Most egregious of all is that Deracine too often turns into a tedious game of hunt the sparkle, as you grope awkwardly around bodies to find the twinkle that triggers conversation audio. [Jan 2019, p.118]

For all its faults, there's every chance The Town of Light could end up getting under your[ skin]. [April 2016, p.112]

It's worth rolling on to the end, but you might find yourself wishing it had more of the concision of its cinematic inspirations, rather than the drag of a family game of monopoly. [Issue#364, p.123]

The good news for fans of 2005’s Playground Of Destruction is that Mercenaries remains an absolute blast. [Nov 2008, p.92]

If it's judged only on its atmosphere, weapons, and the amount of killing it portrays from behind the wheel, this expansion hits the bullseye. If Techland can fill in all the bits missing in between, its next project could be something special indeed. [April 2016, p.114]

There are just too many of the simple things wrong, and too many areas where you feel that corners have been cut rather than obsessed over. [Sept 2008, p.88]

Swarm will provide a stern test of both skill and patience.

With just those three levels, though, Rage feels a little slight - more a toy than a full game, even if there's plenty of room to perfect your scores.

Demon Stone suggests more potential than it fulfils, but it's a not-entirely-failed experiment in teaching old dice new tricks, and a follow-up with the same attention to detail but more ambitious design would be welcome. [Nov 2004, p.108]

Yes, it really does get good after 20 hours, but even then it never lives up to its name - not-so-bravely defaulting to genre convention at almost every turn. [Issue#357, p.108]

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.

What could've been a new high-water mark for horror is weighed down by a litany of clanging missteps, but while the game's many problems conspire to tarnish its innovations, the latter are so far ahead of other games' tricks that they dazzle nonetheless. [April 2016, p.115]

Those seeking a healthy eating plan are advised to look elsewhere: this is more likely to encourage consumption of hallucinogens than fruit and vegetables.

There are too many caveats, too many pieces that have to fall into place to experience Aces at its very best. And yet a game between two evenly-matched characters and similarly-skilled human players is an unfettered joy. [Issue#322, p.122]

Great concept; questionable delivery.

A bold experiment, then, if not a perfectly balanced or successful one.

Swarm will provide a stern test of both skill and patience.

Shadowrun has too many cooks: it’s a heady broth initially, and the possibilities might seem unmatched, but ultimately it turns out to be limited fun. [Aug 2007, p.88]

Far from perfect but enduringly hard to dislike. [Dec 2007, p.95]

Perhaps the saddest misunderstanding in Assault, though, is its pedestrian, linear structure. There's nothing wrong with it, but the multiple routes and secret branches of the earlier titles bound levels into a taut, short, player-directed adventure that was always seamless and could never be fully experienced in one sitting... Without it, Assault is a jumbled, disposable thrill. [Apr 2005, p.92]

We suspect Chimera Squad might not be to the taste of genre purists, having sacrificed perhaps a little too much of the player's control over strategic outcomes in favour of reactive encounters. In some ways, it's XCOM for those who prefer action games - a hybrid that isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers, even if the resulting beast loses a little of its identity. [Issue#346, p.94]

The presence of IAP can’t prevent Fearless Wheels from ultimately delivering a robust and worthwhile ride for those looking for the colourful bursts of shallow play its minute-long tracks encourage.

The arguments and the heartbreaks are worth it, it suggests, to have the chance to see things from another perspective - and in doing so, to have your horizons expanded. When it's all over, the world seems a little bigger. [Issue#357, p.114]

Amalur is a very easy world to drop in and out of – if only Skyrim were so willing to share us with our real lives – but it is never a place where we can truly put down roots. And all this is a shame, since Salvatore's encyclopaedic creation is something worth investing in.

There's enough skill on display to suggest that these tales might actually be worth telling. [Sept 2009, p.99]

This is a game built with Kinect's limits in mind, and one that never risks defying them. The result is a modest, mechanically simple on-rails shooter, but it's one that offers a voyage with epic sweep for those looking to re-immerse themselves in Fable's world.

Continues the series' longstanding struggle with combat mechanics. [July 2010, p.98]

Wolverine isn't lazy - its frequent repetitions and fine repertoire of glitches are signs of a product hurried to launch rather than bankruptcy of imagination. [June 2009, p.94]