A game of pleasant surprises. [Issue#383, p.112]

Even as it lacks the same tactical depth and storytelling nuance, in its collaborative combat and earnest heroics, it captures the spirit of Fire Emblem really rather well. [Christmas 2017, p.120]

Like the wings of your Rathalos in the opening, there's a majesty to this sequel, even if it doesn't really soar. [Issue#422, p.110]

No task is impossible alone, but the ease of co-op mustn't cloud the the fact that Atlus is still to find that sweet spot between virtual and actual brain surgery. [Mar 2008, p.100]

Attempting to race beyond its own predetermined speed limits only results in frustration, but given the time to slow-burn and settle in at its own tempo the immensity of its offerings will rarely disappoint. [Aug 2006, p.87]

It's a throwback rather than an advancement. [Issue#350, p.100]

Like most things in Luna, it complements the refrain of a children's storybook: work through your feelings, give them shape, and voice, and help others to do the same unconditionally. [Christmas 2017, p.123]

If you can forgive the over-reliance on certain tropes and endure some short spells of tedium, this is a genuinely grisly, surprisingly deep hybrid of survival horror and FPS. [Issue#421, p.114]

Ignore the presentation, the much-talked-about comic book inspiration. Ignore the artwork, the ridiculous voiceovers and the magnificent origin stories. Pay it no attention. The really funny thing about Freedom Force is how little the funny stuff matters. [May 2005, p.89]

Mostly, however, this bullet hell is excellently assembled and riotously inventive. [Aug 2018, p.112]

Light Trax continues to zip along the fine line between puzzler and racer neatly. [Aug 2010, p.98]

There's no denying that the fire burns a little less brightly than before. [Issue#381, p.92]

Settling into Hi-Fi Rush's groove might require a recalibration - in your head, if not the latency settings - and the rewards are more intermittent than we'd like, but when they come, they're considerably greater than the occasional cheer from a non-existent audience. [Issue#382, p.98]

Ultimately, Invisible War is a very fine game spread too thin. It's a game that's made the effort to name the cat in the secretary's desk photo but not to make jumping work properly, that bothers to script loving exchanges between insignificant NPCs but pits you against clumsy and stuttering AI. [Feb 2004, p.94]

Best approached as you would any caffeinated energy drink. In small gulps, it offers an exhilarating sugar rush, but too much will leave you with a headache. As such, it's best consumed in moderation. [Christmas 2014, p.104]

An absorbing reminder of the power of words and how we wield them. [Aug 2018, p.114]

This is a fine calling card for the Derbyshire developer: far from flawless, but clear proof that this new hybrid has a bright future ahead. [Issue#350, p.102]

The 3rd Birthday remains a strong proposition, marrying eastern and western design sensibilities to produce a strong and relevant update to a latent, outmoded series. [Apr 2011, p.92]

Just Cause 2 can hardly be called an average game. It's a good one undermined by a selection of mediocre elements, and it's all the more frustrating this time around because Avalanche shows us glimpses of just how much fun two weeks on holiday with Rico should be. [Apr 2010, p.96]

A freeplay mode and breezy multiplayer component let Hexagroove's bare essentials shine through. [Issue#338, p.106]

Even on the least realistic setting, the game can be fearsomely complicated and the manual and tutorials are little help. [May 2007, p.91]

Try and play Shelter as a perfectionist and you’ll fail, the victim of a cruel world and occasionally clunky, unclear rules. Better to simply do your best, allow Might and Delight’s fantastical art to enthrall, and let nature take its course.

