It's a sweeping, exquisitely crafted, hopelessly addictive adventure that ignites a wondrous spirit of gaming past...A magnificent action-RPG and a terrifically fun video game. [Feb 2004, p.44]

A little drab, mechanical and laden by an antiquated feel, Nightshade is an on-again off-again sequel to the similarly flawed "Shinobi." [Mar 2004, p.59]

Through some clever design, the Pelican Silent Scope Light Rifle replicates fairly well the experience of playing Silent Scope in the arcade. [Feb 2004, p.41]

Unreal II's biggest fault is the lifeless visual design: the use of color is ugly at times, the enemies aren't appealing and movie clunkily, exhibiting spotty AI to add to the flaws. [Apr 2004, p.64]

Just like the handheld Pokemon games, the graphics seem to be underdeveloped and the gameplay focus is really on catching, raising, and battling with the assorted critters, overshadowing the characters and story rather than supporting them. [Mar 2004, p.59]

They've taken a beloved classic game, reinvented it, rethought it, retooled it, and come up with a new game that is not only better, but vastly superior in almost every way. [Feb 2004, p.52]

The combination of the action, high adventure, quaint bustling towns and villages, Moogle wisdom (like the Yodas they are) and the best Square soundtrack since the SNES days add up to the most immersive overall universe I've experienced on the GameCube, if not on any next-gen console. [Feb 2004, p.38]

The background periodically moves out of synch with the action (like a movie playing behind the left-to-right flow) and the music could be a bit more charged, but otherwise I cherished every moment returning to a genre embedded in my DNA. [Feb 2004, p.46]

Delta Strike goes for a story-driven approach to its presentation, which ends up crippling the better moments with vapid dialogue and off-putting anime-style character drawings. [Feb 2004, p.47]

At 30fps on PS2, it's not as great, but still good. [Mar 2004, p.59]

Sonic Heroes will fill you with a sense of pure fun seldom seen in the annals of modern game design. [Jan 2004, p.50]

No less than the new king of the dungeon crawl, easily beating the upcoming Norrath in my opinion (although Norrath is online, so if you so desire, its allure is obvious). [Jan 2004, p.54]

No less than the new king of the dungeon crawl, easily beating the upcoming Norrath in my opinion (although Norrath is online, so if you so desire, its allure is obvious). [Jan 2004, p.54]

You'll be capping scumbags left and right in a fireworks display of flesh and blood, going after the town prostitute's heisted jewelry or collecting giant scorpion tails for some much-needed extra cash, and things of this nature. [Feb 2004, p.42]

Instead of revelations, we're left empty handed, as tantalizing mysteries are thoughtlessly swept under the rug. [Dec 2003, p.56]

You'll be capping scumbags left and right in a fireworks display of flesh and blood, going after the town prostitute's heisted jewelry or collecting giant scorpion tails for some much-needed extra cash, and things of this nature. [Feb 2004, p.42]

Gameplay in NFL Street is fast and furious and, at times, unrelenting. [Mar 2004, p.70]

Gameplay in NFL Street is fast and furious and, at times, unrelenting. [Mar 2004, p.70]

Gameplay in NFL Street is fast and furious and, at times, unrelenting. [Mar 2004, p.70]

The fighting constantly evolves and always has an angle beyond mere versus encounters. [Mar 2004, p.72]

Sonic Heroes will fill you with a sense of pure fun seldom seen in the annals of modern game design. [Jan 2004, p.50]

Easily the best isometric shooter available for the system, it's amazing just how much a tiny GBA cartridge can hold. [Feb 2004, p.53]

If only Goblin Commander's visuals matched the majesty of its design... I absolutely love it, though. [Dec 2003, p.83]

Another highly polished title in a fantastic series. If you're into fighting games, you can't go wrong here. [Jan 2004, p.75]

Where most games entertain us with cutscenes to observe, Beyond Good & Evil is a cutscene. This is the first game to fully, properly inject the undeniable power of cinematic technique into the experience. [Nov 2003, p.70]

How impressive it is to see a game feed off restraint and subtlety for its power. [Jan 2004, p.48]

The announcer redefines annoying, the truck models leave much to be desired and the celebration animation's damn funny, but a solid game otherwise. [Mar 2004, p.47]

The intimacy, the almost Zen-like relationship with the track is not here. Even so, I would be a fool to call this game anything other than great. [Jan 2004, p.60]