As of press time, several negative Rise and Fall reviews have cropped up online. Mine is the dissenting opinion; in my mind, this RTS' fun and innovative gameplay far outweighs its minor faults. [Sep 2006, p.57]

It may not be original, but Rush to Berlin is fun, which makes it worth considering for a second, third, or fourth tour of duty. [Oct. 2006, p.73]

Enemies retreated when necessary, attacked when prudent, and anticipated what I thought were brilliant feints, like my fake out at the Khrisophy airport. That kind of cunning AI makes Conquest of the Aegean a great ode to board-style war gaming. [Nov. 2006, p.78]

Still, considering what it had to work with, Noblis has done the Da Vinci name proud. [Sep 2006, p.94]

Although Stunts & Effects is an intriguing collection of scraps from Lionhead's cutting-room floor, it just isn't worth the price. [Sep 2006, p.58]

Unspectacular graphics and sometimes frustrating mini-games take away from Cars' short play, but even with these small problems, it's an enjoyable experience for prepubescent gamers. [Oct. 2006, p.108]

It won't win any awards for innovation (or its horrofic yacht-rock soundtrack), but City Life is still a great, slightly offbeat take on an old-fashioned formula. [Sep 2006, p.58]

Still, while this inaugural episode may not be the essential FPS that "Half-Life 2" is, I can't imagine any shooter fan who'd want to miss it. [Aug 2006, p.34]

Overall, OOTP 2006 is a big letdown, even for an unbiased SI fanboy and OOTP nut like myself. [Sep 2006, p.98]

Fortunately, the overall plot doesn't really matter since each mission is essentially a self-contained story, and every one of them is great(if sadistic)fun. [Aug 2006, p.36]

If you want to learn Hold 'Em strategies, I recommend one of the many free poker websites over Stacked. [Oct. 2006, p.104]

If there's one thing that blows chunks more than a bad console-to-PC port, it's a recycled low-budget PC game that's past its due. [Oct. 2006, p.58]

The vintage jets are a delight for the eyes, and Wings over Europe can challenge your air combat maneuvering and bombing skills as well as many A-list flight sims do. [Aug 2006, p.90]

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]

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

You know you've got problems when the feature meant to enlighten a game makes it more tedious. [Sep 2006, p.94]

I need Professor X to wipe the memory of this game from my brain. [Aug 2006, p.85]

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

Given Bug Huge Game's big huge ambition level when crafting <i>Rise of Legends</i>, some dents in the genie lamp are to be expected. But they don't come close to spoiling <i>Legend's</i> fabulous magic carpet ride. [July 2006, p.65]

SiN Episodes: Emergence is a fun, if somewhat derivative, blast from the near past. [Aug 2006, p.33]

There's no camera control/But don't be so droll/You've still got a prayer/In head-to-head multiplayer. [Aug 2006, p.91]

In the end, Shadow Wars is just plain fun. [Aug 2006, p.50]

Homely, charmless graphics. [Aug 2006, p.91]

GRAW's bipolar AI makes the single-player campaiggn a punishing excercise in babysitting. [Sep 2006, p.44]

Paradise conjures the same kind of enchanting story, satisfying puzzles, magical machinery, and exotic fauna that "Syberia" did, and signs off with and ending that lingers in your mind long after the credits roll. [Aug 2006, p.84]

While it's not a must-have for current players, unlocking Faction's 300-odd new skills and discovering an entire new continent full of missions, monsters, and locales adds a lot of creamy icing to an already tasty cake. [Aug 2006, p.64]

Fans of the Cthulhu Mythos may go straight to heaven with such a faithful adaptation of Lovecraft's spine-chilling years. Others may find that <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> drives them to the mountains of madness. [July 2006, p.55]

Its sprite-based units overlaid on a 3D field look cheesy(yet may still tax low-end systems), but stiff looks are a welcome sacrifice for historiccal accuracy and scale. [July 2006, p.67]

Even with its limited replay appeal and some lackluster voice acting, at $24.99, Shadowgrounds delivers a noteworthy value-to-fun ratio. [Aug 2006, p.35]

Still awfully limited relative to the encyclopedic scope of regular FIFA games, 2006 FIFA World Cup features just enough content to sate footie fans who aren't getting enough of a World Cup fix from their tube. [Aug 2006, p.91]

<i>Battle of the Gods</i> could have used a touch of divine inspiration. [July 2006, p.67]

You're limited by a strict materials budget on each puzzle, but the solution is limited only by your imagination, your passion for tinkering, testing, and rejiggering, as well as your tolerance for roughhousing an innocent armadillo. [Nov. 2006, p.120]

