IGN

• XBOX
• 8.3 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS2
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• 7.2 / 10
• États-Unis

Jedi Knight II is a problem-ridden port of a good PC game. It's obvious that no work at all went into trying to get this game to properly run on GameCube. The framerate is erratic and constantly alternates between smooth and choppy, further complicating the already clunky control system. If you're a huge Star Wars fan and you're looking for a well-paced action game that focuses on on-foot battles, give JKII a try. But be aware that it's tough to go back to Jedi Knight II after playing games like TimeSplitters 2, Bond, or Metroid Prime. Whereas these games offer smooth experiences even with multiple enemies on screen (and the last two deliver it with dynamic lighting to boot), Jedi Knight chops up even in small rooms with no enemies in sight. It's baffling, really. The great level design and authentic Star Wars feel are just enough to save this game from slipping from fun to merely average status, but one can't help wonder what a more experienced developer could have done with the port. Give it a look, but only after you've played the two other Star Wars games on GameCube -- or any of the currently available first-person shooters for that matter. If you're a multi-console owner, get the superior Xbox version to see a better realized port.

• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

It's not the precise, balanced, speedy brilliance of Wipeouts of yesteryear. Nor is it by any means the definitive racing package. But, Beam Breakers does manage to create and admirably deliver an enormous, believable, and simply awesome sense of scale and liveliness. Being able to barrel through George Jetson and kill Judy on her driving test has its allure. Couple that with an outwardly broken but actually intuitive and functional control scheme and some rather killer level design, and we've got a contender for quality. Even though Beam Breakers' mission play and voice work (not to mention the rest of the audio) try desperately to obliterate its appeal, the fun remains. Later course layouts with tighter turns and excessive traffic weaving make things complex and interesting. What's better is that this is not a game of unskilled memorization. A player need not study a map and play a practice run six times before jumping in, always careful to handbrake at that exact moment the indicator line turns red on that one, horrible, hairpin turn. No, Beam Breakers is crafted and balanced in such a way that on skill alone, avid and even casual gamers can partake in and enjoy its many pleasures, while naturally being subjected to several of its shortcomings and a few of its glaring faults. Not perfect, but commendable, respectable, and certainly worthy of a look, Beam Breakers is a lot like those floaty, quirky, unpopular people you reluctantly dated in school. It's going to take some time for it to grow on you, but when it finally does latch on, you'll likely be glad it did.

• XBOX
• 9.6 / 10
• États-Unis

This is the kind of game I imagined when I used to dream about the experiences next generation consoles were going to give us. Splinter Cell is one of the smartest games I've ever played in that it challenged me to lose myself in this world of espionage and to use everything I think I know about secret operatives to get through it. While there were plenty of times I would get caught in a trial-error-death cycle trying to clear a certain part of the game, I never once felt helpless or confused to the point where I was ready to blame the developers for poor level design or something. When you run into a difficult part in Splinter Cell that's just kicking your hide, it only means you're not thinking outside the box and exploring all of your options. It's not quite as open as a Grand Theft Auto game, but there are unorthodox ways of solving some problems. But in this world of super spies, there's no such thing as unorthodox, just do or die. This game literally shines on the Xbox and has enough gameplay hours to satisfy dedicated Halo junkies who've been waiting for the next landmark single player game on the system. Since you can play with varying degrees of stealth and aggression, you'll have every reason to play through Splinter Cell multiple times. I often found myself saying "Whoa, I don't know if gamers are going to be ready for that." But once Splinter Cell is in your system, and this game has a perfectly balanced learning curve, you will be ready for all it has to offer.

• NGC
• 4.7 / 10
• États-Unis

Hot Wheels Velocity X Maximum Justice is almost a fun game, except that its controls really hold it back and kill any enjoyment that might have been had with the game. It's too hard to keep speed in corners, or at least take them properly without crashing into the wall. There are a couple multiplayer modes, and a fairly large number of cars and weapons to unlock, but once again, the controls get in the way and you can't really enjoy using any of them. The stunts were also intended to play a large part of the game, but after seeing your car flip once or twice, that gets boring as well.

• PC
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

• PS2
• 4 / 10
• États-Unis

Treasure Planet hearkens back to the bygone age of movie-licensed games, back when all of them were published by Ocean and they all played more or less the same. The difference now is that they're boring 3D platformers, rather than boring side-scrollers and/or boring top-down shooters. Back then, there was no reason to buy a movie-licensed game when you could play something like Mario or Gunstar Heroes. Now, there is no reason to buy Treasure Planet when you can play something like Ratchet & Clank or Sly Cooper. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

• XBOX
• 6.8 / 10
• États-Unis

BMX XXX didn't live up to my expectation because, like many people, I was expecting an evolution of the Mirra franchise with the welcome addition of potty mouth humor and nude women. The women and humor are there, but the evolution just isn't. I think BMX XXX got caught up in a different kind of identity crisis than we've seen before. But looking at it for what it is, either the game needed to have more XXX or a more refined BMX side, but leaving it caught up in the middle where it is now won't be very satisfying for hardcore gamers. Whether or not XXX is a turning point for mature-themed videogames remains to be seen but popularity is a key element for controversy and XXX has plenty of spotlight on it. Mirra 2 scored a 6.9 last year thereby denying us the humor and irony this time around. A 6.8 and Acclaim owes us one.

