Xbox Nation Magazine's Scores
- Games
For 548 reviews, this publication has graded:
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21% higher than the average critic
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1% same as the average critic
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78% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 15.5 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 59
| Highest review score: | Burnout 3: Takedown | |
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| Lowest review score: | The Guy Game |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 137 out of 548
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Mixed: 268 out of 548
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Negative: 143 out of 548
548
game
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
Grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until your eyes bulge, your face turns blue, and your heart thuds against your rib cage like a charging rhino... Screw the PC version. This feels like the game Xbox was always meant to host. [Feb 2005, p.81; NOTE: 1UP's Doom 3 review is simply XBN's review republished without credit.]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Gets the gunplay and gruff attitude right, but beneath the badge, it's simply, well, not unlike most first-person shooters. [May 2004, p.81]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The game is riddled with more holes than poor Loose Lips Larry. [Feb 2005, p.89]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Developer Oddworld Inhabitants has done something quite remarkable in the creation of a first-and-third-person-shooter-cum-adventure combining guts, heart, brains, a sense of humor, and wondrous beauty. [Feb 2005, p.86]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The first game to truly capitalize on GTA's design paradigm, Mercenaries deserves its war-worn props. [Feb 2005, p.97]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Wolf's added variety pushes its multiplayer componenet into Xbox Live killer-app territory. [Feb 2005, p.96]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The extra games EA added are attention-worthy treats speaking to the schoolyard athlete in everyone, no matter how uncoordinated or out of shape. [Feb 2005, p.95]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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If Strike gets its mechanics brashly right, it fudges the details. [Feb 2005, p.93]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Unfortunately, in the game, that process is nowhere near as compelling and fast-paced as in the show. [Feb 2005, p.97]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Despite its additions to the canon, Lords comes up short. It's not a farce by any means. It's just less forceful than expected, love's equivalent of perhaps a shot in the shins. [Feb 2005, p.98]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The racing is limited by choppy graphics and horrible controls. [Feb 2005, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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This is a rightful heir, just not resoundingly so. [Jan 2005, p.84]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The same old Cabela's issues - jerky control, clumsy animation, extreme disorientation - rear their ugly heads again. [Feb 2005, p.88]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Hell, you can't even choose which side to be on in team games. On the PS2, this is disappointing, but on the Xbox - where most games figured this stuff out over a year ago - it's inexcusable. [Jan 2005, p.100]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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As much of a history lesson as Collection provides, though, you can't help but wan't more. [Feb 2005, p.92]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It's all about control, and Madness 2005 offers plenty of it. [Jan 2005, p.92]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The sweat-while-you-play intensity just isn't there. [Jan 2005, p.92]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The shoddy A.I. and other flaws are rare or negligible enough so as not to detract from the overall enjoyment of an otherwise great game. [Jan 2005, p.89]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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This sequel closes its single-player chapter with a whimper. [Jan 2005, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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You're not going to get a much plainer-looking Xbox game. [Jan 2005, p.99]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It's the brawling gameplay dragging things down. [Jan 2005, p.88]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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There are audio glitches galore, with sound effects either missing or repeating themselves over and over for no good reason. [Feb 2005, p.93]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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A general sense of hack-and-slash ennui making Arthur just as nonstirring as the film was to a post-"Rings" audience. [Dec 2004, p.93]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Simply an unassuming, solid, and well-executed platformer. [Jan 2005, p.91]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The problem is - here it comes - the painfully oversensitive controls mar the nostalgia. [Feb 2005, p.92]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Paintball makes up for its lackluster graphics and sound by delivering an exciting tactical shooting experience. [Feb 2005, p.89]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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- Xbox Nation Magazine
