Animal Crossing: New Leaf has a revitalising new flavour, and in 3DS it’s finally found the ideal place to settle down and make its home.

Deliverance II demands unwavering fealty from its players, and the punishment for being lax in your duties can be severe. But if you're willing to go along with its more peculiar quirks, it offers a rare amount of freedom for a modern roleplaying game. Indeed, it's arguably a truer RPG than Bethesda's recent efforts, certainly a closer companion to Oblivion than Starfield is. And while its writing or characterisation aren't up there with those of The Witcher 3 or Baldur's Gate 3, its quest design is every bit as ingenious. [Issue #408, p.100]

Rather than creating a character, you're stuck as the brooding, white-haired monster slayer Geralt. Anyone who enjoyed the role last time will be happy to bear with him while the game meanders to its point. Anyone else will need an extraordinary level of patience.

In feeding constant surprise, engaging wit and sharply pitched challenge during its course, Plants Vs Zombies proves again PopCap's incredible knack of taking an established game form and making it all its own. [May 2009, p.94]

Paradise loops its action into an endless rush, the possibilities, for arcade racing and battle enthusiasts alike, increasing with every hour. It’s hard not to see it as the birth of a new era, but in truth it might be the last Burnout you ever need. [Feb 2008, p.86]

It's impossible for your heart not to race as you sweat out the fright of its peerless audio design, chattering voices and muffled sobs endlessly scraping at your senses. [Oct 2004, p.98]

A scintillating racing experience, and as a revitalisation of the Race Driver series it's utterly successful. [July 2008, p.90]

A classic reborn in wonderful style. Capcom's hot streak continues apace. [Issue#331, p.106]

One of the best games on iOS, a testing blend of strategy and crisis management with a sharp tux and a winning smile.

At the core remains the solid, steady hand of Halo, but those hoping Halo 4 would roll back Reach's intricacies and deliver an alternative to the current wave of console shooters will be disappointed.

It's a pity Poinpy's audience is limited to those who haven't been put off by Netflix's recent price hikes, because this is a game that helps to justify keeping that subscription rolling. [Issue#374, p.122]

Despite being all about the numbers, FM2010 rises above them to be unexpectedly cruel, kind, and even visceral at times. [Christmas 2009, p.104]

For those already playing Final Fantasy XIV, Stormblood is a beautiful, essential expansion...It's not only a great expansion to a much-improved MMO. It's also, in story terms at least, a game that stands tall among the best Final Fantasy has to offer. [Sept 2017, p.112]

This is a brave and truly original work, and if this is what happens when Simogo explores its dark side, it should do so more often.

This is still a Neatherrealm game, with all that implies, and it isn't without its missteps. But for lone wolves, at least, this is the richest fighting game on the market. [Aug 2017, p.110]

It's entertaining, but if SOCOM II is the pinnacle of Sony's online achievement - and it is - then Microsoft has convincingly won the online battle. At least for this round. [Mar 2004, p.100]

The Witness conjures magic from the simplest of components, rustling up a sensational array of experiences without ever deviating from its core conceit. [March 2016, p.106]

Like all great puzzle games, you’re beholden to the whims of fortune, forcing you into leaps of faith that often prove frustratingly fatal. But like all great puzzle games, Stickets’ surface simplicity is merely a cover for mechanics of astonishing depth and longevity.

Like the first game, it remains a competent but ultimately restrained title. [June 2004, p.111]

A breathtaking way to polish off the definitive videogame nostalgia project, certainly - padding aside, the first 30 hours of Remake suggest that this is change for the better. By the conclusion, though, you may feel like things are going off the rails in more ways than one. [Issue#346, p.80]

Where next for Pokemon? Black and White don't suggest any answers, but they do remind us why we'd care in the first place. [Mar 2011, p.103]

Huge in scope and strong on detail, IX has ironed out the kinks that have made the series less palatable outside Japan, and with Nintendo's support, IX is sure to have the wider impact that the series has craved. [Aug 2010, p.92]

In the games’ improved communication features, too, X and Y are truer to their narrative’s ethos: the joy of sharing moments of beauty and surprise with others. It’s a delightful message to send to a new generation of players, many of whom are just starting out on their own gaming journey.

It's disappointing that basic irritants are still evident in the singleplayer game. But it's the online version - which takes the hunter/hunted metaphor to chilling extremes - which ends up being one of the most nerve-racking gaming experiences of all time. [Apr 2004, p.98]

Whatever the oddities and missed opportunities of its singleplayer mode, Bad Company 2 delivers a fulsome online game that continues to hone a winning formula. [Apr 2010, p.90]

After the peerless Bayonettas, this is the best game Platinum has yet made - and better yet, it reflects a developer growing in talent and ambition. [Issue#337, p.108]

A vast, almost encyclopaedic look at the united nations of rally, Dirt 3 doesn't feel definitive despite America – it wouldn't feel definitive without it.

So while Monster Train 2 can initially seem more like an expansion than a sequel, it favours potency over a reimagining of the basics, using trusted design as a basis for even more excessive combat creations. It's all about bigger, weirder kinds of damage. If, that is, you're prepared to think like a mad scientist. [Issue#412, p.118]