No other GTA has felt so trim and robust while making good the promise of a living, breathing action world. [May 2009, p.86]

This may superficially resemble any of a dozen other DS SRPGs, but it has many twists and a clever, manipulative philosophy at heart that lifts it above the crowd. [May 2009, p.97]

The three marathon levels might have been better broken into a series of shorter sprints, and the four-person co-op is a stressful frustration, but as a single-player score-rush, Bit.Trip Beat is mercilessly targeted to the most masochistic part of your psyche. The result is by turns infectious, delightful, and entertainingly cruel.

It’s not even surprising,? ?despite all? ?this,? ?that Resident Evil? ?5? ?is a good game.? The surprising,? ?and sad,? ?thing about? ?Resident Evil? ?5? ?is that it feels old.

Resident Evil 5 is a good game. The surprising, and sad, thing about Resident Evil 5 is that it feels old. [Apr 2009, p.112]

As a big joke about violent-for-the-sake of it games, MadWorld just about gets away with it. But it won't bear a repeat performance. [May 2009, p.93]

There are some gently taxing puzzles here, and just enough variety to keep the game ticking along, but the real surprise is just how winsome Docomodake’s fungi are, each section ending with a guilelessly warm celebration of family values. [Mar 2009, p.95]

It’s a feeling that never quite dissipates over the game’s core 15 missions, a sense of lean and focused game design which prizes the exhilarating tussle of conflict over long, drawn-out army building. [Mar 2009, p.86]

No other game takes on whole eras of combat with such a combination of respect and fetishism for the rules and wisdom of battle, and no series treats history like such a serious playground of possibilities, yet features such comic-book characters. [Apr 2009, p.114]

As an arcadey flight game it’s just about on the enjoyable side of average, especially when compared to its still superior genre stablemate Ace Combat 6. [Apr 2009, p.122]

The left to right weaving that gave Secret Rings old-fashioned zip has been jettisoned for narrow paths, funneling you from one fight to the next. Add on-rails cart rides and regular pauses to hand rings over to local villagers and this becomes Sonic's most static adventure yet. [May 2009, p.97]

Unless you possess a particular zeal for collecting and upgrading slightly different weapons, the familiarity of slicing through yet another batch of spawning creatures soon grinds way at the thin gameplay. [June 2009, p.97]

But without the first game’s ambiguities,? ?a sense of humour or even an ounce of? ?intrigue,? ?its story stinks.? ?It’s so slight you could play the levels in random order to? ?little ill-effect,? ?and it assumes knowledge of everything and everyone,? ?not once recognising the real-world echoes of its premise:? ?an allied invasion of an enemy? ?the allies themselves created.?

At a time when science fiction has never been handled with more vim and vigour, Star Ocean threatens to miss out on all the fun of the genre resurgence through its total lack of ambition. [June 2009, p.92]

Shellshock 2 is a scandalous FPS made with no apparent knowledge of the genre, little but contempt for its audience, and few tools beyond a spluttering engine and a hammer. [Apr 2009, p.116]

While the overall blandness means Galactrix is unlikely to truly thrill many people, it also means that it won’t exclude anyone either, and the ever-reliable pattern-spotting blends with the steady trickle of meaningless rewards to exert a pull on its audience that is truly Pavlovian. [Apr 2009, p.125]

While the overall blandness means Galactrix is unlikely to truly thrill many people, it also means that it won’t exclude anyone either, and the ever-reliable pattern-spotting blends with the steady trickle of meaningless rewards to exert a pull on its audience that is truly Pavlovian. [Apr 2009, p.125]

Relic seems afraid to let any of its ideas meaningfully vary your experience, in case the result isn’t as satisfying as the scenario it has clearly tested so well. [Apr 2009, p.119]

Race Pro engages like few driving titles manage, even if the driving model doesn’t quite meet the standards of the most advanced PC sim-racers such as Live For Speed. [Mar 2009, p.88]

Prinny sabotages the player's platforming with unsympathetic controls. [Aug 2009, p.106]

Seasoned with tragedy and humour, it’s a poignant tale that courts cliché but which, thanks to its charm and creative twists on well-worn themes, represents one of the narrative high points of the series. [Apr 2009, p.123]

The beginning is a sensible place to start, but rest assured, it gets much, much better. [Feb 2009, p.91]

If it is slight, then Flower compensates by being a very rare experience, both in terms of subject matter and the visual splendour with which it has been executed. [Mar 2009, p.94]

"Killzone 2" has the technology and spectacle; FEAR 2 has class, direction and a most mischievous sense of humour – and technology and spectacle. [Mar 2009, p.84]

It’s one of the happiest pieces of software ever released, constantly throwing tunes, trinkets and new tricks at the player simply to amuse them. [Jan 2009, p.93]

It’s difficult to be too nitpicky about one of the most flat-out entertaining games of recent times. Overkill resurrects an old franchise as anything but a shambling corpse, and raises the bar for third party production values on this generation’s best-selling console. [Mar 2009, p.89]

This actual action is not rendered with nearly half the imagination or proficiency as the premise offers – and six hours of Remote-induced carpal tunnel syndrome and grim boss-battling overstay their welcome. [Mar 2009, p.91]

Lit is consistently rewarding for its duration, the lack of handholding and clue-giving heightening the thrill of finding a solution, regardless of whether it was thought through or merely stumbled upon in the dark. [Christmas 2009, p.100]