Cleverest when at its most minimal, It's Mr Pants is a little too convoluted and coy a brain-tease, destined to live in the shadow of purer designs. [March 2005, p.93]

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]

Konami has backed a game here, then, that's far from designed just to make a quick buck. Though, tentacles crossed, we hope it does that too. [Issue#423, p.110]

Unbound is ultimately and encouraging statement of intent, demonstrating that Criterion is not afraid to tinker with established formula. [Issue#380, p.114]

Beneath EA's layer of crafty monetisation, however, Flight Control Rocket is a stellar effort. The generic sci-fi visuals and overly busy menus might lack the instant appeal of Flight Control's handsome '50s styling, and that game's purity is sorely missing here, but underneath all that EA sheen is a game with genuine heart.

Time and again in The Angel Of Death, a perfectly obvious solution is ignored in favour of an absurdly contrived one, and whenever a puzzle hinges on the responses of NPCs... these prove bizarre and unpredictable. [Nov 2006, p.84]

There’s a great twitch game beneath this hostile exterior, but Ragequit can’t afford to test players’ endurance on so many levels if its niche shooter is to thrive.

Screamer becomes repetitive, overly simplistic and needlessly verbose, a hybrid vehicle for narrative and racing where the only thing less engaging than the off-track drama is the driving itself. [Issue#423, p.114]

This is a rich, interesting design, then, but one whose capacity for long-term competitive play is questionable.

Beyond the sharper picture quality, there's little here that couldn't have been done on DS, though it matters little in the face of such ageless design. Picross E may not do much more than the basics, then, but sometimes that's all that is needed.

But if, as the end nears, its unswerving focus seems less of an asset than in its early hours, Dead Island 2 has emerged from development hell in more robust shape than we could have expected. Certainly, there is enough potential in a refined and updated version - one that finds room for more immersive sim-style experimentation - to leave us pondering something that seemed unthinkable going in. Dead Island 3? It doesn't seem quite such a terrible idea after all. [Issue#384, p.100]

Banished is a rare technical achievement, pure in design and of purpose. Its many deaths almost always feel fair, and the battle up to self-sufficiency is gripping. But the absence of a long game beyond this early toil makes it hard to find reasons to settle down here, except for the views, especially if you’ve established yourself on these frosty plains before.

It's an all-too timely (big) mood piece. [Issue#361, p.120]

The frame-rate occasionally chugs, but little else can truly hold Mr. Dreamer back. This is a confident twist on a popular genre, and a case study in how a good idea needs little embellishment.

You can see things worth admiring here. The promise of sandbox combat emerging from the interplay between environment and gun-modes never comes good, instead devolving into a repetitive, gruelling bedlam - but that promise alone is more than many shooters offer. To make anything of it, however, Hard Reset would need to go right back to the drawing board.

Horses is a fascinating work, capable of moments that lodge in the memory, such as the late-game sequence when the projector's whirring finally stops and the tired clomp of footsteps registers to our ears like the sound of freedom. [Issue#419, p.122]

FromSoftware's second stab at this stuff produced Dark Souls. Deck13 still has a way to go before it really delivers on the concept it holds so dear. [July 2017, p.112]

Once the novelty of the new setting and storylines has worn off - there's little genuine inovation to hold your interest. [July 2004, p.104]

As chaotic and unrefined as it is, however, it motors on with a definite sense of purpose and provides a solid sense of fulfilment, if not necessarily one of accomplishment. [Christmas 2005, p.110]

European Assault is one of the ugliest current-gen games we’ve seen. Boring textures, a weak palette and a flimsy design ethic all round make it appear like slightly dressed up PSone data. The animation seems inspired by amateur puppetry and even the menus look like they were knocked up in the last day before submission. [Aug 2005, p.94]

An exercise in banality, despite its vibrant landscapes and characters. But then perhaps, given their parallels with Cuban History, even they ultimately make it worse. [Issue#365, p.102]

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]

For better and worse, they conjure fond reminiscences of the originals and the developer that made them. [Issue#394, p.102]

That it proves so rewarding as a solo venture in spite of these launch issues speaks to Outriders' finely honed mechanics, and the success of its central "cover shooter but not really" principle. [Issue#358, p.100]

There’s a fantastic combo system at Killer Instinct’s core, but right now it feels like half a game – one full of promise, certainly, but not an especially next-gen one either. The cascade of particles may not be enough to retain player interest until the rest of the game arrives.

