The N64 Rogue Squadron and its Gamecube-debut sequel, Rogue Leader, brought unprecedented professionalism and flair to Star Wars flight simulation. But developer Factor 5 still had a lot of ideas left. After a period of relative silence, they blew the lid open on what promised to be the magnum opus of Star Wars gaming: Rebel Strike.

On-foot missions. Multiplayer. Even better graphics than before. Somehow, they'd managed to improve on the formula in every way. At least, that was the picture they painted. Demos left a few players wary, and when the game came out, the verdict wasn't as one-sided as everyone initially thought it would be.

The story scheme of Rebel Strike is identical to that of Rogue Leader - they don't cover the same missions (the only event they share is the battle on Hoth), but they follow the same pattern of borrowing some from the movies, and fabricating some others to fit in the scheme of things. Rebel Strike splits its "storyline" into two paths: Wedge Antilles' and Luke Skywalker's. They both start at the same point, but from there they go in different directions. While Wedge works supporting the Rebellion in a number of skirmishes, Luke ends up on his own on Dagobah and Tatooine. And between those are Endor missions, which have you controlling a variety of characters to climactically bring down the second Death Star's shield generator.

The flight simulation is the same as last time: good old fashioned TIE-blasting fun. The biggest difference here is that there are more of them. Rebel Strike sports an improved game engine, and they've taken advantage of it with swarms of TIE fighters that would make Admiral Ackbar cry. There are a bunch of new ships this time around, too, including a Jedi Starfighter and the TIE Hunter, and you can pilot some craft you couldn't before (like AT- walkers and speeder bikes). The experiences and skills involved with piloting each of these craft is usually varied enough to keep it interesting. Each mission has a mixture of craft - for instance, in one you'll start out in an AT-ST infiltrating an installation, then you'll get into an AT-AT on rails and whale away on vital targets.

Unfortunately, not all of the new stuff is for the best. A significant portion of the game - not as much as half, but still a good amount - is on-foot. While it does offer a new experience, it isn't very easy to control, nor a very solid engine (even ignoring the uncontrollable camera). You don't aim while on foot, so shooting Stormtroopers is less a matter of skill and more one of moving around while simultaneously mashing the A button. There are some perks (like taking control of an E-Web blaster turret), but for the most part, the on-foot missions just aren't fun.

Graphically, the game looks even better than Rogue Leader - and there are routinely more ships flitting around in a Strike mission than Leader ever had. The sound and music is the same story as last time. These are perhaps epitomized in the game's introduction, which features various on-foot character models on a dance floor with a Death Star disco ball and a Star Wars theme disco remix.

Restoring balance to the Force, Rebel Strike's replay value counteracts the on-foot missions. While the mission campaign is still rather short (though longer than last time), there are still medals to earn, bonus missions to unlock, upgrades to find, and secret ships to uncover. But there's more: multiplayer. Rebel Strike boasts two amazing multiplayer modes, cooperative and versus. Cooperative mode is the entire Rogue Leader game, replicated without fault, made into a two-player adventure. The difficulty has been upped a bit, since you'll have more help with you, but it's otherwise the same as before with the added fun of a friend by your side. Playing co-op is really a blast.

Versus mode is something completely new. You pick a mode and stage, you and your friend each pick a ship, and then you duke it out in a variety of competitions. There are straight-out dogfights, there are speeder bike races, Mechwarrior-like walker battles, enemy melees, even a capture-the-flag derivative. All in all, the multiplayer is what makes Rebel Strike such a vast improvement on Rogue Leader.

Strike brings both good and bad to the table when compared with its predecessor - but more of the former than the latter. Triumphing over Rogue Squadrons I and II, the added replay value of the multiplayer modes (in addition to other unlockables, like the classic versions of the Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back arcade games) should keep you coming back for more this time around.

Progress: Complete

One of the most exciting things about watching a Star Wars movie is imagining yourself in the cockpit, shooting down TIE fighters and saving the galaxy from the evil Empire. Star Wars-themed flight simulators had enjoyed success on the PC platform for quite some time - but it took developer Factor 5 to work this magic on a home console, with Rogue Squadron on N64.

They repeated this flair with an Episode 1-themed sequel, Battle for Naboo, but like the movie it didn't quite measure up. Fortunately, this did nothing but strengthen Factor 5's resolve. A formal sequel to Rogue Squadron, returning to the original trilogy, became one of the Gamecube's best-looking and most eagerly-awaited release titles. And not without reason.

