An above average game that doesn't rock the boat. [Feb 2003, p.84]

Almost every bit as much fun as its Microsoft rival, and at a cheaper price. [Jan 2003, p.122]

The laborious mechanics of control and observance make "gameplay" feel much too random. [Jan 2003, p.100]

Blandoid RTS knock-off. [Feb 2003, p.81]

It seems that the difficulty in scoring is the developers' way of balancing out the appalling defensive AI. [Feb 2003, p.63]

Regrettably, most of AoM's missions suffer from one recurring, frustrating problem: a severe case of "build base-itis." [Holiday 2002, p.68]

Definitely an ambitious project, but unfortunately, it's only the floating-island concept and not the actual gameplay that will make it stick in the minds of gamers. [Feb 2003, p.80]

Even novice gamers are likely to be dismayed at the hold-your-hand gameplay. [Jan 2003, p.103]

VME's solid simulation of real-world helicopter dynamics and its full-to-overflowing set of scripted rescue missions make its gameplay every bit as deep as that of "S&R 4." [Mar 2003, p.102]

It forces you to think more like a real-world commander and less like a "wargamer." [Jan 2003, p.102]

This expansion has depth, it's incredibly challenging, and it highlights superlative production values in all the areas you'd expect, and even in some you wouldn't. [Feb 2003, p.83]

I'm confident that Strike Fighters will eventually grow to become one of the genre's all-time classics. [Jan 2003, p.108]

There's little redeeming value to this poor knock-off. Maximus is spinning in his grave. [Jan 2003, p.106]

This game was just meant to be single-player. [Feb 2003, p.75]

It simply wasn't polished enough before it was booted out the door. [Jan 2003, p.96]

Not for the easily frustrated, but unique enough to attract serious FPS fans. [Jan 2003, p.116]

A welcome diversion. [Jan 2003, p.106]

It takes slightly longer to finish the game than to watch the movie -- I got through it in about severn hours. [Holiday 2002, p.96]

While the critical control element isn't as slick as it could've been, it packs one hell of a visual bang, and it can cough up some pretty addictive gameplay. [Dec 2002, p.104]

A moderately entertaining, albeit retrograde, arcade driving experience. [Jan 2003, p.112]

A lot of work remains to be done here, but for what amounts to a first-time effort, NASCAR Thunder 2003 shows a helluva lot of promise. [Jan 2003, p.92]

SL's graphics engine is by far the buggiest and most poorly optimized that I've seen in years, with enough frame-rate bottlenecks, clipping, draw-through, and CD-access pauses to leave you gasping in your chair. [Mar 2003, p.91]

Long story short, if you own the first RCT and its two expansions, then you already own about 80 percent of RCT 2. [Holiday 2002, p.97]

As accessible and deep as a serious military simulation can get. If you want to taste command in modern war, this is your game. [Mar 2003, p.95]

As a tag-team multiplayer brawl it's good fun, but it doesn't have much staying power. [Feb 2003, p.75]

Playing Revolution is like driving a Lamborghini that's been torn apart and reassembled by a blindfolded mechanic: it's cheap, and the engine runs, but I wouldn't recommend you get behind the wheel, because there's bound to be some important parts left out. [May 2003, p.68]

Its simple and forgiving dynamic, short span, and quirky characters hit its intended "family fun" mark. [Mar 2003, p.106]

Brace yourself for sometimes klutzy controls, but all in all, it's a smart RTS with a plucky respect for squad-based classics. [Jan 2003, p.114]

Earns faint praise for being the best-looking, best-playing version of the lot. [Holiday 2002, p.114]

The most impressive aspect of the game is the engine itself. [Holiday 2002, p.86]

The same shabby AI and pathfinding that plagued the original have survived the trip. It's truly despicable that none of the problems were fixed. [Jan 2003, p.110]

The performance is nohwere near as smooth as I remember on my mothballed Dreamcast - nor as fun. [Jan 2003, p.104]

Would have benefited from a little more graphical polish, but the weather and lighting effects do create a strong atmosphere. [Dec 2002, p.122]

The problem with NHL 2003 is that it's fun, but it just ain't hockey...I'm 30 games into the season, and I have yet to lose one...with the difficulty at Highest. [Dec 2002, p.114]

Polishing off the brilliance that is NOLF 2 are the game's stunning graphics, powered by the LithTech Jupiter engine. [Holiday 2002, p.78]

Gorgeous gib-filled excitement for deathmatch players with beefy systems. [Holiday 2002, p.112]

If you like "military authenticity" but prefer button-mashing to tactical squad work, CDS is for you. [Jan 2003, p.110]

Fun, but without enough new elements to distinguish itself from its RTS breathren. [Dec 2002, p.120]

This pyrotechnic orgy probably offers up more explosions per minute than any other game of its type, but that's about all it offers. [Holiday 2002, p.105]

There are no huge new strides in gameplay, but the story-driven campaign is top-notch -- albeit murderously hard. [Holiday 2002, p.84]

As good as tennis fans may ever see on their PCs. [Holiday 2002, p.83]

It's just a few new features away from glory. [Holiday 2002, p.85]

Where it falls apart is in the game design. [Jan 2003, p.114]

For Disney fanatics, its biggest flaw will be stingy access to real Disney props and settings. [Dec 2002, p.110]

While the concept is anything but original, the game is polished and enjoyable. [Holiday 2002, p.114]

I went straight from "Neverwinter Nights" to Divine Divinity, and I enjoyed them equally. [Dec 2002, p.108]

Though it looks gorgeous and is entertaining to play at times, it's conspicuously underpowered in three critical areas: physics, AI, and gameplay depth. [Holiday 2002, p.110]

You're left with the feeling that someone decided that an add-on was a good way to get you to pay more for "Empire Earth"'s bounteous content overflow. [Holiday 2002, p.102]

