The game simply folds in extra complications. [Issue#379, p.121]

While World Of Warcraft and its peers provide variety through landscape, Hellgate fails utterly to conjure any motivation to investigate the next instanced dungeon. [Christmas 2007, p.97]

Too erratic for its own good. [Issue#393, p.119]

Nobody, nobody at all, walks into a game shop and thinks: "Hey, goblins are pretty cool. Today I want to be a goblin." When the goblins in question have been rendered with almost no character or charm, this merely compounds the lack of emotional connection. [Mar 2004, p.106]

The overriding impression is of a game that's physically too big for its action. [June 2009, p.88]

Once again, Volition delivers exceptional tech, but fails to shape it into a truly engaging and sustaining experience.

There is, at least, plenty to build on with the inevitable sequel, retaining all of this instalment's finer points and knocking the obvious dents out of its armour - a Lords of the Fallen 2.5, perhaps. [Issue#391, p.102]

At its best, this is more than just the purest, most narcotic action game in the world – it's a cultural pinnacle. Every superhero, be it in comic books or the movies they've inspired, wishes they could visit its playground.

A game that never feels comfortable giving you full command of its star. We're left feeling blue, but not in the way Sonic Team intended. [Issue#379, p.118]

It's never worse than pleasant, and the evergreen villages, the jaunty swagger of its cows and donkeys and the peaceful expansion of your city are exactly the kind of recharging experiences Taylor talked about providing four years ago. It's only a shame that the repetition, and a lack of anything to look forward to, mean that you eventually realise your grass still needs to be cut.

Something of a quirky offshoot than a bold new puzzling dawn. [Jan 2007, p.83]

Its heart is in the right place, but its feet are not - and when you're walking a new path, that's always going to be a problem. [Issue#341, p.112]

It may not be able to compete with the best of prestige TV but, if you're willing to meet it on its own terms, Last Stop is a pleasant groove to slip into for a week or so. [Issue#362, p.116]

Perhaps it's time to rebuild from scratch. [Issue#405, p.122]

There's wild west fun to be had within these simplistic charms, but it's unlikely to replace your favoured multiplayer shooter. [June 2010, p.103]

Uncharacteristically watered-down. [Aug 2015, p.121]

If it isn't as memorable as the games to which it owes its existence, it shares some of their best parts. [Oct 2016, p.112]

Each of the areas you’ll traverse in Scurge feel like they’ve simply had a box of random enemies shaken into it, all making a sudden focused beeline toward you the minute you set foot in the room. [Nov 2006, p.92]

Overkill couldn't, for whatever reason, give Payday the development time it needed for its rough edges to be sanded down, but it remains a game with great potential.

As with any rollercoaster, you can never quite recapture the giddy pleasure of that first ride. [Issue#367, p.121]

It’s a game built with focus and one that’s going in a truly worthwhile direction, but that falls short of greatness. [Apr 2006, p.7]

Liberation's narrative is rather picaresque, while the less said about its asynchronous multiplayer mode, the better. Yet it avoids the console game's occasional longueurs to offer something altogether more compact and focused. It may not be a true Assassin's Creed experience on a handheld, then, but this sensibly streamlined game is a fine companion piece.

This is a sensitive employment of free-to-play, but despite its presentation and name, Real Racing 3 remains an arcade game in sim clothing, and one hamstrung by its host format. Limitations that keep it firmly in the tail-lights of deeper console experiences.

It may have few aspirations beyond being a dumb FPS, but it never fails to make the most of its limited talents. [Christmas 2007, p.97]

If patience is required, though, it's equally repaid. Playing as the Sandfox remains inherently pleasing, along with the game's story and atmosphere. A little post-launch care could see it truly shine. [Issue#412, p.120]

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]

Plenty to sink your teeth into, then, but for a game where you play as a shark, we expected more bite. [Issue#347, p.107]

Approached as the latest work from one of the industry's favoured fathers, The Cave could seem like a tourist trap, packed with old ideas to lure in passers-by. Taken for what it is – a simple, characterful adventure game from an independent developer – it offers just enough to be worth the price of admission.