With four skill levels, awesome co-op multiplay, online play, and a ton of game-modifying options, Sniper Elite belongs on your hit list. [Nov 2005, p.80]

this is as intense and refined a shooter as can be. No, the WWII genre is not dead. This game is proof. [Holiday 2005, p.80]

Its straightforward gameplay is so well suited to portable gaming that this is arguably the more desirably version. [Jan 2006, p.82]

We still think the hawk should take a year off, but this is nonetheless a great game. [Holiday 2005, p.76]

The graphics are mostly serviceable, but the AI is all over the map. [Holiday 2005, 92]

It looks okay, and it has some fun, but you've played it before, with more polish. [Dec 2005, p.112]

There's got to be a better control configuration. [Holiday 2005, p.82]

gameplay that steps boldly forward, but remembers what was cool about the old school. [Holiday 2005, p.73]

This is football for people who don't like football - which is rather pointless. [Dec 2005, p.110]

It's also easy to die in the space of seconds, losing a half-hour's progress in one vein-throbbing instant. [Dec 2005, p.108]

Ty's biggest drawback is a lack of action. [Nov 2005, p.94]

Midway has stripped away just about everything that made the Rush series unique, then attempted to graft on one part Burnout and one part each Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and NFS: Underground. It's Frankenstein with a carburetor. [Holiday 2005, p.86]

Sony has delivered a worthy war-time shooter. [Holiday 2005, p.72]

A big step backwards from "SSX 3." [Dec 2005, p.102]

The game's pace, even the relative quickness of the players, feels sluggish at times compared to "Live." Otherwise, this rocks. [Nov 2005, p.92]

This is a must-have sequel in a must-have series. [Nov 2005, p.80]

With the camera pulled back so far, the ball can get pretty tiny. Other than that, it's all solid, and a big improvement on last season. [Nov 2005, p.98]

The game slows down when songs change during the race. [Holiday 2005, p.98]

It's an expedition into the rugged unknown - not a luxury vacation. [Jan 2006, p.72]

Boss battles are simple, yet well done, incorporating Jack's whip-like Soul Robber and a musical rhythm sub-game that's just very cool. [Nov 2005, p.76]

There's not even a tennis game on PS2 this good. [Dec 2005, p.116]

Unfortunately, this mode gets mind-numbinglly repetitive, and gameplay is still awful. [Nov 2005, p.98]

One thing that doesn't feel realistic about this game is the incredible odds your team will face. [Dec 2005, p.102]

Decent overall and marginally better then its predecessor, it's not worth another $40 in the same calendar year. [Holiday 2005, p.100]

Now that NBA Live's out and on fire, this one's on the trade block. [Holiday 2005, p.100]

Top-notch control. [Dec 2005, p.114]

It may only be a year or so from topping "Winning Eleven." [Nov 2005, p.92]

Never quite captures enough of Wallace and Gromit's charm to overcome these problems over its 16-20 hours. [Dec 2005, p.108]

The graphics aren't "Z.O.E.", but they'll still make most fans weep with joy. [Nov 2005, p.94]

Ultimately, it starts to feel repetitive quickly. [Dec 2005, p.116]

it's got old school warbirds and it is fun. [Holiday 2005, p.78]

The best collection of arcade-style racing games ever assembled. [Nov 2005, p.90]

still a fun romp, and that's what matters most. [Holiday 2005, p.76]

It's not as varied as, say, "Pump it Up's" soundtrack, but this is nonetheless the franchise that owns the floor. [Nov 2005, p.88]

Great emulation...wonderful. [Nov 2005, p.90]

Surprisingly, this latest Frogger adventure is quite solid. [Nov 2005, p.82]

The biggest problem here is that the game is short - though replay value comes from taking the "good or bad" paths - but it's one Hell of a ride while it lasts. [Nov 2005, p.82]

Tons of gameplay improvements and variety. [Dec 2005, p.107]

It's a good, basic tennis game, reasonably enjoyable with solid, if not too demanding game mechics. To quote a phrase, it's "Mostly Harmless." [Oct 2005, p.92]

