The first person controls work well for the most part, but we just can't ignore a few control issues that crop up at the worst possible time.

A gaming triumph and a prime example of the reason we play games in the first place. It instilled in me a sense of awe and wonder with a game I honestly haven't felt in the series since A Link to the Past first hit the Super Nintendo.

A game that not only looks and plays better, but also fully realizes the dream of anyone looking to fully manage their own professional team.

The game features the absolute best training mode ever made for a fighting game.

Although it doesn’t take advantage of the system’s capabilities, THPS3 on Xbox is still a fine port of a fantastic game.

Now that Splinter Cell has arrived all other stealth-based titles should hang their head in shame.

The ESPN presence makes the biggest difference...surprisingly, something as small as that goes a long way toward sucking you into the game.

Easily the best soccer game I’ve ever played.

Given the game’s top notch presentation, tight and accessible gameplay with considerable depth and veritable endless buffet of modes and secrets to unlock, Soul Calibur 2 is a no-brainer purchase for fighting fans. [Import]

Little more than "NBA 2K1" with Michael Jordan, the Memphis Grizzlies, glitchy zone defense and an afterthought of a street ball mode.

Say hello to one of the finest PS2 games yet, and the best snowboarding game ever.

What Eternal Darkness might lack in top-notch graphics it more than makes up for with fantastic gameplay and spine-chilling atmosphere.

Armchair quarterbacks will find plenty to like here, from the extremely deep, almost sim-like gameplay to the ability to develop a custom playbook, to the new mini-camp, which lets you unlock hidden features and teams as you play.

Apart from the remarkable gameplay, graphics and sound, SSBM sports enormous replay value.

Clever, challenging, unique and packed with things to do. In short, it's what every game should be. Problems with the camera and some potentially maddeningly frustrating points are all that holds it back from perfection.

With its romance, its peripheral "end of the world" premise, and its memorable cast, FFX is a game for the ages.

Unfortunately, this version of Capcom's seminal survival horror title doesn't play as good as it looks. As a matter of fact, it plays a whole heck of a lot like the original Resident Evil.

NCAA Football, usually regarded as the redheaded stepchild of the sports world, has finally come into its own this year with refined gameplay and jaw dropping graphics to match.

Tennis 2K2’s solid gameplay and impressive presentation prove that the Dreamcast still has some steam behind it.

Lush graphics and feature film-quality animation complement the fun gameplay and tight controls.

The game falls short of putting you in the cockpit. The whole idea of a dogfight is non-existent. The enemy crafts move too quickly, abandoning any thought of pursuit.

I shudder to think of what it looks like on HDTV... The gorgeous presentation here will likely win all the critical accolades, but there is a tricky genius to Orta's gameplay as well.

Replay value of the main story mode is limited at best...[but it's] a fresh and fun gaming experience that you shouldn’t pass up.

It still has some issues that need addressing for 2K4, but even a flawed NHL 2K3 is leagues better than EA Sports' latest.

Offers a heady, elating sense of flight, adrenaline-charged combat, perfect controls, and breathtaking visuals that will humble titles played even on the mightiest PCs.

Not only fun to play but also quite breathtaking in its level of graphic detail.

Every aspect of the game works tightly in conjunction, delivering an enormous amount of gaming.

Character designs are notably generic and boxy. Animation is quite stiff and the sluggish framerate does nothing to help matters. On the plus side, the environments are absolutely massive, and exhibit plenty of variety, creating a cohesive and believable alternate universe.

A few secret characters, some more levels and a greater variety of techniques for each character would have made this an A+ title.

It looks fantastic, it controls well, and it’s the kind of meaty gaming experience that could keep you busy for weeks. Be warned, though, the difficulty here is off the scale.

Graphically, Jet Set Radio Future is one of the most gorgeous games to grace a console.

The control and missions revolve around simply blowing things up, but after the novelty of reducing everything to a cinder fades, what players are left with is an average shooter.

Dead on, sporting nearly every feature that made the original game so great.

Beautiful. Stunning. Gorgeous. A heart stopping, melt-in-your-pants looker. High resolution sprites and meticulously animated everything combine to make one hell of an enjoyable visual mess.

The appeal lies in stringing together simple moves into devastating combinations, not memorizing counterintuitive button sequences.

The most competent Tony Hawk mimic yet.

WSB for the Xbox feels much more like an upgrade than a complete overhaul...This game is easily the best baseball game on the market, but as fans of the genre know, that's not really saying much.

Almost every individual aspect of the game except for the camera is well executed, but the two key components of the title still don't go seem to belong together.

A top-notch golf game perfect for anyone looking to make some digital divots.

It gives players a large variety of options for both online and offline play and provides hours of gameplay with two long quests, numerous side-quests and several multiplayer modes. [Import]

Although unforgiving design elements detract a bit from the overall fun factor, Maximo remains an exceptionally enjoyable and well-made game.

The story is only average for a RPG (make that above average if you love the air pirates setting), the combat system is mildly interesting but lacks much in the way of depth and the presentation is a bit dated.

With intuitive control, superb graphics, and a catchy soundtrack, Splashdown is an excellent Jet Ski racing game.

Attention to detail is the name of the game. Despite the over-the-top premise, this is one of the richest titles released in sometime.

A great game... [but y]ou'll need to ask yourself if your attention span can tolerate a game requiring planning and strategy with sporadic action as the payoff.

A choppy framerate and a low resolution display (for those of us who haven't yet upgraded to HDTV) keep UC from matching its PC counterpart.

With an enchanting soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, exciting turn based combat, and 80 hours of gameplay, there is a lot to like about this RPG.

With the recent release of the online Sims for the PC, the PS2 port seems to fall short of greatness. Especially when you add in the slowdown issues and repetitive gameplay.

A big step in the right direction.

