Sonic 4 is neither straightforwardly heinous nor a glorious return to form. It's a beautiful homage, and on balance an enjoyable one, but things aren't as uncomplicated as you might hope.

Enslaved's greatest achievement is standing out in the crowded field of me- too, colour-sapped videogame apocalypses, serving as a vibrant oasis in the otherwise murky brown wastes.

As the more intimate title suggests, this may be as much about Croft's brand awareness in the face of unprecedented (and Uncharted) competition. [Oct 2010, p.96]

The result is competent and complex, but not convincing enough to raise any significant emotion other than impatience. It feels like a clockwork approximation of football, lacking the grace, variety and scope of FIFA.

The inadequacies of the PSP camera shatter what little illusion is conjured. At one point, Brian Blessed whispers. All is not right in the world. [Jan 2010, p.96]

Whatever its bias or excisions, MOH rejects the sort of gung-ho globetrotting baloney seen in Modern Warfare, and makes an honest attempt not to trivialise the lives of US soldiers, creating an air of sober authenticity which is unusual among shooters.

An experience lacking flavour, with a transparent design, the game shares many qualities with its elemental subject matter. It is entering a super-competitive environment, and its premium DLC will need to be something special to turn things around.

As the more intimate title suggests, this may be as much about Croft's brand awareness in the face of unprecedented (and Uncharted) competition. [Oct 2010, p.96]

F1 2010 remains a game to be uttered in the same breath as Crammond's Formula One Grand Prix, Bizarre Creations' Formula 1 '97, and Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II.

Reach is a fine conclusion to Bungie's stewardship of the series, but that's what stops it from being anything more. Halo felt like the future. Reach is merely a brilliantly engineered present.

Headstrong's effort shows a developer of some calibre, with a clutch of decent ideas, bowed beneath the weight of a multimedia franchise and hobbled by family friendly obligations. Its execution is uneven besides, but the challenge is so light that its flaws are largely irrelevant - and, unfortunately, that applies to the game's few triumphs too.

The conservative setting and lack of an engaging storyline may do little to excite RTS veterans but, in its ruleset, Ruse expands upon the genre in a way that goes beyond gimmick. [Oct 2010, p.95]

In miring the action in a crayon-written plot and applying the brakes to anything going too fast, the screaming thrills it does provide are the exception, not the norm. [Oct 2010, p.97]

Other M dabbles in cinematic tricks and sensational set-pieces, but its strength is in the foundations: it builds an enveloping 3D world from straight lines and right angles, and ups the gears of its rewarding basics constantly. It offers an uncluttered slice of sci-fi action, a singular take on the thirdperson adventure, and a combat system of pared-down beauty.

Murky, muted visuals and a lack of ground detail let the game's presentation down, but the satisfying combat and customisation - especially when you unlock the Tune menu, which lets you add custom parts to your aircraft - do their best to hold your attention despite the frequently repeating missions. [Oct 2010, p.99]

Its battle system still provides an excellent alternative to the rigid chess boards of many a strategy RPG, but one which feels compromised rather than optimised for its new setting. [Oct 2010, p.88]

It's in Mafia II's second act that it takes a real dive, and familiarity plunges into cliché. When the writers run out of literary coal, there's little to keep you on the rails, and nowhere to take a time-out. It descends into a festival of stereotypes and expletives, laying waste to the hints of narrative depth proffered earlier and offending beyond justification as it ticks the down-and-dirty genre boxes.

It's in Mafia II's second act that it takes a real dive, and familiarity plunges into cliché. When the writers run out of literary coal, there's little to keep you on the rails, and nowhere to take a time-out. It descends into a festival of stereotypes and expletives, laying waste to the hints of narrative depth proffered earlier and offending beyond justification as it ticks the down-and-dirty genre boxes.

Like the movies that doubtless inspired it, Shank ultimately has more style than substance. It looks fantastic but it's hardly a lengthy game, and it does little to trouble your brain. As throwaway entertainment goes, though, it's solid popcorn stuff.

Enjoyably whipped through in three hours, And Yet It Moves finds rare extra pull in unlockable modes.

Though 2K Czech's operation doesn't run entirely smoothly, there's a definite spark of potential and the roots of an abandoned attempt to engineer something more than throwaway entertainment. [Oct 2010, p.90]

As the more intimate title suggests, this may be as much about Croft's brand awareness in the face of unprecedented (and Uncharted) competition. [Oct 2010, p.96]

Its most striking ideas don't fulfil their promise, and its successes are etched by pervasive minor flaws. The towering, terrifying city, and the lens through which it is shot, drag you onwards through the game's lesser parts, but you sense that the real crime in this whole bloody escapade is that it doesn't live up to its dark flashes of imagination.

Its most striking ideas don't fulfil their promise, and its successes are etched by pervasive minor flaws. The towering, terrifying city, and the lens through which it is shot, drag you onwards through the game's lesser parts, but you sense that the real crime in this whole bloody escapade is that it doesn't live up to its dark flashes of imagination.

A detailed and intelligent fraud: a slice of cool, corporate entertainment for an audience that probably sees no contradiction within that notion. [Oct 2010, p.98]

It's certainly going out with a bang. [Sept 2010, p.97]

At its core, though, is Hydro Thunder Hurricane's handling model. Swerving between subtlety and throttle every few seconds, it graces tracks that provide both competitive dashes and full-on fairground rides. All this is wrapped up in a perpetually rewarding structure that keeps these precious elements fresh, making up a comeback that holds its first principles close.

Clash Of The Titans' many failings are all the more surprising given that the movie is just one of many CGI-heavy offerings accused of feeling more like a game than a movie.