I had the lowest expectations when I booted-up "Sarge's Heroes 2" on my PSOne, only to be pleasently surprised that it actually looks and plays like someone at 3DO put love and heart into creating it.

Solid and consistent. If you loved 4 then you're almost certain to love 5. On the other hand if you've always hated Megaman then move on as this is truly more of the same.

That's the best part about this game -- it's easy to just pick up and play.

Fans will love its cruelty toward the good guys, but newcomers will want to rent to see if its reliance on "Tomba"-like skill collecting and fishing carry it over its rough spots.

It's a great multiplayer game for parties, especially with those non-gamer types.

If you own the Dreamcast version of this game consider yourself lucky and treasure it, because this PSOne port is an adequate but ugly and muffled-sounding facsimile of the genuine article.

It's not one of those blockbuster games that everyone must have but it is a somewhat original take on a genre that continues to provide fun and entertainment.

It does enough things right to merit the attention of the few gamers still willing to put up with 32-bit "RE" gameplay (circa 1996) in the year 2001.

Unless you have a personal connection with any of its 28 songs though, this DDR is best left for gamers that don’t know any better. [12/31/02]

A worthy game for first person shooter fans and joins Alien Resurrection in that second tier of FPS's worth considering.

It'll take more than pretty pictures to get me excited again about playing with virtual plastic toys in make-believe green choppers.

It has enough gameplay modes to last a while, plus the pitching/batting mechanisms are variable enough to make the pitcher/batter duels a little bit unpredictable.

It manages to bring about a TV Style presentation that has been missing from other NASCAR games as well as a variety of fun modes. NASCAR fans should certainly check his sleeper hit out.

A nice new fighting type game that is unique and entertaining.

In the end "X-men" is well done with many good ideas that plays just a bit too stiff for my liking.

It's this inflexibility to allow for player experimentation that keeps "Sheep Raider" into the realm of very good PSOne game, instead of the near-classic status.

989 Sport's MLB 2002 continues the tradition of Deja Vu with an aging foundation that is still fun to play.

A stripped-down rehash of the excellent "FIFA 2002."

Offers enough “Zelda”-type gameplay and production values to make it a PSOne standout.

The magic of the revert comes through despite the graphical flaws.

Worth renting, but not owning unless you're a diehard fan of the movie.

One of the few PSX racers worth paying top dollar for these days if you love the sport (and don't have access to a Nintendo 64).

Fans of previous Metal Gear stealth adventures will have to adjust their tolerance level to ‘HIGH’ to deal with MGA’s insanely hard and complex new turn-based card system.

Being the only 32-bit baseball title with up-to-date rosters, however, doesn’t mean a heck of a lot when everything else looks like the rehashed and barely-improved years-old product that this title actually is.

The one-two punch of this brawler and "Metal Slug X" has finally brought a smile to the faces of SNK fans still morning the loss of the NeoGeo Pocket.

With an innovative robot customization feature not seen since Armored Core and a solid fighting engine to boot, this little game that could shows up swinging.

It's great in small doses but may wear a bit thin when taking double shots.

Easily the best console Simpsons game ever. Considering that the lot it’s in is comprised primarily of crap that isn’t surprising but the fact that I like this game better than Crazy Taxi might be.

How willing you are to invest time and effort into mastering Guilty Gear X2’s intimidating (and deep) list of moves and potential combos will determine whether this will be a casual distraction or your next obsession.

A good choice for the casual baseball gamer who focuses more on multiplayer and online versus solid deep franchise play.

While I prefer the multiplayer, and will continue to play it for quite a while, the single player game became a bit too monotonous for my liking in the end.

An RPG geared for the hardest of the hardcore RPG fanatic.

If you are a hard core gamer, but a lousy button masher (no-not an oxymoron) you will have a sucky time. That's as fair as I can be as non-masher.

Easily the best NCAA basketball game in ages.

The eye-candy quota is attractive enough to make this a must-own for rally racing nuts (like yours truly), but “V-Rally 3” still holds on to its title as the best racing game of its kind on PS2 (and XBox as well).

Enjoy Grandia II for its appealing characters, interesting story, 30+ hour length and the best active-time battle engine in the business.

Other than the VHS-quality bonus videos with the developers and the absence of "Moon Patrol" and "Stun Runner" this is Midway’s best compilation of classic videogames to date.