The stories of some of the game's missions are directly lifted from the movies, while others are inspired by their backstories (or just made up completely). The game spans the most exciting parts of the entire trilogy, from the asteroid field and Death Star run of A New Hope, to the battle of Hoth of The Empire Strikes Back, to the battle of Endor and second Death Star of Return of the Jedi. Between these movie milestones lie conflicts like a raid on an Imperial prison, or retrieving the Empire's plans for the second Death Star. While sometimes the story can give the game that good old Star Wars feel, more often than not it's just in the background.

If you've played a Star Wars flight sim before, you'll know there's nothing more exhilirating than shooting down TIE fighters. Or at least, you'll probably think that. Rogue Leader has squadrons of TIEs to spare, to be sure, but there's another challenge for young Rogue Squadron pilots to face: capital ships. Throughout the course of Rogue Leader, you'll have to shoot down three Imperial Star Destroyers (two of them in the Battle of Endor), and unlike some other games which had attempted this before, Rogue Leader doesn't make taking down Star Destroyers an impossible feat. Of course, you'll also be returning to Hoth, tying up AT-AT walkers with tow-cables and shooting up AT-STs and Probe Droids. You'll do bombing runs with a Y-Wing on sensitive Imperial installations. You can even pilot the Millenium Falcon if you play your cards right. More than a nostalgia trip, Rogue Leader is solid space- and atmosphere-fighting fun.

Beyond being a Star Wars game, the reason most people looked forward to Rogue Leader was how astounding it looked. Lighting, shading, attention to detail - the graphics are a great accomplishment, with slowdown only in the most intense of instances. Rumor had it that Lucasfilm asked the graphic artists for Rogue Leader to tone down the effects, because the game looked better than the original films. The game's sound effects and music make it seem like an even more intrinsic part of the Star Wars saga, mostly taken directly from the original movies.

After getting used to the game's challenges, the 10 main missions probably won't last too long. But there are another five bonus missions unlockable with certain numbers of points - points earned by getting Bronze, Silver, or Gold medals in missions (based on your performance, things like accuracy, lives lost, completion time, et cetera). There are also upgrades in the game, always hidden away in a dark corner somewhere - once you get them, all your ships will be more powerful. And there are a handful of unlockable ships too, like Darth Vader's TIE, the Slave I, and the Naboo Starfighter.

Not just a treat for Star Wars fans, Rogue Leader is a joy for anyone who likes flight simulation, or just blowing stuff up. It's a solid title, and while it may not last long, it'll probably give you a few adrenaline rushes along the way.

Progress: Complete

Back in December 2002, Flagship - a development studio of Capcom - remade Nintendo's seminal SNES adventure The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Game Boy Advance. This alone would have been enough to ensure the game's success, but Flagship decided to add in a little experiment it had designed: Four Swords, a multiplayer Zelda.

That Four Swords was more of a bonus feature than an independent game; its story was simple, and there were only four stages to play. But the concept was too good to let go. Nintendo themselves ran with it, and created a full-fledged multiplayer Zelda for the Gamecube, promoting their GBA connectivity concept at the same time. Thus was born Four Swords Adventures.

Four Swords Adventures is, story-wise, sequel to the GBA Four Swords. As the legend goes, long ago, the wind sorcerer Vaati appeared and kidnapped the maidens of Hyrule. A mysterious wanderer used a magic sword to quadruplicate himself, then sealed Vaati away with the blade, in what became known as the Realm of the Four Sword. Ages later (Four Swords), Vaati broke free and kidnapped the princess Zelda. Zelda's childhood friend, Link, took up the Four Sword and came to the rescue, once again binding Vaati within the sword. But this seal, too, would not last forever.

The semi-cinematic introduction of Four Swords Adventures shows Link being called to the castle by Zelda, one dark, stormy night. She and the other six maidens of Hyrule are concerned that Vaati's seal may be weakening, so they mean to strengthen it. But when they begin to go about their work, a strange doppleganger - Shadow Link - leaps through the portal to the Realm of the Four Sword and spirits the maidens of Hyrule (including Zelda) away, before disappearing back into the portal. Link gives chase, but he has no weapon handy, so the only way to attack Shadow Link is to draw the Four Sword from its pedestal. Unfortunately, doing so unleashes Vaati once again; and while Link chases his dark imposter to rescue the maidens, Vaati spreads darkness all throughout Hyrule.

It appears like a fairly rudimentary plot, and for the most part, it is. But as the game develops, you'll find a slightly darker story behind it, hinting at what's to come - FSA posits itself as a direct prequel to Link to the Past. And the game is rife with Zelda-series cameos: Tingle, Malon and Talon, the bug-catching kid, several classic and newer bosses (Arrghus and Moldorm to Jalhalla and the Helmaroc King), even the King of Darkness himself.

