Game Reviews

For those who grew up with the NES like I did, this version of the Gameboy Advance SP really brings back the feel of a time when video games meant so much more than graphics alone. This looks great, and has the design of the classic NES controller. So simple in design, yet a genius idea to bring the design back to pay homage to one of the most enjoyable systems there ever will be. The SP itself is a great system to own with hundreds of great games, and along with this Classic NES GBA comes the line of classic games like Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and Excitebike to name a few. This was a great idea on the part of Nintendo and it definately is the sharpest design released yet. It is a shame though, because I don't own this version although I have held it. I have had the GBA since it was originally released and if I was just now buying one, this version would be it. But if you are pondering buying a GBA and are a fan of the Classic NES, this is the one you want.

... if you're old enough to remember the NES, and remember it fondly. The Gameboy Advance SP has delighted casual and hardcore gamers alike for over a year as it saves them money on batteries and allows them to see GBA games at their full visual potential. It's portable, durable, comfortable to hold and fun to play games on.

The Classic NES Edition has all of these advantages in a slightly modified casing made to please the eyes and hands of older gamers. When closed, the system resembles a vintage NES in miniature, from the darker-grey lower portion to the mysterious rubbery streak along the right hand side.

When opened, players get the visual quality of an SP screen affixed to the look and feel of a classic NES controller, as the inner surface around the recessed D-pad and buttons has been coated with a textured black plastic that recreates the feel of original NES controllers, with the buttons restored to their rightful shade of red.

If you're a fan of retro video games or just Nintendo in general, you'll like the Classic NES Edition SP: it gives you the gaming power of a Playstation with the look of a vintange Nintendo in the size of a Klondike ice cream bar.

this is the best looking gba sp i had a game boy color for 3 years and suddenly gba's the big thing all games work on gba not on the color i also have an NES with a controller so then one day i tell myself i should get the newest system gba sp so i go to the store and i end up seeing this one just looked my nes controller plus it was a brand new gba sp and it looked more colorful and cooler compared to the blue this looked like the one i wanted this is the coolest one i bought it with super mario bros. and man this rocks

This is a wonderful game for the family to play - it's a mental visit to Disney World for all of us. The kids are learning about numbers and money while having fun! Landing on a particular spot, Space Mountain as an example, brings up memories and stories. Our entire family looks forward to playing this version of an all-time classic game!

Disney monopoly is played almost exactly the same way the original Monopoly is. Except instead of the usual car, hat, and iron tokens, there are Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Dumbo, etc. And instead of hotels, Cinderella's Castle. The board is much prettier to, you buy movies, instead of properties, and instead of Chance and Community Chest there is Magic Moments and Picture Time. It's a great first Monopoly for kids since they would be much likelier to want to put down $400 for The Lion King, instead of Boardwalk. The one bad thing about the game - wasn't around when I was little.

When ToysRUs had a pre-Christmas sale on games (buy one get one free) I started reading Amazon's reviews. I bought Disney Monopoly based on the reviews here and cannot say THANK YOU enough to all who rated this game highly.

I'm playing it with 3 kids (age 6,7,8) and they are learning a TON about counting money and adding/subtracting. They all want to be the banker and I've told them they can as soon as they can make change well.

The board is wonderful and child appealing. The play is fast paced and engrossing. Kids just LOVE buying anything Disney. We had tried regular monopoly at our house but it bombed out. I hadn't played since I was a kid and had forgotten that Monopoly actually has A LOT of rules. The kids are all learning them though through the Disney version.

Another reviewer had said it would be a good game to use to teach 5-8 yr olds how to play Monopoly. Originally I had thought "naaa--they won't get it" but its TRUE! I am amazed.

In an age where I detest many of the "new" games this one is a great twist on an old favorite. HIGHLY recommended.

p.s. The only negative I have is that when we went to open the board up it was really tough. It turned out that someone at the factory (or some machine I guess) got GLUE happy and when we did get it opened up there were small tears in the board from the glue sticking. I have emailed Hasbro about this but haven't received an answer but I expect them to replace the board.

The best thing in life . . .? "I'll make him and offer . . .? If at first you don't succeed . . .? Jack Sprat could eat no fat . . .? If you can't stand the heat . . .? Think you can finish the lines, and then you are ready to play Finish Lines and have as much fun as I did.

Following the easy directions I was up and playing in minutes of opening the box. One thing to keep in mind is that there are small wooden tile, so you need to keep that small children away from the game.

Within 5 categories you have to finish the lines to collect tiles and fill up your space, first one to do this is the winner. You have lines from music, TV, speeches, proverbs and even books. There are 500 cards and the game plays fairly quickly, one thing is that the limited amount of cards will have you repeating some cards in a short amount of time.

