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]

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]

Evolution's successes entertain your mind's-eye view of what running a dinosaur theme park might be like, but its failures encourage you to imagine the game that could be made with this premise. [Issue#322, p.110]

It's essentially the slowest side-scrolling shoot 'em up you'll ever play, demanding you laboriously guide a submarine to the end of each level while avoiding damage and destroying evil submarines whose perfidy knows no bounds and warrants no backstory. [June 2011, p.97]

A frustrating port of an above-average game. Rather than attempting to significantly tweak Mafia's structure and narrative … the developer has attempted to replicate the PC experience to the letter. It has been only partially successful. [Mar 2004, p.109]

Often dwarfing the key action, these minigames are a manifestation of a series that’s been unrecognisably perverted from its original purpose, flashes of brilliance or speed only serving as a reminder of what has been lost. [Nov 2007, p.99]

A less accomplished but more immediate Ninja Gaiden, then, one that will temporarily distract newcomers and disappoint dedicated followers. Yet it feels destined to be forgotten by both audiences, chalked up as another casualty in the east's drive to conquer the west with bravado rather than its sought-after, ever-rarer Japanese steel.

Despite its numerous missteps, it's clear that this is a labour of love for its creators, whose fondness for the original is well know. [Aug 2016, p.118]

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]

The inheritance of wearisome combat, embarrassing characterisation and impoverished audio now joins a bevy of PSP-specific issues... Revelations does succeed in living up to its name, but we’d hoped that such disappointments weren’t the surprise it had in store. [Feb 2006, p.93]

Accentuat[es] Suda's often over-indulgent scriptwriting and accelerat[es] Mikami's brand of horror into a hyper-gothic, shock-free world of bright lights. With a little more restraint and focus on the core experience, Shadows Of The Damned could have been the action thrill ride Garcia Hotspur thinks it is. Instead the game – like Hotspur himself – is all talk.

Repetitive and crude, this is a game that is often let down by the rough edges of a development team that didn't seem to have the time or the money to realise its ambitions. [June 2003, p.102]

For all its potential, Infected delivers precious little in either world: a singleplayer that blooms too late, and an underdeveloped online experience that withers too soon. [Jan 2005, p.85]

The game could do with a more flexible camera. When the tentacle outgrows the screen in Snake you find yourself failing for collisions you can't even see. [Aug 2010, p.98]

Vampyr is a set of ideas that cohere on paper but not in practice, coupled with a dreary setting that becomes less atmospheric the longer you spend with it. [Issue#322, p.114]

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]

It'll be happier on PSP, where competitors and attention spans are in short supply, and the more energetic interaction offered by the Wii should play to its drop-in simplicity and haphazard dogfights, but on PS2 it's too obviously anachronistic and quickly exhausted. [May 2007, p.93]

As a free download, Frobisher Says may not be a waste of your money, but there are many better diversions on Vita to occupy your time.

Away from the restrictions enforced by the licence the game improves. Free Roam gives you unlimited access to the excellently designed LA streets and rooftops, while Stunt Mode also takes greater advantage of the exquisite physics engine. But why are there no added incentives such as stunt scoring or accumulators? A missed opportunity. [Oct 2003, p.101]

There's a certain amount of wit and flair evident throughout Hoodlum Havoc's cut-scenes, and there are certainly some very slick production values. The problem is that, in terms of raw enjoyment, the game is somehow underwhelming. [May 2003, p.104]

The Gunstringer's biggest problem, however, is that it's a score-based shooter with little incentive to return. With only one weapon type available at any given time, there's none of the tactical interplay between attacks that makes aiming for high scores in Child Of Eden so tempting.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in here. Roaming in smellovision mode is the game's greatest tool for making you feel like you're piloting an animal. It makes exploring a dull path feel way more exciting than it should be. [Jan 2004, p.102]

While Heritage Of Kings has taken the series in a new direction without completely uprooting itself from the settlement-crafting past, it’s not been a successful evolution. Even the most lethargic and undemanding of gamers will quickly become bored of the gambolling wildlife and labouring peasants. [March 2005, p.87]

Tales’ traditionally creative dungeon design comes to the rescue, giving each chapter a genuine sense of adventure as you anticipate what organic shimmers or high-tech gloss might be in store. [Apr 2006, p.90]

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]

Had Climax been able to condense the best parts of all three games - China's pared-down and accessible design, India's looks, Russia's two-character dynamic - into one, we might've had a valuable offshoot, but ultimately this is another Assassin's Creed that succumbs to inconsistency and bloat. [April 2016, p.110]

It's disappointing mostly because its strongest elements, from its dialogue to its excellent soundtrack (see "Radio ga ga"), are packaged within a limp rerun of its superior predecessor, providing scant few reasons to face the ghosts of the past a second time. [Issue#387, p.112]

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]