In terms of distilling the core Civilization experience from PC to handheld, this is almost as victorious as the PC-to-console iterations. [Oct 2008, p.103]

Core game play remains largely undeveloped from Symphony Of The Night, and, despite the additions, is aspirational rather than inspirational. It’s certainly the best handheld Castlevania game, but Igarashi’s team is too dedicated to the framework he masterminded for this to be anything innovatory. [Nov 2005, p.108]

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]

In its still somehow unique blend of humour and heart, spectacle and introspection, that Like a Dragon roars loudest. It may be nine years late, but we're glad it got here in the end. [Issue#382, p.94]

No classic, then, but Smilegate has delivered a big, silly, characterful romp that's best experienced with friends. [Issue#370, p.118]

If you've come this far on Lee's journey, Around Every Corner's ending will make the final chapter a near essential purchase: not just to see how this supposedly reactive, in part player-authored story ends, but to see if Telltale really can pull it off.

It's a game that feels like bits of lots of other games you've played before, but not in this order, rarely with such a sure-footed framework and never presented with such a crisp gloss of cartoon-quality presentation; and it's all bunched up together more tightly and enjoyably than in Sly 2. [Dec 2005, p.105]

We find ourselves absorbed by Boulder's story, enough to witness all the grisly premature ends that meet him before he finally gets his hard-won feelgood finale. [Issue#393, p.120]

There's a great deal of satisfaction in finding the right combination of fighters and feeling the curve of a battle until you hit the tagging sweet spot. [Mar 2011, p.88]

While the overall blandness means Galactrix is unlikely to truly thrill many people, it also means that it won’t exclude anyone either, and the ever-reliable pattern-spotting blends with the steady trickle of meaningless rewards to exert a pull on its audience that is truly Pavlovian. [Apr 2009, p.125]

The picaresque form allows the levels to function as discreet puzzles rather than as parts of a story arc: the objective remains pure and always the same. The obstacles and methods open to you are what change, and it's in these areas that Contracts has both expanded and improved. [June 2004, p.103]

It doesn't always hang together perfectly, but its earnest affection for its subject proves an effective adhesive, and perhaps the best compliment we can pay Kaiju Wars is that it persuasively captures the thrilling, manic energy of the best monster movies. [Issue#372, p.121]

There's an unexpected clarity to solo play that's lost amid the tumult of human competition, but what's never obscured – and what stands as its great accomplishment – is its fond and intricate celebration of all things PlayStation.

One of the most artistically accomplished games to have emerged from an independent studio, Trine 2 has enough minor tweaks and new things to see to draw you back into its playground. It's a short, sweet, occasionally imperfect little treat.

Despite its futurist Wikipedia aspirations, Neurocracy today feels more like falling down the Wayback Machine. [Issue#393, p.121]

By juxtaposing a hero who retreats in denials against an antagonist who'll go to any lengths to change the past, The Drifter offers a poignant take on trauma, and the ways it keeps gnawing at the soul the longer we refuse to process it. [Issue#414, p.123]

Technical issues aside, it shows that a sci-fi action adventure can tell a dramatic, gripping tale by zeroing in on the minutia of the next giant leap, and the weight of uncertainty behind every small step. [Issue#382, p.106]

For all its delightful art and writing, the cold logic in its Gordian design is unrelenting. [Sept 2014, p.115]

Persistent players will find it to be one of the best multiplayer experiences on PSP. [Dec 2007, p.95]

There's little, then, in the way of meaningful deduction; rather, you're rewarded more for being thorough. [Issue#372, p.123]

Even in such a tired genre, Turnfollow's capacity for emotional storytelling is remarkable indeed. [Issue#393, p.122]

With the FPS realm being crushingly overpopulated, and its upper class becoming so terrifyingly demanding and particular, Pariah’s solidity isn’t enough to allow it entry into the genre’s gentry. [June 2005, p.82]

It is wonderfully written, its world lived-in and vivid. It meets our expectations of a Fullbright game, but sadly leaves it at that. [Issue#310, p.114]

The action is so fast, and the time to kill so low, that anyone outside of the hardcore COD audience is in for a rough ride. [Jan 2017, p.110]

The slower, more deliberate pace and the hefty fine levied by missed throws and counters may initially confuse those expecting Guilty Fear in a new set of clothes, but ultimately provides a smoother learning curve and a more welcoming experience for new players. [Sept 2008, p.94]

Outbursts of light and colour and shape, simple enough that they have the potential to become iconic. [Issue#379, p.104]

It's less a trip to another world than a slice of this one, warts and all, carefully preserved in the middle of a bewitching, inaccessible wilderness. [Issue#310, p.116]

The Hellfighters' story is one worth hearing - even if Valiant Hearts hits a few bum notes in its telling. [Issue#382, p.112]