I found that I was able to complete the game in about 30 to 45 minutes and you can have up to 6 players and the more the merrier. While the game is made for teenager to adult, some of the phrases will give the younger crowd a little trouble, but that's the fun of the game. Also I found that team play or men vs. women adds a whole new twist to the game.

Overall this was great party or family game and is made for just about any occasion. I certainly hope that there is additional card sets as I can see this game doing very well.

We enjoyed the game, but playing with a group of 3 people we went through 50 of the 500 "famous lines" in a single game. For the price, I would have expected more "famous lines". The cards and parts are durable, but I fear playing this game too many times would quickly exhaust all the questions.

When I first saw Finish Lines in the store, I thought, "Why hadn't anyone thought of this before?" What a GREAT concept!

I have played this game with family and friends and it is very addicting, in a good way.

We had hours and hours of fun and you never get tired of this game.

As compared to other "mind" games, this one beats them all!

I do hope the manufacturer continues to make more question cards, so we can continue playing this game for many more years.

Great job!! With the holidays coming up, Finish Lines would make a great gift.

Jailbreak, without question, rocks. Poppin' wheelies over cars, pounding your competitors off their bikes at 130mph. Wow.
Jailbreak gives you several different modes to play: The escaped con, the cop, or the dual player, fun as heck sidecar feature. -They're all a blast.
Bike to bike combat is exquisite, requiring just enough skill to feel proud when you pull up beside somebody and beat them silly, but not so much as to drive you insane. What you say? You want wrecks? Jailbreak's got 'em to spare.
Wiping out in this game is half the fun. Slides flips tumbles rolls and human flight can happen at any turn.
-I've spent almost as much time laughing with friends at wrecks as I've spent winning races.
Alone or with other players, this game is pure, unadulterated fun.

This game rocks! THe bikes go fast. There is a new side car feature. There is more fighting and new sayings. My favorite. I"m gonna open up a can of whup-a$$!! I own this game and I'm hooked. I play it every chance I get. You won't regret it when you buy it. I hope they make a road rash for the PS2.

The game is ok. When I first played it it seemed boring untill I read the intructions and learned the moves and the basics of the game. Then the game is cool. One player mode is anyway. I havn't played with a friend yet on it but one player mode is ok. It brings back memories of the old Sega Genises game that I used to play as a little kid.

From the Great Wall of China to the canals of Venice, Tomb Raider II is the rare case in which a sequel is better than an original. In fact, I find this game to be my favorite of the series. In it the legendary Lara Croft sets out to find the Dagger of Xion. In her quest she navigates the globe, and even takes a couple of trips to strange and magical new worlds.

Tomb Raider II offers significant improvements over the original, and its game play exceeds the other games that follow in the series. The game has drastically overhauled weapons and artificial intelligence. Though the puzzles are not as hard as later versions, they still are quite difficult. Lara has new moves, many new weapons, and more dangerous foes. What more could a Tomb Raider fan - or even the casual gamer - ask for?

I highly recommend this game, whether you are an avid Tomb Raider fan or somebody new to the series. I don't believe you will be disappointed - in fact, you will probably find many hours of action filled entertainment. And if you do enjoy it, I strongly recommend other games in this series.

Tomb Raider 2 is by far the best sequel game out right now. Lara kicks way more...in this one then in the first. Some of the reasons why are listed here:

Excellent 3D levels such as -

1. The Great Wall
2. Venice
3. Bartolli's Hideout
4. Opera House
5. Offshore Rig
6. Diving Area
7. 40 Fathoms
8. Wreck Of The Mario Doria
9. Living Quarters
10. The Deck
11. Tibetan Foothills
12. Barkhang Monestary
13. Catacombs Of The Talion
14. Ice Palace
15. Temple Of Xian
16. Floating Islands
17. Dragon's Lair
Epilouge: Home Sweet Home

Kick...weapons like -

Pistols
Uzis
Magnums
Shotgun
Grenade Launcher
M16 Machine Gun
Harpoon Gun

Awesome new enemy's like -

T-Rex's
Raptors
Guardian Of The Talion
and A Dragon

Tomb Raider 2 is an awesome game, but, my favorite in the series has to be Tomb Raider 3!

Below i have included a list (in order) of my favorite Tomb Raider games:

1. Tomb Raider 3
2. Tomb Raider 4: Last Revelations
3. Tomb Raider 2
4. Tomb Raider 5: Chronicles
5. Tomb Raider...

Of all the Tomb Raiders, this has to be my favorite, for gameplay and technical reasons. This backdrop of adventure is interesting and the closer you get to the "big Boss" the more eerie the game feels in music, puzzles, and adversaries. It was extremely well constructed. Of the series, I compare this to the other games. It seems like the designer was very careful in making this feel complete from the beginning and it flowed well to a dramatic finish. It had a great story and movie feel to the adventure.

