An eye-catching and compelling shoot-em-up with interesting characters and themes, Yager's hard to pass up at $20. [Oct 2004, p.97]

Capcom also wrecked the balance of the gameplay, making it a much more frustrating affair. [Spring 2002, p.86]

The recipe for the game's winning formula is twofold: the brilliant water physics and the dynamics of rope play. [Aug 2003, p.77]

It looks great, runs smoothly, and is certainly polished. The closest thing to an issue is the trick system. [Mar 2004, p.90]

There is very little here that we would describe as new, original, or subtle. [Jan 2002, p.76]

Controlling Kyle in the lightsaber mode (which is in the third-person, not first like the rest of the game) is somewhat of a pain with the clunky Xbox pad. [Winter 2002, p.106]

Pro Race Driver's saving grace is found in the application of Codemaster's acclaimed TOCA racing engine. [June-July 2003, p.92]

It's realism in terms of actual gameplay that NCAA 2K3 lacks. [Fall 2002, p.117]

The on-foot play mechanic and the expanded story mode stand as the game's weakest elements. [Mar 2004, p.85]

It's all so well written, acted, and directed that such seemingly unfunny lines as "Are those my Funyuns?" will make you laugh as hard as any comedy you've seen this year could. [Dec 2004, p.96]

Of all the anouncers in the world, ESPN utilizes the unfailingly annoying Kevin Frazier. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.84]

Elementary use of math reveals that a mediocre Sphinx game combined with an excellent Cursed Mummy game averages out to a very solid and enjoyable Sphinx/Mummy hybrid. [Mar 2004, p.91]

To describe the series of menus used here as "labyrinthine" would be to horribly oversimplify labyrinths. [Winter 2002, p.102]

The new formula succeeds partially, but football maniacs are advised to look elsewhere for a more satisfying gridiron experience. [Mar 2004, p.80]

An above-average brawler and can certainly provide entertainment when consumed in short spurts, but it simply lacks the sophistication to become a contender of the fighting-game throne. [Dec 2004, p.80]

Rarely has so much sheer brilliance been nestled side-by-side with such absolute tedium and badly conceived gameplay, along with wild shifts in tone guaranteed to make your head spin. [Winter 2002, p.88]

If you value treat gameplay and major challenge over eye candy, Series may be the racer you're looking for. [Aug 2003, p.89]

Feels like a shiny new version of "Crazy Taxi," only this time, infinitely less deep. [Aug 2003, p.80]

The twisty story is compelling enough to pull you through the game like a rabbit tied to a rush-hour train. [Mar 2004, p.92]

Seems that the payers are a bit sluggish this time around..., and you never seem to be in quite as tight control as you’d like to be. [Jan 2002, p.84]

While it may not be the deepest around, FIFA is just plain fun. [Summer 2002, p.92]

Shock value only takes the game so far, though. What really keeps you playing to the end is Punisher's scribe Garth Ennis' excellent script. [Feb 2005, p.88]

Unless you have some pals to play with, Hitz will wear out its welcome due to a lack of strategic depth. [Winter 2002, p.105]

For motorcycle masochists out there, it's a chance to create spectacular crashes involving helicopters, biplanes, and trucks. [Apr 2004, p.82]

The web-slinging parts of the game are brilliantly done...Yet on the ground, the game looks and feels remarkably ugly. [Sept 2004, p.94]

None of the games runs in full-screen mode on Xbox, while the GameCube versions are identical to the 16-bit originals. [Jan 2005, p.98]

Like a supermodel who's missing a leg - beautiful, but not entirely functional on the catwalk. [Oct 2004, p.94]

Visually, it recalls the graphical prowess of a Super Nintendo title, while the game's total lack of system link and Xbox Live multiplayer flies in the face of Xbox doctrine. [Jan 2005, p.88]

This sequel closes its single-player chapter with a whimper. [Jan 2005, p.94]

Simply an unassuming, solid, and well-executed platformer. [Jan 2005, p.91]

The camera itself functions as a de facto enemy -- and possibly the deadliest one of them all. [Summer 2002, p.82]

Hopping is very big on Zack island, a magical place where sense has yet to arrive. [Apr 2003, p.78]

It's an RTS that's about 25 percent less filling, and if it doesn't taste entirely great, it's still pretty darn yummy.

