A mod too short on content and aspiration to warrant the price as a standalone release.

After a promising opening, Ghost Song collapses under the weight of its ill-conceived mechanics.

A failed attempt at a cross-genre historical hybrid. [May 2004, p.70]

A dumb shooter that feels like a rubbish stealth section dragged out across the length of an entire game.

Gotham Knights attempts to differentiate itself from the Arkham series with new characters and a new canon, but spends most of its length poorly imitating what made those games great.

While it's an ambitious and lengthy adventure, the game is spoiled by an overly confusing story, many ambiguous puzzles, and a flawed interface. [July 2002, p.73]

The saddest part about Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is that the only people willing to endure such a sloppy port are hard-core Spider-Man fans--the same group to whom the plot will make the least sense. [Jan 2009, p.59]

Deeply underwhelming. Neither staged carefully enough to be scary nor dynamic enough to be exciting, it succeeds only where other players are capable of breathing life into it. There are better linear shooters, better asymmetrical multiplayer games, and better Aliens sequels, and your love of the motion tracker and pulse rifle would need to be profound to surmount those obstacles.

Beyond the shock value of its demonic horrors, this survivalist city-builder has little to recommend it.

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

History Buffs may consider this "Age of Empires" clone if it's cheap, but all else leave it be. [Apr 2001, p.84]

It just doesn't measure up to the imagination and potential of the setting, and you feel like little more than a jumped=up errand boy. [Holiday 2014, p.66]

This game has the imaginative spark of a wet napkin. [Jan 2002, p.76]

Unless you're jonesing for an adventure game fix, your time's better spent rearranging your Netflix queue. [Aug 2008, p.72]

Darkness Within oversells its Lovecraftian theme because there's just way too much reading and not enough adventuring to keep our interest up. [Mar 2008, p.81]

Necromunda is a sight to behold, but it's undermined by wonky shooting, superfluous mechanics, and bugs.

With about 5 more updates, PSU might be capable of holding one's attention. [Feb. 2007, p.72]

A bland alternative to a genre-defining game millions of people are very familiar with.

Scarf is a nice if not particularly original idea, disappointingly executed on almost all fronts.

Only diehard "Blair Witch" fans are going to want this one, and then only because it's cheap. [Feb 2001, p.88]

Parts of Final Fantasy XIII are worth the absurd amount of time it takes to properly open up, but this port is a big letdown.

A flimsy remake of a flawed 16-bit favourite that exacerbates all the original’s problems while failing to recapture its strengths.

Rome seems rushed and poorly realized. [Apr 2008, p.70]

Its generic plot and presentation are so bland, the game's few inventive features are very likely to be lost on most who play it. [Holiday 2004, p.94]

The Chosen is single-player only, which is probably for the best--you'd be hard-pressed to find many other people playing it. [Mar 2008, p.74]

It's too bad Firestarter is executed so poorly because the graphics engine is fantastic, packed with reflections, great textures, and all manner of flashy high-tech visual doo-dads. [May 2004, p.67]

More yawn than yarr, sadly. [Feb 2011, p.80]

A beautiful action movie that punishes improvisation, with under-populated multiplayer that can’t compete with a nine-year-old game.

Nostalgic "bookshelf value" aside, this collection isn't really worth the time or money. [August 2002, p.67]

Despite some cool heroes and a neat twist on battle royale, Amazon’s long-awaited hero shooter wasn’t worth the wait.

For those hoping for a game in which killing innocent people provides you with some sort of entertainment—be it humor, revulsion, guilt, a vicarious and morbid thrill—you can find it done better, in one way or another, in every other game I've mentioned in this review.

Enough "StarCraft" clones. Stop the madness and offer some innovation. [June 2001, p.62]

Stick with GTA for your gangsta fix. [Mar 2008, p.80]

Makes you work a lot for very little. The repetitive churn of missions and activities further spoil an only occasionally entertaining shooter.

Infuriating, buggy, and ultimately boring. [Oct 2003, p.96]

Sane people. however--folks who don't take their new Leader Class Optimus Prime to bed with them--should probably play something else. [Oct 2007, p.72]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a disappointing anniversary for a series that really should take a break.

If the rest of this Nazi shooting galllery had as much flair as its between-level vignettes, UberSoldier II could have secured an uber-spot at the top of the bargain bin. As is, it's much closer to the bottom. [Dec 2008, p.58]

Burning villages and abducting princesses for ransom as a loot-hungry, fire-breathing dragon might be fun on the PS3 version, but Hoards PC port is riddled with beastly bugs that'll make you wish you'd hoarded your money. [Aug 2011, p.76]

Sadly, developer Volatile misses the mark. [Jan. 2007, p.63]

Despite plenty of style and cheek, Keylocker can’t get past the repetitive grind of its battles.

There's only one good co-op map and a few middling deathmatch ones. The price is obscene for what you get.

A good idea executed without a trace of wit, energy, or style. About as dull as dishwater. [Sept 1996, p.138]

Armikrog’s memory puzzles and tenuous humour are a low point in the adventure game renaissance.

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]

Factor in BMT 2's dated graphics, clumsy truck physics, and lack of multiplay, and even liquored-up yokels will have a tough time finding any play value with this tiresome retread. [Jan 2005, p.110]

But LocoCycle is unchallenging, unengaging, and chronically unfunny, and when ideas start to repeat themselves, the game drags along like Pablo himself. [May 2014, p.74]

If I'm ever drafted for another tour of duty like this, I'm gonna shoot myself in the foot. [Holiday 2006, p.78]

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

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

A Weskered development gives us the Wong game. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is evil in the wrong sense. [Sept 2012, p.70]

Even if the new features had been awesome, this would have been a pointless re-release. [Jan 2012, p.810]

Concord feels out of touch and already out of time.

