As often as it threatens to break the shackles of convention, it's just as content to fall in line with JRPG custom. [Issue#296, p.116]

Even the most dedicated player's are likely to fall out of love with the game more frequently than its promise of unstoppable motion and a world outside slate-grey corridors (which becomes more distant as the game progresses) can entice them back. [May 2005, p.83]

Due to a heavier emphasis on all-out action, however, the gratifying bullet-cam pay-off becomes tiresome even sooner than it did in V2.

An apparently new and improved game engine is anything but, with regular framerate drops on PS4, bizarrely stilted animations, and sound effects cutting out entirely during action sequences further deadening the impact of already sloppily edited fight scenes. [Nov 2016, p.121]

For a studio of this size, this is a game of impressive scale, but for all it offers in scope, it lacks in depth. [Issue#376, p.112]

Rogue Agent is the result of design by committee: a safe, reasonably accomplished but uninspiring offering which neither excels nor progresses its genre in any way. [Christmas 2004, p.82]

Its faults are many, but they're magnified by the obvious comparison: this isn't an alternative to COD, but a game in thrall to it. [Apr 2011, p.84]

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]

This is a big game, clocking in at about the 40-hour mark, but the lack of challenge in combat combined with the formulaic missions and frequent cutscenes too often make it feel like a sticky trudge.

No hack job, then, but rather soulless. [Issue#376, p.114]

Where it goes wrong is the finale. Almost every major choice is proven irrelevant, and barely any plot threads resolve. [Jan 2016, p.118]

Once you’ve wiped away the layer of gore, you’re left with an experience that, expectedly, offers limited entertainment. [March 2005, p.85]

The guns and costumes you'll be buying make Random Heroes a little more appealing, perhaps, but they're poor compensation for a wider lack of imagination.

Somewhere, Animal Crossing has mislaid its soul. [Issue#314, p.116]

And herein lies Immortals' most fundamental problem: Aveum's skies might crackle with occult energy, but the game beneath them is distinctly lacking in REAL magic. [Issue#389, p.112]

The Power Of Two may have fewer technical issues than its predecessor, but it's a less adventurous, less courageous, and overall less interesting game. It struggles to make you care about its world, and as a result its one big idea – that of the Wasteland reacting to your choices – feels decidedly flaccid.

Every now and then, there's a flash of ingenuity. [Issue#373, p.122]

If its creators can dig out the rot in its foundations, there is at least plenty to build upon here. [Issue#389, p.116]

There's enough warmth and wit here to make Middle Manager Of Justice one of the more palatable exercises in building a game around waiting and offering micro-transactions to skip the wait, but sadly all our spider-senses detect is a missed opportunity.

The fifth Tony Hawk's title doesn't just suffer because of its embarrassing attempts to be edgy and urban, it's poorer because it lacks the verve and imagination so prevalent in previous iterations. [Christmas 2003, p.122]

Once you've become fluent in the new pattern of motion the platforming becomes very satisfying, marrying timing and action more intimately than the usual moving platform/timed-jump challenges. However, things become rather unstuck when enemies are introduced. [Feb 2005, p.81]

IGI2 straddles the same uneasy middle ground between (pseudo) realism and playability as its predecessor, and consequently strays from the realm of the enjoyable to that of the tedious far more often than is desirable. [March 2003, p.96]

Rarely does dying feel like the player's fault and, in typical "Sonic Adventure" fashion, the best bits are when you find that the majority of control has been taken away from you, and you're flung around the world at escape velocity. [Mar 2004, p.105]

Hotel Barcelona's horror-film pastiche amounts to little more than references, and without the unifying sensibility that defines Swery's best work, the game is a series of mismatched parts, idea in want of a whole. [Issue#416, p.116]

It's a shame to see what could have been. [Dec 2009, p.99]

We'd be lying if we pretended we didn't have some fun with it. But it only works in the same way a McDonald's occasionally hits the spot: this is cheap, junk-food gaming that comes with a side-order of regret. [Issue#331, p.110]

Netherrealm has taken a number of welcome steps forward with Mortal Kombat X, but no momentum is gathered, because it's stopped in its tracks by an avalanche of needless distractions, some miserable netcode and - oddly, for a game so obsessed with death in all its grisly forms - poor execution of decent ideas. [June 2015, p.106]