Epic Mickey may not always be entirely satisfying to play, but it's still enormously interesting to wander around with an eye open for the detailing. [Jan 2011, p.92]

If you take a player to the extremes of in-game power, giving them the equivalent of a god mode against standard enemies, how can that be turned into something more engaging than a temporary plaything? [Nov 2008, p.90]

Rather than developing the original’s ideas, it’s content to simply reuse them. Zipping around via a network of boost tiles no longer carries the same thrill, and though squeezing the shoulder button as a monster passes by a translucent platform remains one of the most deliciously cruel ways to dispose of an enemy, repeating the trick diminishes its impact.

For beginners and intermediate level players, Oratorio Tangram presents an unmatched experience, a bright and energetic burst of fantasy combat, still quite unlike anything else in videogames.

Played as intended, however, in local multiplayer, Nidhogg 2 sings. [Issue#311, p.114]

Groove works you harder than lots of rhythm action games, although that's often because players will find themselves waving unnecessarily, unsure whether their hits are going to register. This is where the game suffers most: It lacks the tactile response of its peers. [Jan 2004, p.103]

Beautiful and varied. [Aug 2015, p.122]

The last thing on Glory Days’ mind is fun: it instead angrily stomps forward to the beat of the ‘war is hell’ drum. [Oct 2007, p.99]

It only betrays itself completely once – in a dismally conventional boss battle around halfway through – though at times Spartan threatens to become routine, it never does, thanks to its strong character, handsome looks and sheer, irrepressible verve. [Nov 2005, p.96]

Take it or leave it: just don’t ignore it, or you may miss the videogame equivalent of a daft night out with some of Capcom’s finest minds. [Dec 2006, p.88]

Underneath these niggles and inconsistencies lies the kernel of a solid and interesting game that could blossom if pursued in a future release. [June 2008, p.96]

Bonkers, yes. But Muse Dash soon becomes baffling in less endearing ways. [Issue#335, p.122]

Its successes drown out its flaws. [Nov 2014, p.112]

What felt greedy before is on yet more dubious ground here - the feeling of tactical scope missing from the singleplayer campaign is largely due to Square Enix cutting out the goods to sell at a later date. [Oct 2009, p.99]

By its publisher's standards, this is lower-division fodder. [Issue#374, p.123]

No game since Wii Sports has done so much to capture Nintendo's mixture of initial accessibility, entertainment value and wide appeal. [Christmas 2010, p.95]

Haven doesn't lack for heart, but the spark sadly just isn't there. It's not us, it's Yu. [Issue#354, p.116]

Somebody up there probably regards this as a trailblazing taste of high-concept, one-size-fits-all blockbuster games to come. Consider that, and know true Primal fear. [March 2003, p.92]

It only betrays itself completely once – in a dismally conventional boss battle around halfway through – though at times Spartan threatens to become routine, it never does, thanks to its strong character, handsome looks and sheer, irrepressible verve. [Nov 2005, p.96]

That's how it feels: brand extension, dilution rather than enrichment. [Mar 2008, p.102]

A staggering display of imagination, design and performance. [June 2015, p.116]

As the standard bearer for mech-building and fighting, Armoured Core's depth is still as profound... The greater emphasis on overheat and a new tuning system will be to the taste of some veterans and not others, but the beauty of the machines will please all. [June 2004, p.110]

A little too much is left to chance. [Issue #389, p.123]

A stern, if unspectacular, challenge. [Jan 2010, p.94]

Mini Ninjas offers an assortment of simple pleasures and its tooth-rottingly sweet presentation wholly endears – but it isn’t sustained, and in places falls disastrously below the watermark.

