The cold heart beneath the cuddly surface fits the dark tone of the game, which beneath all the whimsy tells a melancholy story. Even so, players drawn in by Pid's dreamy visuals might end up feeling betrayed.

Both the platforming and the shooting hold up, then, but they barely develop after the first few hours. [December 2016, p.116]

Objects that can be interacted with are circled with an icon, but this only appears if you are looking at exactly the right spot. Indeed, much of Rogue Ops is spent trying to make this cursed cursor appear. It's not a pleasant way to spend an evening. [Feb 2004, p.108]

Many titles are likened to "Devil May Cry," but Van Helsing appropriates that game's structure with such brazen thoroughness that it might be seen as this generation's Great Giana Sisters. [July 2004, p.108]

A larger problem: the sense that The Suicide of Rachel Foster is messing around with borrowed ideas it never quite understands. [Issue#343, p.118]

The frequent glitches and pop-up testify to a lack of preparation, and a question has to be asked about what exactly Treyarch has been doing for the past two years. [July 2007, p.89]

It's easy to over-rate launch titles thanks to the shock of the new, doubly so when the control scheme is as interesting as this one, but at its heart Red Steel is just another lever-pulling trawl through big rooms and S-shaped corridors. [Christmas 2006, p.77]

Pleasantly meditative as it can be, it feels worn and ragged in places, that uncomfortable woolly itch coming just too often to ignore. [Issue#366, p.121]

It’s the refusal to broaden the series’ horizons, though, which will serve to damage Sony’s oft-forgotten franchise most in the long run. It leaves Confrontation feeling stale and lost among the recent crowd of tac-shooters. [Christmas 2008, p.100]

The story, meanwhile, is weighed down by needless convolution and stilted dialogue, even if its meditations on breaking the boundaries of human consciousness are admirably ambitious - and novel given that Huxleyian mysticism is well suited to the intimate and changeable perspective of a firstperson videogame. [Issue#419, p.120]

The game's failure to monopolise on its squad dynamic relegates it to a shooter-by-numbers, and its appeal is then further undercut by the fact that, while Barker clearly has a sense for the grotesque, it is the only note that Jericho plays. [Dec 2007, p.91]

For its dramatic and cinematic flair, its lovingly crafted chaotic destruction and above all its network of interconnected personalities, it's an adventure that shouldn't be missed. [JPN Import; June 2006, p.92]

Successful only as an interactive showcase of Jurevicius' art – and arguably the Flash original was more effective in that regard – it's almost criminal that a world this vivid should be so wearying to explore.

While Cargo Commander might be an occasionally limited platform game, it's nonetheless an entertaining ode to the simple pleasures of an honest day's work.

The game's failure to monopolise on its squad dynamic relegates it to a shooter-by-numbers, and its appeal is then further undercut by the fact that, while Barker clearly has a sense for the grotesque, it is the only note that Jericho plays. [Dec 2007, p.91]

Lords Of Shadow 2 is clunky, ugly and deeply misguided. It’s a game that sees the lord of the damned as a vehicle for rat-powered linear stealth, and that takes a future-Gothic London setting and then sets the action in tower blocks and sewers.

Sonic games, and platformers in general, have always been about memorising the lay of the land, but rarely have mistakes been so costly or heavily punished, and it says much that one retailer’s preorder bonus consists solely of 25 additional lives.

There are some interesting ideas here, but in practice the game is overloaded with cut corners and blunting repetition. [Mar 2010, p.97]

The charismatic animation and evocative, sunset-hazed setting make up for a lot of the game's shortcomings, and although limited in lasting appeal, Miami Vice is solidly and imaginatively made. [Sept 2006, p.86]

Once again we leave a Nintendo mobile game feeling a little underwhelmed. [Issue#338, p.114]

Like a conversation made entirely out of pleasantries, it ultimately rings false. [Issue#423, p.108]

Despite the obvious talent at work here, the studio has chosen to bury The Order's potential under a fug of dissociative, QTE-focused game design that's as stifling as the smog that creeps through its Victorian streets. [Apr 2015, p.106]

This disappointing reboot is best left, well, alone. [Issue#397, p.118]

There’s just no accounting for an excruciating wipeout on the final lap when such possibilities are at the mercy of circumstances as much as they are at the player’s skill. But, played with a graceful, Zen-like acceptance – shit happens – Crash ‘n’ Burn is as enjoyable as it is easy to understand. [Jan 2005, p.97]

As an example of unabashed, often exuberant Britsoft that pulls out the SRPG's staples and rebinds it in approachable ease, Future Tactics is remarkable, deserving of cult status. [Aug 2004, p.99]

In-app purchases, however, are handled with more nuance and kept pleasingly out of sight.

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

The problem that remains, however, is its lack of anything profound to say, as it tees up complex topics before leaning towards comfortable answers. [Issue#406, p.120]