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]

Brimming with heart-stopping moments where you've got to take big gambles....A perfect union of storytelling, gameplay, and technological wonder. [Mar 2004, p.96]

Halo is quite simply the closest thing we have ever experienced to a living, breathing alternate universe. [Jan 2002, p.72]

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.]

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

Hands down, the best arcade racer ever made. Ever. [Oct 2004, p.99]

In spite of any inconsistencies, disparities, or shortcomings, Breakdown is an enormously compelling, satisfying game - one imparting a joy of discovery sorely lacking in far too many of today's biggest titles. [Apr 2004, p.88]

EA has kicked its game into overdrive; in fact, the only major flaw to be found here lies with the retread, obtuse, and strangely homoerotic banter between TV commentators Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso. [Aug 2004, p.90]

With each day presenting a enw opportunity to fly or fall face down, Bustin' Ouot never loses its luster. [Mar 2004, p.83]

The finest "realistic" basketball game calling your name...Eat it up. [Jan 2002, p.96]

If realism is the ultimate goal of the game maker, then World Series Baseball is the Mona Lisa of games. [June 2002, p.84]

Though it still leans towards being a pure football sim rather than an all-out arcade fun-fest, Madden strikes a great gameplay balance...The gameply is superb. [Fall 2002, p.108]

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]

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]

You'll be slack-jawed over "Shadow Strike's" online drama. Yes, it's <I>that</I> good. With single and multiplayer in one fat Xbox package, Tomorrow is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best pure-stealth action game today. [Apr 2004, p.74]

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]

In terms of story, depth, and simply humanity, it is the best [RPG] Xbox has to offer. Arguably, it is Xbox's best game since "Halo." Undeniably, it is enough to make the hear soar. Bravissimo. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.80]

Aurally and visually stunning, Madden 2004 is easily the best re-creation of digital football ever made. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.94]

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]

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]

Second only to "Halo," Arms is the best shooter on Xbox. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.80]

Quite simply, action-adventure games don't get much better than this... The VR missions alone are well worth the price of admission. [Winter 2002, p.78]

Skates in a league of its own when it comes to the most basic function of hockey gaming: realistic physics. [Oct 2004, p.94]

Ultimately, whether 2004 is, in fact, a better game than Konami's "Winning Eleven 7" on PlayStation 2 is debatable; what is clear, however, is that this is easily the finest game of footy to be found on Xbox.

Players are made to feel as if they're interacting with real characters in a dynamic world. [Mar 2004, p.97]

And make no mistake &#150; this AI is tough. Gone are the standard "money plays" of old. [Spring 2002, p.84]

Sega Sports has gone back to tweak the intricacies of the series' already stellar gameplay, making it even hotter than its Dreamcast and PS2 counterparts. We're talking tamale on the sun here, folks. [Spring 2002, p.88]

The graphics are a night-and-day improvement. [Dec 2004, p.92]