Combat is thrilling – each weapon packing a solid, vicious blast; movement suggesting heft and momentum. [Dec 2008, p.80]

The overwhelming impression Los Angeles leaves is very slick, but it’s ultimately quite soulless. [Dec 2008, p.86]

When compared to its rivals, Rock Revolution is an embarrassment regarding content, presentation and playability. [Jan 2009, p.96]

It’s the refusal to broaden the series’ horizons, though, which will serve to damage Sony’s oft-forgotten franchise most in the long run. It leaves Confrontation feeling stale and lost among the recent crowd of tac-shooters. [Christmas 2008, p.100]

It’s not necessarily badly constructed, but in many ways it is badly intentioned, failing not just because of its conga-line of racial and sexual clichés, but because of the way it makes it a little bit easier to criticise videogaming as a hollow and sadistic pursuit. [Dec 2008, p.91]

What it takes from Resident Evil 4 – and it takes covetously – is the clever stuff, the enemies built entirely around your weapon-set, the combat full of upset rhythms and immoral thrills, the unrepentant game-isms, and the vital ability to wrong-foot players at all the right moments. [Dec 2008, p.82]

Masterfully done, and certainly set to become an instant Wii and PC cult hit. [Dec 2008, p.98]

Gearbox has made a game that is stable and complete, if hugely unrefined in places, with an under-exploited but sound core of tactical squad combat. [Nov 2008, p.93]

Given that its bland combat is little enhanced by the ability to create cover, you suspect that the promises made for the technology have simply dug its own grave. [Dec 2008, p.90]

Given that its bland combat is little enhanced by the ability to create cover, you suspect that the promises made for the technology have simply dug its own grave. [Dec 2008, p.90]

This is a deeply flawed game, but a fascinating one which makes you think as much as wince. [Christmas 2008, p.99]

How do you craft an RPG around a character defined entirely by movement? We’re not sure that you can, and BioWare hasn’t proved otherwise. [Dec 2008, p.96]

It’s resplendent with detail and vibrancy: each of WHD’s eight tracks is a shimmering, 1080p rhapsody, played at an unwavering 60fps. [Dec 2008, p.93]

Mega Man 9 might try to fit in the ‘retro cool’ category, but really it’s just retro: and that’s much less of a safe bet than Space Invaders T-shirts and Pac-Man keyrings. [Dec 2008, p.94]

Gearbox has made a game that is stable and complete, if hugely unrefined in places, with an under-exploited but sound core of tactical squad combat. [Nov 2008, p.93]

Gearbox has made a game that is stable and complete, if hugely unrefined in places, with an under-exploited but sound core of tactical squad combat. [Nov 2008, p.93]

The pleasure of launching into a panoramic, dolly-zoomed abyss and triggering an implausible series of aerial gymnastics is as primal a thrill as it ever was. [Nov 2008, p.102]

It’s through the internet, however, that Buzz! refreshes its familiar format; strengths and weaknesses alike. [Aug 2008, p.99]

Too brainless for adults, and increasingly too frustrating and needlessly obtuse for children, Lego Batman makes the simplest mistake any franchise title can: it serves the licence, and nobody else. [Dec 2008, p.89]

While Time Hollow fills a Phoenix Wright-shaped hole in our lives, we do prefer our chaos theory a little less tidy. [Apr 2009, p.123]

Katauri's strategy RPG is a compulsive thing. (…) The game hooks the player to a drip-feed of demands that proves difficult to unplug. [Feb 2009, p.94]

Players are in danger of slipping in to a meditative trance from sustained focus on the undulating, serpentine ribbon of dirt that their vehicle consumes. Hypnotic, perhaps, but not especially compelling. [Dec 2008, p.93]

In a world of family-friendly games whose desire to appeal to all makes them feel wishy-washy, it's a welcome splash of colour. [Nov 2008, p.98]

Nintendo is famed for sprinkling around mechanics other developers would build entire games on, but here the effect is quite irritating. [Oct 2008, p.97]

The strongest MMO launch for a long while, and the genre’s deftest ever take on PVP – but its appeal may yet prove too narrow. [Christmas 2008, p.93]

If you take a player to the extremes of in-game power, giving them the equivalent of a god mode against standard enemies, how can that be turned into something more engaging than a temporary plaything? [Nov 2008, p.90]

In the big dumb act of blowing its extraordinary world to kingdom come, Crysis finds itself smarter than ever. [Nov 2008, p.97]

One of the most robust online community setups to grace Nintendo’s handheld, enabling users to link the DS game to a web profile, where they can browse and queue tracks for later download. [Dec 2008, p.99]