Aside from "Fight Night," there isn't a better two-player sports game than "NBA Live 06."[Nov 2005, p.78]

This year's PSP Tiger has cut its load times down to a mere eight or nine seconds per hole. That alone is enough to make this a "must buy." [Nov 2005, p.98]

Problem is, it simply isn't as intuitive as "Live." It takes several games to get the feel for it and even when you do, you still can't pull off the same breadth of moves you can in EA's offering. [Nov 2005, p.78]

It's unfortunate, though, that Spider-Man doesn't have all the moves he had in "Spider-Man 2", that this game is notably shorter, and that it sometimes feels like you spend too much time web-slinging through those pesky "chase" missions. [Dec 2005, p.100]

Okay production values, but flat, unrefined gameplay. [Nov 2005, p.84]

At its best in online multiplayer: the fast, smooth action really comes into its own when you're trying to slap that huge repair bill on other humans. [Nov 2005, p.88]

What it lacks is craft. Kay feels like the thesis project of a recent game school graduate, with haphazard, connect-the-dots levels filled with an endless parade of breakable pots. [Oct 2005, p.90]

It stinks that you can't upload your finished RPG to the internet, and it's a challenge to use. [Aug 2005, p.81]

The rare game that, while not perfect, entertains, immerses, and inspires, all the while forcing you to rethink what a "game" is. We have nothing left to say but "Kudos." [Nov 2005, p.74]

Only decent multiplayer saves this one from being completely awful. [Nov 2005, p.86]

If this game doesn't put a smile on your face then maybe games just aren't for you. [Nov 2005, p.69]

There are certain moments when the game is quite breathakingly gorgeous. [Nov 2005, p.84]

Put simply, Madden 2006 for PSP is the first real - as in fully featured and legitimate - portable football game. [Dec 2005, p.114]

Ice is cold, but this game is colder. [Dec 2005, p.110]

The control system has been tweaked, too, so you have quick access to more special attacks at once than before. [Dec 2005, p.98]

The only bogeys are a still-clunky interface - no auto-save, you can only adjust stats at certain times, etc. - a skittish camera, and overly long pre-and-post-swing reaction shots that drag on and on. [Nov 2005, p.85]

The "Frogger"-like way in which you move kind of sucks, especially when you have to run along a riverbed or around burning lava. [Nov 2005, p.96]

We urge you not to let the younger visual style turn you away from this game. [Jan 2006, p.74]

It's a game that gets back to the basics and is chock-full of Mortal Kombat goodness, especially for two players simultaneously. [Dec 2005, p.84]

If, on the other hand, you truly do prefer meticulous tweaking, clunky controls, and no story to interfere with your mech combat, here you go. [Oct 2005, p.88]

It's funny, there are plenty of new locales and characters, and the production values are admirable, though the framerate chugs and the camera could be more refined. [Nov 2005, p.96]

A better-looking, better-playing Burnout, which is never a bad thing. [Nov 2005, p.72]

Regeneration dumps the mass deadite attacks of "Fistful of Boomstick" in favor of a fairly balanced action-puzzle approach, nicly snapy control, and decent level designs. [Nov 2005, p.94]

The best urban brawler sine "Def Jam." [Nov 2005, p.86]

The all-important sense of speed - something "Burnout 3" had in spades - feels slower. [Nov 2005, p.98]

Plays better than the last Scooby game, but it's still far from prime time. [Nov 2005, p.84]

The problem is that the controls are just plain unusable. [Nov 2005, p.96]

The infractions don't warrant a major, but they are double minor material, led by goalie AI that can't cope with wraparound shots. [Nov 2005, p.92]

The only thing that keeps One Piece from being a must-buy is that it needs more game modes (online, survival, team battle, etc.) [Nov 2005, p.88]

Maybe with better graphics and gameplay, Lockdown would have stolen some of "Ghost Recon's" thunder. As it stands, it's a notch dumber, and a notch less fun, an average urban shooter plays FAR better when your opponents are human. [Oct 2005, p.82]