There are two gameplay modes in Four Swords Adventures: Hyrulean Adventure (the main game), and Shadow Battle. Shadow Battle is a multiplayer-only battle mode, covered further down in this review, but Hyrulean Adventure can be played with anywhere from 1-4 players. The controller scheme is just like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - if more than one person is playing, every player needs a Game Boy Advance and a GBA-GC link cable (the game comes packaged with one), but if only one person is playing, you can use a standard Gamecube controller. In single-player, the GBA screen is emulated on the television when necessary, but doing this for 2-4 people at once would make the interface far too messy and interfere with the game. The multiple-screen concept is integral to the game: while some Links are in caves or houses on their GBAs, the rest of the group can be outside on the TV screen doing other stuff.

Hyrulean Adventure is, in a dramatic change from the Zelda norm, episodic - there are eight "levels" (areas of Hyrule), and each level has three stages. Again like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, this episodic nature allows players to jump into or out of the game at any time, and any save file can be played with any number of players regardless of how it was played before. While the lengths of stages vary slightly, most of them should take between 20 and 40 minutes each, making the entire game round out to a very respectable length. While some stages are more difficult without friends to help you out, nothing requires you to have more than one player.

Each stage is, aside from its relative linearity (distinct beginnings and ends - again to go along with the episodic nature of the game), extremely reminiscent of Link to the Past. Solve switch puzzles, defeat enemies, push things around. However, there are a few fundamental changes to the LttP formula, namely new moves and the fact that there are four Links. Link has some new techniques, apparently gleaned from Super Smash Bros. - a forward dash-slash, and a downward stab you can do while in midair (either shot from a cannon or while jumping). Yeah, jumping - FSA brings a number of cool Zelda items into the mix, including Roc's Feather, the Fire Rod, the Magic Hammer, and Pegasus Boots, in addition to the ones you'd expect (like a Boomerang, Bow, Slingshot, and Bombs). Again episodically, these items don't stick - each player can only hold one at a time, and they vanish at the end of a stage. The only consistent items are Force Fairies (free lives). This may sound like a hindrance, but the one-item mechanism opens up a whole new world of puzzles, too.

The multiple-Link dynamic is perhaps the game's greatest success. Not only does it enable new kinds of puzzles (pressing multiple switches at once, being in different places at once), but, while it's a deeply complex system, the game makes it as easy as cake. In multiplayer, every player will have a "leader" Link, and extra Links will be split up among them (with two players, for instance, each will get a leader and a follower). There are three types of formation, loose, tight, and individual. In loose formation, the leader acts on the player's controls and the follower(s) just follow(s) behind. In tight formation (which can be made either vertically or horizontally in a line), every Link a player has will move and act with the player's controls simultaneously. Individually, each Link can split apart from the group with the press of a button, and the rest of that player's Links will fall asleep - the individual Link can be controlled separately, and individual control can be switched to any of the other Links on the fly.

With two or three players, though, it's not definite that the Links will be even - extra, non-leader Links, can be stolen from a player when another player picks them up. Then the extra Link will follow in tow of its new leader (well, until someone else takes him, anyway). This embodies the spirit of simultaneous cooperation and competition that makes multiplayer Four Swords Adventures the genius that it is. In single-player, of course, you'll have all four Links under your control, and there are two additional tight formations: Box, a 2x2 Link square, and Cross, which is basically Box on a 45-degree tilt.

Beyond getting through screens by solving puzzles and defeating enemies, the goal of each stage is to gather Force Gems, which restore the Four Sword's power to repel evil. Each player has his own collection of Force Gems, and though the only requirement is that everyone has a collective 2000 Gems by the end of the stage, competition can arise between players with the ability to knock someone down and steal their Gems. Don't worry about not having enough - Force Gems are found in chests, dropped by enemies, even hiding in bushes and grass, and in all but the rarest instances, more than plenty of Gems will be right in front of you.

The stages themselves are both a nostalgia trip and successful examples of level design. There are a number of throwbacks to previous Zeldas, with stages in the Lost Woods, Kakariko Village, a graveyard, Lake Hylia, Hyrule Castle (twice - one of which more resembles the infiltration of Forbidden Fortress in Wind Waker), Gerudo Desert, even the Eastern Temple. While faithfully warming the hearts of Zelda veterans, the stages are at the same time a joy to play regardless.

Four Swords Adventures uses a rather unique visual style. The game itself is 2-D overhead, like the original Zelda games of yore, using the new, more energetic character sprites Flagship created for LttP/FS. But the Gamecube's power isn't wasted; environments are gorgeously detailed, and effects from explosions to fires and everything inbetween are taken straight from The Wind Waker. There are also some occasional side-scrolling sections, which are a gameplay mechanic in and of themselves, but the same basics of the game's graphics stand. If you've seen FSA, you might be worried that the newer-looking effects clash with the old-school graphical style; but it works, and wonderfully at that.

