It's a reminder that 'accessible' - along with 'Project', 'Gotham', 'Grid' and 'arcade' - isn't such a dirty word after all. [May 2011, p.92]

Another decent GunCon arcade experience from Namco, which shoots all of the (now very familiar) lightgun game boxes. Fun for a while, certainly, but there are no surprises. [Dec 2003, p.107]

Like so many recent releases, Borderlands 4 has a magnetic, engrossing experience at its core that's been built on a hundred smart design decisions, but its performance on PC keeps you at arm's length. [Issue#416, p.114]

Mario Golf might just be one of the finest games ever made. It's the only explanation EDGE can think of for how it remains playable despite having so very many things wrong with it. [Oct 2003, p.101]

Put simply, it regularly betrays the cyber-ninja fantasy it's peddling. The speedruns will doubtless be dazzling, and Ghostrunner certainly LOOKS every bit the blockbuster it isn't. How unfortunate, then, that a game about a deadly assassin should suffer from so many critical failures in execution. [Issue#352, p.114]

While Rockfish has created an accomplished open-world experience among the stars, then, it really needn't take up quite so much space. [Issue#384, p.110]

Blood Money feels only slightly closer to the series' ideal of a gameworld that's both complex and cogent, and is more accessible and entertaining with it. [July 2006, p.80]

Hard-bitten graduates of "GTR2" and "GT Legends" would be smart to approach RACE with few expectations, or perhaps leave it to the newcomes it has clearly been designed to attract. [Jan 2007, p.81]

The beginning is a sensible place to start, but rest assured, it gets much, much better. [Feb 2009, p.91]

What a laugh. [Issue#338, p.104]

There is some enormous potential here, and for all its failings Assassin’s Creed deserves to be played, and its achievements savoured. [Christmas 2007, p.82]

Southend's spatial puzzler is clever enough to survive such a heavy-handed dose of focus-grouped fancy: you won't need to love it in order to appreciate some of its better tricks. [Jan 2011, p.103]

Unlike in a game such as Limbo, the main challenge is not finding solutions to puzzles but performing them. [Issue#411, p.118]

There's much to admire and to enjoy, but we've come to expect more from a developer of EAD Tokyo's calibre. [Jan 2014, p.114]

It too often asks for a mere nod in the right direction rather than a considered gambit, filling in the incriminating details itself and leaving the player yearning for more active involvement. [Christmas 2005, p.110]

Part fishing simulator and part Lovecraftian adventure but while the two concepts work together surprisingly well, they both feel disappointingly undercooked.

Following the excellent Inside Story was always going to be a big ask, so it’s hardly a surprise AlphaDream never quite manages to conjure up anything better than being Bowser. Still, while the comparison to its predecessor does it few favours, rest assured that Dream Team Bros’ additions and curiously entertaining battles do enough to reawaken the desire to see this adventure through to the end.

This dazzling, determinedly populist experience was not made according to the standards other games are made by, and when judged – or even just described – by those standards, it might seem slender to the point of frailty. [Christmas 2005, p.101]

Even as playing boardgames in person becomes a reality once more, we suspect that Trials Of Fire's baggy charms will ensure it keeps us from the table on a fair few evenings to come. [Issue#358, p.110]

With 2022's sequel confirmed for global release early next year, then, we feel ready to go the distance and stick with this trail. [Issue#401, p.114]

For every moment of epiphany, wide-eyed with an awareness of a resolution, there's an equal number of blunderingly hapless wins, falling or jumping accidentally to new and advantageous positions. [June 2008, p.89]

Sadly, the technical turbulence that has blighted previous episodes remains – the QTE-powered action beats, though well staged, are hobbled by pauses and awkward transitions, even on PC.

It's an interesting tale, it's mystery and fuzzy chronology giving it a constant, momentum. [March 2018, p.120]

Developer Dang smartly refuses to complicate things, instead relying on its diverse menagerie and devious level designs to keep you on your toes. [Issue#362, p.121]

Best approached as you would any caffeinated energy drink. In small gulps, it offers an exhilarating sugar rush, but too much will leave you with a headache. As such, it's best consumed in moderation. [Christmas 2014, p.104]

In its best moments (of which there are plenty), this is about as good as Life is Strange has ever been. [Issue#364, p.112]

Children of the Sun wears that rawness like a badge of honour, its rough edges not sanded down but rather made so jagged as to draw blood. [Issue#397, p.106]

Just Cause 2 can hardly be called an average game. It's a good one undermined by a selection of mediocre elements, and it's all the more frustrating this time around because Avalanche shows us glimpses of just how much fun two weeks on holiday with Rico should be. [Apr 2010, p.96]