The imperative to cash in on Black Flag is transparent, but as it turns out a location swap works wonders for igniting the hooded pirate in you again.

A challenge mode extends the shelf life of this strategy snack, but its appeal is likely wear thin after a few days of happy hooliganism. [Holiday 2011, p.79]

SpellForce 3 competently blends RPG and RTS games into a generally enjoyable package, but there’s not enough creative force to create a lasting spell.

This ghost story is stretched a little thin, but still well worth exploring.

Features some challenging and logical puzzles and an entertaining story. [Feb 2005, p.72]

Great combat and mountains of loot can't compensate for Amalur's generic world design and familiar story. [May 2012, p.72]

Möbius Front '83 makes a difficult genre easy to understand, but it lacks thrills.

An imaginative management game but a weak story generator.

I have a rock-solid DSL connection and a high-end Athlon rig and still suffered atrocious lag. [June 2002, p.74]

It still feels like PC gamers are getting short-changed, especially since the multiplayer game is still so weak. [Nov 2002, p.114]

If you like to set your own goals and don't need a high-score table to know you're having fun, then Pineapple Smash Crew is well worth the $10. [May 2012, p.81]

The campaign is mostly predictable, dumb fun, and the multiplayer is some of Call of Duty’s best—but still subject to every existing criticism of CoD.

Don't be ashamed if you find yourself gleefully yelling along with dialogue like "Eat crap, flaming craphead!" [Apr 2003, p.99]

With lovely graphics and great matchmaking stability, World of Warplanes remains entertaining even as its simplicity wears thin.

Reanimal doesn't meaningfully develop Tarsier's approach to gameplay in the Little Nightmares games, but it's a grim sight to behold, and a worthwhile horror adventure.

It’s Left 4 Dead with aliens down to the very core, but a flattering rendition of the formula that’s worth playing with friends.

Shadowrun Returns’ bang-to-buck ratio is largely going to depend on the quality of content that springs up from the devs and the community after release, but as it stands today, it’s a mostly average RPG running in a visually underwhelming engine.

The genius here is how well the expansion integrates with the regular game. [Jan 2005, p.85]

Everything that you loved and hated about the 1994 original—ludicrous gibs, explosives, boss fights, and first-person platforming.

Lies of P is a competent Soulslike if you can shrug off its flaws.

If you're a more casual type who's not anal about realism, Desert Rats will satisfy your inner tank commander. [June 2004, p.66]

A diverse array of factions to try, that drag the Total War series back into the Medieval era.

FEAR 3 spends too much time being a mediocre horror game and not enough innovating, but it's still a wild shooter.

An imaginative, atmospheric, and cleverly designed sci-fi adventure that’s over far too quickly.

Hunt: Showdown is a clever, hard-nosed FPS that doesn't have enough substance to be truly essential yet.

Burial at Sea, Episode One is good but not essential - the only piece of BioShock story content you could say that about.

PureSim has some issues, though. Runs are scored at a slo-pitch pace, especially in historical leagues. [Sep 2006, p.98]

Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! is as stressful and satisfying as searing the perfect sirloin.

More scenarios for fans of the breakout themepark sim. [Jan 2001, p.162]

Skip the tedious single-player campaign, jump into the great, fast-paced multiplayer fray--and hope it works on your PC. [Feb 2011, p.66]

A messy story and horrible characters get in the way of decent, violent action in a scintillating open city.

And, unfortunately, despite extra time on the grill, Heroes V's ribs are tasty, but still a bit undercooked. [Aug 2006, p.48]

Good for fans of collectible card games, bad for fans of anything else. [Jan 2004, p.94]

Underworld doesn't fundamentally change Sacred, but it provides worthwhile value to an already solid product. [Jan 2005, p.82]

Lovely, beautiful, heartwarming, and unable to convince me it needed my input as a player at all.

It's been an excellent year for the Freelance Police; it would be a shame for the series to end here, but it gives a fitting send-off. [Nov 2010, p.79]

Anyone who enjoys spy thrillers and retro settings should check out this oddball sneaker. [Jan 2005, p.55]

An instantly likeable game hiding a brutal edge that demands mastery. Balance is concerning, but partially mitigated by an extensive roster.

A bit clunky, but it provides a good RPG experience over the long run. [Dec 2000, p.144]

Stylish and often satisfying, but surviving Grit and Valor’s later campaigns demands persistence over clever tactics.

As rough as the back of an old rocker’s throat, but gleeful whether you dream heavy metal nightmares or not.

Wonderfully authentic, but it's too familiar, cumbersome with a pad, and the career management is unusually tedious.

Not quite as novel as its predecessor, but the co-op is still bewitching.

It may not be Best in Show, but it's slavering in the top dogs' general direction. [Aug 2007, p.66]

Classically styled and rich in detail, Nebuchadnezzar's city-building fun is hindered by micromanagement and trading issues.

The subtle differences are improvements, but if you already own MLB 2K10, this edition is too similar to justify the upgrade cost. [July 2011, p.79]

Blades of Fire can be great fun, but it definitely overstays its welcome.

It's something many of these sims's aren't: fun. [Nov 2002, p.116]

Genuinely amusing and one of the slickest VR experiences to date, Job Simulator is perfect for quick demos of your new headset, but has little long-term value beyond that.

The subject matter severly limits TG's appeal, but if that's not a drawback for you, you'll get your money's worth. [May 2001, p.64]

Weird restrictions aside, this is a funny, unique, and charming way to kill some time, even if only in small amounts. [Jan 2013, p.69]

Tactics adds layers of depth, but the cost of booster packs quickly makes a mockery of the "free-to-play" label. [April 2011, p.77]

Less assured and sorely missing story mode, this feels like a downgrade over F1 23.