Technically as a PS player, I liked the ability to save multiple times to get some of the tricky moves down (being new to TR) and it gave me the chance to replay levels that were fun after all was said and done. Enjoy!

Robin Hood is a commandos-like game by the creators of desperados. It has cool graphics and very fun gameplay.

The graphics are extremely well detailed in 2D. This results in a colorful and pretty world, but the camera can not be rotated.

Music and sounds are good. They usually are in modern games anyway.

The gameplay is very fun. What generally happens is that you choose a mission, choose the characters you want to use in from the Merry men and then play. Only 4-5 characers at once can participate. Then you start playing. Your characters all have some special skills. For example Robin can jump over small stones or on the top of tables. He can also shoot.

One very fun new option is the dueling interface. When two characters come close to each other they start fighting. Now you can try different ways to hit with different movements of the mouse. It really is quite entertaining.

The game does not have very good story, but that is not a problem with the fun gameply. And we all know about Robin Hood anyway.

The AI is very good. The enemies never act the same way. You can play one situation numerous times and it will always play differently. For example if you kill the soldiers in a patrol the patrol leader will most probably decide to get reinforcements. Or he might try to fight you.

In short, Robin Hood is a very beautiful in sights and sounds and entertaining in gameplay game.

A must have for people who like Commandos 1/2 and Desperados.

I got this game for Christmas and so I decided to try it out. From the beginning I just loved it!

The NPCs are amazingly realistic. For example: if you knock out a guard, one of his fellow guards might hear you and attack you OR he might flee in terror OR he might go and alert a commander who's patrolling the city OR he might wake up his friend and ask him what happened. If they alert the commander you will hear him say "Guards, guards" or "But he's dead" and he will point exactly in your direction.

The combat system is not like any other game I have played. Usually you just click on a guy and you attack him. In Robin Hood when you click on a guy you can draw a line in a circle or to the right and it does different attacks. There are around 8 different attacks. If you select several guys and draw a line they will all do the same attack. You can also jump on top of buildings and shoot the guards with your arrows while only their archers and crossbowmen can hurt you.

The graphics are very detailed for a 2D game and you can hide behind almost anything so that the guards wont see you.

In Sherwood Stutely has made a camp for you and after you rescue him and his friends you can go there. There are many things you can make your men do such as train on melee or archery, heal themselves, cook food, make leather purses to bribe the guards, make nets to throw on guards...

Some of the missions are a bit easy like the first ambush ones but of course im only at the start of the game (rescuing Will Scarlet).
However those missions are really fun because you can lead the guards into the traps that are set up.

I think this one of the best games I have ever played and I recommend it to all.

This is one of those games where in the end you wish it had just a few more levels.

This game is pretty unusual in its gameplay. At first, it just seems frustratingly difficult, but once you get through the first level and understand what this game is all about, it is very entertaining. The story of course is well known, so you won't be overly surprised in the end. However, I am very pleased with how the story is integrated.

Unfortunately, the game gets a bit repetitive, and I found myself wishing the game would force me to use different characters for different missions.

If I had to rate this game with a percentage like many magazines do, I would probably rate it somewhere around 85%. However, I did decide to give it 5 stars here. Not because the game is the best game I ever played, but because I want to give this game a 100% buy recommendation.

Being a big fan of Settlers of Catan, of course I had to rush out and get the add-on! It adds just a little more to the original Settlers game and allows players to venture out across sea and explore distant islands. Now instead of just traveling via road, players can also construct ships to travel the sea. The appeal of this add-on is that it gives the players a bit more options in play and more area to venture out to. It doesn't really change the strategy of the game.

The instructions include several board layout suggestions that players can copy if they chose. Personally, I like the options that allow some randomness to the layouts because that is the aspect that I found so appealing in the Settlers of Catan game: the fact that the board is never the same.

My word of warning is that Seafarers of Catan does add length to the play time. I find our games typically last about 2 hours. Of course, there is the expansion pack to the Seafarers game as well. Man I would have loved to have created this game! They sure are making some serious bucks with all the expansions and add-ons!

The Catan Games are worth the money that you put into them. It is an exciting game that changes every time you set it up, both by plan and by chance. Our 9 year old plays at times by herself and at times with her dad to learn better strategy. This is THE game we play whenever we have time to play.
Catan, itself, is a great game with the strategy of planning and building. Adding the ships and islands through Seafarers only bumps up the strategy of the game which adds more excitement and opportunities. The best part...no matter the game, it generally takes about 2 hours to finish. Not like Civilizations which is an all day game!