Skating, controls, and even star players with star moves all make it very obvious that the inspiration for this year's hockey sim came from ["NHL 94"], the legendary dozen-year-old iteration of the series. [Sept 2005, p.81]

Radiata's core charm is hidden under too many layers of lightweight chatter and too little real substance. [Dec 2005, p.104]

The graphics are pretty awful. This is cheap, but not cheap enough. [Dec 2005, p.110]

06 earns a lone caution flag: the sense of speed is still stuck in Sunday-driver gear. If EA fixes that and pretties up the graphics a bit more (though the framerate has improved notably), NASCAR 07 will be something really special. [Oct 2005, p.91]

The graphics are obviously dated, but accurate, and the audio is fantastic. [Nov 2005, p.90]

The key is that weird dancing mat. It enables the choreographers to more precisely guide your path from arrow to another - it's about movement arcs, not connect the dots. [Oct 2005, p.88]

Problem is, the gameplay is about as deep as your average bottle cap, with tiny, tiny movie lists and not much character balance. [Nov 2005, p.82]

If you've got a buddy that'll get your back, 187 is a sweet ride. [Nov 2005, p.86]

Underneath the goofy, low-brow humor is a wide load of too-sedatedly paced driving and surprisingly thin gameplay. [Oct 2005, p.55]

Ultimate Destruction falls a bit short..., but still gets the "Hulk Smash!" thing down surprisingly well. [Sept 2005, p.76]

There's still just not enough incentive to repeatedly play through the game. [Oct 2005, p.90]

True, it's costly at $40, and control isn't quite dead-on - those old four-way joysticks are hard to emulate - but most everything else is. [Nov 2005, p.96]

Solid and polished enough to please most enthusiasts and supernatural violence. The plot is nearly D.O.A., but we can forgive it. This game is fun. [Sept 2005, p.74]

We love its potential, but wish for more depth. However, SCEE is making baby steps i nthe right direction. [Sept 2005, p.81]

It's not impossibly hard, but easily frustrated, weak sauce gamers may want to try before they buy. Still, Death Jr. has a great style, and the characters have a lot of personality, so even with its flaws, it's definitely worth playing. [Sept 2005, p.82]

But the real highlights in Madden 06 are on the field. For starters, the new "QB Vision" feature is simply fantastic. Even for long-time Madden fans, the ability to focus the quarterback's attention on certain receivers or parts of the field adds a ton to the gameplay. [Sept 2005]

Graphics are average, and the physics are impressive, though load times are excruciatingly long. [Dec 2005, p.108]

Unique, crazy deep and charming, and the head-to-head mode can keep you going for a very long time. [May 2005, p.73]

A plain vanilla shooter dressed in authentic-smelling military gear. [Nov 2005, p.94]

Worst of all, the gameplay is annoying, with shabby controls and an oddly high difficulty curve. [Oct 2005, p.92]

An original, addictive, hilarious role-playing experience. Play this! [Oct 2005, p.93]

There's just not enough variety or excitement for Colosseum to fight off an eventual feeling of drudgery. [Sept 2005, p.79]

Calling Flipnic a pinball game is a lot like calling "Grand Theft Auto" a game where you steal cars - it just doesn't convey the breadth and variety of the gameplay. [Aug 2005, p.83]

Undeniably fun and seriously pretty - it's just not as polished as a AAA game like "Burnout." [Aug 2005, p.82]

Everything feels less sluggish - including the combat, which integrates the alchemy better than before. Plus, the graphics got a bit of an upgrade, too. [Oct 2005, p.94]

NCAA Football 06 gets absolutely everything right, even the trophy girlfriend. [Aug 2005, p.80]

The surreal visuals occasionally impress and the voice acting is fair (no Depp though), but there's too little fun. [Oct 2005, p.94]

A playable work of art and is packed with wonderfully surreal moments. [Aug 2005, p.76]

Feels a lot clunkier than your average PC FPS. [Aug 2005, p.84]