Its resplendent scenery, changeable weather, and exquisite lighting and particle effects are absolutely mesmerizing. [Holiday 2004, p.104]

<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]

Auto Assault's biggest issue mmaay be its lower-than-normal player population at launch. If the world doesn't attract more players, its post-apocalyptic setting may be more appropriate than the developers intended. [July 2006, p.77]

Fans of <i>Bone</i> or point-and-click adventures shouldn't hesitate to grab it. [Ju;y 2006, p.99]

I continue to get whiffs of deja-vu. largely due to the blizzard of dumbass trade offers that seem to be a series trademark, but this is the best Mogul I've played in years. [Sep 2006, p.98]

<i>Legends</i> boasts plenty of new elements, including a grappling hook fro swinging from lamp posts and cornices, interactive cutscenes that require fast reflexes to spare Lara being squished beneath a rock, and clever physics-based puzzles. [July 2006, p.54]

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]

For its $65 price tag, RWG makes a decent party game, but it would be better if it came with an extra set of gloves, because tediously wrapping and unwrapping the Velcro closures and passing them back and forth was a real pain. [Sep 2006, p.96]

Hearts of Iron 2 acolytes will dig Doomsday; I just hope its scope doesn't scare off new players. [Aug 2006, p.50]

Micromanagement is emphasized, explaining its popularity(in Germany)--so if you're into that, <i>Emergency 3</i> is an enjoyable RTS. [July 2006, p.67]

Too much is lost in the translation between third-person strategy and first-person shooter, with insufficient respect paid overall to the FPS point of view. [Jun 2006, p.52]

The latest in The Adventure Company's point-and-click offerings, <i>Keepsake</i> is billed as "part mystery, part <i>Harry Potter</i>." In reality, it's part boring and part really boring. [July 2006, p.99]

This is a very generic, very buggy shooter. One other plus: translations and voice acting so bad, they're often entertaining. [July 2006, p.55]

Daemonica is not the kind of RPG that will appeal to most hardcore gamers. [July 2006, p.77]

Unfortunately, the platform physics are as bipolar as the hero, turning the game's excellent animation into a veneer for unpolished gameplay. [Sep 2006, p.96]

And if I were developer Jonathan Mak, I'd ask for a lot more than $9 for a game this fresh, this unique, and this enjoyable. [Aug 2008, p.62]

If you like your tactical action with a fat slice of strategy, this sequel's a winner. [Jun 2006, p.76]

Try though it might, <i>Blazing Angels</i> is no <i>Crimson Skies</i>. [July 2006, p.97]

Recommended only for history buffs on a budget. [July 2006, p.67]

<i>Space Rangers 2</i> should have shipped with better documentation, and beating the game can prove difficult for new players, even on the easiest difficulty setting. But at 29 bucks(which includes the original <i.Space rangers</i>, a game that never shipped in the U.S.), it's the deal of the century. [July 2006, p.66]

It's debatable whether making players responsible for creating content is genius of laziness--doing so helps bond players to the game, but since Faces as few players to being with, you'll likely end up bored. [Sep 2006, p.70]

The contrived plot gets spiced up with convincing voice acting and smooth cinematic animations, but slick style doesn't hold up against bland levels and repetitive missions, making this just another GTA clone, but with even more f-bombs and bloodshed. [July 2006, p.55]

The ride is quite fleeting, however, and most experienced PC prop-jocks will whip through Battle of Europe in a single afternoon. [Aug 2006, p.90]

OOTP 2007 gets a once-great series back on the road to Cooperstown by balancing depth with a user-friendly interface. [July 2007, p.60]

If desiging and producing games was really as boring as <i>Game Tycoon</i> makes it, we'd all be playing <i>Zork</i>. [July 2006, p.99]

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

This point-and-click adventure should have stayed in Italy. [July 2006, p.99]

The best compliment I can pay Oblivion is that it achieves far more than I'd even thought possible. It's a superlative RPG. [May 2006, p.80]

Aside from the newly balanced weapons, you won't find many tweaks or fixes to the tried-and-true BF2 formula--long load times and the red nametag bug still hinder the game. [Jun 2006, p.52]

3DoM might not cross over adequately enough to entertain adventure game fans accustomed to epic story lines, but then again, it just might--it certainly comes closer than any of the previous CSI or even Law and Order games. [Jun 2006, p.104]

Ostfront offers just a single, limiting game mode. [Jun 2006, p.46]

Scratches won't appeal to everyone, but for fans of quaint English ghost stories/mysteries, it's to die for. [May 2006, p.102]