Finding good matches is not easy in APOX's sluggish community, however, and I cannot fathom why anyone should play this instead of the exponentially better games that it tries to emulate. [June 2011, p.77]

ReCore buries a great action platformer beneath layers and layers of open world busywork.

The story wouldn't be half-bad if it weren't for cliched dialogue (delivered by overly dramatic voice actors) and forgettable characters. [Jan 2005, p.81]

It's all by-the-numbers stuff that gets old quickly, and the game's muddy graphics, slim single-player options, and comically mistranslated dialog certainly don't help. [Oct 2007, p.57]

Defenders of Time multiplayer mode is conceptually interesting, but ultimately not worth trying because of many technical issues and poorly-executed fundamentals.

I like Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator's conceit—I used to love creating AI skirmishes in Garry's Mod—but here any potential drama is squandered by the poor execution. UEBS is good at the moneyshot—the ridiculous joy of seeing an unreasonable number of chickens swarm over some Nazis, or a super-powered turtle take on a cavalry brigade. But the joke soon wears thin, and, outside of that single gag, Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator fails to entertain.

A decent but cliched mob story and bland, frustrating gameplay make this the weakest Mafia yet.

All the gameplay ingredients are here, but a complete lack of seasoning makes this one dish that should be tossed down the disposal. [Oct 2004, p.98]

The basic combat is fine, but WWE 2K17 botches everything, from performance to presentation.

In short, Blitzkrieg II just doesn't cut the mustard. [May 2007, p.66]

An overpriced game with a solid combat system that's buried under a mountain of banality and monetisation.

The finished game doesn't live up to expectations. [Sept 2007, p.64]

It's got all the depth of a Petri dish. [Oct 2005, p.63]

MUD TV's detail is swamped in white noise, and no amount of fiddling with the antennae will help a game so poorly tuned. [Jun 2010, p.85]

The transition from celluloid to digital bytes is a mess of missed opportunities. [Feb 2006, p.37]

The main problem is, there isn't enough new here to maintain interest. [Mar 2002, p.64]

Brainhacking will blow your mind, but you'll want to get the cop out of your head by the end.

It feels like a four-hour tutorial to a game that might have used its mechanics better, never trusting its players enough to present them with a thoughtful challenge. [Oct 2011, p.77]

An unsatisfying, forced march through the source material.

As it exists now, however, Solar 2 is a simple space physics simulation with just a hint of a game, and building disposable arrangements of revolving circles quickly loses its novelty. [Oct 2011, p.79]

An apocalyptic disappointment that never rises above mediocrity, but often sinks into tedium. [July 2013, p.72]

Jigsaw's game are meant to be cruel, barbaric, horrific and pedantic, but this game is just plain tedious. [Jan 2010, p.79]

So much squandered potential, it's mind-boggling. Needs serious patching. [Aug 2005, p.66]

Ace of Spades contains some good ideas and tries hard to ape its influences, but it lacks their charm and stability.

It's a pity this game wasn't given more time to come together. [May 2005, p.60]

And really, Lineage isn’t much fun. [Feb 2002, p.80]

Hektor's level design mind games are cool, but its 90 minutes of jump scares would be better spent on so many other horror games.

It deserves some credit for its realistic physics and attempts at creativity, but it's just not a whole lot of fun. We still await the "Virtua Tennis" of bowling games. [Apr 2004, p.78]

GWN: Sparta offers little desides gameplay as ancient as the Spartans themselves, and should probably fall on its sword. [Aug 2008, p.72]

A promising enough idea, Lucius shoots for the depths of hell – but poor execution lands it merely six feet under.

As a $20 retail product, it's a slap in the face. Games like this one make a mockery of Darwin's theories. [May 2004, p.69]

If 20 bucks is burning a hole in your pocket, spend it on "Need For Speed: Most Wanted" instead. You'll thank me later. [Dec. 2006, p.122]

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

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

Stripped down to arcade basics, it's buggy, bland, and not much fun.

Overwhelming monetization and exceptionally dull third-person hero shooting sour a game that could've been a mech fan's dream.

Starts out funny, but quickly becomes frustrating. A wonderfully weird and original concept that falls flat like its jelly-limbed hero.

Somerville never hits its stride, thanks to flat direction and frustrating mechanics.

Crashes booted me to the desktop a dozen times. And a save corruption resulted in the loss of a level-17 garden and my last shred of patience. [Feb 2008, p.83]

The new chapter of the IL-2 Sturmovik series is a dark one--Cliffs of Dover is visually stunning but technically hobbled. [July 2011, p.74]

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

Little Inferno's argument against games I would never elect to play left me rather cold. [March 2013, p.79]

A faded shadow of "Jagged Alliance 2," minus all the elements except combat. [May 2001, p.70]

I spent my first hour in Dead Reefs spinning my character in circles while trying to WASD him through doors. [Oct 2007, p.66]

Though Terra Wars: NY Invasion is destined for the bargain bin(priced at $19.99, it's actually probably already there), playing through its approximately seven hours of gameplay will at least satiate your natural instinct to kill aliens--but not much else. [Oct. 2006, p.58]