The joy of Pirates of the Caribbean is to be found in the variety of the elements delivered - sword fights and canon battles happily sit alongside contraband trade route management. But ultimately none offer a tremendous amount of depth. [Nov 2003, p.107]

Repetitive and simplistic, Alien Breed Evolution may remain true to its inspiration, but this first episode does no more than reinforce Team 17's reputation for serviceable but uninspiring updates of past glories. [Feb 2010, p.91]

The representation of the xenomorphs is the game’s most damaging failure. They’re just not dangerous enough, reduced by a first mission deluge into a swarm of targets bearing the shape of a familiar, once-horrific symbol of death. But they have none of that pop icon’s grace or deadliness.

Fundamentally, combat feels feeble and insubstantial - partly out of aesthetic failure to convey power, but mostly out of a design choice to limit the effectivness of your weaponry (see 'Gun Damn'). [Mar 2008, p.95]

Constantine’s narrative is compelling enough, and some excellent puzzles save it from the ignominy of being yet another average third-person movie tie-in, but only just... Yes it’s uncomplicated, but still an engaging realisation of the source material. [Apr 2005, p.99]

While that means Soulstorm works - accidentally or otherwise - as a metaphor for the struggle of the working classes, all that toil rarely makes for a particularly engaging game. [Issue#359, p.112]

Why take such efforts to unearth them in a remaster that goes above and beyond in so many ways, only to leave basic flaws intact? A puzzle for future generations of podcasters, perhaps. [Issue#359, p.114]

If Headhunter’s controls were as coherent as its looks, it could’ve made for one of the greatest action-adventure games of recent times. Instead, we’re left with a clunky shooting gallery that is, in parts, a likeable gunfighting game. [Oct 2004, p.109]

By the time we reached the end of Outlast 2 we felt drained for all the wrong reasons. In leaving the confines of its predecessor's psychiatric hospital setting for the wilds of southern Arizona, Red Barrels' horror series has somehow become more linear and less pliable. And now, in the long shadow cast by Capcom's excellent Resident Evil VII, Red Barrels' macabre tricks are made to appear somewhat less dazzling. [June 2017, p.102]

Even when driven in full race trim, every vehicle feels ponderous and with overly soft suspension often resulting in an unnecessarily laborious control method. It's not a bad game, by any means, but the enjoyment provided is limited. [Oct 2003, p.101]

This actual action is not rendered with nearly half the imagination or proficiency as the premise offers – and six hours of Remote-induced carpal tunnel syndrome and grim boss-battling overstay their welcome. [Mar 2009, p.91]

A hastily assembled three-in-one anachronism which proves just one thing: that terrifying and terrible are not mutually exclusive. [Apr 2010, p.93]

Why take such efforts to unearth them in a remaster that goes above and beyond in so many ways, only to leave basic flaws intact? A puzzle for future generations of podcasters, perhaps. [Issue#359, p.114]

Without the challenge and cruelty that can make a classic, the results here are likeable, confident, and nowhere near essential. [Mar 2007, p.86]

The game's visual and combative energy spark the urge to see where it goes next. If only there was something to do when you get there.

The Assembly is yet another example of mundane game design attempting to hid behind the novelty of VR. The mileage in this strategy is running out. [Oct 2016, p.122]

There's scant variety as Nutmeg runs through the same handful of sequences repeatedly, and little tactical leeway within your deck. The beautiful game is thus made less so as the rose tint softens its essential texture. [Issue#423, p.121]

Feels like a proof of concept for a much more substantial, and refined, counterpart. [Apr 2015, p.120]

Defeat in Nowhere Prophet can be creeping, as your resources drain away, or sudden, as you fall victim to an unexpected combination of cards. Either way, it feels like playing against an opponent who overturns the table when they win, leaving you to gather up the spilled cards. It'll be another couple of hours before you have a deck that feels unique, before you escape the mire of enemies and text events you've seen a dozen times. It's enough to make you a sore loser. [Issue#336, p.118]

Strip out the poor parkour and clunky melee and all you’re left with is a shooter, and a workmanlike one at that.

