Despite its obvious beautifully ugly characters and detailed courts, this Volleyball barely clears the net. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.99]

Pirates is a kick - swift and painful - to the gonads for all who've claimed the Xbox is no PC... This is a junky PC game waiting to be patched. It should be made to walk the plank. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.90]

Something that's competent, but nonetheless the racing-game equivalent of shaved, unflavored ice served in a wooden bowl. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.87]

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

With no map to guide you, these missions are as much fun as trying to solve a Rubik's Cube in the dark. [Aug 2003, p.86]

There's not a lot to Big Mutha Truckers, and what exists is forgettable.[Aug 2003, p.81]

This is as stock and uninteresting as it gets, nothing more than the staple prescripted key/switch hunt you've already seen 100 times. [Aug 2003, p.77]

Movement from left to right is way too slow, which screws up everything. It takes three full seconds to turn 180 degrees, so death is guaranteed in cramped quarters. [Aug 2003, p.85]

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

This is a fistful of something, all right. And it's not to be stepped in, taken internally, or flung at humans. [Aug 2003, p.81]

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

While Club II foes raise the bar for arcade-style racing, it falters in the audio department. [Aug 2003, p.76]

A passable motorcycle racer with decent track design, a solid framerate and a healthy sense of speed. But it's hard to recommend when it coexists with the superior-in-every-way "MotoGP 2." [Aug 2003, p.85]

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]

There's very little rhyme or reason to any of the proceedings, but Roar is still king of fun. [Aug 2003, p.81]

Realism aside, what puts MotoGP 2 over the top is its seamless Xbox Live integration, pitting 16 players together in an online free-for-all. [June-July 2003, p.89]

IP 2003 is not the worst Xbox game ever developed, but it is certainly the worst Xbox baseball game. [June-July 2003, p.93]

Fails dramatically... Severe, fundamental flaws permeate the experience, ranging from wince-inducing run-cycle animations to sloppy, unrefined controls. [Aug 2003, p.78]

Surprisingly fun. [Aug 2003, p.87]

On the strength of its online options, Wolfenstein's multiplayer is on par with the best on the Xbox. [June-July 2003, p.86]

Metro3D should invest in one more stake, but it should be one of the wooden variety and plunged directly into the heart of this monstrosity. [Aug 2003, p.89]

In terms of pure adrenaline and graphical splendor, there isn't a racer out there that can stack up against Burnout 2. [June-July 2003, p.88]

The thrill of driving classic Lotus cars is obliterated by its unresponsive handling. [April/May 2003, p.93]

Deliriously frenetic and expertly calibrated. [June-July, 2003, p.82]

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]

This is so far from fun it might be made of an entirely new substance: antifun. [Apr/May 2003, p.92]

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

A decent story and some excellent stealth-based play prevent Revenge from sinking head-long into a hole of suck. [June-July 2003, p.95]

One in the search of an online, cooperative console experience would be hard-pressed to find a more gratifying solution than this. [June-July 2003, p.84]

Forget the wonky camera and intermittent sputters when a new room loads - hell awaits, and it's genuinely desirable. [Apr 2003, p.93]

With little here to massage the mind or engage the heart, Red Faction II becomes nothing more than a linear on-rails twitch-fest. [June-July 2003, p.92]

A Scenario mode provides enough challenge to kill a whole weekend, and drivers can opt to play one of two distinct clans, each with its own furiously branching storyline. [Aug 2003, p.87]

A stale and astoundingly pixelated port of a two-year-old Dreamcast game. [Fall 2002, p.121]

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]

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

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]

Wall your Sim in a doorless room with no food or toilet facilities, and watch her whiz on the floor. [June-July 2003, p.90]

At a very basic level, this is a competent racer in desperate need of a better interface and better A.I. [June-July 2003, p.94]

Ultimately, the game's strict adherence to realism trips it up. [June-July 2003, p.95]

Seems to have sprung up from the sharp minds of bored high school students who probably spent too much time playing "Gauntlet." [Winter 2002, p.109]

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

Dark Tomorrow is, in a word, abigheapingpileoffeces. It's sloppy, scattered, and illustrates the word "janky" better than any dictionary definition ever could. [June-July 2003, p.91]

Trite and laughably cliched in screenshots, Tao Feng simply falls apart in motion. [Apr/May 2003, p.82]

It's baseball done for the mindless MTV generation, and it smells like a turd polished to a high gloss. [Aug 2003, p.88]

Breathtakingly good when it comes to stadium detail, batting stances, facial expressions, facial expressions and the like, [but] the game lacks an essential bit of realism that keeps it from elite status. [Apr/May 2003, p.90]

Last year I called "World Series Baseball" the Mona Lisa of video baseball. This time around, it's even better. [Apr/May 2003, p.88]

It's clear that the good people who made this game are baseball enthusiasts, and that's important. [Apr/May 2003, p.89]

Although the game's controls remain its biggest hurdle, Murakumo does have its moments, mostly due to its graphics. [Apr 2003, p.91]

If you're looking for a flawlessly executed version of one of the coolest motor sports on earth, this is well worth checking out. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.85]

It's not that it's inherently a racist game; rather, it simply wields its satire with such a lack of grace and humor that it's difficult to rally behind the attempt. [Apr/May 2003, p.86]

