Half of High Heat 2003's thrills come from its intuitive, playable controls. Fielding and baserunning are a snap (though manual slides would have rocked), and the pitching/batting setup is one of the best ever.

With its high production value, smart level design, and impressive story, STVEF is simply one of the finest first-person shooters to come out this year.

The butter-smooth controls make the game a joy to play—between the big hits and the player-controlled dekes, you’ll alternate between brawling like Tie Domi and dangling like Pavel Bure.

Furious battles between fifty ton robots never looked or played so good, and Mechwarrior fans will love this latest chapter.

Not only is Thief an anti-shooter, it's also like an RPG without the trappings of levels, skills, and experience points. That's how it feels-again, as though I'm actually doing something.

An awesome new first-person shooter with the chops and options to tangle with the best.

With some of the best graphics the PS2 is likely to see in a sports game this year, Madden NFL 2001 also has the gameplay to back up the window dressing and a fat selection of options to tweak the game to your liking.

For fighting enthusiasts, DOA2 Hardcore is the first must have game for the PlayStation 2. End of story.

Excellent A.I, sharp graphics, and addictive gameplay combine for an unabashed good time. Sim freaks need not apply—Rumble Racing is pure, unapologetic arcade goodness.

This year's real highlight for Madden madmen is the buffed out A.I.: On defense, the game reacts more rapidly than ever to your offensive tendencies and in particular makes tough half time adjustments.

Everything that made EFMI so great on the PC arrives on the PS2 perfectly intact. The game’s many puzzles are perfectly balanced.

A prime lesson on simple yet addictive gameplay with awe-inspiring visuals—a blend that no gamer should miss.

The controls are dead-on perfect, but somewhere along the way, someone forgot to take advantage of the PlayStation 2’s processing power—something that’s readily apparent in the sights and sounds.

The bar for online gaming has not so much been raised as obliterated. For once, a game lives up to its expectations.

RoK has slightly more stringent hardware requirements than the original EverQuest, simply because the new continent is much more visually complex, with its more detailed textures and animated environment.

Thrilling, addictive gameplay loaded with tough battles and jaw-dropping moves that’ll lure even the most jaded b-ballers back to the court.

Sacrifice weaves together an intricate story, addictive gameplay, and drop-dead gorgeous graphics.

With a ton of tricks, parks, and game modes, and the included park editor, THPS2 provides a great gaming experience with tons of replay value.

Beats its predecessor with souped-up visuals, new characters and moves, improved tutorials, hundreds of unlockable items, and the amazingly deep Quest mode. And this is a Greatest Hits title? Insane bargain alert!

The potential replay value for the game is enormous. Of course, until ESPN has had a full season under its belt, the jury’s out as to whether first-person view is major revolution or a nifty diversion...but it’s very cool.

Snake Eater revives the spirit of the first Solid, with an intriguing scenario, intense action, and a long adventure that stays riveting almost every step of the way--all wrapped in high-gloss cinematic cut-scenes and voice-overs that could have come from any A-action film.

Complete with giant bosses, exciting gameplay, days of exploration, and an involving narrative, this is the best Castlevania game in years. More importantly, it’s Castlevania in 3D but done right.

Absolutely tears up the modern-day war zone and even one-ups the "Battlefield" stranglehold in many areas.

Packs the power to astonish with its next-level A.I., absorbing mission design, and mesmerizing presentation.

Offers a ton of new elements to keep you glued to your screen for hours. Whether playing against the computer or online, "The Conquerors" improves an already fantastic game.

The gameplay has just the right balance of challenging puzzles and finger-numbing battles to deliver an exceptional adventure whether you’re royalty or not.

The new features, refined interface, and (above all) near-perfect sense of balance make this old dog feel vital and new.

Other baseball games might have a more unique feature or two, and several absolutely have better graphics, but only High Heat delivers such consistently riveting gameplay.

It's got great graphics, superb dialogue, and unforgettable characters, but the genre-bending story will keep graphic adventure fans glued to the screen.

PS2 people, you have your first must-own title. With gameplay that takes the best bits of all the games which have come before it, SSX practically redefines snowboarding excitement.

With smart A.I., great controls, and a take-no-prisoners approach to football, it should earn All-Pro status again...a straight-ahead, hard-as-knuckles football game.

offers enough challenge and replay value to be a good party game for younger Star Wars fans.