Miyazaki, Sakamoto and Igarashi, you suspect, would be resolutely unimpressed. [Apr 2018, p.122]

What it lacks in tactical depth, it returns doubly so in its offbeat charm whether through the crackpot mutterings of its cast of characters or its increasingly nontraditional modern-day island locales. [Oct 2006, p.93]

Evil West has no delusions of grandeur; it simply wants to give you a thumping good time, and on that front it fully delivers [Issue#380, p.120]

Siege can feel cool and inhospitable, but when the conditions are right and you're playing with friends, the game's tense gameplay and measured pacing makes for a refreshing, cerebral contrast to the run-and-gun hyperactivity of most online shooters. [Feb 2016, p.104]

Instant deaths, glitchy combat, uninspiring boss encounters and twitchy controls conspire to make this a below-par experience. If it wasn't for the occasional flashes of imagination and the familiarity and richness conveyed through the license then The Emperor's Tomb would be utterly forgettable. [May 2003, p.99]

Is this the most violent game of all time? Maybe. Its ragdoll physics may not match the flying limbs and broken faces of Soldier of Fortune, but its throwaway approach to life and death is genuinely shocking, leaving a bitter, metallic aftertaste. This is neither a fall nor an ascension. This is an update. [Jan 2004, p.105]

While it's far from being one the most mechanically refined or polished apps available, Titus is nevertheless distinct amongst the clone-saturated masses, with plenty of charm to fill out its bare bones.

The craftsmanship is easy to admire, but 1001 Spikes can be a hard game to love. [Sept 2014, p.117]

Only the length disappoints us. Even by the studio's standards, Pilgrims is a slip of a thing. [Issue#139, p.122]

It's worth pushing through a few early stumbles for the wry smile and inner warmth it leaves. [Issue#378, p.117]

Hugely entertaining while it lasts. [Jan 2007, p.73]

As an arcadey flight game it’s just about on the enjoyable side of average, especially when compared to its still superior genre stablemate Ace Combat 6. [Apr 2009, p.122]

The promise of the Dark Pictures series remains fresh, then, but the systems supporting it are staring to creak with age. [Issue#366, p.119]

If Rock of Ages eventually runs out of variety, it never runs out of charm. The game has a magnificent sense of momentum throughout, tugging you downhill towards the enemy's gates and upwards through the strata of Western culture. It is an oddball offering in every sense.

Mundaun is both a densely imagined horror game and a story about a young man getting back in tune with the place of his birth. The mountain might be an object of terror, but it's also one of nostalgia. It's something you learn to live with. [Issue#357, p.116]

Few other FPS titles can match the intensity of this nitrous-charged shooting gallery, but plenty of them offer the kind of less that feels like much, much more. [Nov 2005, p.104]

We'd suggest it might be time to lay the "Dead by Daylight" formula to rest, but you know how these things go in horror movies: it'd only rise again as soon as our backs were turned. [Issue#373, p.112]

Ultimately, Urban Chaos doesn't have the reach to deliver what it promises, and ends up retreating into cliché. A few months more, a few dollars more and this could have made a much more defiant stand. [June 2006, p.93]

European Assault is one of the ugliest current-gen games we've seen. Boring textures, a weak palette and a flimsy design ethic all round make it appear like slightly dressed up PSone data. The animation seems inspired by amateur puppetry and even the menus look like they were knocked up in the last day before submission. [Aug 2005, p.94]

It's all about flamboyance, stylish swordplay against clusters of spawning enemies. Anyone expecting more than the chance to concoct dazzling high-score strategies will find it a flat and empty experience, though. [Mar 2004, p.110]

Puts Destiny's first expansion to shame. [Aug 2015, p.118]

Not quite a serious Pokemon challenger, then, but with pressure on The Pokemon Company to bring in an experienced development partner for future titles, this is a fine calling card for Tose. [Issue#381, p.104]

Three times the protagonists gives you three times the number of toys and an engaging, if thoroughly convoluted, story, but it’s not without cost. What Simon, Trevor and Alucard give to the mechanics and narrative they take from its flow: you still feel gated, even when you’ve got all the gear.

