Black Box’s sequel ultimately struggles to offer any single compelling justification for its own existence. [Feb 2009, p.93]

Fans of TrackMania Nations and its Stadium course, in particular, will have a hard time adjusting to the heavy, drifty handling that is, for the moment, the only way to race in TrackMania 2.

As uneven and unpolished as it is, Fallen Order is still the best game to emerge from EA's stewardship of the Star Wars license, even if that's to damn it with faint praise. [Issue#340, p.98]

The Umbrella Chronicles will inevitably attract attention for its roots above all other considerations, but it's a good game on its own terms, bringing together distinct genres and making it all work. [Jan 2008, p.86]

In its present form, Hero Academy is a fairly lightweight confection, but it digs its nails in until you find yourself impatiently anticipating the notification alert, and then starting a fresh battle with a random opponent to shorten the wait.

With "Denied Ops" dropping the Conflict ball and "Call Of Duty 4"’s snappy splendour drowning any tactical sense, it’s a likeable and distracting continuation, but one that won’t be difficult to usurp. [Apr 2008, p.90]

At a time when, more than ever, connecting with others starts by working on ourselves, this endearing twist on the tend-and-befriend genre is a friend indeed. [Issue#348, p.106]

Rage is a stunningly rendered FPS, but one that seems caught between a desire to innovate and the desire to be true to the template its creators defined.

It’s on Live, though, that Ten Hammers truly explodes into life, the absolute requirement for tactics creating jumpy matches that outgun anything so far on Xbox or its baby brother. [Apr 2006, p.92]

Shuggy's a clever game rather than a truly smart one – a smart game wouldn't do half as much to undermine itself along the way – but it's still worth sticking with to its bitter and infuriating end.

Ms Splosion Man might have done little to fix the 
first game's flaws, but it confidently follows up on its raucous appeal.

A bright colorful package that has managed to - happily - disrupt our time with the other big Roguelikes of the minute. Maybe all you really need is a few great ideas. [Issue#352, p.120]

The original title won fans for its shocks and surprises; the second takes no risks. While its ultraviolence is slick and satisfying, its shtick has calcified. [Apr 2010, p.92]

This is a sorely flawed game, but also a truly majestic one... a beautiful and ambitious manifesto for what games can give you that nothing else can. [June 2004, p.98]

Buy into Arma 3 now and you’re buying into many promises. Bohemia’s pledge of a coherent campaign, its promise of a wider array of military toys to play with, and its intent to tweak and update AI errors, scripting issues, and pathfinding problems. But these promises are backed up by thousands of the world’s most dedicated players, people who’ve spent years crawling through Arma 2’s rough terrain to find the comparatively even ground of Arma 3. Buying Arma 3 at launch is buying a promise, then, but few games are so meticulously realised, or show so much promise.

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

An incredibly solid universe with barely a technical glitch to be found, but it's soulless and almost bereft of plot or character. This is a sandbox game that's begging for a purpose. [March 2005, p.80]

Thankfully Richard and Alice do manage to engage, the awkward stiltedness to their early conversations naturally easing into a more flowing rapport. Neither are as a delight to read as Alice’s son Barney, however, whose perfectly captured five-year-old’s speech patterns provide both humour and heartbreaking moments of poignancy.

Singleplayer is weak - despite well-worked tutorial and mission modes it always feels like target practice for combat with friends - and the lack of online support disappoints. But despite a potentially hazardous dimensional switch, it remains as appealing a way of antagonising your friends as ever. [Dec 2003, p.108]

An enthralling title on its own terms, and, given the bombastic direction of its Clancy-game brethren, probably the closest fans will get to true tactics for some time.

With incessant dialogue boxes and the option to tweet every other scrap of text you come across, this second iOS outing from Fable designer Dene Carter has picked up some of the worst habits of smartphone gaming.

The frenetic, bite-sized missions are perfect for PSP, bursting with combat and highly detailed. Not before time, Sony has proved that PSP can run and gun with the big boys. [May 2006, p.96]

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

Ubisoft has taken a flawed game of boundless promise, destroyed some (but not all) of its appeal, fixed some (but not enough) of its problems, and jeopardised the whole endeavour by making the same mistake twice and rushing it to market before it was steady on its feet. Prince of Persia is strong and supple enough to survive this with many of its immense virtues intact. But it deserved so much better. [Christmas 2004, p.80]

What it lacks in tactical depth, it returns doubly so in its offbeat charm whether through the crackpot mutterings of its cast of characters or its increasingly nontraditional modern-day island locales. [Oct 2006, p.93]

At heart, Dangerous Golf simply wants you to make a big, beautiful mess, and it's an invitation that proves surprisingly hard to resist. [Aug 2016, p.108]

If Indika won't be everyone's tempo, it proves you can work small miracles when you dare to shed familiar habits. [Issue#398, p.122]

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