The player is required to reap their principle enjoyment from the narrative and the cinematic rather than the interactive. The traditional flow of play has been turned on its head: cut-scenes are the new king, gameplay elements little more than lines to link the drama. [Apr 2005, p.104]

Few games can capture the sense of being in the hunt so well, and by degrees few games can disappoint so much when this sense is lost to wrangling with the camera or gawkish, unpredictable controls shackling your weightlessness. [Oct 2004, p.108]

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]

It may be formulaic, but that formula is still one of invention, surprise and excellence. [Jan 2005, p.87; JPN Import]

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]

Perhaps the saddest misunderstanding in Assault, though, is its pedestrian, linear structure. There's nothing wrong with it, but the multiple routes and secret branches of the earlier titles bound levels into a taut, short, player-directed adventure that was always seamless and could never be fully experienced in one sitting... Without it, Assault is a jumbled, disposable thrill. [Apr 2005, p.92]

It's almost as if Capcom has distilled its Onimusha series, extracting the two core components of the franchise ' epic, fierce confrontations, and puzzle-pocked exploration of lavish settings ' and given each more room to breathe, with their own character, style, atmosphere and pace... Fresher, but not better. [Jan 2005, p.82]

The game’s sluggishness is all-pervasive, from Williams’ lethargic climb to the pauses between moving from third- to firstperson when you duck underwater... Death By Degrees progresses at such a sedate pace it’s almost relaxing. [March 2005, p.89]

Ironically, it’s people who haven’t played Champions rather than veterans who could find the most to like, given that it’s a year’s worth of tweaks and polish on that game’s largely positive foundation. [Apr 2005, p.105]

A game world that keeps bettering itself, until some kind of disbelief sets in. This dazzling technical feat is mirrored by some terrifyingly fast loading times, with no in-game loading and restarts from any save point in the whole world taking around two seconds. [Feb 2005, p.72]

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

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

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

A soulless videogame that stands as a grave indictment of how stale a series can become if it loses its spark of creativity and imagination. [March 2005, p.93]

Six 'f*cks' in the opening cut-scene set the tone for a game that's desperate to appear edgy, uniquely British and grown up... Ironically, the script is so desperate to be adult that it ends up sounding as mature as a teenager rebelling against school uniform. [Christmas 2004, p.85]

So, is this what we were expecting from Capcom – a revolution in survival horror? No... It's an interactive B-movie, but one filled with sights, sounds and thrills that will linger in the memory long after the content of more sophisticated titles has been forgotten. [March 2005, p.76]

An incredibly solid universe with barely a technical glitch to be found, but it’s soulless and almost bereft of plot or character. This is a sandbox game that’s begging for a purpose. [March 2005, p.80]

It would be easy to take The Minish Cap for granted, left as it is with little to do but shuffle and tinker with its immaculate heritage. That, however, would be a grave mistake... Maybe you can't go wrong with the Zelda template, but they haven't always gone this right. [Christmas 2004, p.91]

An incredibly solid universe with barely a technical glitch to be found, but it's soulless and almost bereft of plot or character. This is a sandbox game that's begging for a purpose. [March 2005, p.80]

Mechs are the only interesting offline opponents, but in a way that causes the action to feel stuttered: these encounters are engaging due to the sensation of one-on-one combat, but those of Lone Wolf are so ponderous that most fights become wars of attrition... As a result, the game can't throw enough of them at you to make the skirmishes feel genuinely intense of chaotic. [Feb 2005, p.76]

Levels feel more segmented and less regimented, and the better for it. There’s no cheap, wholesale reduction of difficulty, just what feels like a more balanced play experience. [Jan 2005, p.84]

This is more than just a cynical cash-in conversion, but in pitching itself as a kind of '1.5' iteration it's never clear if the game is a necessity or a distraction for devotees of the Kingdom Hearts universe. For all but the most ardent follower, its off-target execution will imply the latter. [Feb 2005, p.80]

As clumsy as some elements feel, it's still difficult to vilify KOTOR II. Its strength is in its ability to make you care about your character's fate, and as an RPG package it's as comprehensive as they come. [Feb 2005, p.70]

Ubisoft has taken a flawed game of boundless promise, destroyed some (but not all) of its appeal, fixed some (but not enough) of its problems, and jeopardised the whole endeavour by making the same mistake twice and rushing it to market before it was steady on its feet. Prince of Persia is strong and supple enough to survive this with many of its immense virtues intact. But it deserved so much better. [Christmas 2004, p.80]

Ubisoft has taken a flawed game of boundless promise, destroyed some (but not all) of its appeal, fixed some (but not enough) of its problems, and jeopardised the whole endeavour by making the same mistake twice and rushing it to market before it was steady on its feet. Prince of Persia is strong and supple enough to survive this with many of its immense virtues intact. But it deserved so much better. [Christmas 2004, p.80]

Drill Spirits is a well-rounded introduction to the series, but falls far short of its greatest successes. [Feb 2005, p.82]

Ubisoft has taken a flawed game of boundless promise, destroyed some (but not all) of its appeal, fixed some (but not enough) of its problems, and jeopardised the whole endeavour by making the same mistake twice and rushing it to market before it was steady on its feet. Prince of Persia is strong and supple enough to survive this with many of its immense virtues intact. But it deserved so much better. [Christmas 2004, p.80]

Ubisoft has taken a flawed game of boundless promise, destroyed some (but not all) of its appeal, fixed some (but not enough) of its problems, and jeopardised the whole endeavour by making the same mistake twice and rushing it to market before it was steady on its feet. Prince of Persia is strong and supple enough to survive this with many of its immense virtues intact. But it deserved so much better. [Christmas 2004, p.80]