They may unplug the servers, but those connections will never be fully severed. [Issue#388, p.120]

The focus on the rebellious, non-conformist side of youth has its drawbacks, but means Persona 5 is something to which its predecessors could never lay claim. It is, simply put, cool. Everything, from the intro movie's disco house to the battle-mode cutaways and even the basic UI, is achingly, confidently stylish. Criminally, the DualShock 4's Share button functionality is blocked for the duration, but this is one of few true blemishes on a game that, while at times a bit too familiar, never comes close to breeding contempt. [May 2017, p.110]

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]

It may not be quite as picture-perfect as we'd hoped for, but Viewfinder's most memorable vignettes will surely earn it a permanent slot in your brain's own photo album. [Issue#388, p.121]

Yes, Wipeout 2048 conjures a less fanciful racing grid than we've seen previously, and it's also a less immaculate, less finessed racer than the home console iterations of the series we've played down the years. Instead, it's an attempt to try something new on the newest of platforms. While it may not offer something for everyone, when it flies, it soars.

Vietnam is not about skill or proving your worth. It's about taking part in recreations of famous battles, crawling on your belly, loving every minute. And when it works, nothing can touch it. [Apr 2004, p.103]

It's feature-creep, in short, bloat orbiting an excellent core. In that regard, at least, For Honor is a Ubisoft game. [May 2017, p.112]

"Holy Metacritic, Batman! They've finally bothered to dedicate considerable time and resources to putting you in a decent videogame!" [Oct 2009, p.86]

It's a high-stakes heist simulator with no time for malice aforethought. Stealth's just one tool in your roll bag. [July 2015, p.112]

Forget the artful placeholder nature of the title, then: the rotating octopus character moves through a meticulous game built with a rare sense of poise.

It is at its core a forgettably designed, cookie-cutter open-world game, that is elevated by its traversal, its combat and stealth, by the eventually irresistible pull of its story. It may not have legs, but while it lasts it is delightful. The Amazing Spider-Man? Not quite. But it is frequently spectacular, and given Parker's rather chequered videogame past, that feels like some achievement. [Issue#324, p.104]

The most ambitious game BioWare has ever made. [Jan 2014, p.104]

Beneath this joyously aimless frolicking flows a gentle undercurrent of melancholy, which comes to the fore during the game's bittersweet finale. You're asked beforehand whether you're ready to go; it says much for this fuzzy, wistful daydream of a place that leaving it behind proves a surprising wrench. [Issue#378, p.123]

Stacking's best qualities are its eccentricity and ingenuity. The puzzles lack the tortured bite of Double Fine's early work, but in broadening the narrative-led puzzle game's scope and carefully choosing which elements of tradition to keep and which to discard, Stacking is a bold and charming reinvention.

In a family whose every member shouts from the rooftops, it risks palling into the background. Set it on its own, though – or besides absolutely any other 2D platformer – and it shines with dazzling kaleidoscopic brightness. [July 2006, p.78]

What is for sure is that over its six-hour span we're engrossed in Still Wakes The Deep far more often than not. [Issue#399, p.100]

This is a game that skilfully blends the safe with the courageous in an alchemical fusion of old and new, somehow brave and default all at once.

With a superior control system and a raft of incisive upgrades, this year’s update is a connoisseur of the boxing arts. [Apr 2005, p.103]

Perhaps that's Infinite Fall's ultimate triumph: with a group of 2D animals it's built a cast that's more rounded and identifiably human than any mo-capped blockbuster. [May 2017, p.116]

It’s debatable whether Oblivion is a great adventure, but it’s certainly one of the broadest around and one that’s a willing canvas for a variety of approaches from its players. [May 2006, p.84]

In the big dumb act of blowing its extraordinary world to kingdom come, Crysis finds itself smarter than ever. [Nov 2008, p.97]

Stacking's best qualities are its eccentricity and ingenuity. The puzzles lack the tortured bite of Double Fine's early work, but in broadening the narrative-led puzzle game's scope and carefully choosing which elements of tradition to keep and which to discard, Stacking is a bold and charming reinvention.

In time, however, it is the parry system that reveals itself to be the game's core point of difference and strength. [Issue#383, p.100]

Whatever tactics game you've enjoyed most in recent years, you're likely to find some element of it refracted somewhere in here. [Issue#402, p.116]

Inventive, malleable and rambunctiously entertaining British puzzler. [May 2017, p.121]

The strength of the Mario RPG series has always been the convincing lunacy with which it depicts the 'ordinary' life of the mushroom kingdom. You may have steered Mario through some strange odd-jobs in your time, but Paper Mario 2 is your best chance to actually be him. [Christmas 2004, p.86]

This dark world - frequently illuminated by its eccentric characters and cheeky dialogue - is so captivating that the slight loss of late-game momentum is easily forgiven. [Issue#399, p.114]

The most comprehensive remake Nintendo has ever undertaken. [July 2009, p.94]