FSA is in a similar situation sound- and music-wise. Some sound effects are taken from Link to the Past, some are taken from newer adventures (like Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker), but they all sound great. Most of the music is slightly-remixed Link to the Past fare, though a select few tracks are entirely original creations. All the game's music is a joy to listen to.

Aside from dynamic player switching, another of the key advantages to FSA's episodic structure is replay value. Any stage of any level can be returned to at any time to play again. You can try to beat your Force Gem score from last time, you can try to earn more Force Fairies, or you can just do it again for the fun of it.

There are also two types of multiplayer minigame: Tingle's Tower, and the Shadow Battle mode. Tingle's Tower appears in the Hyrulean Adventure mode when you're playing with any number of friends. A Tower can be unlocked in each of the adventure's eight levels, and each time you unlock a tower a new minigame comes with it - so there are eight of Tingle's minigames, which range from horse-racing to hammer-tag to trying to defeat as many enemies as possible.

Shadow Battle brings out the worst in Link. Whereas Hyrulean Adventure tries to foster a semi-competitive but still cooperative spirit when playing with friends, Shadow Battle throws all that aside in a battle royale: last Link standing wins. There are ten battle stages (five are unlocked when you beat Hyrulean Adventure), and each one is loaded with hidden traps, including some you can manually trigger to pull the rug out from under your 'pals.' You can hide in caves and houses, you can trick your comrades into killing each other, you can even throw cuccos; one of the cleverer moves is to unleash a cucco, slash it up, then hide in a cave while the hapless Links outside are marauded by cucco rage.

Four Swords Adventures isn't just a multiplayer Link to the Past, nor is it just another Zelda. With such massive combinations of old and new, FSA has more nostalgia than you can shake a Cane of Somaria at, and at the same time is just a really good game. Alone, it's a great Zelda revival with brand new twists; with friends, it's one of the most fun games you'll ever play. It's no epic like Wind Waker, but despite its humble appearances, Four Swords Adventures is one of the Zelda series' greatest triumphs - and that's saying a lot.

Progress: Beat final boss in single-player

Released in the fall of 1998, Metal Gear Solid (a next-gen revival of the classic Metal Gear) represented a true masterpiece of its time. Hideo Kojima's stealth gameplay concepts were new and fun; the story was deep and thrilling; and its themes, from government conspiracy to nuclear tensions, made the game startlingly meaningful.

It was followed three years later with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and while MGS2 pushed the envelope with even more gameplay innovation and provided a new story, it couldn't (indeed little could) contend with the powerful plot and theme of the original. With that in mind, Silicon Knights remade the first Metal Gear Solid for Gamecube - but took parts of MGS2 with it.

The story (left completely untouched from the Playstation MGS) puts retired FOXHOUND special operative Solid Snake in a secret mission on Shadow Moses island, Alaska. A terrorist organization made up of other FOXHOUND members has taken over the nuclear disposal facility on Shadow Moses, and threatens to make an attack in 24 hours unless their mysterious demands are met. Snake must use his stealth sneaking and combat skills to prevent catastrophe. Full of interesting characters, innovative story elements, and dramatic plot twists, the story of Metal Gear Solid is certainly not second fiddle to the gameplay. It could be said, however, that the game puts too much of the spotlight on the story; a significant portion of Twin Snakes, perhaps more than half (or at least what seems like it), is purely cutscene.

Twin Snakes' gameplay is gleaned more from MGS2 than its predecessor, incorporating advanced stealth tactics and abilities invented to up the ante on the original. The name of the game is stealth, first and foremost, and though Snake can punch, kick, and shoot with the best of them, his best weapon is still silence. The goal is to get through a number of areas (mostly large indoor rooms, but some sections are outside, like a snowy field), and though you could pick a fight with everything in your way, it's usually more beneficial to sneak around it - especially since rations are limited. Utilize a number of items and techniques, from tranquilizer shots and camera-disabling grenades to crawling along the ground or hugging the wall; and, since the enemy AI (which can be remarkably intelligent in higher difficulties) will respond to seeing fallen comrades, you can even stow bodies in secluded rooms or lockers. There are really a bevy of stealth concepts, and using them all to your benefit is the heart of the MGS challenge.

Graphically, Twin Snakes is - for the most part - pretty gorgeous. Facial and clothing details, falling snow, even explosions all look good. The cutscenes are directed wonderfully, if a bit larger than life at times (in addition to being fairly long), and the in-game graphics are just about flawless. The game's soundtrack isn't too prevalent; the only thing it's really good for is staying out of the way - forgettable tunes don't distract you from your sneaking. Sound effects sound good, and most of the voice-overs are excellent (though Snake's consistently husky voice could get on your nerves).

