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]

It's surprisingly solid, providing definitively that it's possible to take a fictional sport and bring it to digital life. [Mar 2004, p.82]

The slightly clunky controls and contrived level design - with its faux open-ended gameplay - leave the impression of a hack job. Paint-by-numbers puzzles and stolid A.I., sadly, only dig the pit deeper. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.92]

Serves up round after round of smart, strategic firefights, challening both mind and reflex. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.99]

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

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

In defiance of the weak missions, air battles are frantic affairs, and they are great. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.78]

Ghoulies goes whole hog on its graphics and half-asses everything else. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.90]

Where most licensed brawlers feel sloppy and half-finished, Turtles is smooth and cohesive. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.81]

A smooth framerate, flawless camera, and spot-on control makes the experience nothing short of sublime, and the game a near-perfect mix of exacting artistry and technical wizardry - not unlike snowboarding itself. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.91]

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 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]

Charming yet flawed, Zoo might be too much of an acquired taste and too little of a worthwhile experience. Consider this duo hardly dynamic. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.89]

The "Howard the Duck" of videogames. [Mar 2004, p.95]

It's downright spooky how well this one turned out. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.87]

If there's ever been a better basketball videogame than NBA Live 2004, it resides on the Planet Degloop, yet unavailable for human pleasure. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.84]

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

This one comes straight from the backyard. It should return there, preferably buried deep by the family dog. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.95]

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

While level design is solid, NPCs have the personalities of spatulas, and environments are often jarringly noninteractive... Worth the ride, certainly, but this one could have done with a little less fighting and a little more freedom. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.98]

Everything about it screams budget ,sure, but there are much worse full-priced games on the Xbox. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.99]

Midway's given the game a facelift and polish to great effect, replacing the overbearing amounts of flash and glitter with solid gameplay. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.99]

It simply can't contend with the 400-pound gorilla that is Electronic Arts' "NBA Street." [Dec/Jan 2004, p.85]

A good gimmick can only carry a game so far, and Vince simply doesn't have - to speak in the rough language of the streets - enought junk in the trunk to elevate it far beyond mediocrity. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.86]

A gratifying, kinetic approach to swinging the club mimics real life. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.94]

Pound for pound, it's gritty play - and experience points - propel NHL 2004 to a hard-fought win [over "ESPN NHL Hockey"]. [Oct/Nov 2003, p.97]

It isn't polished, it's only marginally engaging, and most of the time, it feels more like some kind of unnatural amalgamation of "Gauntlet" and "Diablo" than anything else. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.87]

Mildly amusing. [Dec/Jan 2004, p.97]