Pac-Man Vs could hardly have barer bones. No options, no game modes and no high-score tables are included here, and as a consequence there's nothing here to dilute the strength of the original idea or the subtle excellence of its execution. [Feb 2004, p.103]

As smooth and exhilarating a ride as it ever was… MotoGP 3 remains a strong, solid outing for those who enjoy a thoroughly analogue play experience as well as fans of motorbike racing. [Oct 2005, p.98]

There's a lot of replay value and unlockables to go with a lot of shooting; it's a welcome blast from the 16bit days. [July 2008, p.98]

Mass Effect is still enjoyable enough to warrant 24 hours of play (completion with sub-missions), and the stops it makes en route are visually stunning. It just doesn’t find what it goes looking for: the myth and exotica to accurately follow Star Wars. [Christmas 2007, p.86]

A valiant modern parable that might also have been an exceptional puzzler, if only it had made its players a little less godlike. [Sept 2015, p.114]

The genre brings something new to VR, too, the constant cycle of long-term goals and short-term urgencies making it one of the few games that can keep us playing for hours. [Issue#383, p.116]

As smooth and exhilarating a ride as it ever was… MotoGP 3 remains a strong, solid outing for those who enjoy a thoroughly analogue play experience as well as fans of motorbike racing. [Oct 2005, p.98]

As much as Gran Turismo TV and its frontend might push Prologue toward being a multimedia experience, the actual racing has become more of a game - a little less clinical, a little more diverse and characterful. [June 2008, p.88]

Team Ninja's finest, most intelligent game since Ninja Gaiden Black, it leaves high hopes for the imminent 360 sequel. [June 2008, p.92]

Stick with Bloom & Rage through the hard times, though, and you might well be ready to take comfort in that lie. [Issue#411, p.110]

This may superficially resemble any of a dozen other DS SRPGs, but it has many twists and a clever, manipulative philosophy at heart that lifts it above the crowd. [May 2009, p.97]

As it currently stands, the charm of those inventive crafting mechanics can wear off, with progression in the later stages stretched particularly thin. With some further additions stirred into the mix, Potion Craft could yet get closer to reaching its full, heady potential. [Issue#381, p.102]

Rarely has something so uneven and intermittently frustrating stolen our hearts this brazenly. [Sept 2015, p.116]

After a clumsy opening, The Evil Within hits its stride towards the end and the fist act and the tension rarely lets up. [Christmas 2014, p.114]

In just a fraction of the time it would take another game, The Gunk manages to instil the full sense of exploring an unknown planet to its core. [Issue#367, p.110]

There's less room for creativity than you might think. [Issue#383, p.118]

Whether or not it warrants that DX suffix, Ratcheteer feels just as much at home away from home. [Issue#421, p.123]

No Shin'en game plays as good as it looks; this one, however, comes closer than most. [Issue#341, p.120]

It’s a game designed to intentionally test your stamina and patience, meaning that if you fail to prepare yourself for Hookball’s relentless pace and harsh difficulty, then prepare to fail.

A gaming of charming positive spirit that, three years late and a generation off the pace, sill stands out in a crowded, wantonly destructive field. [Christmas 2015, p.114]

While Snowblind never truly escapes the feeling of being a well-dressed, derivative run’n’gun shooter, it never fails to get the running and gunning right, and in that respect, at least, it’s a sound success. [March 2005, p.86]

Whether you're into funk fusion or not, there's no denying that the musical rewards all that fastidious work behind the mixing desk. [Issue#383, p.119]

Much like the humble jigsaw, it's never less than a pleasant distraction. [Issue#404, p.123]

Puzzle hunting is the only hassle in an otherwise laidback world. This niggle aside, Professor Layton remains a fine antidote to dull Sunday afternoons. [Dec 2010, p.99]

The resulting sense of forward momentum helps keep the frustrations from growing tiresome. [Issue#367, p.114]

Handsomely uncluttered, if more than a little austere, this is a modish, elegant puzzler.

A short, budget shot of old-school gaming. [Sept 2010, p.100]

When the climactic concert rolls around, you'll be unlikely to complain about the touching yet hopeful note on which it goes out. [Issue#381, p.106]

Yakuza 4 is ultimately too set in its ways to welcome anyone new to the family, and too laden with cutscenes to let its nuances. [Apr 2011, p.99]

It's a whole that still offers an intricate series of diversions - some old, some new - but one that has lost some sparkle, despite its sharper, more colourful looks. Most players will get sick of Disgaea 2 long before Disgaea 2 gets sick of them. [Sept 2006, p.80]

So while in some ways it's a pity this most malleable of heroes should be forced to return to old haunts instead of breaking new ground, this 2D homecoming is more invigorating than we could have anticipated. [Issue#383, p.121]

An easy recommendation for newcomers. [Dec 2012, p.108]

When it clicks, though, you'll find yourself in the middle of a thoughtful and intricate puzzle game, in which you feel more like an electrical engineer than the magic builder or celestial removal man most match-three titles cast you as.

