Once fluent in Hulk's explosive vocabulary of lamppost-javelins, boulder-bowling balls and tank football, it becomes apparent how much there is to praise in this game. It's hard to think of a superhero title that has come so close in delivering the spirit of the hero's super-ness. [Sept 2005, p.95]

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.

To tackle the more inventive operations dreamt up for Wii with superior tools will be enough to convince the Trauma fans. [Nov 2008, p.102]

This is a soothing lullaby of a game: a leisurely bit of counter-programming that, contrary to forecasts, doesn't disgrace the series' good name. [Issue#310, p.120]

The lead characters are abysmally designed. Waxen, ugly and uninspired, with more than a whiff of committee behind them, they're the most dislikeable aspect of an otherwise magnificent world. [Sept 2004, p.96]

Is this the most violent game of all time? Maybe. Its ragdoll physics may not match the flying limbs and broken faces of Soldier of Fortune, but its throwaway approach to life and death is genuinely shocking, leaving a bitter, metallic aftertaste. This is neither a fall nor an ascension. This is an update. [Jan 2004, p.105]

Rusty Lake is smart enough to keep things brief. [Issue#378, p.114]

Playful touches abound. [Issue#379, p.120]

The story, meanwhile, is weighed down by needless convolution and stilted dialogue, even if its meditations on breaking the boundaries of human consciousness are admirably ambitious - and novel given that Huxleyian mysticism is well suited to the intimate and changeable perspective of a firstperson videogame. [Issue#419, p.120]

Its world may be memorable, but otherwise this is a series falling back on borrowed ideas, as if unsure quite how to properly reinvent itself. There are enough signs of improvement to suggest the next entry could be the fresh start Ubisoft promised this time around. But as a new beginning for Assassin's Creed, Origins is more of a stumbling step than a bold leap forward. [Christmas 2017, p.100]

Realistically, Buraiden's biggest appeal lies in the joyous anarchy of the multiplayer modes. Team up two-on-two, three-on-one or every-samurai-for-himself, replace any absent human players with the game's convincing AI, set the battle parameters, and prepare for the kind of balletic carnage that Tarantino will soon be ripping off for volume two of 'Kill Bill'. [JPN Import; Feb 2004, p.98]

An impressively comprehensive, reasonably captivating though ultimately flawed experience. [June 2005, p.95]

Chaos reigns in the brackish bayous of this endearingly ramshackle racer from Hydro Thunder Hurricane developer Vector Unit. An erratic police presence might attempt to uphold the law, but between the fluctuating prices of its illegal trading posts and the trail of destruction your air boat leaves in its wake – not to mention a frame-rate choppier than the winding waterways themselves – this is a world without order.

Working out how the game works and how to best profit from your stocks takes an hour’s play, and from then on, it’s no longer about thinking creatively, just economising ruthlessly. Satisfying perhaps, but hardly demanding. [Christmas 2006, p.88]

If only it played as well as it looks. [Issue#310, p.121]

Dante’s Inferno fails to rise above its peers, the punishment for which is not damnation, merely a place in limbo.

Takes great pride in its science-fiction absurdities and provides a genuinely entertaining skirmish game for those who still hanker for the base-building battles of old. [Feb 2008, p.94]

Flying Wild Hog has re-imagined a cult classic while maintaining Shadow Warrior’s unique personality in a shamelessly flawed and flimsy shooter concerned more with laughs and blood-letting than balance, and the team’s bold embrace of the game’s roots goes a long way to excuse the game’s problems.

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

There was never any doubt that Total Overdose would fall foul of one of its genre's various pitfalls, but it's unfortunate that it ultimately had to be one as irksome as excessive length... At its best, the game still shakes up a loud and spicy Mexican cocktail, but what it’s added to the mix has been more than enough to weaken the taste. [Nov 2005, p.103]

It now feels in need of a shake up to make it bounce back instead of producing yet another diminished return. [Jan 2007, p.75]

Visually, this can be a fascinating journey, with its massive-headed monks and no-headed minstrels, but in service of little more than endless duels, hardly an ideal vehicle to dig into the novel's themes. Black Myth, in short, seems unsure what kind of monkey it wants to be. [Issue#402, p.104]

The most significant addition is Quen marine Seyka, with whom Aloy forms a bond that goes beyond friendship. Yet the two fight more often than they flirt, and the need to either level or stock up between story missions means they don't spend enough time together for the would-be emotional climax to fully land. [Issue#385, p.120]

It's the kind of scrappy contender you want to root for, but while its battle camera keeping you at a distance proves a smart move, the same can't be said for its story. [Issue#378, p.119]

What should be a straightforward tale of coming to terms with loss introduces a few too many complexities and characters, muddling its attempts to explain what happens when we shuffle off this mortal travelator. [Issue#379, p.123]

It is, in other words, a competent handheld version of Killzone, and those who bought a Vita on that promise will be amply satisfied. Others will squint, line up their sights on a speck in the middle distance, squeeze the trigger and hope for the popup confirming their aim was true, and wonder if this is really what handheld gaming should be.

It's simple, enjoyable, and in wisely steering clear of trying anything grand or complex, is an enjoyable if self-contained success. [May 2010, p.97]

In its shrewd monetisation aspects and as a watered-down but sturdy entry in the series, Revolution unarguably achieves its goal. The King Of Iron Fist Tournament is now closer than it’s been for a long time to its arcade roots, but the sense of friendly competition has been replaced with an initially hostile, rich versus poor and, at times, pay-to-win atmosphere.