Mototrax offers an almost visceral appeal - you can really feel the bike moving under you. [June 2004, p.86]

The combination of solid graphics, cooperative play, and an established format works well here, and Sin Tzu is nothing if not a fun third-person beat-em-up. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.87]

Even with all these attempts at variety, there's not much different in any of the modes compared with a typical two-player game. You're just seeing who can match the steps better. [Dec 2004, p.88]

As a "Zoo Tycoon" clone, Operation Genesis isn't at all bad, but the fact that it's merely a "Zoo Tycoon" clone is sufficient enough criticism. [Apr/May 2003, p.93]

The major malfunction here: busted level design. Many missions suffer from unclear objectives or load you up with tiresome chores - such as seven minutes of formation flight - only to have you repeat these tasks ad nauseam if you foul up. [Mar 2004, p.79]

The animation transitions are sloppy, and the A.I. is lacking on both sides of the ball. The controls are simply too slow to respond to your input, as well. [Winter 2002, p.99]

This nuts multiplayer "party game" is, happily, something of a treat. That said, shun solo mode like the plague. [Jan 2002, p.96]

Four player frantic multiplayer options are topped off by a tremendous Conquest mode in which players form teams and must fight to destroy each other's bases. [June-July 2003, p.94]

Perhaps the most creatively bankrupt fun game ever made. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.95]

Very little about the game stands out. The graphics are relatively bland, and there's no real sense of speed while driving. [Fall 2002, p.120]

Treads no new ground, but neither does it degrade into a sanguine mess. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.93]

If one member of the team can handle the game's hot spots, Shrek 2 could definitely gratify little children. [July 2004, p.89]

Even with all the problems, Sudeki is still worth your time. It's not the best RPG it could have been - Climax needs better writers, that's for sure (especially concerning dialogue and character motivation) - but it gives you a big, pretty, and at times smartly designed world to explore. [Sept 2004, p.92]

Blowout's dialogue and overall production value are sufficiently self-aware so that they're oddly amusing. [Mar 2004, p.98]

But even when the game's action gets all John J. Rambo, the A.I. remains more like Gomer Pyle. [Dec 2004, p.95]

Like its predecessor, Redeemer shines brightest when played with friends. Lonely players, on the other hand, draw the short straw yet again, and are left with little more than a shallow button masher, though the allure of the license may help ease any gameplay pangs.

Transworld Snowboarding is the girl who always shows up in the teen movies. She's the ugly one who's revealed to be a hottie once the pretty boy du jour spends some time with her. [Winter 2002, p.97]

It's just too bad that for every step forward Midway takes with Alliance, it takes two steps back with sloppy gameplay, cheesy, ridiculously gory visuals, and some truly soulless character design. [Winter 2002, p.89]

There's a hell of a lot of content, with the three available characters having distinct missions with several enemy layouts. [May 2004, p.89]

Redshift's well-honed action and lofty technical ambition are let down by a repetitive and dated no-progress-for-second-place structure, overly familiar mechanics, and conspicuous lack of style. [Winter 2002, p.95]

As ugly as a Tim Wakefield knuckleball. [Spring 2002, p.91]

As a game, it's safe and absolutely unambitious. [Jan 2005, p.96]

Strip away the sombrerors, spurs, and signature Rockstar sass, and what's left is an average third-person shoot-em-up some gallons shy of a full 10-gallon hat. [July 2004, p.84]

If there's a mediocre idea to be had, chances are Crash has burgled it. [Summer 2002, p.91]

Riding feels "real"... In short, Barbie's first foray onto Xbox is not a stinker. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.100]

Easily eclipsed by its competition. [Mar 2004, p.101]

The game sinks in the perilous minefield that is RTS convention and its de rigueur level design. [Aug 2003, p.84]

Disappointingly uninspired. [Jan 2002, p.94]

Features some of the most flaccid enemy designs seen in a long while. [Aug 2003, p.74]

The game does an excellent job of keeping the tension high with plenty of on-screen baddies to pummel. [Aug 2003, p.82]

As good as wrestling gets on the Xbox. [Fall 2002, p.121]

The sweat-while-you-play intensity just isn't there. [Jan 2005, p.92]

