The lethal-injection-wielding beastie and other gruesome monsters were designed by movie F/X guru Stan Winston. Luckily, you can transform into a hulking beast when the prison yard gets too crowded. Dead man morphing! [Feb 2004, p.32]

Victory is accompanied by flashy jewelry, fancy cars, and the truest measure of a champ, a larger posse. [Mar 2004, p.39]

The action on the field is also masterfully recreated with a variety of fly and ground balls that spin, curve and bloop just as they do in real life, not to mention the comical errors that happen when fielders try to reel them in.

Unfortunately, Soul Calibur 2 doesn't include an option to download content from the Net, nor is there a component for online play, so all fashion critiques are confined to your living room. [Aug 2003, p.32]

Finally, a shooter for cowards! Kill.Switch is the first game to let you hide behind objects and blindly fire around corners. [Oct 2003, p.37]

Unfortunately, Soul Calibur 2 doesn't include an option to download content from the Net, nor is there a component for online play, so all fashion critiques are confined to your living room. [Aug 2003, p.32]

Fight Night adds a bit of bob and weave through a control system that allows you to swivel your fighter at the hips. [Apr 2004, p.38]

What does this action game packed with guns, cars and crooks have that "Vice City" doesn't? The voice talent of Christopher Walken and Gary Oldman as characters, for one thing. [Oct 2003, p.37]

The confusing gauges have been banished and the pesky laws of aerodynamics relaxed, freeing you to focus on sending Japanese and German pilots to their graves. [Dec 2003, p.44]

What does this action game packed with guns, cars and crooks have that "Vice City" doesn't? The voice talent of Christopher Walken and Gary Oldman as characters, for one thing. [Oct 2003, p.37]

Touchy controls require precision to avoid wrecking or, even worse, forking over your ride to a Frenchie. [July 2003, p.34]

We finally fulfilled our dream of beating guest stars Insane Clown Posse with a baseball bat. [Oct 2003, p.37]

The confusing gauges have been banished and the pesky laws of aerodynamics relaxed, freeing you to focus on sending Japanese and German pilots to their graves. [Dec 2003, p.44]

A painful save system demands countless restarts and all but assures general frustration. On the whole, Bounty Hunter establishes itself as a worthy, yet flawed offering.

A painful save system demands countless restarts and all but assures general frustration. On the whole, Bounty Hunter establishes itself as a worthy, yet flawed offering.

Unfortunately, repetitious sound bytes and uninspired terrain hamper a decent presentation.

Scores points for an original theme coupled with fresh play mechanics. It then promptly loses them to poor execution.

Quotation forthcoming. [July 2005]

The game is undeniably unique and entertaining, not to mention deeply in need of polish.

Suave and stylish, courtesy of character designs by famed anime artist Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun), it's unfortunately far too short, underwhelming, and the general aesthetic is liable to be beyond the comprehension of anyone who couldn't tell a Gundam from a gumball.

Frame rates are so horrendously slow in the game's crowded areas -- such as the cities -- that it becomes almost painful to even move your character, let alone interact with others.

The occasionally mindless, thumb-numbing play gets a helpful boost from a random mission generator and gory hidden death traps that turn enemies into meat skewers. [May 2004]

With so many liberties taken with the story, we expected to see Godzilla. [Mar 2004, p.39]

The huge levels and tough foes are a welcome challenge, but clumsy camera angles and controls can be a nightmare. [Dec 2003, p.44]

A chance to slap James Garner silly would have been a really nice touch. [Aug 2003, p.32]

Although this game adaptation's take-down-the-arch-criminal plot is trite, the heroine looks so much like Garner - skintight guises and all - that we're ready to back her on recon missions and vicious fire-fights from Saudi Arabia to Hong Kong. [Feb 2004, p.32]

Although this game adaptation's take-down-the-arch-criminal plot is trite, the heroine looks so much like Garner - skintight guises and all - that we're ready to back her on recon missions and vicious fire-fights from Saudi Arabia to Hong Kong. [Feb 2004, p.32]

You slash through swarms of monsters, getting an assist from seven specialized ghostly legions that you summon just as the frantic button-mashing grows tiresome. [Aug 2003, p.32]