Irrespective of talent, taste, spare time or even online connectivity, it has something for anyone with even a tingle in their trigger finger. [Jan 2008, p.78]

Soldier of Fortune’s damage model is probably its major selling point and, lamentably, the only thing that makes its combat entertaining. [Feb 2008, p.96]

Through judicious pruning and reweaving Naughty Dog has crafted one of the finest action adventures to date. It’s involving in its narrative, a triumph of pacing, and simply a pleasure to play. [Christmas 2007, p.80]

All the games, even the good ones, outlast their welcome. [Jan 2008, p.90]

The meetings themselves are well realised, with the developer putting considerable effort into evoking the right kind of atmosphere. [Christmas 2007, p.99]

Soldier of Fortune’s damage model is probably its major selling point and, lamentably, the only thing that makes its combat entertaining. [Feb 2008, p.96]

If "Far Cry" was a game of ambition, then here is one of power. Power which Crytek has channelled, with both passion and care, into superb freewheeling gunplay. [Christmas 2007, p.84]

Its scenarios are striking in scope, but its gunplay can’t quite keep pace. It features some moments of truly cinematic vision, but the technology and framework can’t quite do them full justice. [Christmas 2007, p.90]

There is some enormous potential here, and for all its failings Assassin’s Creed deserves to be played, and its achievements savoured. [Christmas 2007, p.82]

The Umbrella Chronicles will inevitably attract attention for its roots above all other considerations, but it's a good game on its own terms, bringing together distinct genres and making it all work. [Jan 2008, p.86]

Beating the near-infallible AI to the line is a challenge best described as punitive, and periodically maddeningly unbalanced. [Mar 2008, p.103]

Is there any need, on vertically scrolling levels, for your character to die when they touch the bottom of the screen, despite the fact you know there are platforms there? Do bosses have to seem impossible, and then prove tedious when their patterns have been learned? [Jan 2008, p.89]

Playing it instils a completely neutral response, as though it were no more than a means of absorbing time. [Jan 2008, p.91]

A fairly standard game in a genre overflowing with quality. [Christmas 2007, p.99]

The game’s unique honour system (requiring you to tag and then kill enemies in exchange for upgrades) proves largely irrelevant, and in the heat of battle, toggling your firstperson view and wrestling with the analogue nub to track fast-moving targets proves frustrating and unwieldy. [Jan 2008, p.88]

Soldier of Fortune’s damage model is probably its major selling point and, lamentably, the only thing that makes its combat entertaining. [Feb 2008, p.96]

Since the end of the N64 era, as Nintendo has explored new pastures and methodically tended old ones, it’s been easy to forget the times when every major release from the company felt like this. It’s a bravura piece of design that pulls off stunts no one else has even thought of. [Christmast 2007, p.76]

Blacksite is a thoroughly unexceptional title for which unrealistic promises were made, and one that is further let down by a wide assortment of bugs and design issues. [Jan 2008, p.83]

Blacksite is a thoroughly unexceptional title for which unrealistic promises were made, and one that is further let down by a wide assortment of bugs and design issues. [Jan 2008, p.83]

In terms of creating an atmosphere and playing with it, there’s nothing quite like it on a handheld system. [Christmas 2007, p.96]

Bladestorm works hard to appease both the keen strategist and the action-hungry player, while confidently answering critics who claim that Koei is nothing more than a one-trick warhorse. [Christmas 2007, p.95]

It’s the kind of concept you suspect was conceived more by the desire to ‘leverage brand synergy’ than to create a classic videogame. [Jan 2008, p.90]

Apart from being an excellent reminder of its host’s graphical oomph, Tactical Strike is engrossingly detailed and generous, if not wide, in scope. [Jan 2008, p.91]

Visually, kinetically and intuitively, however, Modern Warfare is relentlessly exciting and an overwhelming triumph. [Christmas 2007, p.88]

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]

Few other titles’ enemies have the power to flood you with real horror as they scramble and skitter towards you. [Christmas 2007, p.98]

The game fumbles its potential with unanticipated incompetence. [Christmas 2007, p.94]

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]