The sheer number and monotony of the challenges, however, gets boring at times. [Jan 2002, p.88]

While fans will appreciate the faithful renditions of classic Euro circuits such as Silverstone, Hockenheim, and Monza, having more to choose from, as always, would have been better. [Winter 2002, p.109]

Despite the much-hated "catch up" feature, Hitz kept us glued. Better than "Blitz" we say. [Jan 2002, p.88]

Don't bother with the single-player mission-based mode, however, as the chunks it blows are considerably oversized. [June-July 2003, p.93]

Surprisingly fun. [Aug 2003, p.87]

Flawed but solidly fun, deep as a dime, and airy as a zeppelin. [Summer 2002, p.93]

As an arcade racer set in the rally universe, this ain't half bad. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.87]

If you love Harry Potter, don't mind that characters talk and whine incessantly, and would like to see Hermione push around an ice block over and over again, Azkaban is good for a few hours of fun. [Aug 2004, p.94]

Yep, this is basically a rehash of last year's Chamber of Secrets game for Playstation, with similar visuals, controls, and combat. [Mar 2004, p.82]

It's the brawling gameplay dragging things down. [Jan 2005, p.88]

The AI in Inside Drive is AWOL. [Spring 2002, p.91]

To the point: It's bowling, it's fun, it's $20. 'Nuff said. [Apr 2004, p.91]

As for the learning curve: think of this game as "Splinter Cell for Dummies." [Mar 2004, p.79]

No matter how many coats of polish they put on it, this is still the same game that's been around since Mikhail Gorbachev ruled the Soviet Union. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.87]

The sort of game that you objectively know is as mediocre as all the rest, but has a certain inexplicable charm that makes the game impossible to hate... The best Nicktoons game for Xbox. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.100]

Environments are often so big Van Helsing and an antagonist do not appear onscreen together. [July 2004, p.92]

Unbridled rage, piss and vinegar, diminutive features, and cool quips ("The steel is cold, yes!") add up to make Ninja a genuinely likable figure starring in a game that's not as good as it should be, nor as bad as one might fear. [Mar 2004, p.86]

The True Crime universe feels emotionally and psychologically barren - and, therefore, inconsequential. [Mar 2004, p.76]

Dreams is just a by-the-numbers platformer, albeit a genuinely funny oe. [Dec 2004, p.89]

The solid control and pretty grapihcs don't make up for the relatively bland stages and extremely short length. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.100]

The player has a choice. Doe she coax out Contracts' subtlety, or coes he play essentially the smae game he's been playing for two decades? The first option may have him tearing his hair out. [June 2004, p.90]

It’s fresh that you don’t have to search for stuff to hit, but not-so-fresh that you have to wrestle with sluggish controls in order to do it. [Jan 2002, p.94]

The problem with High Roller is that, despite the addition of the new course, the game plays almost identically to the original. [Fall 2002, p.116]

These bright spots don't really offset the repetitive, frustrating, and sometimes just plain dull parts. [Apr 2003, p.84]

A mediocre-looking strategy game with amazing depth and gameplay value - a decent enough ride to be sure, and maybe even worth the $30 price of admission. [Aug 2003, p.89]

Rayne has been designed by sexiness experts and dropped into a game that features all the erotic appeal of Rosie O'Donnell scarfing down Canadian ham at an all-you-can-eat buffet. [Winter 2002, p.108]

Just another decent, 10-hour-long hop-n-bop to add to the pile. [May 2004, p.91]

Blood Wake versus donuts. Point goes to donuts. Duh. [Spring 2002, p.93]

Valkyrie's controls are so klunky...it feels worse than just awkward, it literally hurts to play Valkyrie for more than a couple hours at a time. [Spring 2002, p.82]

Even seasoned gamers will have to replay Blinx's tougher levels dozens of times before succeeding... but replaying Blinx's levels more than a few times is just plain boring. [Winter 2002, p.90]

Brawls eschew any sort of skill and are won by the pugilist who lands the most punches in the least amount of time. [Summer 2002, p.92]

The main problems with Fireblade are its boring weapon loadout and repetitive "kill everything" challenges. [Aug 2003, p.87]

Trying out different lures - more than 700 are available by the end of the game - and searching for the best fishing spots is incredibly addictive. [Nov 2004, p.101]