A fun, charming, and occasionally brilliant Yakuza game, let down by an overabundance of repetitive turn-based battles.

Diablo fans will love the combat options, sophisticated magic, and quality graphics. [Nov 2000, p.159]

A bloated, grindy mess, but so packed with options that a better game is hidden inside it.

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

In the end, Clash of Heroes spends too much time trying to distract you from the one thing that makes it brilliant. [Jan 2012, p.80]

Refreshingly, cheating is often the best way to go. [Sept 2004, p.70]

Orcs Must Die: Deathtrap retains the frenzied fun of its predecessors despite a mixed bag of format changes.

A functional, basic board game port isn't enough to truly shine off the tabletop.

Not particularly difficult, and its mobile roots are showing, but Hitman GO: Definitive Edition is an entertaining puzzle spin-off.

Satisfying, pen-and-paper-style zombie storytelling that's somewhat blandly presented and burdened by bugs. A worthy RPG that would've benefited from more budget.

Those errors and omissions not withstanding, Snoopy vs. The Red Baron still does the Peanuts legacy proud with its engaging characters and compelling pick-up-and-play simplicity. [Jan. 2007, p.66]

Underlying all the advances made in bot technology and the updated maps, Condition Zero is still fundamentally a five-year-old game...but this standalone package should satisfy both the Counter-Strike-curious and the broadband impaired. [Jan 2004, p.90]

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]

A perfectly good 4X game with an innovative combat system that feels a bit bland when framed against the richness of its setting.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 delivers deep build crafting and battle systems, but they're wasted on a war story that's barely there.

Raidou Remastered isn't the best Shin Megami Tensei game on PC, but its live-action take on a familiar turn-based combat system is as fun as it is fascinating.

Mowing down thousands of aliens in Vatican City is worth doing at least once.

Trainz isn't really a game at all, but rather an intricate simulation of what is itself an intricate simulation. [May 2002, p.62]

A generic shooter with lots to say. Spec Ops: The Line trades quality gaming for quality narrative and interesting characters. [Oct 2012, p.72]

A mismatched mix of genres grafted onto a moving, beautifully presented story.

Not up to the lofty standards set by "IL-2," but still an entertaining WWII prop sim. [June 2002, p.56]

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

Extreme sports made accessible to the point of basic. It's got a tin ear but a big heart.

A quality step-up for a series that's still short of greatness.

Fires a salvo of ghastly, unwarranted features into its own guts, thankfully doing no harm to a defiantly enjoyable series.

For $25, the value proposition of this time-sink is impressive if you consider yourself more managerial material than on-field talent. [Sept 2008, p.67]

Wunderdoktor's beautiful handmade world is a delight to travel through, but beneath that charming exterior lies a twitchy, unforgiving, and sometimes unrewarding puzzle game.

The simple building system is very slow and expensive, often taking years, and enemy ninjas can destroy guilds or religious locations with ease. [Holiday 2011, p.77]