A new high-water mark for the series. [April 2017, p.114]

Suda is an undisciplined designer. As with his comedy, he throws every idea at his game design, hoping something will stick. He's an artistic, if idiosyncratic, thinker, so invariably some ideas do succeed, but the assault of jokes, ideas and vignettes ends up as unwieldy as it is characterful. The result is a game in which there's as much to celebrate as to berate, as much to admire as there is to admonish.

It might not be as easy on the eye as its 2015 contemporaries, but it's an awful lot more honest. [Sept 2015, p.120]

A hypnagogic summertime escape to a place that lingers in the mind - prepare for some weird dreams. [Issue#338, p.116]

Still, the bits of level you ARE meant to interact with are as high-quality as ever. [Issue#411, p.121]

The series is so hemmed in by its own history - and the demands of fans - that it is largely unable to innovate. As such, the PSP version, while a solid iteration of an eminently playable formula, is able to grow only in width rather than concept. [Sept 2006, p.85]

It’s one of the happiest pieces of software ever released, constantly throwing tunes, trinkets and new tricks at the player simply to amuse them. [Jan 2009, p.93]

Like the Trebhum, The Eternal Cylinder thrives despite its deficiencies, relying on a unique ensemble of qualities to find a way. [Issue#367, p.118]

This is not, then, the kind of game you pick up and play between train stops, but one to sit down with when you've got an afternoon stretching out in front of you. [Issue#338, p.118]

If you can stomach the precarious ethical nature of a game that takes American intervention in the very serious political quagmire that is Somalia as its subject matter, then this game makes for a varied and engrossing piece of gun-action. [May 2003, p.101]

THUG2's biggest step forward – it's stripped-down Classic mode – is one it takes back. It's as refreshing as it is nostalgic, taking on old-school Tony Hawk's levels and goals with THUG's improved trick set, and proves to be a necessary antidote to the mouthy fluster of the career mode, offering up pure, disciplined high-score play against the clock. [Dec 2005, p.117]

For all its mechanical innovations, however, Aaero can't consistently match the synasthetic joy of its biggest influence. [April 2017, p.119]

This is a fine debut. Backbone uses its seductive looks to enrich a conceptually thoughtful and carefully plotted-out world, and delivers real surprises within a genre that is all about adhering to time-honoured conventions. [Issue#361, p.116]

Perhaps its greatest achievement is defying comparisons to Rock Band and emerging as its own game. GHWT might be a little rough around the edges, but it’s a good stab at reinvigorating the franchise. [Christmas 2008, p.96]

You can take the massively multiplayer game out of the PC, then, but perhaps not the PC out of the game. The endless beta testing, the freewheeling project management, and the agonies and ecstasies of the results. [Apr 2011, p.88]

As a place, Los Angeles simply isn't as much fun as Liberty or Vice. Too much of this silicon LA exists simply because the designers wanted to show that it could be done rather than because it serves any gameplay purpose. [Christmas 2003, p.107]

A brave game in many ways, then, but above all, an enjoyable one.

For better and worse, Octopath Traveler manages to evoke the games its creators grew up with, without ever quite matching the profusion of new ideas that made them so beloved in the first place. There's still much to enjoy here, but if Acquire had shared the courage of its protagonists' convictions, this could have been a journey worth making eight times over. [Issue#323, p.104]

Turns out that Tekken's big new idea for online play is rather underwhelming: you can customise your outfit and fight with it on. [Dec 2009, p.103]

It's a bold first effort from the studio - the first spark of something great, perhaps. [Issue#338, p.122]

It turns out the mountain really does have something to say, but it's only when the noise is gone that its message can really be heard. [Feb 2017, p.116]

SpeedThru is a game best experienced in short bursts, not least because the startling image depth may prove a strain for tired eyes. Still, this is further evidence of the eShop's relevance in the face of strong competition from Nintendo's peers.