A sports classic. [Holiday 2002, p.106]

Good, reliable fun that favors atmosphere over innovation. [Dec 2002, p.92]

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]

In a team-on-team multiplayer battle on the well-designed maps, you may well find yourself kissing your monitor out of pure joy. [Dec 2002, p.126]

The goings-on will keep you interested. Just don't expect anything too deep or innovative. [Nov 2002, p.129]

Offers more of the same good stuff, but no real creative innovation. [Nov 2002, p.128]

It packs plenty of punch for series newbies. [Holiday 2002, p.107]

An extremely refreshing space exploration take on the massively multiplayer genre. [Holiday 2002, p.92]

Delivers the most engaging interpretation of grassroots dirt track racing on the PC. [Jan 2003, p.90]

If you appreciate well-crafted stories over carnage, it's an adventure that genre fans won't want to miss. [Sept 2002, p.84]

It clearly remains the best chess game on the market, bar none...With few new features, though, where's the series heading? [Dec 2002, p.104]

It's rare in this day and age to be truly impressed by a game's graphics, but a lot of your early game time will be spent just marveling at the scenery. [Dec 2002, p.90]

With some nifty tweaks to the engine, A-class writing, and a dazzling implementation of the D&D 3rd Edition rules, ID II is like hauling out yesterday's burrito casserole and realizing that it tastes even better reheated. [Oct 2002, p.87]

Too sloppy to be fun. [Sept 2002, p.81]

Adheres strongly to the Keep It Simple, Stupid principle. By doing so, it manages to meld these different genres where others have failed. [Nov 2002, p.120]

Too many rough edges ruin an otherwise smooth production: clipping problems, unexplained mission objectives..., save points strategically placed to artificially raise the difficulty of certain missions, and an emphasis on scripting over substance. [Dec 2002, p.102]

A mediocre romp through a muddied story, with acceptable breaks for engaging combat. [Nov 2002, p.140]

It's highly addictive (I've played at least 50 hours and still want more), and the variety of factions gives it a LOT of replayability. [Dec 2002, p.96]

Little more than a rudimentary console port replete with dated graphics and sub-par vehicle physics. [Nov 2002, p.134]

Does a tremendous job of reproducing the excitement and wheel-to-wheel action of radio-controlled race-car competition. [Nov 2002, p.126]

A lifeless single-player game and a decidedly bumpy online experience. [Oct 2002, p.96]

Tennis nuts will like it, but I'm still pining for a control-perfect "Virtua Tennis" port. [Nov 2002, p.132]

Its graphics may be bland and its sound effects cheesy, but I can't stop playing the damn thing. [Nov 2002, p.126]

The story's perplexing, the AI is unimaginative, and the Predator and Predalien missions just aren't that interesting. [Nov 2002, p.146]

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

A must-have for hardcore fans of the show (both of them). But for anyone else, it'll just be a very boring extra-long episode. [Nov 2002, p.122]

Worst of all, there are no in-mission saves (only five "lives"), and each of the game's 13 missions can take up to an hour to complete. [Nov 2002, p.129]

When played against three other human rivals, this game rocks! [Dec 2002, p.110]

It's the best "grand" strategy game since the 1993 classic "Clash of Steel." [Nov 2002, p.138]

Despite all those flaws, Resistance's branching, 20-mission campaign dishes out some of the best gameplay scenarios yet seen in the genre. [Nov 2002, p.110]

I'd recommend this game at $50. At the cost of a quick snatch-and-grab from the nearest recruiting station, it's easy to call it a must-play. [Jan 2003, p.118]

A brilliant game in every facet of its design and execution, with not a single dull moment in the lot. [August 2002, p.62]

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

Pretty darned awful...With barely five hours of gameplay, no voiceovers, non-existent AI, and amateruish chapter-ending cartoons, Hero X can't even rightly be called a decent bargain-bin pick. [Oct 2002, p.102]

It's a testament to the dullness of this game that its 25 missions feature a wide variety of mission types, yet all of them feel like the same monotonous hunts for brain-dead adversaries. [Oct 2002, p.100]

All told, BDB took less than 30 minutes to beat, and there's no point in playing it again. [Oct 2002, p.98]

I can live with a few little pissers when the overall game is so exciting, exquisitely designed, and meticulous in its historical accuracy. [Oct 2002, p.92]

Central to its pull is a storyline as persuasive as any I've encountered in a fantasy roleplaying game. [Sept 2002, p.60]

Its aesthetics need more polish - and it needs to offer more help for newcomers. [Sept 2002, p.64]

Unbearable drek like Jazz and Faust is the reason some people keep saying that the adventure genre is dead and buried. [Oct 2002, p.102]

Deep, classy, and fiercely addictive. [Sept 2002, p.86]

Perhaps the most impressive new feature is F1 2002's dedicated multiplayer support for up to 16 players. [Sept 2002, p.70]

Take it for what it is - an inexpensive and silly throwback. [Nov 2002, p.134]

Gore's single-player game shoots way over par. [Sept 2002, p.80]

The battles are pretty damn chaotic. They're also devoid of fun, have little rhyme or reason, and often leave you with no idea why you won or lost. [Oct 2002, p.97]

Unfortunately, after a two-stage porting job, all that's really left is some third-hand game code that won't even work properly on many current-generation PC setups. [Sept 2002, p.72]

Graphics and sound are passable at best, but I found it intriguing to manage the development of a burgeoning company.

All these practical problems obscure Sum's flat-out brilliant mission design. [August 2002, p.70]

One of the very best things about this game is its almost total lack of any visible interface. [July 2002, p.56]

While better than its predecessor on almost all counts, SOF II still does little to turn heads in the genre. Instead, it blows them clean off. [August 2002, p.66]