As far as licensed games go, it isn't too offensive, but it could have been so much more.

As far as licensed games go, it isn't too offensive, but it could have been so much more.

Had Bullet Witch been a launch title, this bitter pill could've been swallowed, but with so many other great choices out there like "Gears of War" or "Lost Planet," there's simply no reason to play this. [Apr 2007, p.54]

Party games are supposed to contain playable sequences that are instantly accessible, engaging, and fun. In Fuzion Frenzy 2, there are precious few that fit that bill. [Apr 2007, p.56]

It doesn't matter how good the rest of a game is, though, if the controls betray you just when you need them most. [May 2007, p.55]

It doesn't matter how good the rest of a game is, though, if the controls betray you just when you need them most. [May 2007, p.55]

Earth Defense Force 2017 is the action game equivalent of potato chips: no nutritional value, but tasty nonetheless. [May 2007, p.61]

I can see the novel ideas going on here, but this game needs some serious extra time in the oven. Also, an analog stick. [Vol 3, Issue 2, p.63]

The Wii Fit Balance Board is of little help, and only serves to complicate things further.

RACE Pro has compelling racing mechanics when it is just you versus the track, but it has more than a few rough patches elsewhere.

Thor would have been a lot better with some more time and resources at hand. The problems of the game are plentiful and while some are forgivable considering what the game is, it still doesn't add up to a product worthy of Thor's prestige.

Thor would have been a lot better with some more time and resources at hand. The problems of the game are plentiful and while some are forgivable considering what the game is, it still doesn't add up to a product worthy of Thor's prestige.

Dawn of Mana is a hodgepodge of ideas that range from nonsensical to decent, all smooshed together in a failure of a game. [June 2007, p.54]

It's a nice try, but it still needs a bit of polish. [June 2007, p.61]

As-is, it's a very, very pretty demo of what the SIXAXIS can do. [May 2007, p.69]

t is not just bad, it is bad in an incredibly Wii-specific, low-effort sort of way you just don’t see on other consoles.

Unfortunately, Ju-on can be finished in mere hours, but if the characters could actually run, I’d reckon it could be completed in around twenty minutes. In other words, it’s way too short to warrant the price tag.

Eight dollars seems too high, especially since the experience is pretty short, and while smashing things has some entertainment value, the overall feeling coming out is “that was really annoying.”

Attack of the Movies 3D is just plain bad from start to finish, and while that can be fun in the right movie, it’s just painful in a game.

Attack of the Movies 3D is just plain bad from start to finish, and while that can be fun in the right movie, it’s just painful in a game.

Maybe there's a great game beyond level 8. Maybe it turns into peaches and honey. Maybe a magical unicorn bursts from the screen. Who knows? After playing a single level beyond any possibility of ever getting any enjoyment from it again, I turned the game off and walked away. Gameplay masochism only stays enjoyable so long before a feeling best described as "screw this!" sets in, and Fractured Soul blew past that point and never looked back.

This isn't a remake or a reimagining of the original Painkiller; this is a high-resolution texture pack for an outdated eight-year old game that's missing significant story beats.

Until the bugs are ironed out, it’s just not worth the headache.

If you played through the entirety of the first game and didn’t have a problem with it, this may be your thing. While the collision detection, and some other things have taken some serious hits, there’s still a good story to be found. Otherwise I would skip this and wait for the inevitable sale.

Zack Zero could have shot for the star of “inoffensive mediocrity” and gotten higher marks for the effort. What’s on display here, however, is the product of a game development fiasco that dragged some seemingly good people through a gauntlet of emotional and financial insanity.

Here Anomaly 2 is trying to reinvent its own wheel with little tiny incremental upgrades instead of taking the same drastic approach that gained it such praise in the first place. The result isn’t something groundbreaking; the result is a confused and missed opportunity that has more in common with RTS games in every wrong way possible.

There's very little consideration for the platform it's been ported to, and even the small handful of DS-specific tools are liable to be useless or buggy.

It’s a complete train-wreck of a game, only suitable for those with an appreciation for the amazingly awful.