Scars Above bears all the hallmarks of a game that was overscoped and steadily scaled back as development went on, with many of its more intriguing ideas sidelined as the story progresses. [Issue#383, p.117]

The Kratos we know would most likely growl in disdain. [Issue#422, p.122]

Why roam freely (when the game lets you, which is by no means always) when all that's out there to find is an empty trek between jarring episodes of production-line gaming? [Christmas 2005, p.105]

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]

There’s no sophistication, subtlety or real inspiration in the design. It might have Craig’s likeness, but this Bond is more like Connery’s, a thug in a dinner jacket. [Christmas 2008, p.94]

Tiberian Twilight finds the series at a crossroads, with its glory days gone and its future uncertain. [May 2010, p.100]

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]

At a time when science fiction has never been handled with more vim and vigour, Star Ocean threatens to miss out on all the fun of the genre resurgence through its total lack of ambition. [June 2009, p.92]

As a sideline between sessions with meatier games it's generally right on target. [Sept 2006, p.88]

As well-intentioned as its encouragement to slow down and sniff the flowers may be, we can't help but bristle when the process is so leaden that it rarely feels like a relaxing meadow stroll. [Issue#404, p.120]

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]

From a game entitled Assemble With Care, we had really expected something with a bit more heart. [Issue#338, p.115]

While not doing anything particularly innovative Gun Survivor 4 is frenetic, fun and supremely challenging on its 'extreme difficulty' setting. [May 2003, p.103]

In 2025, Resistance's aim is well off-target. [Issue #408, p.112]

The more it seeks to challenge the player, the more likely it becomes for the game to fail to provide either an enjoyable process of trial and error or a legitimate test of aptitude. [Aug 2005, p.97]

Broadly speaking, Lone Ruin's stern challenge feels broadly well-pitched, but it's unfair just often enough to gradually sap your will to continue - and when a bug leaves us outside a room's boundaries with no hope of return, our patience evaporates with it. [Issue#381, p.107]

Despite the simplicity of the puzzles, it's an unnecessarily bewildering game for the first hour or so. There's an RPG's worth of menus, full of abilities and stats you just don't need to know about yet. [Mar 2004, p.109]

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]

AWESOME Land's harder across the board, actually, but its slightly naff virtual controls work better than expected, and the checkpoint placement isn't unduly sadistic. It's difficult, at times, to tell whether FreakZone's pitched this as parody or homage, but take it as the latter, and you'll have a fairly good couple of hours with it.

Like the grisly cutscenes, Mortal Kombat 11 is fun as long as you don't think too hard or look too closely at it - but that's exactly where the real joy is found in a fighting game. If Mortal Kombat wants to elevate itself, it's time to start overhauling the skeleton underneath all that flesh. [Issue#333, p.110]

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

Too many of its dishes are mere remixes of the same simple techniques. Too many of its taut time trials founder because of some quirk of the Remote. [June 2007, p.93]

Yet despite these conveniences, Junkster never stops feeling awkward and clumsy to pilot. [Issue#411, p.122]

To be fair to The Shoot, it gets the basics right. It just attempts very little beyond them. [Christmas 2010, p.101]

The sad fact is that this combat mostly fails to ignite interest, and combined with its cruel difficulty spikes, occasional glitches and a severe differential in graphical quality between 360 and PS3 versions (the latter losing out), Turok's strong contextualisation and smattering of brave ideas get buried. [Mar 2008, p.92]

One of the most ungainly platformers of recent years. [Sept 2015, p.123]

Early on, we wondered why they don't make games like this more often. Within a few short hours, we were grateful they don't. [Issue#338, p.120]

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]