In the replay department, Twin Snakes has three distinct offerings: collectibles, difficulties, and miscellany. Various enemies in the game have dog tags you can collect, and there are certain places in which you can take a picture, and a ghost image of an MGS developer will appear; these collectibles have no reward but accomplishment. Twin Snakes has a variety of difficulty settings which can become quite challenging - one option, for instance, gives you a game over as soon as Snake is detected. Other things include two endings (depending on a choice you make mid-game) and unlockables for completing the game a certain number of times.

Though it has solid (pardon the pun) gameplay and an intriguing and well-written story, MGS:TS is not without flaws - some writing errors remain in the script, some parts of the game just seem awkward ("wacky game" moods conflict with "serious drama" themes), and, not to overstress the point, but the cutscenes are far too long and too frequent. In the end, if you've already enjoyed Metal Gear Solid, MGS:TS is little more than a novelty; but if you're a devoted Metal Gear fan, or if you've never played MGS, Twin Snakes is definitely a worthy play.

Progress: Complete

Tactical RPG games combine strategic unit movement and timing with RPG attacking and magic use. It's a less recognized genre of games, to be sure, but certainly not one worth ignoring to any RPG fan. Along with changeable job classes ala Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Tactics brings the Final Fantasy mythos and TRPGs together in glorious harmony.

Final Fantasy Tactics was published on the coat-tails of Final Fantasy VII - and while it may not have enjoyed as much publicity, it did receive a story and gameplay experience of magnificent quality as well. There still isn't much that can match FFT's execution of the TRPG.

The story of Final Fantasy Tactics takes on two aspects. The beginnings of the game's story are rooted in the power struggle of peasants and nobles. It raises many questions about class philosophy, and what is 'right' and 'just'. However, over time, the plot evolves into a story of life-threatening evil. It seems a little awkward at some points, but overall, it manages to work. Most characters' personalities are profusely detailed, each one clear in his or her ideals, and each one having distinguishable characteristics.

Tactical RPG staples of two-dimensional movement (along with the third dimension of height) and turn-based combat centered around a character's speed add new depths of strategy to classic swords-and-sorcery Final Fantasy gameplay. As with all TRPGs, battles can be long, but if you keep playing, you'll either get faster or get used to it. Every successful blow earns a character experience points for leveling up, and job points for learning new techniques in his/her job class. While not fighting, you'll be able to change a character's class and abilities (two offensive skill sets, one passive support skill, one reaction skill, and one movement skill). Once you get the hang of the job system and the game's 20 different classes, its strategic depth is almost limitless.

FFT's graphics aren't the best, but aren't half bad either. The level patterns are somewhat unclean, while the characters are nicely detailed, and the spell effects are a sight to see. Sound effects are fitting, as are the soundtrack's variety and excitement.

A first time through Final Fantasy Tactics will probably take between 20 and 30 hours. From furthering the story, to gaining levels and becoming more powerful (and learning entirely new and different abilities), FFT is one of those games that rewards a player for more time put into the game. There are also a few sidequests for more powerful items, for interesting and unique party members, or just for the sake of accomplishment.

Tactical RPG fans can't help but love FFT. Fans of Final Fantasy will enjoy seeing their favorite characters and spells in a new light (if a bit turned off by the complexity of the game). Combining classic role playing elements with a thinking man's game was a brilliant idea, and it was executed very well. If you don't mind the depth and breadth of Final Fantasy Tactics, give it a play.

Progress: Complete

Though some think life began with Final Fantasy VII, much of its genius was taken from (or is eclipsed by) its predecessor. Final Fantasy VI is highly regarded among those who've played it as the pinnacle of the Final Fantasy series, and one of the greatest RPGs ever made.

FFVI (as it was known on Super Famicom, but was released as Final Fantasy III on the American Super NES, then eventually title-corrected in 1999 as part of Final Fantasy Anthology) represents not only a glorious fusion of story and gameplay, but the quirky innovation that many Final Fantasies have come to be known for. FFVI has done things that modern RPGs still have yet to replicate.

Once, there was great magic, and the world prospered under its power; but there came magic wars, and the world was sundered, and nearly destroyed. Ages later, technology was rebuilt, and people lived well once more - but magic was a lost art. The megalomaniacal Empire, under the rule of the Emperor Gestahl and the command of Kefka, seeks to unlock this ancient power, and what begins as an attempt to overthrow the empire turns into a quest to save the world. FFVI has some of the greatest storytelling ever seen: almost every character has an interesting background, and their personalities shine throughout the game's epic twists and turns.

