A fun weekend rental at most (alongside Activision’s port of “Wreckless”), the PS2 version of The Italian Job is left eating the dust of its cheaper and much more enjoyable PSOne counterpart from Rockstar.

The absence of the 2003 line-up of F1 racers/teams, needless ‘dumbing down’ of the prequel’s simulation aspects, average-at-best audio and superior PS2 product (namely Infogrames/Atari’s “Grad Prix Challenge”) bring Career Challenge’s worth down to rental status instead of must-own.

This has got to be THE WORST CONTROL IN THE HISTORY OF THIRD-PERSON ACTION GAMES.

Good graphics, a short quest (by “RE” standards), mediocre music/sounds and a permanent sense that you’re playing an action game that’s trying to be a “House of the Dead”-type shooter (or is it a light-gun shooter that’s trying to be survival horror adventure?) diminish Dead Aim’s appeal as it moves along.

From generic character designs to an underwhelming audio presentation (in a LucasArts game??!!), and from its close-to-unwatchable frame-rate choppiness to the endlessly boring fetch quests across Mars, RTX Red Rock is a laundry list of what NOT to put out on the crowded 3rd person action/adventure PS2 market these days.

The characters and monotonous visuals are dull, uninteresting and cliché (especially lead character Mace Griffin). And the absence of any multiplayer options severely hampers Bounty Hunter’s replayability in the long run.

I’d rather have root canal without anesthesia than to ever put myself through the pain that is playing this game any more than I had to already!

The repetitiveness of its gameplay, overt racist (and culturally bankrupt) attitude and lack of multiplayer options or rewards, however, sidelines THQ’s latest.

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.

Too bad the compromised level design, quirky collision detection (I can buy Nazi zombies roaming around, NOT Nazi zombies suspended in mid-air while roaming about) and absence of multiplayer modes make this version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein the one to skip.

Stick with "Burnout 2: Point of Impact” for all your risk-vs.-reward arcade racing needs, and leave Speed Kings for some other schmuck that doesn’t know any better to test-crash on his/her own.

With a little more pizzazz added to its robust simulation mode (dopey translated dialogue notwithstanding), the presentation of G1 Jockey 3 would have placed it on par with Tecmo’s horse sim.

Ubi Soft should be commended for not only being the first developer/publisher to appeal to a niche audience like console chess players, but to do it with a affordable quality product that can be enjoyed online just as much as offline with friends and family.

The destruction-oriented Hulk levels, killer graphics, good audio and a wealth of bonus goodies, however, make "The Hulk" a blast to complete.

From gameplay modes to bonus stuff and graphics, “IndyCar Series” is to the PS2 what “Flag 2 Flag” was to Dreamcast: a forgettable racing appetizer.

Utilizing VIS' State of Emergency engine, the game is simply a mind-numbing experience. While there are indeed positives to be found, they are vastly outweighed by the negatives.

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.

It might take place underwater and feature fish instead of flesh-and-bone characters (or furry one’s like “Monster Inc.’s” Sully), but gameplay in THQ’s first Disney Interactive title is as cookie cutter as the mold used by Traveller’s Tales to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Just as average, unremarkable and underwhelming as its predecessor where it counts: gameplay.

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).

Logan on a measured rampage and many hidden goodies (like our favorite mutant’s true comic book costume) can’t distract players long enough for them not to notice how bland the game’s environments are.

Packs enough personality and otaku-friendly sights/sounds to compensate somewhat for its mindless, button-mashing gameplay.

Polished online interface + incredible sense of speed (i.e. bikes out of hell!) + perfect arcade handling (wheelies anyone?) + plethora of modes to tinker with + no "GT3: A-Spec"-type customization or realistic physics = the best PS2 arcade racing ever made.

This is an above-average port that tries to compensate for its reduced difficulty and average visuals with minor improvements (new level, binoculars, etc.) that have dumbed-down the XBox version’s stealth-reliant gameplay a little bit.

This compilation’s been given enough bells and whistles (unlockable art gallery, redesigned interface, prettier graphics, remastered soundtracks, CG intermissions, etc.) to appeal to a whole new generation of gamers weaned on the series’ trademarked formula of turn-based battles and high-quality (for their time) production values.

A tongue-in-cheek and over-the-top brawler that conclusively proves wrestling games can be fun when gameplay and quality control take precedence over star power or licenses.

You’ll also likely be mad and happy that Tecmo added much needed new stuff while also butchering some aspects of its predecessor that should have never been touched.

Despite its steep learning curve and simplistic online races, offline Modellista’s Garage mode is perhaps the third-deepest Career-like mode I’ve ever experienced on a racing game (after "GT3: A-Spec’s" and "Sega GT 2002’s" for XBox).