It may lack the emotional heft of darker epics, but it remains a tightly plotted confection with charm to spare. [Jan 2009]

Given the power at the player's fingertips to rewind, pause, fast forward and even record time, the scope for creating some genuinely engaging and ingenious situations is still as immense as it ever was. But, in actuality, everything is blandly obvious and ironically one-dimensional, and the use of the rewind function is still as chronological as it ever was. [Jan 2005, p.91]

The result is not a bad game, but Steelrising's beautiful and imaginative shell is wrapped around a workmanlike interior. [Issue#377, p.110]

This characterful, sprawling throwback might well have been considered a classic two decades ago. But, as its creators have patently discovered, it isn't 1997 anymore. [June 2017, p.86]

As dating-centered RPGs go, we know a spot, and it's not here. [Issue#390, p.136]

This is a simple game at heart, a game about learning the rules, becoming really good at manipulating the elements, and then getting a huge high score to brag about. And who could argue with that? [Oct 2007, p.98]

The beauty of Deadly Premonition is that it's a straightforward whodunnit viewed through the cracked prism of an unreliable narrator, conjuring an atmosphere of suspicion and confusion throughout. [Dec 2010, p.92]

All but shorn of their narrative context, the missions can feel rather inconsequential, disconnected from the truncated plot and lacking the variety and invention of some of the 3DS game’s later missions.

There are things to admire here, and The Ball's simple challenges ensure a pleasant, if casual engagement, enhanced by the skilful drawing of this subterranean world. [Dec 2010, p.96]

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

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]

A fleeting novelty.

In miring the action in a crayon-written plot and applying the brakes to anything going too fast, the screaming thrills it does provide are the exception, not the norm. [Oct 2010, p.97]

Viking’s shortfalls just seem so peculiar when compared to the surging competency of its strengths. [May 2008, p.90]

Design flaws include a bizarre decision to cordon off most of the ship after completion, locking away any unique items you previously overlooked. Much of the game commendably favours stealth players but the rest can feel shambolic.

That twist, however, is the root of the game's disappointments, hinting at something beyond a typical platform game, yet leaving players to go through the genre's familiar motions - just in the shade. [Dec 2010, p.91]

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]

An impressively comprehensive, reasonably captivating though ultimately flawed experience. [June 2005, p.95]

A largely muddled package. [Nov 2010, p.95]

Tokyo Crash Mobs might not be the best version of Puzz Loop around, but in allowing us to briefly abandon our traditional British reserve, it becomes one of the most satisfying variants we've played.

Juiced 2’s driving dynamic couldn’t be more easygoing without offering an autopilot option... The exception are the drift events, where the game may actually lead its genre. [Dec 2007, p.94]

In short, it's sweet. [Dec 2014, p.118]

The detection of item-grabbing slashes is often fumbled, and since moving your finger can leave you prone to missing punches, it ruins a promising risk-reward system.

Food Run may be unapologetically old-fashioned – right down to its use of impossibly jaunty stock music – but game design this smart never goes out of style.

The game’s major achievement is an emphasis less on personal advancement, but rather on working as a cohesive unit to achieve your collective goal – the hunting of monsters, truly absurdly monstrous monsters... It’s an excellent exercise in humility and cooperation, and one that should not be passed by. [Dec 2005, p.108]

While these new ingredients can be magical, they’re not enough to produce a truly golden successor. Nevertheless, it’s still an RPG that contains some precious properties. [July 2006, p.90]

An unforgiving experience … but Nightshade still has enough chutzpah to give those weaned on games without saves a stern and nostalgic challenge. Those afraid of tough bosses need not apply. [Mar 2004, p.103]

Marvel's Avengers has a lot of good parts, a lot of indifferent ones, and an overall lack of direction. [Issue#351, p.90]