Each of the game's 14 potential party members has an entirely unique way of fighting, and they're all interesting twists on the battle mechanics themselves. This variety is further enhanced by what is still one of the most fleshed-out equipment systems in RPGs today, with not only weapons and pieces of armor, but special accessories that actually do something. Magical entities, Espers (which also play a role in the game's story), can be joined to characters to allow them to learn magic spells and enhance their abilities and statistics. Espers also serve as the game's summons. FFVI's gameplay is a greatly creative elaboration on the classic 2D Final Fantasy too great to summarize.

Despite age, the graphics are nothing to scoff at, especially considering how many things the game sometimes has moving around on-screen. Sound effects blend with the rest of the game fluidly. The music is superb, possibly the best of any Final Fantasy, with a widely diverse soundtrack for all sorts of occasions and situations.

FFVI's basic game length is easily a few dozen hours. Add to that tons of sidequests (a couple of those 14 party members are entirely optional), some minigames (like a combat colosseum), and more collectibles than you can shake a stick at (a number of the characters have blue mage-style techniques to learn), and the complete package is over 100 hours, no problem.

With a rich storyline, enjoyable and unique gameplay, and plenty of content, Final Fantasy VI is a fantastic game. It's a requisite item for any RPG fan's resume. Play it.

Progress: Complete

GoldenEye 007 was launched early in the life of the Nintendo 64. It was remarkable - an excellent first-person shooter game, and a great multiplayer game (still one of the best), on a console. In many ways, GoldenEye paved the way for console FPS games to come, especially Rare's second N64 shooter, Perfect Dark.

GoldenEye's success was due primarily to its faithful transition of the spirit of Bond. Relying partially on the player's stealth sneaking, and partially on his license to kill, GoldenEye is the definitive James Bond.

The story of GoldenEye 007 (the movie and the game) begins with a mission nine years ago, in which James Bond (007) and his partner Alec Trevelyan (006) infiltrate a Russian facility to destroy containers of noxious nerve gas. However, the duo is caught in the act by the Russian military; while Bond escapes, Trevelyan is left behind and shot in the head by general Arkady Ouromov. Nine years later, Ouromov comes up again in an odd story involving an organization called Janus, a Siberian satellite control station, and the GoldenEye, a satellite which can fire an electromagnetic pulse great enough to disable all electronics in an entire city. Bond's video game mission to save the world features, builds on, and diverges from the movie in various instances.

Typical first person shooters, even today, focus heavily on simply blasting your opponents to smithereens. James Bond, on the other hand, prefers subtlety; and this was factored into GoldenEye. The main focus of the missions isn't to shoot everything that moves, but to take it slow, plan your route, and snipe your victims covertly, so as not to attract enemy attention to yourself. Of course, in some situations, you'll still have to shoot like a madman, but these aren't exceptionally common. GoldenEye has a wide array of weapons to offer - handguns, machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, knives, and tons of Q's useful gadgets. But, true to the genre, even GoldenEye's story mode is overshadowed by its multiplayer. Up to four people at once can play, with dozens of different weapons (sorted into several sets), and in several different arenas. Selectable character models for multiplayer are based on James Bond characters, and while some of them are from the game's one-player missions (like James Bond, Alec Trevelyan, and generic soldiers), some were made just for multiplayer (like Oddjob and Jaws).

GoldenEye's graphics, being from the early days of the N64, are significantly less than impressive. They're coherent, though, and you'll always be able to tell when someone's shooting at you (and usually, where they're shooting from) by the graphical bullet effects. Sound effects fit the game perfectly, and the music is catchy, from a remixed 007 tune to several ambient themes.

GoldenEye is definitely not a game you play once and put down, and it's not just because of the great multiplayer gameplay. There are a total of 20 single player missions (18 in the main story and two more bonus missions), and three difficulty modes: Agent (easy), Secret Agent (more challenging), and 00 Agent (much more difficult). By completing certain levels within certain times in a specific difficulty, you'll unlock cheats, which can be used in single player for fun (not for completing missions), or in multiplayer for added effect. One particularly interesting cheat is DK mode, which makes all the characters look like Donkey Kong - small bodies, and enormous heads.

One of the greatest FPS games ever made, possibly the greatest on any console, GoldenEye is legendary for a reason. It may not have the complexity or feature sets of today's shooters, but it's still good, old-fashioned shooting fun.

Progress: Complete

The infamous StarCraft. A Sci-Fi themed Real Time Strategy game, from the one and only Blizzard. Three races, dozens of units, infinite maps, one goal: conquer. StarCraft puts you in command of a force of one of three different races: the human Terrans, a balanced force with the ability to bounce back; the Protoss, an incredibly advanced race with sheer power on its side; or the Zerg, a horde of mutating creatures with strength in numbers.