GT3’s razor-sharp handling means you’re always battling your opponents, not the controls. The force feedback and analog responsiveness are particularly impressive.

With a creepy, excellent story and perfectly paced, complex action, Undying oozes freaky atmosphere.

Of course, the game feels best when played with the PS2 controller. The Xbox and the GameCube are fine, too, but their button layouts force sometimes awkward finger stretching.

The game looks incredible on a P4 2.7 GHz with a Radeon 9800 Pro, but still looks extremely impressive (and played wonderfully) on an Athlon 1.7GHz running a lowly GeForce 3.

A must-have for all fighting-game fans, but its easy-going control is also ideal for the casual gamer who just wants to get a bit of aggression out and look good doing it.

A truly dazzling, inspired game that mixes a riveting story with a stylish look and absorbing gameplay.

Simultaneously increasing the realism of the experience of big mountain boarding and tearing the throat out of board-physics as we know it, SSX 3 completely revolutionizes the snowboardercross concept.

It sucks you into its weird world and doesn't let you go.

It speaks like no other game in the genre, loud and with feeling, and tells a story worth telling among all the explosions.

A sports gamer's dream come true. The potent combination of smooth fast graphics, excellent gameplay options, and a tough as nails AI, makes this hockey game king of the rink.

Totally revamped from the ground up, and it shows. Great graphics and the best gameplay the series has seen in years.

Cheesy voice-acting by minor characters is the only real flaw here.

Excellent controls deliver a highly responsive feel and a huge roster of cool moves, including a new defensive ball swat.

It's the best version of one of the best 3D platform games ever made.

Compared to D2D, "Thunder's" cars don't handle as smoothly and its Career mode is heavy on complexity and short on fun. [Dec 2002, p.194]

Its brilliance is in a seamless and convincing storytelling that begins with the opening cinematic and never stops unfolding, developing, and engaging. With each new expansion, each contact, crisis, and step closer to ultimate resolution, Alpha Centauri is a hell of a yarn.

Unmatched in its field thanks to major improvements in every category combined with a deeply rewarding simulation experience.

While Hot Shots 3 doesn’t revolutionize the series by any stretch of the imagination, it delivers sweet PS2 graphics and loads of slick refinements that make it another must-play game.

Whether you've played the original or not, Freespace 2 takes its place among the greatest space-flight sims of all-time.

The levels are not only more interactive, but they're also enormous - much larger than those from "THPS3." [Nov 2002, p.50]

A masterpiece of epic proportions, the "Saving Private Ryan" of first-person shooters.

Never has a game gripped my attention so completely, it was able to throw me from my chair while trying to dodge an attack, lean forward to be one inch from the screen, or throw my mouse off the table in an effort to get away from an enemy.

The way things fly, catch fire, and fall not only carries consequences that add weight to your war of the worlds, but also creates situations that reward guile, guts, and instinct... Everything about Half-Life 2 is remarkable.

Not only the proverbial sequel-better-than-its-original, but it’s also deep, challenging, and intelligent on a level that action games usually don’t reach.

Surprise, surprise —UT 2004 looks absolutely fantastic. From the sprawling battlefields to the tiny blades of alien grass, there’s not one visual detail that looks less than stunning.

Like a new year’s line of automobiles, Onimusha 2 has a sleeker look, more bells and whistles, and improved standard features over its predecessor model, "Warlords."

A rock ‘n’ rollin’, wrist-snapping slug of adrenaline on four-wheels that challenges you at every turn.

If you’re looking to play hockey of the NHL variety, to tackle pro challenges and use real-life strategies, NHL 2K3 will thrill you as much as watching your team heroically survive a five-on-three penalty kill.

Greatly improved in GTAIII is the stunning visual and sound package.

Between its ripping sense of speed, edge-of-the-seat gameplay, and impressively original and deep features, [its] glorious PS2 debut just smokes.

While the PS2's levels are noticeably shorter than those of the Xbox version, their design hasn't changed and the overall gameplay remains completely intact, making this game a wonderful adventure within the Tom Clancy universe.

Not as flashy as FIFA, but its overwhelming features and gameplay options have such depth that you could play for several years and still not see or experience everything in the game.