If you're reading this, you no doubt are already a fan of Settlers of Catan. You're deliberating, trying to decide if you want to shell out more $ for this expansion. "Is it worth it?", you ask.

As one Settlers fan to another, allow me to encourage you. Yes, it is definitely worth it!

Seafarers adds additional water and land tiles, as well as an additional land type: Gold Field. Gold field works like every other resource, except that when the number comes up you get to pick *any* resource card.

The game also includes little ships, of four colors. These ships function just like roads, and can be joined to roads through a settlement. You use them to explore from the mainland of Catan in search of additional lands (and additional resources).

The rulebook contains several scenarios, accomadating 3 or 4 players. Some scenarios start with all lands revealed, other scenarios include an exploration element. In these scenarios, only the mainland is revealed: the surrounding seas and the other land tiles are placed face down. These are turned over when a ship reaches them, revealing either a sea, in which case exploration must continue, or a land, in which case the discovering player gets one card of that land's resource.

You can see that one of the best things about Settlers, the random board setup, is made even better by hiding the concealing the nature of the unexplored tiles.

My only complaint is that the rulebook, which contains diagrams of specific tile layouts for each scenario, is printed in such a way that it is hard to read. The text is understood easilly enough, but the board layouts are dark and indistinct.

But this complaint is minor, and with practice is easilly remedied. Seafarers is a terrific expansion that makes the already great game of Settlers even better.

Hi, I have a Gamecube and I Want alot of things for it. My favorite game is Animal Crossing, but I am always bored. So I went and purchased this at Toysrus. Now I love to visit islands on it. Thanxs to the Nintendo GameCube/ Game Boy Advance cable it helps me unlock new levels. Thanxs

It's a very good product but it only can be shipped within U.S., so I can't buy it

What a great little toy this is. You can open up new unlockables as well as uncover new aspects of game-play with the advance cable which links the GameCube with the GameBoy Advance. Another benefit to this invention is multiplayer becomes more interesting with games like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Pacman Vs.
I definitely recommend this to anybody who loves to play Nintendo games and to all of you out there who have both a GameCube and GameBoy Advance. Don't miss out on the extras of linking-up.

This is a great game for those who have always loved the classic game of Uno. The great thing about this is that you don't have to get your friends or family to play with you. Uno for the Gameboy has different levels of difficulty so you don't always win and you don't always lose. It has neat animation and color to sort of jazz up the game for kids and adults. Again, it's a fun one to play when you can't get the friend's together for a card game of Uno. I recommend this to all the Uno game players.

Modeled after the card game of the same name, Uno for GBC is a fun, entertaining game for all ages. It's fairly easy to learn, so even those who have never played before will catch on quickly. The object is to get rid of all your cards before your opponent(s). But don't forget to call UNO when you have one card left! You can link up and play with your friends, or play one-player against a variety of computer opponents. The Gameboy version includes 3 themed decks- Groovy, Space, and Wild West, and even has several special new cards in addition to the normal Uno deck.

There are a few minor complaints- Until you are used to the controls, it's easy to do something wrong. I hit the wrong button and drew a card by accident when I could have gone out. Also, calling Uno is confusing until you're used to it. And the animations can be rather annoying, but can be cut off. It can also get slightly boring if a) you play it too much (2 hours straight like I did!) or b) you don't like card games. The number of good things about this game far outweigh the bad.

Overall, this is a great gameboy game, and will keep you entertained for a long time! Sadly, it is fairly rare and can be hard to find. Add it to your collection as soon as you can!

I love this game and the cards don't get lost. I play everynight before bed and take it on business trips with me. I get really sleepy watching the cards move and find it relaxing. More so than a meditation tape. Easy for my children to play.

This game is a family favorite! Our kids love this game. We all love to laugh and this game definitely gets us laughing. The kids love it when daddy gets the card that tells him that he is a fashion model on a runway! :) I would recommend this game for people who just want to laugh with their kids.

In this world filled with gloom and doom, it is refreshing to find a game that kids can play with friends, or with the entire family, that will make you laugh. Laughing is healthy, and we need to do more of it!

We finally found a game that we can play WITH our kids that was fun for everyone. We still laugh at each other's interpretations of the "Ha Ha, Ho Ho Hee Hee" laughter cards. This is a great game that let us bond together as a family. Our kids are 5, 7, and 9 and we were all able to play and laugh together. It sure beats forcing your kids into bancruptcy.