The play by play when applicable (while still a bit parrot-like) is seamless, the player models are so real you can smell the BO, and the replays so comprehensive you'll be picking the grass out of your teeth. [Aug 2002, p.69]

As a strict role-playing adventure, Effect fares much better. [Dec 2007, p.64]

There isn’t a single element of Arkham Asylum that isn’t polished to the utmost degree.

There's a clear and steady stream of tactical flow across virtually every map, a rare feat in and of itself. [Aug 2005, p.66]

In its 15th year, this well-oiled machine enters the 2005 season with one of the finest football games ever crafted. Raising the bar to an unheard of level, Madden 2005 is football at its very best. [Aug 2004, p.73]

There isn’t a single element of Arkham Asylum that isn’t polished to the utmost degree.

As transfixing and hand-drawn inspired as any Castlevania before it, or any game for that matter, even if it does lost some of its hold on the handheld platform. [June 2003, p.56]

A hand-drawn RPG incorporating exquisite detail and a blazing new look to battle sequences, it's the best thing to happen to portable role playing perhaps ever. [Feb 2002, p.65]

Player animations and transitions are seamless; it will astound you how versatile the movements are in the game. [Apr 2005, p.77]

An extraordinary game that any action fan will go nuts over. Everything from the graphics to the sound to the action itself, Infinity Ward and Activision have taken the genre to an all-new level and it's truly something special. [Dec 2003, p.88]

If you demand the ultimate in presentation and extras, look no further than Madden NFL 2004. [Grade = A+; Sept 2003, p.86]

Probably the best Mario Kart game since the original. [Dec 2005, p.75]

High praise for taking what felt like an idea in Assassin’s Creed and turned it into one of the year’s most ambitious and enjoyable games.

As much as I like Project Gotham as a series, my heart belongs to Ridge Racer and Gran Turismo. [Dec 2003, p.58]

The world is compelling in its visual completeness, serving up an inescapable web of despair, loneliness and isolation. [Jan 2006, p.38]

Bayonetta’s across-the-boards perfection can’t be measured by any scale. It’s simply in a class by itself. This is where games need to go for my money. Platinum knows no bounds. A modern-day masterpiece.

With 16 players and 16 guns blazing, the game is violent bliss, and certainly a war demanding to be fought over and over again. [Apr 2006, p.58]

The bold visuals, mechanics, story, and characters are brought together with a seemingly effortless charm. [Dec 2003, p.94]

The game is so fun and addicting, and the environments so brimming with goodness, you'll care not. Too bad the art is lacking. [Jan 2004, p.64]

EA Sports BIG and developer NuFX, Inc. have taken their nearly flawless game and made it that much better, taking it to a whole new level in terms of graphics, gameplay, sound and presentation... Right when you pop in the game, you know you're in for a good time. [Apr 2003, p.72]

A wonderfully entertaining adventure -- one of those rare treats that rises above what we've come to expect in a typical video game, of any genre, surprising us with bursts of originality and engaging us with classic sensibilities worked with such skill that we forget we're playing a game, fully immersed in the conflict of its world. [Nov 2003, p.76]

For a mere $20, Sega's game is every bit as deep, feature-rich and addictive as EA's powerhouse. I'm not saying that 2K5 is better than "Madden"...but it's just as good - no joke. [Sept 2004, p.84]

Phantom Hourglass is absolutely worth playing and is certainly one of the better games in the DS library, but its quest is one of the less memorable entries in the Zelda cannon. [Oct 2007, p.96]

With a revamped Dynasty mode, a new batting system, and my favorite feature, Big Play Control, MVP Baseball 2004 is the complete package. [Apr 2004, p.73]

A remarkably deep military strategy game. [Sept 2005, p.62]

Every wreck is a visual affair to be savored and a delightful treat for a job nastily done. [Oct 2005, p.66]

Art is at the core of Panzer Dragoon Orta, and it permeates every facet of the game, from the gross to the subtle. [Jan 2003, p.24]

The game has undoubtedly improved in a number of ways in its transition to PC as a Developer's Cut, making it an essential experience on the platform. [Feb 2005, p.72]