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

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.

Whatever charm the campy dialogue provides wears off after about 10 minutes, leaving you with a game that suffers from obstructive camera angles, tedious gameplay, and uninspired combat. [July 2008, p.70]

You never really feel engaged in this run-of-the-mill shooter. [Nov 2004, p.86]

Menacing robots, a gorgeous world, and an intriguing premise, but ultimately too minimalist for its own good.

The contrast between cartoonish characters and sprays of blood only continues the rollercoaster of pain and confusion. Make sure to play on an empty stomach. [June 2003, p.88]

The biggest frights of the ever-expanding series without quite the same unease and variety.

You can’t just chuck players in a maze with a ghost and tell them to be scared. Unfortunately this is exactly what Daylight does.

Say hello to another cheap bottom-feeder from Europe. [Nov 2005, p.76]

Impressive ogre battles and challenging, hectic missions, but I just wish there was a bit more to Extinction.

About as deep and immersive as naval combat sims come. [May 2002, p.68]

A nonstop tour de force of insulting insanity. And even though I should be disgusted by the potty humor and derogatory caricatures, I had a blast playing through it. [June 2003, p.74]

Sounds promising, but from the shoddy graphics to the horrid enemy AI, this game fails to be any fun at all. [July 2004, p.68]

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]

EEIII aims high, but falls victime to over-ambition--there's a lot going on here, but not enough of it has been effectively refined into an entertaining gaming experience. [Jan 2008, p.84]

Those seeking a PvP-based massively multiplayer game may want to wait for "Guild Wars," which will offer PvP straight out of the gate as opposed to 70 levels in. [July 2005, p.61]

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]

All you get here is abysmal action, miserable controls, and a story ripped piecemeal from the cartoon. [March 2005, p.75]

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

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

Earns points for originality, but with better pacing and a heftier casting budget, it could have been a much better zombie game contender. [Nov 2011, p.79]

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

Art of Murder gets most of the fundamentals right, but after spending an hour or so with its grating characters, banal dialogue, and inept plot, you probably won't care. [Oct 2008, p.63]

You can barely tolerate the insane irrelevance of the details asked - they really are that dry. [Sept 2002, p.76]

A turd of a third-person shooter that so revels in senseless violence and horrible design, I needed a shower every time I stopped playing. [Holiday 2004, p.100]

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

A shallow, slow, grind-heavy MMO crippled by a horrible interface and nonsensical player limitations.

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