug 2004, p.78]

Almost every facet's been upgraded - and somehow it's faster and even more of a blast than the original. [June 2004, p.70]

An amazing-looking sports sim backed by great commentary, improved animations, and better tactical awareness of the AI-players. If you missed "FIFA 2004," this will tide you over admirably until, well, next year! [Aug 2004, p.82]

RDR creatively captures the feel and flavor of classic Westerns, while remaining an absolute twitchy-fingered hoot to play. [July 2004, p.80]

It feels like you've played this game before because you have. [June 2004, p.72]

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