Like many Blizzard games, the story has a nice duality; it's incredibly deep in writing, but in gameplay, is simplistic and doesn't get in the way. The ancient Xel'Naga race created both the Zerg and Protoss, and the game begins when the domineering Zerg make their way to Terran space, and the Protoss try to stop them. Through misunderstandings, convoluted power struggles, failed plans and unforeseen twists, the story develops intriguingly in the campaign mode. The original game has 30 campaign missions, and Brood War adds 26 more.

While all three StarCraft races rely on the basic principle of attacking the enemy and defending your own base, the differences in gameplay between them are astounding. Each race differs in such fundamental areas as how workers build things, where structures must be placed, and unit creation, and each race has several unique abilities all its own (most Zerg units, for instance, can burrow underground, and Terran buildings can lift off and fly around). Every single unit is balanced excellently, between power, speed, defense, and price. Some units have special techniques, like cloaking or casting a psionic storm, which can really make battle very interesting. StarCraft has dozens of unique buildings and units, and Brood War brings in a few more for each race.

StarCraft's graphics are very clean and polished. Units and environments look good, as do effects. Sound effects are very fitting, and very well done; the music is barely noticeable most of the time, but is also a good production.

Though the single player campaign and multiplayer settings are well thought out, there are two things that really keep the game alive today: Battle.net, and StarEdit. StarCraft can be played online via Battle.net for free, with up to eight players (human or computer controlled) in a single game. And StarEdit, Blizzard's accompanying map editing utility, can be used not only to create new terrains on which to battle, but also for unique Use Map Settings maps, which can take the trigger systematics of the campaign missions to all new levels (with UMS, it's possible to transform a map into an RPG, a puzzle game, or almost anything else you can imagine).

The replay is endless. The game is well thought out and fun. Between massive armies clashing on an alien landscape, and twisting the game's mechanics in UMS games, StarCraft and its expansion Brood War are classic games that keep on kicking.

Progress: Gave Up -- Haven't finished single-player campaign

The Lunar Silver Star story has been told and retold a number of times. Lunar Legend carries it to handheld territory, and as should be expected, changes the game's play and story in the process. Unfortunately, most of the changes aren't for the better.

As one of the relatively long-standing RPGs today, Lunar has relied on its humorous storytelling and basic, enjoyable gameplay to prosper. Lunar Legend denigrates both of these, with little to show in recompense. Some changes are understandable in the conversion to a portable platform, but others are really a mystery.

Lunar Legend's story is at once interesting and not. In the small town of Burg, Alex, the main character, has always wished to go on adventures like his hero, the legendary Dragonmaster Dyne. When a magic apprentice from a far-off city comes to Burg looking for the White Dragon, just such an adventure begins for Alex and his friends, and through some hardships and kidnappings, they travel the world in the quest to save it (and for Alex to become a Dragonmaster). The plot has some twists in it, and the storytelling sometimes presents these well; but most of the time it lazily proclaims, in so many words, "just go to the next area."

As a two-dimensional, random-encounter, turn-based RPG, Lunar Legend holds few surprises. Your party can hold up to five characters at peak times (these characters are selected based on story progression - there's no party member switching available), and each character has pre-set abilities he or she learns at certain levels. There's a healer, an offensive magic user, a physical attacker, and so on. Each character has a bar below their stats, which gradually fills up as that character attacks; when it's full, he can execute a special ability for no MP, at which point the bar re-drains. There are a few special actions available in battle, namely, Auto (the AI automatically chooses a physical attack for all your characters, with a random enemy target) and Tactic (similar to auto with random targets, but the actions can be pre-planned on another screen outside battle).

It's nice and basic. Unfortunately, there are some gameplay facets and features which make the game excruciatingly easy to play in all but the rarest circumstances. A magic dragon-cat-thing, Nall, follows Alex on his adventure; if someone in your party dies in battle, Nall has a random chance of reviving them at no cost. Saving the game saves your precise location, and loading it will bring you back to exactly where you were before; which wouldn't be so bad, if not used in tandem with the fact that loading a game completely restores the HP and MP of every party member. Enemies themselves are almost always a cinch (both weak and stupid), to the point where a large portion of the game can be passed with ease by simply letting Auto, as dumb as it is, do the job. Later in the game, this strategy may also involve healing occasionally. And Lunar Legend's idea of a dungeon puzzle (of which there are roughly two in the entire game) is walking over/through a few switches/doors in the proper sequence.

The graphics are nice and clean for a handheld, and some effects look pretty good. Single-frame cutscenes for specific story moments look alright, but are always presented in the same cheesy fade-to-white manner. Sound effects are mediocre. The game's music is best when muted - the quality is horrendous, equitable to perhaps a Game Boy Color game.