Once installed, the Seawolves mod bundle will certainly improve your "SH3" experience, but if you have a broadband conncetion, you're much better off with the vastly superior Grey Wolves supermod from Subsim.com. It outperforms Seawolves on every measurable level and it won't cost you a dime. [Dec. 2006, p.128]

It's hard to find much fault in this fun and well-balanced game. It's set in arguably the best fantasy universe ever and its production values are sky-high. [May 2006, p.68]

Burdened with dreary, murky visuals, this Atlantis is better left sunken. [Nov. 2006, p.120]

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]

There were time when I felt more like I was playing an amateur mod than a professional expansion pack. [Apr 2006, p.51]

Unfortunately, there's so much frantic micromanagement involved in keeping your biz going that you scarcely have any time to do anything that feels like play. [May 2006, p.102]

Toca Race Driver 3 offers advancement over its predecessors, but until Codemasters recognizes and repairs the game's physics and AI weaknesses, this franchise will continue losing track position to the superior offerings from either side of the Atlantic that currently steer this game. [Apr 2006, p.98]

My initial impressions of Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords wasn't very favorable, but as I invested more time in it, and really dug deep, I realized that this is indeed a highly complex and addictive strategy game. [May 2006, p.70]

Once you've breezed past the campaign and sandbox modes, you'll wish there was more to this Sim City for dummies. [Jun 2006, p.76]

As a high-level expansion, Kingdom of Sky is well done, but lower-level players can give this one a pass. [Jun 2006, p.88]

As a status-quo expansion, PoR's not bad, but the twice-a-year-pace of adding zones that are swiftly obsolete isn't helping the game out. [Jun 2006, p.88]

In short, <i>RF Online</i> fails as a PvE game, and its PvP gameplay isn't engaging enough to make up for that fatal flaw. [July 2006, p.78]

For $19.99, this bundle is worth buying just for "Off Road Thunder" alone. [May 2006, p.102]

But the sad fact remains, the intense experience we craved is just...gone. [May 2006, p.54]

Empire at War finally delivers a truly satisfying Star Wars strategy experience. [Apr 2006, p.62]

I wanted to like Getting Up, but flawed game mechanics and a hip-flop plot send this Trane off its tracks. [May 2006, p.98]

You get what you pay for, though, and for a $20 title, WWII TC delivers a modicum of modest, albeit fleeting, big-gun thrills. [May 2006, p.54]

The real problem here is that the game's three new campaigns are so same-y and cookie-cutterish that they end up feeling like the sort of added content that you'd expect to get in a free patch or download. [Mar 2006, p.63]

Frustratingly uncooperative controls. [Jun 2006, p.105]

Not for the coordination-challenged. [Jun 2006, p.105]

There's no significant improvement over Trainz 2004, though, so stick with the older game if you have it. [Jun 2006, p.105]

It's impossible to dislike the game, especially if you enjoyed its predecessors, but it's also hard to appreciate such formulaic gameplay. [May 2006, p.98]

GT Legends deftly accelerates its way to the front of the pack as the prettiest and most personality-rich racing experience the PC has ever seen. [Jan 2005, p.108]

A sentence of 25 to Life lasts only six to seven hours if played on medium difficulty. [Apr 2006, p.51]

The PC game is actually a late-to-the-table port of a 2005 Xbox and PS2 release, and it shows. [Apr 2006, p.98]

The graphics won't win championships, but the sheer number of games and multiplayer features make up for it. [Jun 2006, p.105]

It's all been done before - and a hell of a lot better to boot. [Feb 2006, p.54]

If you demand a high amount of polish, you'll probably want to pass on <i>Minions</i>. [July 2006, p.78]

Prizefighting in this simple action game looks like rock'em-sock'em robots disguised as cartoon humans. [Aug 2006, p.91]

What the game lacks in polish, it somewhat makes up for in cheekiness and an unexpectedly disco-tinged soundtrack. [Nov. 2006, p.120]

Leave rocket building to the rocket scientists. [Apr 2006, p.100]

Fun for kids and adults alike(the original <i>Pac Man</i> is even included in emulated form)--just be sure to bring a quality game-pad to the party. [July 2006, p.99]

Only the most commited turn-or card-based strategy gamers will enjoy <i.Star Chamber</i>, which is a real shame, because with better online help(there's no manual)and a more fleshed-out tutorial, this game could have appealed to a wider audience. [July 2006, p.97]

Even God would need cheat codes to beat this strategic RPG. [Feb 2006, p.50]