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That is, however, about as high as the praise can get. More than most other genres, if an adventure's core narrative foundations aren't solid enough to carry the rest of game, everything else is meaningless -- and Yesterday's is a story built on matchsticks and marbles. To play it is to see it come crashing down.

espite Weapons of Fate's many issues, there's one really great stage that stands out, a section in which Wesley's father must shoot his way through an airplane filled with terrorists. By shooting fire extinguishers he can blow the doors off the cabin and suck gunmen out into the sky. He can use beverage carts as movable cover. There's a great moment during his escape from the jet in which he must shoot enemy bullets, then take down the gunmen. This dense collection of neat moments cuts through the tedium and delivers the same action-packed frenzy as the film, making the level the indisputable highlight of the game. It's a shame that the rest of it couldn't harness so much excitement.

Still, for fans of Clive Barker, Jericho could provide some degree of entertainment, and as we stated at the beginning of this review, it's not totally devoid of rewards. At the same time, it's difficult to recommend a game with so many lackluster elements in a world full of Gears of Wars and BioShocks (both of which managed to be scarier than Jericho).

A failure. Despite the excellent art, and even ignoring the frustrating puzzles, the biggest problem here lies in a group of obnoxiously stereotypical characters working their way through bad dialogue and a poorly plotted and paced script, topped off with three horrifying words: "To Be Continued..."

Imperial Glory is one frustrating game. It gets so many things right and it certainly looks the part, but fans of the genre -- especially those interested in Napoleon-era fighting -- will have a tough time getting around the game's lighthearted attempt at modeling combat. Hopefully Eidos will allow Pyro to fix what's broken, because the game is a handful of critical tweaks away from being something special. As it stands, it's tough to fully recommend Imperial Glory unless realism and unit management are low on your list of priorities.

While I can't find any excuse not to have included online play in the Xbox version of the game, I can't deny that Scrapland is still a lot of fun. The game isn't perfect by any means, but most of its shortcomings are made up for by its entertaining characters and plot. American McGee has always had talent for crafting some truly original stories, and thankfully Scrapland is no exception.

As cool as the visuals can be, they're ultimately like a flashy paintjob on a car without much under the hood. The amount of unimaginative busywork and lame repetition in this game is really unfortunate. Still, Scrapland shouldn't be summarily thrown on the scrap heap. It has a unique look and feel, and the aerial combat can be good, simple fun.

Wanted had a lot going for it, including a lot of very clever puzzles, many of which that can be solved in a non-linear fashion, a coherent storyline, and nice graphics. Unfortunately, desktop crashes, the need for money and carrots, some annoying sound effects, and a few frustrating puzzles mar what could have been one of the better adventure games to come out in years.

Diehard RTS gamers, however, will find War Times doesn't keep pace with the depth and appeal of stalwarts like "Age of Mythology" or "Rise of Nations."

If you're a big Commandos fan, chances are you'll find something here to like. The movement and timing puzzles that make up the bulk of the gameplay can be tedious and frustrating, but completion of a mission always brings a rewarding sense of accomplishment. The interface quirks, some occasional crashes, and documentation gaps prevent Commandos 3 from being all it can be, but at the end of the day, it's good enough. 

While all these problems would seem to imply the title is not worth buying, the opposite is true. Runaway is actually a decent little adventure game. It's certainly not the best adventure game ever made, but it's not a disaster, either. The story and many of the puzzles are far too interesting to dismiss.

Praetorians is a good RTS game, far better and more innovative than most. A strategy game fan certainly wouldn't waste his or her money by purchasing this title. It's just disappointing that Praetorians is good enough to let players see where -- with a little more time, a little more tweaking and a few additions -- it could have been great.

There will always be a place for simple violent diversions in gaming, and this is one of those that seems to balance a few contemporary technical features with classic gameplay to create an experience that is quite simply fun.

Shines as one of the most addictive and compelling strategy titles of 2001.

Extremely difficult. Only hardcore fans need apply.