A beautiful universe with a sophisticated interface, but it's essentially a desolate wilderness of constellations, space debris, and guesses. [Sept 2003, p.92]

The Cycle: Frontier is well-polished but undone by tedium and a lack of imagination.

Ultimately, TPM might give you the odd chuckle, but you're not really looking forward to it running for a second term in your office. [Dec 2012, p.67]

I really wanted to like this game, but its repetitiveness and frustration make it an island to skip. [July 2004, p.69]

It's still better than the first episode, but its weaknesses will leave you wishing you could go back in time to stop yourself from playing it--space time continuum be damned. [Sept 2011, p.73]

Although likely to be modded to perfection, SH5's release version is an incomplete, buggy disappointment. [Jun 2010, p.68]

Some glaring shortcomings make even the low price a bit too much. [May 2004, p.65]

If you don't ahve high expectations for a Trek RTS, then you won't be disappointed. [Nov 2000, p.160]

Dead Island 2 is hampered by dull design choices, repetitive combat, and a painfully weak story, with its only saving grace being its great performance on PC.

Primordia starts abruptly and ends just as suddenly, and the good story that we’re teased with doesn’t quite ever get told.

Sure, it has some substance - Omaha and two other poker types supporting the main Texas Hold 'Em - plus multiplay that can be set up over a LAN mixing real and AI players. But its obnoxious personality makes it the fish of the group. [Apr 2005, p.65]

Starships isn’t terrible, but it isn’t the polished product you’d expect from a studio with Firaxis’ history. Comparing it to its full-scale PC competitors, like Endless Space and GalCiv is cruel, as it’s sub-par in every single regard: unbalanced, repetitive, badly explained, rather ugly, with a dreadful mobile phone UI, and buggy as hell. Even judged against Firaxis’ other mobile games, Civ: Rev and Ace Patrol, this is small and crude.

Starts promisingly, but soon slips into a tiresome, repetitive grind, never doing its unique period setting justice.

Its gameplay isn't imaginative or original, but if you're looking for a quick fix of destructiveness, Apocalypse gets the job done. [Oct. 2006, p.108]

Another "GTA" clone bites the dust. [Jan 2005, p.56]

The robots blow up good, otherwise this ho-hum shooter fumbles its few ideas and is a shonky port to boot. [Aug 2012, p.58]

Even with its attractive $20 price, Journey offers more aggravation than enjoyment. [Holiday 2003, p.97b]

A big-time ripoff of other, better roleplaying games. [Apr 2002, p.73]

Tilted Mill has given us more of an ancient relic than anything new and compelling. [Jan. 2007, p.82]

Mighty No. 9’s dash mechanic is a lot of fun, but bad art, imprecise hitboxes, and awful level design make the experience extremely frustrating.

Intriguing puzzles aside, this metroidvania is plagued with systems that seem designed to frustrate.

I had to grit my teeth to put in enough play time for a quality review. [June 2002, p.77]

Headspun is a well-meaning attempt at exploring a fascinating topic. Wandering around certain rooms like the Dream Theater and Memory Bank, you see some some vivid imagery, and are faced with interesting questions about the relationship between memories and identity. But it never delves deeper, restricting you to tedious minigames and superfluous base-building while you wait to see how story pans out. Headspun failed to entrench itself in my memory, and I wouldn't feel differently even if its swarms of bugs were squashed.

This savage brawler has its moments, but swiftly moves from brutal to boring.

These design flaws--along with some pedestrian puzzles and those aforementioned protagonist miscues--ultimately turn Belief & Betrayal into a servicable but largely forgettable European church tour. [Oct 2008, p.70]

JetFighter V may have the looks, but it's just way too air-headed to register as a serious contender in this genre. [Holiday 2003, p.112]

Story aside, this would be one of Destiny 2's more forgettable campaigns. But thanks to its wide-ranging overhauls, it's become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Hardcore D&D fans looking to fill the gap before the next Black Isle or BioWare release should avoid this one like a high-level beholder. [Apr 2002, p.72]