Nintendo is claiming that The Conduit might attract Halo fans to its console, but this game isn’t fit to wait Master Chief’s table.

From bedrooms containing clever and mysterious moving panels to a 'Land of the Giants'-style pool challenge, each section delivers something new and exciting to motivate deeper exploration. [Apr 2004, p.110]

Even when its style doesn't get in the way, like its diaphanous hero it's lacking in substance. [Issue#399, p.123]

The game's huge assortment of side missions and time trials, along with Gridnode runs, represent its most appealing offerings as you hone your route and - for the most part - focus on nothing but running. [Issue#296, p.108]

The thrills are just too short-lived, and it simply doesn't stand up as a more boisterous alternative to the razor-sharp focus and freshness of "Project 8" on 360. [Jan 2007, p.83]

Despite the familiarity of the characters and the story, this is strange, exotic territory, and quite like anything else. [June 2016, p.108]

Sparsely scattered save points, un-skippable animations and cutscenes, and repeated locations and boss fights are anachronisms that will frustrate and alienate all but the most ardent traditionalist.

What it adds to the original formula is essentially redundant, and everything it does that is successful was already in place in the original. [Feb 2008, p.93]

Evolution's successes entertain your mind's-eye view of what running a dinosaur theme park might be like, but its failures encourage you to imagine the game that could be made with this premise. [Issue#322, p.110]

While many players will tire of the gamelong before its last secrets are handed out, its simplicity makes it a strangely compelling experience. [Jan 2008, p.87]

Action Forms’ moments of ingenuity and the sophistication of its writing demonstrate that it could do great and yet more terrifying things with a more intimidating budget. [Apr 2009, p.124]

While there are some interesting mini-games to break up the wandering, Grunty's Revenge is mainly an abject lesson in breadcrumb following game design. [Dec 2003, p.106]

As tightly designed and finely balanced as it is, it's hard to shake the feeling that you're endlessly replaying a tutorial.

While Once Upon A Katamari is too similar to its predecessors, then, a lot of the new ideas simultaneously also work against the classic sensations of fun and flow. [Issue#418, p.123]

The engagements of Red River are a nuanced and precise art, one entirely at odds with the hollow cockiness of the cast and one that underscores the real war going on between Operation Flashpoint's essence and its new macho attitude. [June 2011, p.90]

Heroes consistently relies on its cartoon charm to plaster over its messier elements. [Sept 2009, p.92]

Sharper humour would have helped make these folk more endearing to us, too. [Issue#397, p.108]

There’s a fine-line between rote-learning frustration and seat-of-the-pants glee in on-rails arcade games, and Secret Rings wobbles either side of it perceptibly, but seldom stays on the wrong side for too long. [Apr 2007, p.81]

The real art of Shuten Order isn't in the puzzle pieces, then, but the finished picture. A shame constructing isn't a more well-rounded journey. [Issue#415, p.98]

Tactics lacks what it needs the most, which is the seemingly limitless potential achieved by its predecessor. [Feb 2008, p.94]

The possibility of this all coming together in a more flexible and engaging manner is still a welcome one. But, for a game based on a culture of reputation, craftsmanship and leaving a mark, Getting Up is one that’ll pass by largely unnoticed. [Mar 2006, p.86]

The possibility of this all coming together in a more flexible and engaging manner is still a welcome one. But, for a game based on a culture of reputation, craftsmanship and leaving a mark, Getting Up is one that’ll pass by largely unnoticed. [Mar 2006, p.86]

Knack II improves on its predecessor in just about every department, which is to say it is merely flawed, rather than deeply so. Yet for all its foibles and frustrations, it's all pleasant enough. [Issue#311, p.112]

There are neat touches: you've got infinite ammo, brilliantly, and inhaling gas leaves you with a temporary cough that ruins your aim … but it needs a few more tactics to make it more than the sum of its admittedly solid parts. [Christmas 2003, p.116]

What Dynamic Hunting captures is the back-and-forth rhythm of Monster Hunter fights, the swings between danger and all-out attack, the wounds and the frenzies.

Without a greater degree of authorship - a few lightly scripted cases in predesigned cities to complement the sandbox mode - Shadows of Doubt is too prone to be bewildering or illogical red herrings, shrouding the experience in uncertainty. [Issue#403, p.113]

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

It’s still a classic, then, but one you’d be wise to play in brief installments. And with no real plot to lose yourself in, no breadcrumbs to follow, and very little else to bother yourself with besides headshots, perhaps this is Serious Sam as he’s always meant to be encountered – as a palate-cleansing blast of pure four-colour chaos to enjoy between other courses.