A dark action-platformer which shows fleeting signs of life, but lacks the vivacity to climb above the competition.

It's unfortunate that this game occasionally decides to shoot you in the face rather than hand you a cannoli. [May 2006, p.52]

Two Princes may not double your fun, but they will satisfy fans of the series. [Mar 2006, p.98]

The game is only entertaining with all the help systems (of which there are many) disabled, so that you're forced to decide which tools should be used on which splatters and spatters. [Jan 2008, p.74]

A brilliant early game and bold experiments almost make up for the AI niggles and the boring march to the final battle.

An ideal gateway into the city management sim, but with too little room for forward-planning.

While its RPG aspirations may be overshadowed by your need to constantly source the basics like ammo and health, The Pit--with its random elements and permadeath--is justified in its boast of replayability, even if it is only out of necessity. [May 2013, p.61]

Rainbow Six Extraction is a fun and unremarkable co-op shooter with some very good ooze.

A nasty catch to playing C&C4 is having to log into EA’s servers before launching the game, even for single-player. Considering that EA recently shut down servers for the less than two-year-old Mercenaries 2, I’m not enthusiastic about buying a product that depends on active servers to play. The multiplayer battles are good enough fun once you’ve ranked up, but a potentially short-lived service is a dagger dangling over our heads.

<i>Dreamfall</i> is worth the effort but could've done without the fighting; those scenes aren't essential to the plot, add nothing to the gameplay, and will only turn off die-hard fans of <i>The Longest Journey</i>. [July 2006, p.98]

Veteran F1 racing enthusiasts - those who don't like to see their PC sims equipped with meddlesome graphic controls and training-wheel physics - are advised to stick to "F1 2002." [Dec 2002, p.98]

Tight design and compelling mythology compensate for a few too many borrowed ideas.

Condemned maintains an atmosphere of danger and suspense for a respectably long time, but unlike distinguished games that leap beyond the cliches of their genres(such as "Indigo Prophecy), it doesn't do quite enough to elevate itself into the realm of true greatness. [Jun 2006, p.50]

Technical issues marr an otherwise slick adventure. A must for Star Wars fans.

If you can get past the steep learning curve, Savage 2 can be a lot of fun, whether you want to hack and slash or work with teammates on coordinating tactics. [May 2008, p.68]

An odd hybrid of life sim and puzzle game where both flawed halves somehow work well together.

A gorgeous and rich land-sculpting simulation that's lovely to tinker with, but often buggy and stressful to play.

No FPS diehard should miss it, but I say that more for the Team Instant Action multiplayer than the enjoyable but forgettable single-player campaign. [Dec 2008, p.54]

For $5, you could do worse than this brief-but-bewitching platformer. [Nov 2011, p.79]

Despite a diverse range of well-designed environments, there&#146;s a dizzying sameness to the missions. [Jan 2002, p.73]

Still delivers the series' sandbox mayhem, but is underserved by some pretty dated systems.

A must own for soccer fans. [Feb 2002, p. 73]

The crappy force-feedback effects and poor controller support (both my FF joysticks proved useless for playing the game) are sharp reminders of CMR 2005's console roots. [Holiday 2004, p.96]

Fans of the genre will enjoy the game's depth and strategic planning. If you're interested in Vietnam or modern air combat, check it out. [Dec 2004, p.94]

The nemesis system shines in this unwieldy, bloated, and occasionally magnificent fantasy epic.

A time-bending puzzle game clever enough not to be just another time-bending puzzle game.

A graphically gorgeous descendant of Myst, paradoxically limited by its own ambitions.

What gives Legacy its old school charm though is that as much as it's weighed down by an obviously low budget and the mechanical sacrifices of jumping back a decade, there's a love for its style underpinning the action. The result isn't likely to do much for anyone raised on a diet of The Elder Scrolls, and even at its best is a nostalgia trip rather than call for revolution.

Marvelous’s mechfest looks beautiful and plays like a dream on PC, but it's held back by repetitive action.

What's lacking in ATTWN is, regrettably, the most essential element of any mystery: suspense. [Jan 2005, p.110]

An excellent extension of "City of Heroes" with a too-mild mean streak. [Jan 2005, p.80]

A fun, serviceable update to the 4X legend that brings little memorable to the genre aside from its personality.

Seems more like a cosmetic upgrade to a game we played to death two years ago rather than a truly new experience. [Holiday 2004, p.92]

A superb remix of Grow Home that gives BUD a bigger sandbox to play in, at the expense of some challenge.

Expanding a fine franchise, FT is the king of tactical combat games. [June 2001, p.72]

Gets an "A" for design, and a "C-" for execution. Let's hope major patches can revise this game to greatness. [Apr 2004, p.81]

Personality, creativity, and co-op multiplayer elevate this Hades-like beyond its rough edges.

While simplistic controls and assisted aiming reveal Rogue Trooper's console origins, its core gameplay will still appeal to PC shooter fans, especially those who dig multiplayer(death-match and co-op, yay!). [July 2006, p.55]

An established D&D group may love transitioning from paper to monitor for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach; casual players, however, will be left holding the dice bag. [Jun 2006, p.86]

At just 12 missions long, the action flies by too fast, but a surprising amount of detail is packed into this well-made little package. [June 2003, p.71]

Fun combat, great writing, and a great look, but with pacing and progression tuned for a mobile experience, not the PC.

It has more questions than "Millionaire," a faster pace, and an entertaining blend of team sentiment and selfish strategy. [Holiday 2001, p. 68]

Though much too easy, Dead Rising 4 is sandboxy zombie-killing adventure that recaptures the series' fun.

Maquette has enough interesting ideas to push any adventure gamer past the finish line.

Though the storyline takes a while to ramp up, it's very engaging and provides a really enjoyable ending. [June2007, p.58]