Sadly, however, not even the best Indy console game necessarily makes for a great Xbox title. [Apr 2003, p.80]

Give Acclaim credit: One year after releasing the crappy "All-Star Baseball 2003," the company has come back strong with an even crappier All-Star Baseball 2004. [Apr/May 2003, p.90]

The graphics are lush, the sense of speed is breathtaking. [Apr 2003, p.87]

For all the back story given, the story should be a bit more compelling but isn't. [Apr 2003, p.91]

Sadly, performance was spotty thanks to ever-depressing and intermittent network lag. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.83]

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

No matter how easy it is to do, kicking someone off his four-wheeler never stops being satisfying. [Apr/May 2003, p.93]

A nice balance of action and strategy, as well as a remarkable technical achievement. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.78]

The most beautiful shooter we've ever played. In fact, it's a work of art. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.74]

Pulse's worst crime isn't even that it looks hideous (both technically and artistically); the real sin here is its lack of feel. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.88]

Everything in Two Towers - from the rich, lush environments to the lovingly rendered boss monsters - comes impressively close to matching its cinematic counterpart. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.76]

At best, Pop is "Bust-A-Move" in 3D, but with useless power-ups and poor visibility on the moving 3D board. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.89]

Beautiful and challenging... A twisting, turning plot tops off the meal and this Sea, simply, demands to be bathed in. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.82]

"Diablo" without the story, characters to converse or interact with, variety in graphics or, well, fun. It's just a tired, slow trudge through 10 levels of a dungeon you really have no motivation to enter in the first place. [Winter 2002, p.108]

Does a decent job dealing with odd 3D camera angles for its 2D-styled gameplay. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.89]

Marginally better than the last. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.84]

Stupid A.I. ensures that computer-controlled fighters will ignore the grapplers they've supposedly developed a hate for, and stand idly by while pins are being made. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.89]

While "NBA 2K3" is a tighter (and perhaps better) game from top to bottom, it doesn't have the same energy, rabid fanbase, or guts as NCAA. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.86]

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

Let's just say that the only way to ruin a party quicker than loading up Shrek Super Party is to load up "Nickelodeon Party Blast." Stay away!

It is the scariest survival horror title to date... We would like to forgive its unsatisfying combat and puzzles, but we cannot. [Winter 2002, p.93]

The best mech simulator ever made, embarrassing even de facto favorites like the "Mechwarrior" series on the PC. [Winter 2002, p.86]

Any person who has not played it is, in some subtle way, morally superior to anyone who has. Now, a solemn pact: Let us never speak of SeaBlade again. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.87]

Superfly's physics are unpredictable and frustrating. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.88]

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]

[Cameron's] going to want to dump every copy of this interactive embarrassment bearing his name into a cold, harsh place that never sees the light of day. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.89]

Joins the ranks of rushed movie-to-game conversions, with drab visuals, repetitive gameplay, and a lack of style. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.85]

Where the game fails, and fails miserably, is with its choice of enemies and challenges. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.86]

Gross-out style low brow comedy is all it can bank on when you take all of this game's design flaws into consideration. [Winter 2002, p.107]

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]

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]

Bottom line, the game is solid - it's very challenging, great to look at, and very different from its peers. [Winter 2002, p.97]

The graphics are damn fine, with richly detailed environments, a speedy framerate, and accurately modeled polygonal ladies providing splendid eye candy. [Winter 2002, p.89]

Rage has perfectly captured the flavor of the boxing in the Rocky films, and by this we mean there is no pugilism to be found. [Winter 2002, p.107]

It's somewhat ironic that Cell's Clancy-approved storyline is the game's weakest point; instead of propelling the player towards a heady climax, Cell's plot putts along leisurely, lacking a narrative hook or an engaging protagonist to keep us amused. [Winter 2002, p.82]

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

Here's some of the stuff you will not laugh at: dogs fornicating, bird poop, aliens anally impaled. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.81]

Despite little replay value, Chamber nonetheless provides a gratifying ride. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.84]

Perhaps the most exciting alteration in gameplay is a ball that's no longer glued to your boot. [Winter 2002, p.108]

It borrows so heavily from significantly better racing games (especially "SSX: Tricky"), and will probably just remind you you should be playing them instead. [Apr/May 2003, p.92]

KC's four-player mode...is essentially the equivalent of a Yugo with a top-of-the-line 100-disc CD changer and 5.1 surround sound speaker setup. That is, it's useless. [Feb/Mar 2003, p.80]

Although it's by no means a cakewalk, Ghost's single-player campaign works as sort of a live fire exercise for the real deal on Xbox Live. [Winter 2002, p.101]

It won't blow your mind, but it's a solid showcase for online console gaming. [Winter 2002, p.93]

Visually, Sam looks only decent, and slowdown creeps into play from time to time. You've seen better. [Winter 2002, p.106]

Levels look dazzling, but the actual tasks you must accomplish in them are often so contrived that all the realism fades away. [Winter 2002, p.101]

Ruthlessly hunting down other mechs in Stealth mode becomes the favored approach in the heat of battle, and makes for amazingly fun, intense gameplay. [Winter 2002, p.96]