IGN

• XBOX
• 7.8 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• 8.2 / 10
• États-Unis

2002 FIFA World Cup suffers from the old "one step forward, two steps back" problem. The game controls, looks, and sounds better than FIFA 2002, but with only two modes and very few options it feels a whole lot more limited. Even the token Friendly mode seems more like an afterthought than a full-fledged game mode -- you actually have to select your stadium, time of day, and other settings in the options menu before you go into the Friendly mode. Strange. Like EA's own SSX Tricky, World Cup features "behind-the-scenes" FMV content. In the case of the GameCube version, you'll find three documentary featurettes about the World Cup, soccer in general, and the fans. It's nice that EA spent some time and money on giving gamers some background on what the tournament is all about, but I wish more time was spent on adding more gameplay modes instead of a handful of shortlived documentaries. Still, it's a neat little extra bonus that helps establish the game as the only official, licensed game of the World Cup. If you're getting swept up in the excitement surrounding the tournament and you're looking for a great soccer game to help you relive your favorite moments, you certainly can't do wrong with 2002 FIFA World Cup. Like its predecessor, it's a fun soccer game that delivers both single-player and multi-player action. But if it's longevity you want, go for last year's FIFA -- you can probably pick it up for a better price, too.

• XBOX
• 6 / 10
• États-Unis

• GBA
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Goemon's GBA debut starts off slow, but gets better as you delve deeper into the game. Sadly, you can never quite shake the feeling that you've seen everything before -- but with more interesting characters and more original level design. As a part of the Goemon franchise, New Age is a bit of a disappointment. It's a competent sidescroller that shows glimpses of Konami's past genius here and there, but never comes close to the quality of the old SNES sidescrollers. I hope that after this brief trip into the future, Konami brings the Goemon franchise back to its roots or even re-releases the much more charming SNES Goemon games on GBA -- complete with 2-player link-up gameplay, of course.

• PC
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Bottom line -- if you have High Heat MLB 2002, you can skip this year's edition, unless you're willing to drop $30+ for some tweaks and a roster update -- and even then, you're getting outdated rosters anyway. But if on the other hand if you're sick of the arcade-style console games masquerading as PC sports games, are looking for a richer, deeper, more satisfying baseball experience, and have yet to give High Heat a try, then 2003 is a good way to go. I feel a little dirty giving a good score to what is basically last year's game, but the fact is there's little to no competition for High Heat on the PC. It's this, or statistical sim-management games like Season Ticket or Baseball Mogul, which are fine games, but since there's no on-the-field action, that's a different genre entirely. Everybody else is dead. Stormfront, Accolade, and Sierra Sports have all hung up their cleats. Even EA Sports is sitting out this season, with last year's Triple Play Baseball still sitting in stores with Jason Giambi in his old A's uniform. Congratulations, High Heat. You're the champion. By default.

• PC
• 6.7 / 10
• États-Unis

Since finishing this review, I haven't played M&M IX. Not even once. This is a first for me. Even M&M VIII, which I thought was a duller, shorter version of M&M VII, kept me more engaged. The only time I felt the old need-to-play assert itself was in the M&M IX's dungeons, which used to be only mildly entertaining in M&M games. Combat is much improved, and a real challenge, now. However, every other activity has been reduced to a chore, against a frustratingly attractive but noninteractive background. Generic is a good word for this game. It's got reasonably good balance, fine graphics and exciting combat, and the old sense of humor is still there in out-of-the-way places (Robert and Douglas, Ludwig Van's Beet Hoven, etc). But the wild imagination and pull of distant desirable goals -- to walk on water, to fly over inaccessible mountain peaks, to visit far off cities only hinted at in the early game -- is gone. Certainly playable, M&M IX just isn't memorable.

• NGC
• PS2
• 3.6 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 9.3 / 10
• États-Unis

It goes against my nature to dissuade anyone from buying THPS3. However, and this is hard for me to say, if you've played this title on a console, then don't be in any rush to pick it up for PC. The online play is nice, but it's simply not the meat of the game. If you're an online fanatic, then by all means buy this game. Just don¿t blame me when you get bored. Of course, if you haven't played THPS, then buy it as quickly as possible and play it for as long as you can. It's that good.

• XBOX
• 7.1 / 10
• États-Unis

Although you'll initially curse the rigid control system, ExtraTime soon comes together as an above average soccer game. It runs at a smooth 60 frames per second at all times, there's virtually no load time, and it's got a great set of modes and options. The objective-based Scenario Mode in particular adds a welcome dose of originality to the standard array of modes found in almost each and every soccer game. On the flipside, there are also a number of problems that keep this game from being a favorite. In-game strategy options aside, it's simply not as well-rounded a package as last year's FIFA, lacks key licenses, and plays nowhere near as well as Konami's other soccer offerings. Konami will always have a special place in the hearts of soccer fans in Europe and Japan -- I realize that the US is still a niche market for soccer games, but it would be nice if we could all get to play the same game next time around. Since Xbox owners didn't get the superior FIFA 2002, this is currently the only MLS game around -- so give it a look if EA's World Cup game isn't your cup of tea.

• GBA
• 5 / 10
• États-Unis

Wacky Stacker is, admittedly, a decent clone of Puyo Pop. But the developers focused more on the puzzle design than the actual level structure...the game feels very unfinished because of the lack of options beyond the initial menu. Unless you're seriously into Tiny Toons (which, as far as I can tell, has already run its course as a license), skip this one and get the real deal: Puyo Pop.

• PC
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

I like Jedi Knight way more now than I did in the first few days of playing it. I think this is as much my not getting it as it is that the game starts too slowly. Normally I rail against games that don't grab my attention quickly enough but the investment in Jedi Knight II has more than paid off with hours and hours of pure, unashamed enjoyment (and more than a few minutes of rage and frustration at a few poorly conceived puzzles). Raven's to be commended for their fantastic "don't call it a comeback" with the recent trilogy of shooters -- Soldier of Fortune, Elite Force and now Jedi Outcast. Each one comes with enough substance and style to fill up three or four lesser games. When it comes down to it, I played this game far too much, putting off all other obligations and interests until it was done. Not only is this one of the greatest Star Wars games I've ever played, it's one of the best action games period. Get it, Play it, Love it.

• XBOX
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

• GBA
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 8.6 / 10
• États-Unis

Reviewing expansion packs is a little tricky. You've got to judge them on their own merits but so much depends on the strength of the basic game. Red Storm's usually been pretty slack with their expansions, preferring to rely on just a handful of new missions to generate interest and Desert Siege definitely fits the mold. But the difference between this expansion and last year's Black Thorn is that this franchise still has enough momentum and freshness to justify you buying and playing the expansion. There aren't that many missions and the two new multiplayer modes aren't as compelling as the existing ones. But more of the same is definitely a good thing for the Ghost Recon franchise, at least while we're still not too far removed from the original game's release. For only twenty dollars you get a few more hours of tense single player excitement and some notable general performance enhancements both in single player and multiplayer. That alone is more than worth your time and attention.

• PS2
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

• XBOX
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• XBOX
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• XBOX
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis