A bold experiment, then, if not a perfectly balanced or successful one.

For all its foibles, Raven's brand of brazen, aimless carnage is a gruesome thrill with just enough dynamism in each battle to keep its anachronistic heart beating. [Oct 2009, p.88]

This stands as software that will give back to the user as much as they are willing to put in. Without goals, with nothing there to ‘win’, Electroplankton is its own reward. [June 2005, p.93]

It's easy to assume that Gyromancer is a clone of Puzzle Quest...The truth, perhaps, is that it's simply an improvement on the formula. [Jan 2010, p.98]

Outbursts of light and colour and shape, simple enough that they have the potential to become iconic. [Issue#379, p.104]

A sandbox where waypoint distances are measured in pixels, and journeys are over in seconds, is surely one worth celebrating. [Issue#334, p.122]

In a game that succumbs a little too often to 'numbers go up' design, it's much more of a thrill to see them go DOWN occasionally, then have to strive just to get back on an even keel. [Issue#369, p.112]

Nintendogs + Cats is a near match for the DS original. Were it not for the visual pampering it would be entirely possible to replace the old game with the new without the kids noticing. [Apr 2011, p.91]

Squeak Squad overall is a polished, impeccably designed pushover. [Feb 2007, p.84]

Anarchy Reigns sits awkwardly, then: its balanced multiplayer mode means a fixed moveset and an unremarkable singleplayer campaign, while the high online player count means matches too often descend into scrappy pileups. Neither its on- or offline offerings are essential, but Platinum has shown that an online brawler can work. It's rough around the edges, sure, but it's a proof of concept to build on.

A delight. [Oct 2016, p.118]

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]

If there isn't a great deal of sophistication, there also isn't much in the way of mucking around. Flying up the screen making things go pop has been reliably entertaining for decades. [Oct 2005, p.95]

Aged environments and models are wheeled out and the interface is surprisingly clunky and obtrusive. There is a solid game here to prop it up, but it's indicative of the no-frills production that even the robotic announcer seems to be phoning in its performance. [May 2004, p.103]

What began as a celebration ends with nostalgia’s bubble being cruelly pricked.

There's a single moment of joy in Fallout Shelter. It comes right at the beginning. [Sept 2015, p.122]

Like the movies that doubtless inspired it, Shank ultimately has more style than substance. It looks fantastic but it's hardly a lengthy game, and it does little to trouble your brain. As throwaway entertainment goes, though, it's solid popcorn stuff.

The game isn’t clear how its surgeries work – which bits need be cut where, and with what tools – not a problem when you’re merrily and messily experimenting, but annoying if you’re keen to progress. Still, few games take that odd, occasional gulf between what you intend to happen and what actually occurs on screen and fill it with such comedy.

It's handsomely shot, produced and scored, solidly acted. [Issue#373, p.108]

There's also a sneaking sense that Origins is stuck in the past. As a reimagining of the original game with modern visuals, it's a triumph, but it doesn't do much to move the realtime tactics genre forward, with little of the innovation seen in, say, Mimimi's Shaodow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. [Issue#410, p.116]

None of this is nearly enough to spoil everything Scarlet and Violet get right, such as some of the best (and downright strangest) monster designs in some time, and absorbing final act and postgame, and a soundtrack that could well be a new series peak. [Issue#380, p.121]

When directing death from above, Strike Team offers a glimpse at what might have been, but when it’s time to go loud, the whole thing collapses as limply as the enemies you’ve dropped.

Nintendogs + Cats is a near match for the DS original. Were it not for the visual pampering it would be entirely possible to replace the old game with the new without the kids noticing. [Apr 2011, p.91]

There was never any doubt that Total Overdose would fall foul of one of its genre's various pitfalls, but it's unfortunate that it ultimately had to be one as irksome as excessive length... At its best, the game still shakes up a loud and spicy Mexican cocktail, but what it’s added to the mix has been more than enough to weaken the taste. [Nov 2005, p.103]

A co-op game that's alternatively tense and funny, and occasionally both. [Issue#360, p.122]

A delightfully strange and often surprising piece of work; it’s more plaything than game, perhaps, but the smiles it generates will be broad and frequent.

It's impossible not to feel disappointed with a title that, to judge by it's opening, ought to have competed on an even footing with "Super Mario Sunshine." Instead it's an uneasy compromise between the splendour of the early levels and the inadequacies of later missions. [Dec 2003, p.88]

The puzzles are generic. [Issue#348, p.104]

The world doesn't have the charm to warrant forgiveness, and progress-halting bugs prevent it anyway. With regular AI freezes and vanishing items, a mistimed autosave can prove fatal. Ultimately it all invites the refashioning of another line from Romero. When there's no more room in development hell, the dead losses will walk the Earth.

New Dawn is a clearing of the air after Far Cry 5, but calling it a "new dawn" is preposterous. What we have here is a sideways hop, a purgatory of a sequel in a series that has no idea what to do with itself, beyond giving you another mapful of nodes to flip. [Issue#331, p.116]

What a shame. Days Gone is ripe with potential, but it's always in those moments before something actually happens: when you hear the rumbling of thunder heralding an impending downpour, or a distant engine letting you know tourble's on the way. But when it all kicks off, the spell is broken. This is "State of Decay" without the stakes, "The Last of Us" without Naughty Dog's storytelling chops, and the most generic, overlong open-world game around. [Issue#333, p.106]

Star Wars: Galaxies does not offer fans of the franchise any heroics. There is nothing dramatic or cinematic about the MMRPG game model as defined by Everquest, and Galaxies does very little to break that mould. [Oct 2003, p.100]

With just one area to mess about with – and doubtless more to come – it currently feels more seed than flower. [Feb 2008, p.95]

It's more sopping than soppy, then - despite and abundance of salt water, a game we had pegged as a surefire tearjerker never really comes close to making us well up. [Issue#371, p.122]

Demon Stone suggests more potential than it fulfils, but it’s a not-entirely-failed experiment in teaching old dice new tricks, and a follow-up with the same attention to detail but more ambitious design would be welcome. [Nov 2004, p.108]

There was never any doubt that Total Overdose would fall foul of one of its genre's various pitfalls, but it's unfortunate that it ultimately had to be one as irksome as excessive length... At its best, the game still shakes up a loud and spicy Mexican cocktail, but what it's added to the mix has been more than enough to weaken the taste. [Nov 2005, p.103]

The possibility of this all coming together in a more flexible and engaging manner is still a welcome one. But, for a game based on a culture of reputation, craftsmanship and leaving a mark, Getting Up is one that'll pass by largely unnoticed. [Mar 2006, p.86]

There are points of interest here, but they're scattered too far and wide to make this a worthwhile excursion. [Issue#398, p.118]

For all its luxurious visuals, it knows little about how to marry them to gameplay, or how to end the suffering of artists who 
see their work butchered to meet gameplay's demands.

If Desert Storm 2 has one flaw, it's that there are only ten maps and these usually channel the player down avenues rather than provide ample playgrounds for strategic experimentation. [Nov 2003, p.100]

Players who seek the traditional fantasy MMOG experience may find something of value in TESO, because it has evidently been built with them in mind. But it is difficult to imagine many others investing hundreds of hours in a place this bland, in a formula this familiar, and in a game this demanding of both your time and your money.

This is a game that's as riotously entertaining as it is viciously random... It's gleeful automobile slapstick, but not for anyone who values skill and achievement more than taking a wrecking ball to their opponents' racing lines. [Dec 2005, p.114]

Rad is another great Lee Petty idea, then - though in its current form, it's a few mutations away from reaching its full potential. [Issue#337, p.114]

As it stands, High On Life 2 makes a good case for throwing the baby out with the bathwater, then bleaching the tub. [Issue#422, p.114]

Embracing and supporting a community project like this is still a commendable move, and one that Mega Man's passionate fans may see as encouraging. But only his most die-hard followers will be willing to overlook such unwelcome, avoidable flaws.

It feels like just that: a lower-budget sideshow to the glitzy main event. [May 2015, p.108]

One day you sense Shin'en will make a game that plays as good as it looks. Until then, this is a polished and attractive shooter that you'll likely have a reasonably entertaining few hours with before forgetting it ever existed within a month. An ideal launch game, then.

True, the early response to Reunion seems to suggest plenty of players are content with seeing Arcadia Bay's finest together again. The rest of us might wish we too had a rewind. Or, failing that, a particularly potent case of storm amnesia. [Issue#423, p.106]

What's here stands out simply for being the first convincing example of a VR FPS that doesn't make you feel sick. [Aug 2017, p.120]

Nasty, brutish and short - and that's once you've got past the interface problems. Temple of Elemental Evil is a huge disappointment by any measure. [Christmas 2003, p.124]

Call Of Juarez has mined its source material well, collecting a wealth of imagery that it then squanders on lacklustre and dysfunctional gameplay. [Aug 2007, p.93]

From bedrooms containing clever and mysterious moving panels to a 'Land of the Giants'-style pool challenge, each section delivers something new and exciting to motivate deeper exploration. [Apr 2004, p.110]

Nobody, nobody at all, walks into a game shop and thinks: "Hey, goblins are pretty cool. Today I want to be a goblin." When the goblins in question have been rendered with almost no character or charm, this merely compounds the lack of emotional connection. [Mar 2004, p.106]

Corpse Party is often too rigid in its ways, requiring players to examine objects several times, occasionally in a very specific order – a problem exacerbated by a structure that locks out later chapters until the correct ending to the previous episode has been found. Some wrong (in every sense) endings are worth seeing once, but repeat plays of scenarios dilute the tension the studio takes such pains to build.

It's a game that tries to be everything, in other words, yet through the sheer all-encompassing nature of its irreverence finds an identity of its own.

It's a game where stealth comes naturally for absolutely everyone, and is all the better for it. [Issue#315, p.114]

Trek To Yomi's combat fails to match its visual swagger. [Issue#372, p.118]

If a chance to see the RPS Roguelike done right appeals, though, Abyssus' synthesis of systems is an enjoyable enough choice. [Issue#415, p.104]

If the future's to be sustainable - let alone bright - we may need to reduce our reliance on single-use game design. [Issue#424, p.100]

In spite of its commitment to a single brand, Ferrari Challenge is rich in content for those prepared to navigate its obtuse structure. [Aug 2008, p.97]

For all its successes, the fact remains that even after significant delays, what's been delivered is far from finished. [Dec 2014, p.110]

While it's initially exciting to explore Wheel World with just a pair of wheels and an agenda of your own making, that summer-afternoon aimlessness soon begins to go flat. [Issue#414, p.112]

Despite the occasional stumble and sticking point, Transference will frequently leave you transfixed. [December 2018, p.120]

There's no doubting that Circadia's ingenious, of course: at heart it's a clever idea expressed with stylish economy. In the teasing out of that idea, however, it arguably turns into a game where it's the designer, and not the player, who's truly having most of the fun.

This is a deeply flawed game, but a fascinating one which makes you think as much as wince. [Christmas 2008, p.99]

Enormous potential. However, those moments where you feel justice being done are few, and a brave mess is still, after all, a mess. [Apr 2004, p.104]

This is a perfectly awful conversion with poor controls, cumbersome combat, an antiquarian save system, inadequate maps and clumsy menu design. [Jan 2004, p.111]

As a novelty, this is fine and will provide the odd fun moment. But unlike its endlessly replayable older brothers, you won’t be coming back. [Sept 2008, p.90]

Being among the first of the console MOBAs, Guardians Of Middle-Earth could've been a gentle introduction to an intimidating genre, providing a welcoming hand for players new to the MOBA, but a split focus between accessibility and complexity means neither genre greenhorns nor greybeards will end up feeling truly satisfied.

It's not perfect, and even skilled players will struggle with some of the more demanding multitasking required for certain scenarios (the level-skip is an acknowledgement of the inconsistent difficulty), but it's clever, cunning and entertaining.

It's not just that it's frustrating to fail but, knowing there's no satisfaction in overcoming that frustration. It says a lot that after stepping away from this game we reinstall the original Super Meat Boy to blow off steam. The real Bob-Omb Battlefield is surely next. [Issue#423, p.112]

It’s on Live, though, that Ten Hammers truly explodes into life, the absolute requirement for tactics creating jumpy matches that outgun anything so far on Xbox or its baby brother. [Apr 2006, p.92]

It's a decent enough excuse for some very good times. [Issue#383, p.120]

Taken in isolation, there's no denying Cold Fear's panache - RenderWare has rarely been used to such strong visual effect - and there is a fair helping of survival horror entertainment to be had here, it's just that you have to dig through several layers of frustration to get at it. [Apr 2005, p.96]

This is more of an evolutionary vestige than a healthy new growth. Bloober might have done better to let it die. [Issue#356, p.92]

While undoubtedly nectar of the gods for series fans, the incremental tweaks and polishes to the game's mechanics that a decade of sequels grants make it by far the most rewarding and investible Musou game to date for all-comers.

So indebted is dev studio Matrix to the old ways that it seems to have granted a free pass to the old problems. Quest signposting is buried in unclear dialogue snippets, bosses are beaten through trial and error, and grinding is rife. [Dec 2010, p.99]

Among its many failings one stands out as cardinal and, despite the slick presentation, simply can’t be forgiven: you never really feel in control of what’s going on. [Aug 2008, p.94]

It may tread more carefully around its psychiatric themes, but its puzzles still toy with minds as easily as they play with space.

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]

Puzzle Bobble's hardly become a bad game, it just doesn't seem interested in getting any better. [Oct 2009, p.99]

A hybrid game of mixed success, Legacy reconciles Ace Combat's past and present while failing to offer enough diversity and features to make the results essential.

The effect is simple but potent: this feels like a real place, and you feel like a real person. [Issue#392, p.108]

The slower, more deliberate pace and the hefty fine levied by missed throws and counters may initially confuse those expecting Guilty Fear in a new set of clothes, but ultimately provides a smoother learning curve and a more welcoming experience for new players. [Sept 2008, p.94]

It's a game built from pluck and resourcefulness, in other words: thoughtful when it can afford to be and stoically reliable – for the most part – when it can't.

This is Dungeon Keeper by way of Viva Pinata - building a devilish defence against do-gooders by massaging a delicate and extremely elaborate ecosystem. [Christmas 2010]

Popcap’s latest digital narcotic is a particularly potent concoction, building on a game we’ve all idly wasted quiet working hours on with an adorable aquatic theme and a ticking clock to make it extra moreish. Be prepared to spend, however, if you don’t want the hit to wear off quickly.

Combat can be over in a flash - a Great Sword's focus attack is almost guaranteed to one-shot anyone with no armour. [Issue#363, p.106]

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]

Aptly, Outbreak is an experiment gone wrong; it indicates the possibilities of an online horror title, but also that Resident Evil's traditional structure can't achieve them. [June 2004, p.102]

As a detective story, Conway holds together well enough; as a nosy neighbour simulator, it excels. Just don't be surprised if you feel grubby afterwards. [Issue#366, p.118]

At its best, Cultist Simulator is quietly riveting, conjuring a palpable atmosphere of intrigue and danger as you juggle the risk and reward of harnessing otherworldly powers. During a bad run, however, it can feel like a rather inefficient way of telling a fairly miserable story. [July 2018, p.118]

It’s hard to fault Lips for trying something different, even if it’s just a little. [Jan 2009, p.91]

It's good to see Inman opting for something other than a straight sequel, but this is one space odyssey that won't last you much longer than a pleasant hour or so.

Supernauts is both too limited to succeed as a town-builder and frustratingly restrictive as a creative tool, while its superhero interludes are disempowering and dull. [Sept 2014, p.116]

These fascinating windows into the lives of people unwittingly close to the end are your reward for being thorough. [Issue#388, p.123]

It’s sweet stuff, but repetition quickly sets in.

Murky, muted visuals and a lack of ground detail let the game's presentation down, but the satisfying combat and customisation - especially when you unlock the Tune menu, which lets you add custom parts to your aircraft - do their best to hold your attention despite the frequently repeating missions. [Oct 2010, p.99]