As a game, Battalion Wars is good; as an experiment in genre cross-breeding and subtle, hand-free franchising, it's very nearly a triumph. [Dec 2005, p.96]

Where most games are built out of wood, bullets and money, Darwinia has an unapologetically spiritual vision, its geeky god presiding over a world which dares to make an imagined religion into a ruleset. That in some places it falls short of its ambitions is not what makes this game important. [March 2005, p.82]

Driver has escaped near-death with a captivating and colourful return, and one where everything from systems to cinematics is of a quality build. As surprises go, it’s a juggernaut. [Apr 2006, p.84]

Smartly thought out, handsomely presented and perfectly showcasing the combination of quick thinking and quick reactions we so often claim videogames encourage. [June 2007, p.89]

For all its wondrous mimicry, Lies of P can't quite match the master's ambition. A remarkable feat of craftsmanship and engineering it may be, but never quite a real boy. [Issue#390, p.124]

It may tread more carefully around its psychiatric themes, but its puzzles still toy with minds as easily as they play with space.

And as it brings the melancholic undercurrent that has defined its parent series to the surface, Age of Imprisonment succeeds on two fronts: as a classy Warriors spinoff and a surprisingly vital piece of Zelda history. [Issue#418, p.116]

Seeing the game from beginning to end reveals its true artistic merit: it never gets stale; every episode has been drawn with minute care and attention. It would have been an incredible achievement if the gameplay had matched the outstanding art direction. [Dec 2003, p.94]

If at times Sable has a certain adolescent clumsiness about it, elsewhere it feels mature beyond its years. [Issue#364, p.106]

Trepang2 may not know many tunes, but it truly commits to those it does. [Issue#387, p.116]

Between the extra sparks of mechanical invention and visual humour, Mortal Kombat 1 offers perhaps NetherRealm's most persuasive argument yet to take the plunge. [Issue#390, p.128]

Accept those technical shortcomings and it's hard not to marvel at the way this feels like a complete, self-contained world. [Issue#377, p.122]

The game bears testament to the strength of Smith’s original vision, a puzzle game that avoids prescribed solutions through the tenacity of its enemies.

The puzzles themselves can feel gimmicky and detached, as though inclusion was more important than integration. [Dec 2009, p.92]

Control can be an issue at times – the one button combat system relying on the distinction between taps and holds makes it easy to muddle attacks – but challenge seekers will find plenty to get stuck into, impaled on and cut to shreds in this macabre, frenetic onslaught.

The breadth of Eden’s ambitions may have meant that there’s barely a feature that’s implemented more than satisfactorily, but there’s a generosity of vision here that few games can boast. [Aug 2008, p.88]

Despite the occasional stumble and sticking point, Transference will frequently leave you transfixed. [December 2018, p.120]

Wickedly irreverent and cartoonishly outrageous. [Nov 2012, p.96]

By the final reckoning, we're invested in how it all shakes out; perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that the titular weapon is not, in fact, Gunbrella's most powerful asset. [Issue#390, p.132]

What it does have is bundles of charm, a gorgeous art style, and enough bite-sized chunks to last many a journey. [July 2010, p.104]

Pac-Man's rotund physique and the millimetre-perfect tilt controls make him a delight to bounce up and down and around the edges of the screen, while a forgiving drop distance encourages a cavalier attitude.

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]

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.

Fair, competitive and, above all, relevant. [Nov 2012, p.100]

A fine effort, then, but a new Chrono Trigger it is not - and directly inviting such a comparison only highlights the areas in which it falls short. [Issue#390, p.133]

Capcom might not have crafted the kind of world in which players will invest, but it understands the powerful draw of party building and gear tweaking, the immediate thrills of slashing and spellcasting, and the spirit of adventure in sallying forth on a dragon hunt. [June 2012, p.106]

The game's frustrations are notable, but never spoil the appeal of controlling that indefatigable little guy. [July 2010, p.100]

They're gimmicks, sure, but good ones, rounding out another strong title for 3DS. [June 2012, p.126]