While moments of genuine beauty exist, they occur in the context of a game that otherwise simply cannot compete with its contemporaries when it comes to visual presentation - a symptom, perhaps, of the seven-year development cycle. [Feb 2015, p.104]

Briefly diverting. [Apr 2015, p.121]

The real art of Shuten Order isn't in the puzzle pieces, then, but the finished picture. A shame constructing isn't a more well-rounded journey. [Issue#415, p.98]

Most baffling of all is the way each match concludes. [Issue#360, p.112]

The early hours spent getting to know your airship suggest Forever Skies might soar. Sadly, from there, it struggles to get off the ground. [Issue#411, p.104]

Rather than expanding on what came before, too often it punishes the committed player, their weapons rendered obsolete, their best gear reset, their flair for teamwork hamstrung by aggressive mobs. [Feb 2015, p.118]

While it lasts, it’s one of the better platformers available on XBLA, and the inability to die and general ease of progression make it ideal for very young gamers. [Mar 2009, p.92]

Structurally, the game is a waking nightmare. The hub world is vast and unnecessarily confusing, and it is possible to become trapped in levels if you can't figure out where to go next. [Mar 2004, p.108]

As diverting as it can be, this is a slim offering, a paucity of customisation options, game modes and progress markers providing no higher-level hook. [Issue#415, p.106]

On retreading the levels enemy attacks become predictable puppet shows, with mad-eyed soldiers lining up to get killed exactly where they did many times before. It's the kind of repetition more commonly associated with lightgun games these days. [Christmas 2003, p.109]

The core idea of Eat Them is sound, and when it works it's undeniable fun; there's a definite pleasure in starting with a pristine, ordered city and methodically reducing it to rubble. [Feb 2011, p.102]

Namco’s design process seems so addled by the multiform calls for improvement – the aforementioned mission design, multiplayer modes (which remain entirely offline), storylines and sheer content volume all trailing expectations – that it’s momentarily lost its focus. [July 2006, p.88]

Techland has played fast and loose with a genre that need refining in to truly let pulses soar. The result is a game that's daft, sloppy fun begging for an injection of refinement. [Feb 2011, p.97]

Fun concepts brought low by crummy execution. Hand-to-hand combat can benefit from skill-based flourishes, but rarely goes beyond crude whomping. Large plains hide crannies galore, though you navigate them atop a horse with the handling of a bus.

While there are occasional sparks from things like laser weapons, or games of tag in the arena combat, too much time is spent racing the same courses at the same speed, with only a very gradual increase in AI awareness to differentiate each step up through the ranks. [Mar 2007, p.85]

In this game of strong beginnings and - at last - a comprehensive ending, the journey between the two needs more spring in its step. [Issue#360, p.118]

In all likelihood, we'll remember its delightful world for some time. In future years, we may even enjoy the few fuzzy memories of Forgotton Anne that linger. For now, however, they're tinged with disappointment. [July 2018, p.114]

Some will still find DOAX 2 to be a soothingly directionless or charmingly goofy, a game that feels numbingly pointless when treated like other games. But if this is you second visit to Zack Island, you may well find yourself wasting fewer hours than expected. [Feb 2007, p.79]

At least building the game around a mountain ascent avoids survival horror cliché. Instead of stepping bravely into the murk you are motivated forwards by the peak's promise. [Oct 2009, p.98]

There’s a familiar, welcoming charm to Wii Party U, which offers an evening spent in the company of nice-but-quiet friends. We wouldn’t blame you, however, if you snuck out to visit the more vibrant party hosted by Wario or Bumpie next door.

This is another ugly blunder. Pacific Assault demonstrates that bewildering battle scenes are no equal for clever level design and attention to detail. [Christmas 2004, p.92]

It’s a B-movie game in every sense, but approach it with sufficiently lowered expectations, and you may just be pleasantly surprised.

Some cool things happen to crazy people in A2M's Wet, but unfortunately there are times in between where you're actually expected to play it. [Nov 2009, p.99]

Board game fans might be able to overlook these sins to find the deep game within, but developers Full Control has done too little to evangelise the cult of Space Hulk.

