You wonder if players will have wanted to spend this amount of time loafing around the Homestar Runner universe, or whether their interaction with it is best limited to ten-minute bursts via their web browser. [Oct 2008, p.101]

A little slicker, and Pandora's Tower could have provided a surprisingly effective alternative in the character-action genre. Its blend of pointer controls and button-based combat begs to be further explored. But as it is, this a clunky action title – albeit one with a flicker of genuine emotion at its heart.

Defeat in Nowhere Prophet can be creeping, as your resources drain away, or sudden, as you fall victim to an unexpected combination of cards. Either way, it feels like playing against an opponent who overturns the table when they win, leaving you to gather up the spilled cards. It'll be another couple of hours before you have a deck that feels unique, before you escape the mire of enemies and text events you've seen a dozen times. It's enough to make you a sore loser. [Issue#336, p.118]

There's little, then, in the way of meaningful deduction; rather, you're rewarded more for being thorough. [Issue#372, p.123]

While the details and relationships are sharply observed, everything around them is a little fuzzy. But then so is the moment it's trying to reflect. [Issue#362, p.122]

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]

NES Remix 2’s superior selection of games means it should maintain your interest longer than its predecessor; only rarely will you curse the controls that mean the more exacting platforming challenges can be infuriating to master.

Maddening moments are far enough between to be only a minor blemish on an otherwise fantastic portable action game. [Jan 2005, p.90]

Ultimately, Urban Chaos doesn't have the reach to deliver what it promises, and ends up retreating into cliché. A few months more, a few dollars more and this could have made a much more defiant stand. [June 2006, p.93]

Surely anyone with a taste for adventure will appreciate the ingenuity and character of such an intricate and secret-stuffed world. [Aug 2016, p.120]

Rarely does dying feel like the player's fault and, in typical "Sonic Adventure" fashion, the best bits are when you find that the majority of control has been taken away from you, and you're flung around the world at escape velocity. [Mar 2004, p.105]

There's always a place for classic concepts executed well, and despite being somewhat rough around the edges,that's precisely what R-Type Final 2 delivers. [Issue#359, p.116]

Double Exposure handles an adopted legacy with care, and crucially always feels like it's shifting the needle in a direction that's personal to you, which makes the smattering of lacklustre puzzles a frustrating but ultimately forgivable sin. [Issue#404, p.110]

It's a real treat to examine the craftsmanship of the models in close-up, while the soundtrack is one of Kirby's best to date. [May 2015, p.120]

It's exactly how we felt the first time we played Portal, and the first-person puzzlers that followed afterwards, and it's been a good while since we last played one. Tunnel Vision is more than comfortable in that shadow and, honestly, so are well. [Issue#342, p.122]

An acceptable game rising from the foundations of a great one. Hutch has proved it can do amazing things with Apple's touchscreen but, this time at least, it's provided dubious implementation of almost everything else.

A whole lot better on phones than it is on 3DS. [July 2015, p.115]

It’s sure to be a more compelling experience online, albeit one that relies heavily on the honour of your opponents, and its rough-edged charm is compulsive. [Mar 2007, p.87]

It’s insight into what lay beneath GoldenEye’s unforgettable skin is commendable. But the subsequent attempt to update and embellish the formula is, while a gleeful pleasure, not wholly successful. [July 2005, p.88]

FFXI may not technically be the future of MMORPGs, as there’s no ignoring its derivative nature. However, it has cleverly assimilated all the elements that make the genre so popular and married them with international brand popularity well beyond the reach of other, more ghettoised MMORPGs. [Dec 2005, p110]

No but(t)s about it: Takahashi's most complete-feeling game since Katamari sees him operating in a mode that suits him... down to the ground. [Issue#412, p.112]

This may be Onion Games' most conventional release to date, but still Kimura finds a way to bend the rules. [Jan 2019, p.122]

A fragile container for a tale of such inestimable value, and what ought to be universally welcoming instead must be approached with caution: come expecting revelation on an emotional level, not a mechanical one. [Jan 2014, p.121]

It’s refreshingly exacting about timing, though too forgiving when it comes to grading – you can miss several prompts, take plenty of damage and still earn gold.

This endearingly scrappy effort could teach bigger games a thing or two about the value of good writing. [Issue#328, p.122]

To appreciate the game's dilemma, look no further than its multiplayer modes, which have so little room for manoeuvre that they needn't have existed at all. [May 2007, p.94]

The end result is a rather cold and uninvolving game. Too subtle to be a Tetris replacement, too plain to be an engaging puzzler, Chokkan Hitofude adds up to something a little greyer than its crisp black-and-white stylings might suggest. [JPN Import; Jan 2005, p.95]

Argonaut's latest platformer is certainly a curious brew. You get the impression that loads of ideas have been thrown into the pot but, unfortunately, none of the weaker ones have been rejected. [Feb 2004, p.101]