• NGC
• 7.9 / 10
• États-Unis

Even with all its faults, Medal of Honor Frontline is successful at what it attempts to do: recreate a time and tell a good story along the way. Sure, it's linear (so was Halo, and even Half-life), but sometimes that is the most effective way to present a story. By forcing the player to follow a predetermined path, developers can set up pre-scripted events that can make for a much more dramatic presentation, and that is just what was done here. Like watching a good Hollywood movie, some people like to sit back and escape reality without having to do too much thinking in the process. So, make yourself comfortable, turn off the lights, turn up the speakers, and get ready to be whisked away to 1940's Germany.

• NGC
• PS2
• XBOX
• 8.9 / 10
• États-Unis

• XBOX
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

• NGC
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

If you're a multiple system owner, you may want to direct your attention to the Xbox version of the game. Slightly better looking and more responsive than the GameCube edition, it's the best way to go. Sadly, the PS2 rendition of the game appears to be rushed through development a bit. And in addition to the bizarre slowdown problems it has, also sports some rather hefty load times and graphical omissions the other two games don't suffer from. Despite my many nitpicks though, Rocky is in many ways the perfect boxing game. Capturing the spirit of the films more closely than few movie-licensed videogames before it, Rage Software's stab at the Italian Stallion is every bit a masterpiece that the movies were (trust me, it's already better than V). Though it definitely could have seen some improvement, particularly in terms of round scoring and CPU difficulty, there have been few boxing games yet to match this level of success. Joining the ranks of other legendary titles like Greatest Heavyweights and 4D Boxing, Rocky Balboa is very much for real and is Ubi Soft's best game this year next to Splinter Cell. Wait no longer -- run out and pick this baby up right now!

• XBOX
• 9.2 / 10
• États-Unis

I think Unreal Championship is going to help a lot of first person shooter fans get through the months ahead of us until Halo 2 arrives. Like that copy of Purple Rain in your music collection, Unreal Championship feels like an old favorite that's been there all along and we're just getting re-acquainted with it now that Xbox Live is here. But UC is new and I welcome the Unreal universe to the Xbox with open arms because Digital Extremes, Epic Games and Infogrames have shown us that Xbox Live games don't have to be dumbed-down to the point of sterility just because it's a launch title. The game is flat out fun like a good online shooter should be, it's as simple as that. Putting together your own well crafted taunts over the Communicator --with the voice-masking off please-- is a joy I didn't expect to taste so sweet. I can't recommend Unreal Championship to gamers who aren't going to get on Xbox Live even though the bot-play and system link games are still enjoyable because that's just not the strength of this game. For any of you looking for that final reason to get Xbox Live, this should definitely be one of them. And for those of you who already believe in Xbox Live and just haven't picked up your Starter Kit, you're just reading this review to find something to nitpick about! You know you're going to get Unreal Championship and when you do we'll all be online waiting for you.

• PS2
• 8.3 / 10
• États-Unis

If you're a multiple system owner, you may want to direct your attention to the Xbox version of the game. Slightly better looking and more responsive than the GameCube edition, it's the best way to go. Sadly, the PS2 rendition of the game appears to be rushed through development a bit. And in addition to the bizarre slowdown problems it has, also sports some rather hefty load times and graphical omissions the other two games don't suffer from. Despite my many nitpicks though, Rocky is in many ways the perfect boxing game. Capturing the spirit of the films more closely than few movie-licensed videogames before it, Rage Software's stab at the Italian Stallion is every bit a masterpiece that the movies were (trust me, it's already better than V). Though it definitely could have seen some improvement, particularly in terms of round scoring and CPU difficulty, there have been few boxing games yet to match this level of success. Joining the ranks of other legendary titles like Greatest Heavyweights and 4D Boxing, Rocky Balboa is very much for real and is Ubi Soft's best game this year next to Splinter Cell. Wait no longer -- run out and pick this baby up right now!

• XBOX
• 8.7 / 10
• États-Unis

Despite my many nitpicks, Rocky is in many ways the perfect boxing game. Capturing the spirit of the films more closely than few movie-licensed videogames before it, Rage Software's stab at the Italian Stallion is every bit a masterpiece that the movies were (trust me, it's already better than V). Though it definitely could have seen some improvement, particularly in terms of round scoring and CPU difficulty, there have been few boxing games yet to match this level of success. Joining the ranks of other legendary titles like Greatest Heavyweights and 4D Boxing, Rocky Balboa is very much for real and is Ubi Soft's best game this year next to Splinter Cell. Wait no longer -- run out and pick this baby up right now!