This game is different, addictive, fun, and the multiplayer and remix modes ensures nearly infinite replay value.

The music alone will draw you back for a few repeat plays, just don’t expect it to last much longer than a single rental period.

Although the handling is solid, and the visuals sport some cool effects, the inclusion of only 12 tracks does serious damage to the lasting appeal.

The added force powers are handy, but they don’t dramatically change the way the game is played.

It's still not a very deep gaming experience, but this latest installment is clearly the best since "Mortal Kombat 2," and arguably the best yet.

A very solid and entertainingly violent approximation of hockey that has its weak points (sound, fighting) but overall hits the spot just right.

The action is heated enough to hold your attention and the cool touches like a fantastic damage engine make it all worthwhile.

Despite the control flaws and graphic blemishes this game is a marvelous presentation of soccer, albeit slightly watered down for the masses.

Although Capcom vs. SNK 2 doesn’t break any new ground, there is enough depth here to keep any 2D fighting game fan happy.

A problem-solving mission structure that rewards the player for lateral thinking, as well as an immersive world and a great story. I'm not sure if it'll win Game of the Year this time around, but it definitely deserves to be in the running.

More appealing than the original.

While multiplayer accessibility is limited, head-to-head play is better than it ever has been before.

The strong multiplayer establishes Bomberman Online as a worthwhile purchase. Though the story mode is challenging, once finished, there is little incentive to continue play.

The sound of skates on ice is particularly grating here, sounding more like nails on a blackboard than thin knives of steel dragging across a slab of frozen water.

Nearly everything in the game can be beaten down, picked up, thrown or in some way interacted with, and to see the effect this has on a sprawling downtown metropolis is simply breathtaking.

It just can’t match up to the PC and Xbox versions due to the difference in graphics quality and the lack of an important gameplay element.

Def Jam Vendetta makes its strange combination of license and genre work well. It is a wrestling game done right and a must play for any fan of the scripted sport.

The biggest problems with online play are the surprisingly frequent poor losers who will abandon a game at the last second to keep you from being credited with a win.

Questionable camera controls and sometimes frustrating gameplay are all but forgiven in the context of the rest of the game's charms.

Sure, the great graphics and sound and the bonus Tekken Force mode are all good selling points, but the biggest reason to pick up Tekken 4 is that the gameplay not only lives up to the fine presentation; it surpasses it. [Import]

Instead of going back and fine-tuning the game's fundamentals, the developers let the broken stuff stay broken and added in some cheap new bells and whistles.

Multiplayer modes, over 20 varied stages and thirty characters that can be unlocked give the game enough substance to keep you interested for weeks.

The vibration gets so intense that your hands nearly become numb from overstimulation.

Simply too great a package for any RPG lover to be without.

If you really go for the flavor of early-90’s style graphics and gameplay, and if you have the patience of a rock, then by all means enter and be saved. As for us skeptics, it will take a lot more than nostalgia to win our faith.

For the already initiated, the new levels aren’t even worth a rental and getting used to skating with the Xbox controller can be like getting used to a splinter in your eye.

It’s fun in small doses, but frustrating whenever you try to get into it.

What really makes the game are the wealth of offensive and defensive maneuvers to choose from.

This marriage of baseball and extreme attitude should be annulled.

Barring minor flaws in the face of greatness, Knockout Kings 2002 is the closest any boxing fan can get to perfection without the missing teeth and a serious reduction of IQ.

The gameplay just can’t measure up to the excellent graphics. Each of the huge levels become tedious due to no-brainer puzzles and a poor combat system.

Questionable camera controls, choppy graphics and sometimes frustrating gameplay are all but forgiven in the context of the rest of the game’s charms.

A simplified interface and a stronger focus on plot may alienate some fans of previous games in the series, but there’s an outside chance it will broaden the appeal to a wider audience.

The multiplayer action and graphics are solid, but insanely repetitive gameplay, sluggish controls, and an impractical utilization of unlockable items handicap the title.

The gameplay is alternately fun and frustrating, the graphics are both striking and stilted, and the sound... No, the sound’s laughably bad all the way through.

JC2 shows promise initially, but a quirky sense of humor and an endearing fairy sidekick aren't enough to save it from becoming repetitive.

Blitz is still a fun game, but it's in danger of joining NBA Jam and its cadre of rehashes ("NBA Hoops", "NBA Showtime") in the realm of the utterly irrelevant.

Full of unrealized potential and will likely be quickly forgotten as new games succeed where this game failed.

The lackluster gameplay combined with mediocre graphics and poor sound make it a title worth staying far away from.

Put simply, BRPF thrives on button mashing. For those unfamiliar with the term, this means that even the most skilled player can fall victim to a first-timer's frenzied and haphazard button presses.

Thanks to a ludicrous save scheme, once you start, you had better not stop until you reach the end.

With gameplay as shallow as this, you’d expect it all to work smoothly. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

To be honest, if the graphics were anything less, gamers would put this game down in a heartbeat.

Although the Japanese influenced gameplay is engaging at first, countless deathmatch battles and only three arenas hurt the overall appeal.

Robotech will likely give all players a buzz with the incredible visuals, but ultimately the repetitive play and unrewarding control scheme will leave them wanting more.

This could be the best looking console game yet... Sadly for fans of the sport, the beach volleyball gameplay is just plain lacking.

It’s pretty much a given that beating up Nazis is inherently fun, but the developers threw in some truly entertaining wrinkles into the combat to make the Nazi-bashing especially enticing.

Imaginative tracks, cool tricks, a real sense of speed, and loads of unlockable stuff all add up to a racing experience that is not to be missed.

An intelligent action title that injects some strategy into the usually mindless action genre. Although the graphics are unremarkable, and the difficulty can be unfair, the gameplay has a lot to offer.