It's hard to complain too much about the absence of peril when you're wearing the bottom half of a chicken suit. [Feb 2017, p.114]

Apart from its admirable combinatorial system, Impossible Creatures is just another RTS. Indeed it's fairly simplistic as the genre goes...In theory this should foster a quick and immediate title, but in practice the build-up of resources is slow. Plainly average. [March 2003, p.100]

Siren's grand ideas are to be applauded, but savouring them takes effort. If you can invest the time, and look away in all the right places - such as the genre's trademarks of outrageously bad combat and dogsbody objectives - then there's a uniquely suffocating horror experience waiting to be survived. [Mar 2004, p.99]

An excellent version of a game people should really own already. [Mar 2004, p.111]

Persistent players will find it to be one of the best multiplayer experiences on PSP. [Dec 2007, p.95]

Schlocky and silly in places, but potent and reflective in others, Nilin’s tale has bags of heart to play off against its flamboyant bosses and existential quandaries, all grounded by a charismatic female star. While the world building isn’t on a par with the best – hampered by a civilian population as robotic as its metal cohorts – a rich backstory and architectural detail make Neo-Paris a place worth visiting.

The solid fundamentals of its design shine through more clearly when you're playing alone. [Issue#343, p.114]

With no real way to accelerate victory on repeat encounters, the result is a metal slog. [Issue#405, p.123]

There are bold ideas floating around Unbeatable's ether, but for the most part it feels like an underpowered B-side. [Issue#420, p.102]

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.

An overall shoddy feeling to the production spoils a great deal more. Where there should be panache, there are rough edges. As a comedy, it achieves much. It is funny. But as a sports game a great deal more polish is required. [Sept 2004, p.106]

What Omega Five lacks in purity, it gains in bombast. [Mar 2008, p.102]

Race Pro engages like few driving titles manage, even if the driving model doesn’t quite meet the standards of the most advanced PC sim-racers such as Live For Speed. [Mar 2009, p.88]

Repetition is the point. [Issue#401, p.116]

Unlike PSP competitors Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea, this game lacks the colour and complication to really drag players into the depths of its strategy. [Jan 2008, p.89]

In practice, Tokobot offers so little to challenge either the reflexes or the mind that it boils down to one long, plodding, gentle ushering from one side of a large, mostly vacant level to the other, with nothing to reward self-determined exploration and an identical series of Pavlovian cues to let the player know that it’s time to switch to the next formation. [Feb 2006, p.89]

Wideload has placed a welcome knee in the groin of the status quo, but by taking its subject too lightly it’s also failed to turn an adventurous prototype into a durable production. [Christmas 2005, p.102]

Ignorance of Pyro's past glories is actually an advantage with Commandos 3 since it means the tension and atmosphere that the series still has in abundance can be enjoyed without the nagging feeling that things aren't what they used to be. Inspiration and aspirations appear to be in short supply in the Commandos camp.

Proving Ground is, at best, a functional sequel. It gives the fans what they want, throws in a handful of awkward or undeveloped ideas, and leaves it there. At worst, it’s a poor entry to the Tony Hawk’s lineage. [Christmas 2007, p.91]

In many ways, Trash Panic represents the kind of inventive, inimitable Japanese release that comes all too infrequently – but here, such creativity has not been enough to turn an interesting idea into a brilliant one.

And underlying it all, the one thing that didn't take us by surprise: the old catch-'em-all urge, as moreish as ever. Whether it's tickling your head or your heart, Bugsnax ensures they're never empty calories. [Issue#353, p.116]

As poetry, it might be evocative, but when you're trying to advance the game to the next scene, it feels rather like being the one sober person in the room. [Issue#404, p.122]

Atomfall isn't always a brilliant game, then, but it's often a surprisingly comforting one. [Issue#410, p.102]

A slightly muddled gimmick and dilute sense of identity mean Sonic is unlikely to outpace the competition. [Issue#334, p.114]

An earnest attempt has been made to create a new identity for a series here, but the question of how to best frame Mass Effect's narrative strengths is, once again, left open. [June 2017, p.90]