In addition to a basic game of around 15-20 hours' length, there are a few side quests, and some special items to go along with them. There are also unlockable pictures in the gallery - most come free with playing the game, a few are special and must be found. But playing the game is so tedious in itself that there's little motive to keep going with what replay there is. And an unlockable Sound Test is more of a punishment than a reward.

With gameplay easier than easy, an awful soundtrack, and some mistranslations to boot, Lunar Legend is a far cry from legendary. If you want a passable GBA RPG to whittle away your time, Lunar Legend might be worth a look - but otherwise, and especially if you want to get a glimpse of Lunar itself, stay far, far away. There are other, more successful iterations than this.

Progress: Complete

"In a world of deception, believe in nothing... except yourself." So says Beyond Good & Evil's case, promising a game full of drama and conspiratorial twists. This tagline should be taken with a rather large grain of salt, though, as the game's plot - about which the rest of its success relies - is more hype than depth.

BG&E is a perfect example of a game idea developed too soon. As plot writing typically goes, the premise is rich (if not delved into much), and all but the final portion of the game is missing vital gameplay motivation. But, proving that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the title has also garnered considerable sleeper-hit praise.

You play as Jade, a young freelance reporter on the planet Hillys. Jade and Pey'j, a humanoid pig (more human than pig), live in a lighthouse and protect a number of orphaned children, their parents taken by invading aliens. The invaders - the DomZ - abduct Hillyans on a regular basis, despite being countered by the Alpha Section, a foreign military force dedicated (by its own accord) to fight the DomZ off. But as more people are being abducted, some begin to question the effectiveness, or even motives, of the Alphas. Through a roundabout turn of events, Jade is hired to investigate and expose the conspiracy in a series of journalistic missions into the deepest parts of the Alphas' high-security facilities. There are some twists along the way, and the ending redefines "surprise," but by and large the plot development (especially character development) is slow and scant.

Beyond Good & Evil is a 3D adventurer along the (unfortunate) lines of Star Fox Adventures. The gameplay can be boiled down into five basic aspects: moving/wandering around, combat, items, sidekicks, and photography. You must run through factories, cities, and other foot traffic areas reached by your trusty hovercraft, and later, a spaceship. The game's four dungeon areas are navigated primarily by way of item puzzles, sneaking around enemies (with stealthy wall-hugging and crouching), and simply finding your way through the area. There are occasional fights, and many stealth rooms have the additional option of battle; but in most cases, fighting is a surefire way to get yourself killed. The combat itself is rather dull, with a sum total of four combat moves in the whole game: twirling Jade's staff, a more powerful staff move (which can be upgraded to shoot small homing blasts), stationary first-person shooting via a 'Gyrodisc' launcher, and telling your sidekick to attack. Altogether, fighting is usually very unexciting.

Items are barely worth mentioning. You'll collect and buy them in a variety of locations: some are keys of sorts (items found in a dungeon which must be used elsewhere to progress), some are capacity upgrades (more health), most are replenishment for lost HP. You can also give items to your sidekick, though they're almost always more useful to you than to him. There are two different sidekicks, and you get the second shortly after losing the first; sidekicks can be used as an advancing device vis a vis their special abilities, destroying barriers, helping defeat enemies, or simply holding a switch while you move forward. Photography, whether in taking pictures of critical mission data in dungeons or simply shooting different animals for money from an environmental study, is one of the simpler and more entertaining parts of the game: with the help of the game's map and radar, finding picture targets becomes a quest of exploration and observation.

While the game is well-rendered and sometimes even picturesque - faces in particular are commendably done - most of the environments are drab, boring, uninspiring, even demotivating. The soundtrack is barely even present, with a good track or two, and another handful of mediocre tunes. Sound effects aren't bad, at least, and most of the voice acting is actually pretty good.

At its longest (including collecting everything in the game), BG&E easily clocks in at under 15 hours. What is there to offer in replay value? Well, collecting a few dozen optional items, taking pictures of all the planet's animals, and completing a few extra scattered puzzles and challenges. In an interesting twist on replay, every save file comes with a custom-generated Internet code which can be entered on an Ubi Soft website for an extra challenge and the in-game reward of a new minigame.

Though in some ways a noble effort in innovation, and despite an exciting end sequence, Beyond Good & Evil simply wasn't conceptually developed enough to be a solid title. If the story was fleshed out more, if there was more to it, and if parts of the game went a bit faster, BG&E would be fantastic; but at least in this reviewer's opinion, it falls significantly short of a masterpiece.

Progress: Finished, all photos