Lacks the polish and panache to be a true champion, but Viking is still solid, no-thrills entertainment.

Considering its budget pedigree, Overdose's $39.99 price tag may seem a bit steep. But for fans of mindless fun, it's worth every penny. [Jan 2008, p.88]

Concord feels out of touch and already out of time.

Some of these brainteasers--including a tricky Enigma decoding machine segment and a complex darkroom sequence--are brilliant additions, while others will strain your patience and gray matter to the breaking point. [Dec 2008, p.59]

An increased focus on action and unsatisfying cases overshadow the decent bits in this detective adventure.

Manages to pull of a surprising amount of chuckles with its well-written dialogue. [Apr 2002, p.80]

The effort made for new palyers is commendable. [August 2002, p.73]

A spectacular, occasionally very fun tour of Star Wars battles that disappoints with a boring story, crappy progression system, and endless grenade spam.

This is a game about crashing that feels restrained, almost sterile. [Aug 2017, p.87]

A competent MMO shooter marred by a lack of polish, whose TV tie-in ambitions only seem set to cause problems.

Few games have had me scratching my head over design decisions like this one, and yet I'm still avidly playing it nearly three weeks later. [May 2003, p.64]

Exploring Cargo's bizarre world is charming and even thought-provoking at times, but ultimately turns out to be a superficial experience. [Sept 2011, p.69]

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

Boasts some beautiful, convincing countryside to hunt in, but the glacial pace will challenge the limits of most people’s patience.

A straightforward tactics game buried beneath an impassable mountain of roguelike metagame.

Piloting insect mechs in a beautifully tiny world is a breeze, but heavy resource grinding stops this adventure taking full flight.

The tractors look great, but the rest of Farming Simulator 15 comes off like shovelware from 2012.

Given the material, Away Team fails to reach its potential - or even come close. [June 2001, p.69]

An intriguing but often incoherent mystery that’s bogged down by long-winded dialogue and terrible puzzles.

As of press time, several negative Rise and Fall reviews have cropped up online. Mine is the dissenting opinion; in my mind, this RTS' fun and innovative gameplay far outweighs its minor faults. [Sep 2006, p.57]

Disappointingly old-fashioned. Nostalgia isn't enough to save this boring shooter from stagnant FPS limbo.

​Game of Thrones gets the feel of Martin's universe right, but it relies too heavily on familiar themes to form a memorable identity of its own.

The single-player campaign is simply a series of missions with no cohesion other than the fact that they all lead toward your final objective. [Dec 2003, p.106]

It's a little shy on realism, challenge, and gameplay depth but Attack on Pearl Harbor still delivers an accessible and diversionary ride in some terrific old WWII warbirds. [Oct 2007, p.60]

But repetitious single-player, frustrating co-op and a laughable narrative reduce it to a mess that's fun only as long as it takes you to realize nothing interesting is ever going to happen. [Oct 2010, p.81]

This game doesn't take itself too seriously (especially the new surprise ending), which is either a credit or a fault depending on how seriously you take the movies. [Feb 2006, p.35]

Looks are pretty much the only appeal. The main culprit in sabotaging the attractive premise is the horrible AI. [May 2003, p.82]

I'm sure that coaching in the NFL is one of the world's most grueling desk jobs, but the whole idea behind sports management games is to indulge fans after they get home from work, not make them feel like they've swapped one desk for another. [Oct. 2006, p.106]