Every single kung-fu move that I had hoped I could perform, I can. Every single slow motion cinematic I had hoped would be present, certainly is. And every single story detail I could have hoped for is present and accounted for.

Just don’t expect to like Samurai Warriors if you’ve had your fill of (or never liked) "Dynasty Warriors".

The visuals are a little dated but everything else about this package screams ‘class act.’

If Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne does anything right, it's the game's uncanny ability to show rebellious and confused teenagers across the globe just how cool the devil really is.

A wonderful mix of ironic humor, classic gameplay and gorgeous graphics.

While the single-player modes are merely OK is in its multiplayer and online modes that this third Offroad Fury game earns its worth.

The fielding, hitting and baserunning still play second-fiddle to the intimidating pitcher interface though.

It delivers on all pistons with plenty to keep gamers playing for months.

How to put it politely? The music in Silhouette Mirage is utter and insanely crappy j-pop tunes that got stuck in my head in the worst possible way (headache!), almost tempting me to switch the TV's split-screen to get access to the audio of an annoying high-pitch sound of a test pattern in progress.

"Goldeneye" fans looking for another adventure probably won't have too good of a time with this one since it needs more than one person to truly shine.

Although it's a bit on the short side with only 11 missions and a tutorial mode, there are multiple ways to go about doing things which offers up some pretty hefty replay value.

A really nice mix of "Powerstone" and "Rampage."

Music has never sounded better than MTV Music Generator 2 which pleases us. Do yourself a favor and expand your own horizon by giving this a try.

The ill-advised addition of needlessly graphic displays of violence, backtracking galore and contemporary music/voices take attention away from Warrior Within's excellent new combat maneuvers, still-outstanding environmental puzzles and lengthier quest. The PS2 version is also saddled with periodic bouts of slowdown and no online support whatsoever (sigh!).

If they can continue this pattern we just might have the best soccer game next year.

Unapologetic about being old-school hard... It’s a rude awakening to how soft and cuddled the masses have become toward games that demand as much from them as they do from the game-makers.

What Bam!'s 2001 release "Driven" should have, but wasn't: a good racing engine tied to an unfolding story.

From graphics to cool weapons, and from in-depth online multiplayer options galore to the choice of using stealth or brawn to complete missions, Crystal Dynamics’ FPS shooter is just what the doctor ordered for the genre-deficient PS2.

Less-than-impressive graphics and underwhelming sound aside, we cannot help but recommend highly Le Mans 24 Hours to the simulation driving fans out there that are done (or stumped) completing "GT3: A-Spec".

Cel shading has never been as underplayed and better used in a PS2 game as in this one, and even the English dub and J-pop tunes fit like a glove with The 2nd Runner's anime-inspired universe.

Let's just hope that everyone goes back to the drawing board on PlayStation 2, and bring to the fans the ultimate and ORIGINAL "SW" experience they were denied on the 32-bit era.

Speaking of gameplay this is where the title just can't manage to break out from the norm. What we needed here was something full of new ideas, not just a revolution of the ideas already given in previous games.

If you can live without its busted online brawls and missing wrestlers but love WWE matches then Smackdown! Vs. Raw is worth the fifty bucks.

Good graphics, solid controls, decent sound (including purposefully-campy English dialogue) and mucho replayability (especially from its two-player mode) make Wrath of Heaven the best Tenchu game of the trilogy.

It can be really fun when the wonky camera and the troublesome lock-on control don’t get in the way, but once the ride’s over there’s no incentive to go back (i.e. no multiplayer mode).

Much like the original "Legacy of Kain," this title's quest mode has a really cool, creepy story that kept me wanting to see more and more as I took my little demoness through.

It allows anyone to be a kid all over again and create some imaginary world where everything is to your liking, the place where you would really like to go and have fun.

Fast, slick, pretty and still fun despite only being related to the original “WipeOut” series by name, “Fusion” is as good as off-line futuristic racing can feel and play on the PS2 right now.

Other than the voices though, the rest of the audio package in "Legends 2" is just vanilla-plain decent.

With its mix of "Dynasty Warriors" gameplay, "Starship Troopers"-type setting (complete with umpteen million giant bugs to kill) and interesting characters Crimson Sea 2 is an above-average hack-and-slash adventure.