While its appeal may have some age restrictions, some of those minigames are deceptively distracting, and doubly so. [Jan 2007, p.85]

Undersized and profoundly linear, but that cannot shake its solidity and the sheer intensity of the spectacle it creates. The most fun thing you'll get on the PC this side of Christmas. [Christmas 2003, p.108]

Yes, we've been here before, but Puzzle Fighter is one of the handful of Tetris clones that at least lies in the same league as Pajitnov's masterwork. [May 2003, p.102]

It's in the great outdoors where Forbidden West comes to life - which is ironic given how often we're told it's dying. When the story's leash is off and we're free to luxuriate in its world and the wider cast's personal tales (one sidequest, involving a missing friend and an unrequited romance, is an exemplar of the form), it's not hard to understand why the first game was so popular. This is, then, more of the same in every sense, and your feelings towards the first will determine whether you see that as a recommendation. [Issue#369, p.100]

Sure, it’s another great instalment of Wipeout, but under the gloss it’s little more. [Dec 2007, p.90]

Plenty of games have flourished around the slaughter, scale and destruction of war, but few have managed to realise a soldier's role and worth - disposable, vulnerable, pivotal - as well as this. [Apr 2005, p.100]

Resident Evil 5 is a good game. The surprising, and sad, thing about Resident Evil 5 is that it feels old. [Apr 2009, p.112]

A sensitive update for a series many thought would stay stuck in the past.

If you were that kid who was pulled away from the TMNT cabinets by an angry mum, who couldn’t wait for Golden Axe to appear on a home console, and who played Streets Of Rage 2 over and over, Castle Crashers is for you. [Nov 2008, p.103]

Like playing with a good camera, though, this is really its own reward - something that's a joy to fiddle with for hours at a time, even if no one but you is interested in the results. [Issue#367, p.123]

Granted, this is hardly the most drastic of sequels, but it didn’t need to be: instead, it stands as an indicator that, even as the DSi heads ever deeper into the online space, on some level at least, it’s still business as usual.

There's a genuine sense of storybook adventure to proceedings, which a limited budget and uninspired enemies can't quite erode. [Christmas 2010, p.91]

Though its stellar looks and innately satisfying play (especially in multiplayer) continue to serve aces, World Tour’s rallying skills leave something to be desired. [Oct 2005, p.96]

Any time you're ready to lose yourself to some head-down, three-chord fun, whether you're playing on Vita or PS3, When Vikings Attack is waiting to show you a real cool time.

This thirdperson actioner spikes the familiar with flavour, and a tired but reliable vocabulary of wall-hugs, circle-strafe, grenade lobs and headshots with an invigorating Nu-Earth twang. [June 2006, p.94]

No other game catches the exhilaration of mental exercises, while doing just enough to smooth over their occasional frustrations, in quite the same way as Layton. [Nov 2009, p.104]

The open levels are fantastic and are complemented by a great storyline with dialogue that's immediately engaging, yet Tribes can feel slightly primitive and the indoor missions are a letdown.

Mage Gauntlet's an action RPG that's perfectly tailored for the pick-up-and-play crowd, in other words. It's a likeable confection that's as witty as it is insubstantial.

Fujio's empathetic tale could almost be a playable short from filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda; like Kore-eda's best work, this compassionate snapshot of Japanese working-class life finds pleasure and wonder in the routine. [Issue#350, p.107]

If you're the right age to appreciate the irony of an over-powered Care Bear attack, Saturday Morning RPG is going to take you right back to your distant past.

Ultimately, Invisible War is a very fine game spread too thin. It's a game that's made the effort to name the cat in the secretary's desk photo but not to make jumping work properly, that bothers to script loving exchanges between insignificant NPCs but pits you against clumsy and stuttering AI. [Feb 2004, p.94]