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If you're reading this text at above a second-grade reading level, you don't want to play Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge. Everything from the cutesy design to the zany (read: irritating to anyone above the age of 6) announcer screams baby game. [Feb 2005, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Coming out almost a year late than the first Revolution, the Xbox version lacks many of the improvements Harmonix made for PlayStation 2's "Karaoke Revolution Volumes 2 and 3." [Dec 2004, p.88]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Microsoft and Bungie have created a gigantic bell that sounds like thunder and reverberates with a fury worthy of a gale-force hurricane. It's not perfect, but get in front of it, and wonderful things - wonderful destructive things - are bound to happen. [Dec 2004, p.72]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The creators have simplified everything to the point of inanity. [Jan 2005, p.87]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It sits in the same stagnating pool as every other generic 3D platform title. [Dec 2004, p.89]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Like its real-life counterpart, the events here are over almost as soon as they begin, which, in essence, doesn't make for very compelling nore satisfying action. [Feb 2005, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The audio mix is interesting, and the noises, whines, cries, and comments of players at the tables are quite humorous. [Feb 2005, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The texture quality has been noticeably reduced, but the keen glow effect on all the characters and environments is meticulously preserved. [Jan 2005, p.86]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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You'd expect this simple game of aiming and matching like-colored bubbles to feel awfully flat by now, yet amazingly, the bubble-popping action here remains refreshingly effervescent. [Dec 2004, p.93]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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This whole package would have been at home on the Commodore 64 20 years ago. [Feb 2005, p.91]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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As a game, it's safe and absolutely unambitious. [Jan 2005, p.96]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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If you have an active imagination, you might want to avoid this game. You can play it if you want, just don't plan on getting any restful sleep. [Dec 2004, p.83]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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There's the sense that the grandiose has just gone average, the superhero equivalent of the Justice League of America battling a jaywalker. [Jan 2005, p.86]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Exceedingly colorful, fun to play, and possessed of a great sense of humor, Movie both stands and delivers. It's some delicious sea food meant to be swallowed - whole. [Nov 2004, p.91]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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If Chessmaster upped its production values, it might be worth a look to casual chess players who just want to get a game in here and there. [Jan 2005, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Its self-concious metacomedy helps elevate what is already a solid game into a sing-songily fine game. [Jan 2005, p.98]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The game offers 27 different types of games, including slot machines and all types of poker, but does it so poorly you'll cringe at the thought of playing more than one or two. [Feb 2005, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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An experience every bit as thrilling, addictive, and shallow as the original. [Dec 2004, p.92]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The only area where "2" really shines is in its Xbox Live support, which is among the best in golf games today. Otherwise, you can expect the same dodgy controls and eighth grade fart jokes as before. [Nov 2004, p.99]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Combines slick, well-tuned controls with an accessible combo scheme with unbelievably thick visual effects to create a complete third-person action package. [Nov 2004, p.92]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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But even when the game's action gets all John J. Rambo, the A.I. remains more like Gomer Pyle. [Dec 2004, p.95]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Game design - in any sense of the phrase - is essentially nonexistent here. Each of the turtles has different attributes - but they're hardly compelling. [Nov 2004, p.91]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It's this combination of thought and reflex that makes Crusaders exceptional despite its faults. [Nov 2004, p.101]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The game reheats the same scenario again and again, with Rayne forced to toss shmoe after shmoe into a killing device until any hint of fun is sucked bone dry. [Dec 2004, p.96]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Rescue very nearly outclasses every other cutesy platformer on Xbox. [Nov 2004, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Where 2005 really breathes is in its pasing game...The entire system is remarkably intuitive, making the Xbox controller feel as if it's a natural extension of the onscreen action. [Nov 2004, p.98]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Dreams is just a by-the-numbers platformer, albeit a genuinely funny oe. [Dec 2004, p.89]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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There's a good deal of junk included on the disc, and even some of its more beloved titles ("Mortal Kombats II, III" and "Cyberball 2072") have not aged particularly well. [Nov 2004, p.101]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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If "National Geographic" puts you to sleep, you might be in soporific danger here, too. [Aug 2004, p.87]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The enemy A.I. goons perform as if they're all deaf, running directly into your line of fire (or the walls), and the character animation is on par with the old "Mr. Bill" claymation shorts. [Jan 2005, p.93]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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A mangle of ugly graphics, repetitive combat, blah bosses, and just plain awkward moments, Robotech: Invasion fails to fire up protoculture-guffing fans of the late-'80s cult cartoon on which the game is based. [Nov 2004, p.100]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The worst of these bonus modes is the "new and improved" Konquest mode intended to flesh out the Kombat universe through an RPG-like interface. What you get instead is a shambling mess of an adventure made up of ridiculous fetch quests and crap voice acting.- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Yes, it's similar to previous Hawk games at heart - certainly cause for concern for players burned out on the series - but what a monster game it is. [Dec 2004, p.87]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Besides its fine-tuned sense of the absurd, this is an undisciplined mess. [Dec 2004, p.86]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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That bane of the 3D platformer, a bad camera, constantly hides fallen-away floors until you're standing where you thought there was solid ground. [Nov 2004, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The intuitive fighting control remains as solid as ever. [Dec 2004, p.86]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The game's biggest asset is its viscerally thrilling slam dunk contest...The arcadelike nature of dunking makes it an addictive element in an already solid title. [Nov 2004, p.98]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The first thing you're going to notice about this game is how unbelievably gorgeous it is. [Dec 2004, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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You rarely get a sense of speed or weight while driving, and the controls are so awkward, the slightest steering overcorrection results in a spinout. [Dec 2004, p.83]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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There's no sense of achievement in clearing one of the game's "elite" missions without the faintest effort. [Dec 2004, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It's definitely a better workout than most Xbox titles, and although its longevity is infinitely better than a human workout video, it's not as motivating or, more important, as sexy. [Dec 2004, p.82]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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This is fan service - and competitive gaming - done right. [Dec 2004, p.84]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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This is the 21st century. No game should ever make a player fetch a valve handle again. [Nov 2004, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The narrative style (present action woven with flashbacks) is interesting, and the mechanics are mostly solid, so it is definitely worth investigating - especially if one finds the Xbox's "action-hero-with-amnesia" library lacking. [Nov 2004, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Star Wars Battlefront is essentially action-figure theater on the television screen, and playing online is like inviting your friends over to take part.- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Skates in a league of its own when it comes to the most basic function of hockey gaming: realistic physics. [Oct 2004, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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If there's any reason to buy 2005, it's for the 10 new courses, which look beautiful (as always) and offer enough challenge to keep most players whacking around for weeks. [Nov 2004, p.99]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The A.I. of your teammates is simply horrendous. [Dec 2004, p.95]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Fable both soars and sinks. It's wondrous and wearisome, a great step forward in the development of heroes in RPGs and a tremendous stumble over its own two feet. And in the rising and falling, it finds itself. [Oct 2004, p.88]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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And then there's Xbox Live play, which functions shockingly well under any circumstances. The game has singlehandedly shown the console world online fighting games need not be plageud with lag of the likes seen in "Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO." [Sept 2004, p.96]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Smith and Lawrence have nothing to do with Bad Boys: Miami Takedown. And neither should your hard-earned 20 bucks. [Dec 2004, p.90]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Once again, it's the series' fun two-to-four-player splitscreen mode that sets it apart from other fog-of-war games. [Nov 2004, p.92]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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The first-person view allows only for awkward movement and exploration, with Townshend forced to turn to alter his view. Invincible ghosts prove to be perpetually frustrating, especially in tight spots.- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Hands down, the best arcade racer ever made. Ever. [Oct 2004, p.99]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Sadly, unlike the game Bandai tried so hard to copy ("SSBM"), 2 has no depth whatsoever. [Nov 2004, p.100]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Mired in repetition and some substantial balancing issues, a good deal of its simplistic charm dissipates after a short time. [Nov 2004, p.100]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It's the gameplay that disappoints. Most notably, the white-knuckle sense of breakneck speed and the tight, responsive controls oh so apparent in "Burnout 3" or "Underground" just aren't matched here. [Nov 2004, p.97]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It's not that Carmen is a failure - it just aims low in the first place. [Mar 2004, p.95]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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For casual players, Challenge provides all of the tedium of fishing with little of the pleasure, such as napping in the boat. Napping in front of the Xbox doesn't have the same appeal. [Oct 2004, p.95]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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It's virtually the same as last year's "2004 Season," and that wasn't very good either. [Oct 2004, p.95]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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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]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Like a supermodel who's missing a leg - beautiful, but not entirely functional on the catwalk. [Oct 2004, p.94]- Xbox Nation Magazine
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Pack up this game's troubles in your old kit bag and head for the glorious Live-enabled "Crimson Skies" instead. [Nov 2004, p.96]- Xbox Nation Magazine