From fantastic special effects to authentic (though recycled) voices/music from the TV show, and from new useful moves (teleportation!) to a keen balance between overkill and authenticity to its source material in the graphics, this is it.

Lacks soul or a reason for being other than cashing on a popular trend. Black Box’s follow-up to "NFS: Hot Pursuit 2" goes through its racing, style, licensing and online motions with a mechanical predictability that wasn’t present in either "Burnout 2" or "Midnight Club II." It’s still a top-notch arcade racer, but there’s definite room for both improvement.

One tough mother through and through. It's a simpler, tighter, better-paced and more addictive old-school side-scroller adventure than 1997's "Symphony of the Night."

Delivers the goods big time despite not delivering the ‘Revolution’ its title promises.

A solid, safe and hard-as-hell choice for all your snowboarding needs.

Its graphics and sounds play second fiddle to "GTA: Vice City," but True Crime's excellent incorporation of skill acquisition via the 24/7 training facilities, multi-layered mission objectives (some required, some random) and decent one-on-one fights give its gameplay an identity of its own.

Control is dead-on perfect, and the gameplay is so polished and fun that it compensates for the somewhat lackluster graphics/sounds and the absence of customizable options.

The enhanced visual eye-candy (prettier explosions you won’t find on another light gun game, PS2 or otherwise) and solid frame-rate more than compensate for the now-grating voices and repetitive music that share speaker space with some pretty cool shotgun blasts.

Too bad the lack of variety in the design of the mostly-barren levels, idiotic enemy AI, unrelenting CPU bots and distractingly awful soundtrack (my opinion) diminish somewhat the impact of the best FPS to appear on PS2 in ages.

Scores major points with its new graphics engine (gorgeous), two-man commentary (perfect) and revamped pitcher/batter interfaces (serviceable).

This is hack n slash how it should be. Furious four player action that lets users bang away for hours on hordes of uniquely designed monsters.

Points off for the annoying sound package and the use of cheap ‘rubber band’ CPU A.I. to keep the races competitive... A rewarding experience. Best EA Big title to date, hands down.

A few small issues (empty transition levels, 'jumpy' camera, 8-10 hr. length, etc.) can't put a dampen on the thrill of finally experiencing a "Castlevania" adventure violent-enough to earn a 'MATURE' rating.

A deeper, more challenging and ultimately more rewarding driving experience than "Auto Modellista” (PS2) or “Apex” (XBox).

It's far for perfect, but Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2 is the best tennis game to come out for PS2 to date.

Zeke is a cool character and the gameplay is enjoyable enough for a good weekend of gameplay.

While Spider-Man for the PS2 has its fair share of faults, it simply does so many things right, that you can't help but be sucked in by the experience.

Highly recommended IF you’re old-enough to afford waxing nostalgically about the good old Atari VCS days.

Absolutely the most fun you can have playing by yourself...For multiplayer look at Sega's excellent "NFL 2K1."

With tons of unlockable content, a unique cooperative play mode, a behind the scenes look at the making of the game, an excluisve music video from the band COLD, and an overall gameplay experience that will keep you coming back for more... what's not to love?

The game's only original feature, a morale meter that affects gameplay based on a player's on-the-field performance, comes across as a tacked-on gimmick.

Every now and then, a truly great game comes out. Viewtiful Joe isn't quite one of them, but it does a nice job of setting the stage for things to come (like the sequel, duh).

A masterpiece in it's genre. It's a shame its a genre that most casual players won't like.

The best installment in the series, with only a few minor issues keeping it below 3DO's stellar "High Heat Baseball 2003".

What Midway has done so well is to clearly give the gamer arrows and clear circles to help define each goal. Although you can really fly through the levels at top speeds, these help indicators really keep the game moving at a fun pace without making things frustrating.

EA’s decision to pander to casual gamers and non-golf fans with “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005” threatens to obliterate the reputation the series has built over the past three years as the console golf sim to beat.

For twenty bucks the consumer is getting one heck of a gameplay-soaked and nostalgia-inducing bag of goods with this CD-ROM.

There’s not much here that will entice replayability once the game’s numerous secrets have been uncovered.

Awesome combat and a beautiful set of landscapes to do it in put the beat ‘em up back on the road to recovery.

SSX is indeed BIG (thank you very much!), and one of the few games on PlayStation 2 worth its asking price in addictive, fun replayability.

By far the best espionage title available on any platform.