A basketball technician’s dream. Games against the CPU realistically mimic a real game, while scrimmages against friends received a boost of energy thanks to sped-up gameplay and better shot blocking. ESPN NBA Basketball 2K4 retains the top slot by just a hair.

More structure proves more comfortable for the console environment, and the addition of two-player really opens up the game as something more than just a spectator event.

Anyone who ever considered an action/RPG should run straight to the store and sell their souls for Diablo II.

The gameplay in Vice City is more addictive than ever, except now there's twice as much of nearly everything that made the first game so great—more streets, more cars (and other vehicles), more cool missions, more awesome street life.

A memorable, fantastic adventure that falls short in key areas that could have benefited from fine-tuning—namely control tweaks and unpolished graphics...The last must-have title of 2001.

Morrowind effortlessly grabs the other PC RPGs by the throat, swings them around, and leaves them in a heap on the side of the road.

Throughout the action, the controls handle sweetly, combining the depth of a large number of moves with smooth playability.

Easily the most gorgeous and immersive game in the genre. Huge cities, vibrant wildernesses, and highly detailed player character models help nail home the sheer Star-Warsiness of the game, while the Star Wars sound suite does its usual awesome job of grounding you in the world of the films.

A platformer only by heritage, Naughty Dog’s latest is an enormously entertaining, surprisingly dark, and enduring shrine to what makes games fun.

This is THPS at its best. More fun? Can’t have it.

WCIII: FT follows Blizzard’s pattern of packing their expansion packs with just as much gameplay and story as the core game it augments.

Even beyond the football gameplay, you have to appreciate the wealth of extras and activities that make Madden NFL 2003 such an entertaining and complete package.

Riveting first-person combat set across a mesmerizing WWII landscape. A game this good is practically a recruitment poster for the PS2.

Generals has a rock-solid single-player game and the most addictive multiplayer skirmishes of the year... A gaming masterpiece.

WarCraft III doesn’t revolutionize the RTS genre, but a well-executed story, drum-tight gameplay and a long shelf life as a multi-player title make WarCraft III a must for and PC owning strategy fans.

If you’re just looking for the best shooter for the PC—a game that engages your senses, thrills your nerves, and impresses your neighbors—stop reading this right now and go get MoH: Allied Assault.

The best RPG action the PC has to offer.

Black & White miraculously pulls you in and doesn't let go until you've sacrificed many hours.

The uniqueness of the game, the sound, graphics and the ability to control a little Sim life hooked me almost immediately.

With its innovative Geo-Mod technology that allows players to blast away the environments as well as enemies, and an awesome (and lengthy) storyline, this game packs in plenty of thrills.

On the field, player controls are as smooth as a 6-4-3 double play.

Visually, the game is just beautiful—the eye-popping lighting in particular is remarkable. The audio also shines.

There’s never been a better action RPG for any system. Yes, it's even better than "Diablo."

Few RPGs provide so deft a balance between the wandering monster-slaying and the NPC interaction phases of role-playing.

The extensive character techniques and engrossing story line will keep gamers glued to their controllers for hours.

A combat masterpiece.

The satisfying story mode is a big improvement on THPS’s structure. The story ramps up the difficulty gradually, so you build skills as you go, but there are now four difficulty levels, making THUG totally accessible to newbies.

It has the modes, the weapons, and the attitude to have hardcore FPS maniacs swimming in puddles of their own drool.

Tremendous depth, great story, original gameplay-Deus Ex is the kind of game that almost shocks you with how good it is.

MGS2 delivers everything it was teased, touted, hyped, and, in some circles, feared to be. It's easily one of the most memorable gaming experiences you're likely to have.

An intense action/adventure game where technique is king and the challenge level is high. Throw in fantastic graphics and intuitive controls, and you’ve got one of this year’s strongest PS2 titles.

Hilarious, perfectly paced, and just the right amount of difficulty. Very few puzzles are total stumpers.

The first-rate gunnin’ action takes precedence over everything else in the game. This is one crisis that all pistol enthusiasts should make time for.

One main feature that clearly separates Underground from other street racers is its visual presentation. The nighttime glow in the metropolis does take some time to get used to, but the evening air quickly adds to the stunning scenery and detailed avenues as you travel at high RPMs.