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]

Ascension’s biggest success is a colour-coding system that effectively lets you know when you have an opening and when to run. Unblockable attacks are signalled by a player glowing red, white denotes invincibility, and blue signals a player in recovery. It’s a simple, smart system further improved by rock-paper-scissors combat (heavy beats parry beats light beats heavy), cooldown-controlled special moves and a logical, consistent approach to hitstun. Consider our expectations defied: this is the star of the show.

It’s through the internet, however, that Buzz! refreshes its familiar format; strengths and weaknesses alike. [Aug 2008, p.99]

Eden’s precise artistic vision, dreamlike menus and sharply contemporary Japanese ambience is a perfect fit for PSN, but for all its purity this is an Eden too mechanically flawed to match its presentation. [Oct 2008, p.98]

Super Time Force hands you a super weapon that feels super – one that gives you the impression you’ve hacked into the game’s code to gain the upper hand – and then dares you to try to break the game with it. That it never buckles, despite allowing you to continually rewrite history as a horde of player characters and hundreds of projectiles fill the screen, is nothing short of remarkable.

To focus on what's missing would be to overlook the joys that remain. [Issue#340, p.106]

When the offscreen narrator, voiced with arch-Britishness by Stephen Greif, welcomes you to “the magical theatre of the strange and fantastic”, his adjectives are right on all three counts. And you rarely get magic that feels quite this immaculately handcrafted.

Some may argue over what the series should have become, but what’s important is that it has made that tough decision for itself, and established a rock solid foundation for inevitable, now justified successors. [May 2006, p.86]

Quibbles aside, the good news is that the frantic swiping and tapping to negotiate track obstacles while squeezing in showboating tricks for extra points remains as ebullient as ever. Sitting down to play five minutes of Infinity and losing an entire evening: that’s the real danger.

Goat Up isn't the most challenging game Llamasoft has ever made, but it's certainly one of its most imaginative and lovely: meanness would seem out of place. No other developer could, or would, turn the twitch platformer into a farmyard idyll.

There's something vital about this first episode's endearingly messy setup: to err is human, after all, and Life is Strange is nothing if not that. [December 2018, p.121]

And in a genre preoccupied with conquest, it's hopeful concluding note of independence - the Legion's actions in Russia are tied to the formation of the First Czechoslovak Republic - makes for a welcome epilogue indeed. [Issue#392, p.118]

A charming jaunt. [Sept 2009, p.94]

Sadly, the mixed results even apply to our canine friend, whose limitations clash against the design of many bigger bosses. [Issue#388, p.118]

Its magic can feel frustratingly elusive, but the thrill of chasing it down just about makes it worthwhile. [March 2019, p.112]

Attempting to explore the Eastern Front thematically proves misjudged, while persistent unit stupidity is wearing thin after seven years and four games. Counteracting that are the core mechanics, which are as enjoyable as ever, and there are smart new missions to test series veterans. It’s not a glorious revolution, then, but COH2 is a solid continuation of the finest WWII RTS around.

In pairing back its design and focusing on only a few key elements, the studio has created an uncommonly beautiful, open-hearted game. The team's self-deprecation and shaky confidence belies an assured, courageously executed vision. The resulting adventure will give you chills and should stay with you for a very long time indeed. [July 2017, p.102]

After the first game, the series was in need of a rethink; now all it needs is refinement. [May 2010, p.94]

Though its essential concept is well worn, Ninjatown is sturdily designed and offers a commendably flexible set of strategies for survival against the hordes. [Christmas 2008, p.97]

MotoGP may only bring a handful of new bikes and tracks, but it’s still a handsome package. [July 2006, p.82]

Captivatingly clever. [Issue#373, p.123]

This disquieting, disorienting place leaves us as properly rattled as we've been by a videogame since Immortality. [Issue#378, p.114]

Masterful use of haptics and audio ensures that when your finger, so often an unstoppable force, meets an immovable object, you hear AND feel it. To play is to experience the pleasure of successfully picking a lock, or cracking a safe, or perhaps even repairing a watch: there is a constant sense of tension and release, as you find ways to free those gummed-up gears, to oil that rusted sliding-bolt mechanism, to feel the click of that tumbler dropping into place. [Issue#390, p.139]

Jonasson is evidently confident that his game has enough to keep you coming back regardless. He's right to be. [Issue#391, p.122]

As much as Gran Turismo TV and its frontend might push Prologue toward being a multimedia experience, the actual racing has become more of a game - a little less clinical, a little more diverse and characterful. [June 2008, p.88]

Neo may not have the game-changing novelty of the original, but what a thrill it is to discover that, 14 years on, TWEWY continues to march to its own beat. [Issue#362, p.98]

Captivating, strategic and, despite the monstrous aliens, oddly welcoming. [Jan 2013, p.102]

If the nostalgic, arcade sensibilities of Cosmic Heroes may not hold us as long as Absolum's Roguelike depth, then, mastering our favoured dynamic duo - to borrow a phrase from a rival universe - just might. [Issue#419, p.122]