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]

Despite a few obligatory new features such as a dull off-road car mode (ooh -- the tires inflate!), Hunter 2 feels less like a sequel and more like an add-on disc. [Mar 2004, p.86]

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

Gorgeous to behold, boasting dynamic lights, shadows, and interactive environments, making it relatively easy to suspend disbelief. [Mar 2004, p.64]

Embarking on the game's destruction train gives players access to dandy weapons such as the shark gun. [Mar 2004, p.93]

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

On of the game's most unforgivable design flaws is that there is simply nothing to gain or strive for when playing. [Apr 2004, p.91]

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

Beyond the lame characters and infantile gameplay, Whiskers' trapping aren't half bad. [Mar 2004, p.95]

Overwroght melodrama and third-person-persepctive gunplay make for an excellent mix. [Mar 2004, p.81]

Most, however, are legitimately entertaining even today. [Mar 2004, p.86]

A video coprolite. [Mar 2004, p.86]

Hardcore "Revolution" fans will be most excited by features debuting in Ultramix...Beginners and those who lack a natural rhythm will be disappointed, though. [Mar 2004, p.99]

Academy isn't so much a first-person shooter (although there are nifty rayguns) as it is a third-person lightsaber hack-em-up, and the laser sword combat here is about as graceful as that tubby Star Wars kid (Google hime for a preview). [Mar 2004, p.98]

An official disappointment on Xbox, yet the game's undying popularity defies critical analysis. [Mar 2004, p.78]

Playing the game through Xbox Live is literally like having a shared arcade machine in your living room. [Mar 2004, p.100]

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]

Where the game falters is in the A.I. of CPU players; simply put, these guys fell kicking and screaming from the artificial-intelligence tree. [Mar 2004, p.99]

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

Weird and wonderful, Whiplash pushes rebellion to the point where it seems callously unconcerned that its middle finger sometimes is aimed straight at its audience. [Mar 2004, p.87]

A horrid single-player quest mode offers frustrating, ill-designed scenarios. [Mar 2004, p.91]

Put simply, Drive is Xbox Live-enabled Tab when there's already Coke and Pepsi. [Mar 2004, p.80]

You're forced to face off against eagle-eyed, sharp-shooting pricks who are so overpower[ing] that competing against them feels like crossing the piranha-filled Amazon River wearing a 40-pound mean suit. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.96]

A rare take on World War II that doesn't involve storming a beach. [Mar 2004, p.94]

The game's incredible sense of speed, seat-of-your-soild-trousers physics, and overall production polish is second to none on Xbox. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.81]

A superb basketball game, with Grade-A action, intuitive controls, and more bells and whistles than an ice cream truck. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.85]

It's not the tightest coding ever seen in a videogame. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.85]

The game achieves excellence through realism, feel, and transparent interface. [Mar 2004, p.88]