IGN

• GBA
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 6.1 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS2
• XBOX
• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

There are few moments in the videogame world that are as satisfying as finding something that exceeds expectations. And that's exactly what happened when we sat down to give Acclaim's Sword of Vengeance a thorough playthrough. Far from being perfect and definitely open to improvement, Gladiator isn't going to win any awards or change the way we look at videogames. What it will do, however, is help pass the time away for nine to twelve hours with its mindless but ultimately fun approach to the genre. In fact, we'd have to put it up there right alongside kill.zone as one of the premiere guilty pleasures of the holiday season. And we can't imagine a better weekend for videogame fans other than sitting down in front of the television set to give those two a try.

• GBA
• 7.8 / 10
• États-Unis

It's a real shame about the slowdown in Crash Nitro Kart for the Game Boy Advance. Without these patches of sluggish action, the game would be a close contender for best kart racer on the handheld. It has it all: tons of characters and unlockables, great track design, excellent variety in the mission objectives, wonderful handling, multiplayer support, GameCube connectivity, Internet rankings, and, most importantly, an original and fun racing game mechanic. But it's just too much for the engine to handle, and the gameplay suffers because of it. If you're able to see through these patches, though, there's a lot of fun in Crash Nitro Kart.

• PS2
• XBOX
• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

The failure of flight sims has become something of a joke in our industry. As gaming has gone more mainstream, there's less patience on the part of gamers to wade through a 200-page manual just to find out how to feather their props. Even putting a plane on the front of your box can dissuade many gamers who might appreciate the more action-oriented approach found therein. Crimson Skies for the PC is a great example. And while Totally Games has done a pretty good job of preserving some sense of realism in what is basically a fantasy flying game, I think the concessions have been weighted more on the side of convenience than realism. I can appreciate it as a fun action game but it holds little of the weight you'd expect from a World War II dogfight game. The lack of a compelling narrative enhances this pick-up-and-play mentality and detracts from my own involvement in what's going on. Secret Weapons Over Normandy makes a much bigger splash on the PS2 than it does on the PC and Xbox. Admittedly there haven't been many action dogfighters on the PC lately, but the system does have a considerable backlog of titles that offer better experiences than the one we have here. Likewise, the recent release of Crimson Skies for the Xbox, similarly hampers Secret Weapons' success on that platform. In the end, it seems as if Totally Games was holding back, hoping like hell not to overly smartify the title for a console audience. Before you start flaming, that's not a rip on the ability or attitude of console gamers at all; I just think console gamers are perfectly capable of rising beyond the challenges presented here. But the developers seem to have hedged their bets on this one, opting instead for greater accessibility at the cost of increased immersion.

• PC
• 7.2 / 10
• États-Unis

I like Battle Engine Aquila. It was a solid game on Xbox and PS2, but it comes up a little bit shallow on the PC. With other great mech games up for comparison, BEA just isn't up to snuff. The controls are clearly designed for a console and were never properly translated to the PC. Hardcore gamers will probably scoff, but those looking for a fun action title that offers several hours of diversion, this one may be worth picking up. Aquila's main design flaws can't be ignored. Had Lost Toys spent the past few months refining the AI and creating a system of gameplay rewards and penalties for your tactical decisions, there'd be a lot of replay value and a lot more joy to be had in the later levels. As is, BEA is your standard action fare with a few minor drops of lemon added to sweeten the taste.

• NGC
• PS2
• XBOX
• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• GBA
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

No conversion of Silent Scope will ever be as good as the original, unless, of course, Konami finds a way to offer a home-version rifle that the arcade version utilizes. But Silent Scope on the GBA is surprisingly fun in a mindless, twitch-action sort of way. The multiplayer mode that lets four players snipe away against each other on a target range is a great addition to a solid, if limited, action game.

• XBOX
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• PS2
• XBOX
• PC
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS2
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• PS2
• XBOX
• PC
• 7.5 / 10
• États-Unis

The Hobbit is a well-made adventure game that will absolutely provide a good amount of entertainment and satisfaction for those seeking it. But at the same time the title falls a little short thanks to a general lack of polish and overall difficulty. This game aspires to be the next Zelda in playability and scope and on some levels it succeeds. The presentation, from the slick cut-scenes to the stylized look, excellent voice acting and impressive music score, hits well beyond the mark. The Hobbit successfully merges storyline and game and it both follows the book's premise and occasionally takes some liberties. Meanwhile, the play mechanics, while all-too-traditional if not formulaic, get the job done and there are enough battles, puzzles and fetch quests to keep it all moving along. But control could be tighter. There are some collision detection issues and camera battles to contend with. And the challenge is never daunting or original. Meanwhile, the engine, which usually outputs large, pretty environments, sometimes coughs and framerate drops ensue. Recommended to hardcore Tolkien fans or to younger players after a fun adventure. That said, the game has a long way to go to take on Link in battle.

• PC
• 7.5 / 10
• États-Unis

The game is a good deal of fun once the patch is in place. Had the fighting engine been better, this one could have trounced Max Payne as king of the bullet-time games. But the fighting is too plain, too poor, and there's far too much of it. Namco may have been too subtle in presenting this as a movie-style game. You'll hear comments that you dismiss early on that actually have a subtle relevance later on. Things that in a Stallone movie would include a close up on Sly's face as he made the odd remark. Something that made it stand out. And then at the end of the movie, after the final battle, the audience would have that line pop back into their head and they'd smile. "Oh, how clever." But the cleverness is a bit too subdued here. Still, these qualms aside, DTR makes for a solid pick up, once you've installed the patch.

• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Gothic II has some great content and quest progression lying underneath an incredibly clunky exterior. If the combat didn't have such a high learning curve, the difficulty ramped up a bit slower, and the interface wasn't terrible, this would be a pretty good game. There's a lot of game here that would certainly appeal to the action/RPG crowd. I'm not sure why it's so hard to create useable and fun melee combat in a third-person RPG made for the PC, especially with so many great examples to look at, but Gothic II certainly makes you wish for some. It could have been a really great and fun game. As it is, it has some really good things and some really annoying things that make average to good gaming experience on the whole.

• PC
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• 7.9 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• PS2
• XBOX
• 8.3 / 10
• États-Unis

Metal Arms has unfortunately not received the attention it deserves of gamers. But if you're reading this review still, take notice because this is a surprisingly well-made action-shooter with a lot of heart. The game successfully merges a light-hearted storyline with some seriously intense combat, a good measure of strategy and a fun multiplayer mode. Oh, and the weapons in this title are downright awesome, especially the tether control device. There are some notable drawbacks, yes. The control may be too loose for its own good and the game sometimes runs on the frustrating try-die-and-try-again design philosophy. But overall the experience is very entertaining and satisfying. So with that in mind if you're looking for a smart, funny and unexpectedly deep action title with destruction and carnage at every corner, Metal Arms has got it in spades. Recommended.