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

The pacing, thanks to a combination of necessary haste and the weakness of your divided squad members, feels more akin to a corridor shooter; there’s a constant sensation of feeling harried and hemmed in. [Oct 2004, p.107]

BW2 is a strategy game that doesn't demand much strategy. That doesn't mean it's not sometimes enjoyable, but it's nothing more than an occasional diversion. [Jan 2008, p.84]

The convincing sense of speed is dulled by a lack of weight to the handling, while collisions betray some erratic physics: you can easily be shunted into a respawn by other racers, yet left relatively unscathed by a head-on smash into trees.

There are moments of compelling spectacle...But the stop/start intrusion of missed QTE presses hurts these moments of the game, even as the dramatic visuals start to win over the most skeptical player. [June 2009, p.95]

The studio cannot seem to reconcile with itself, and in this sense, it's unwittingly proved the point its latest narrative fails to: with so many sides to consider, not all stories are so easily tied up. [Issue#351, p.106]

If Massive Damage's kitchen-sink approach to combat systems threatens to become overwhelming, it is at least built upon solid foundations. [Issue#351, p.107]

Yes, there’s a good sense of speed, but the dreariness of racing against brainless AI opponents who combine little awareness of their surroundings with a remarkably lethargic and lifeless approach to a supposedly exciting activity soon has that counterbalanced. [May 2005, p.85]

Acclaim's latest manages to tick all the required futuristic race sim boxes, except the one titled 'memorable'. There's one really good thing about XGRA - it's all over very quickly. [Nov 2003, p.109]

Unepic is a perfectly serviceable platform-RPG, but Unremarkable might have been a more apposite title.

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.

Subtitling this Battle Revolution could be considered a breach of advertising standards; it's about as revolutionary as a racing game with powerslides. But while Custom Robo lacks a fresh hook, it's done with such a diligent simplicity that it's hard not to take a shine to it. [July 2004, p.108]

While suspension of disbelief can stretch to accommodate the odd genuine flaw – inconsistencies between what objects you can and can’t punch through, for example – the sequel has too many to hide. [Feb 2007, p.80]

Quietly competent to the very end, Avatar's certainly not the disaster you may have feared, but it can feel patronising, pompous and a little unnecessary. [Jan 2010, p.84]

Boom Boom Rocket is marking time rather than feeling the rhythm, and that’s not enough to set Live Arcade’s skies alight. [June 2007, p.88]

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]

It's a shame the journey itself can't match the poignancy of the final destination. [December 2016, p.123]

While online play provides more convincing competition, with only eight riders supported the circuit will appear as underpopulated as the scenery. [Aug 2008, p.100]

The game is divided into four tournaments, each containing four unique courses. It's when you get to the second stage of the first tournament that the game's major failing makes itself apparent: there's only one composition to race to. Presumably, the developers thought this would be enough, as differences in course layout and sound effects provide a little variety, but in practice it's just too repetitive.

For anyone who hasn’t played a thirdperson platforming adventure game in the last five years, this might well serve as perfectly engaging and adequate entertainment. To everyone else, it serves as a very clear reference point for just how many evolutions the rest of the genre has undergone since the PS1’s heyday. [Oct 2005, p.96]

A strangled idea, and while hard to dismiss it’s difficult to recommend entirely. [Feb 2009, p.94]

Sluggish loading times tend to cause frame-rate hiccups at the outset of a multiplayer game, and such issues are exacerbated in the busier environments with a full complement of players.

Vanguard simply fails to deliver the pomp and bluster or the window dressing so essential in disguising the shortcomings inherent in "Call of Duty's" framework. [May 2007, p.92]

It is so often calamitous that its few charms are either squandered or obscured. [Christmas 2009, p.96]

EDF was never about careful aiming or strategic cover or any of the other things that drive modern shooters, though – it’s about superior firepower earned through RPG grind, but 2025 has made the happy grind gruelling.

Gorgeous and silky smooth it may be, but the level design feels like it was made with in-app Continue purchases specifically in mind, hiding enemies cruelly – and punishingly – behind obstacles, preventing the game from flowing and dazzling as it clearly has the potential to. Accomplished and beautiful, then, but Sonic Dash shows that, for Sega, learning from the competition comes at a price – one it’s passed onto its fans.

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]