Pretty much good for local multiplayer only. [Feb 2013, p.85]

Pays lip service to the subject material admirably - but prioritises caution over innovation. [March 2016, p.68]

Impeccable online role-playing. Great for fans of the original, simple enough for newbies. [Apr 2010, p.67]

Simple but surprisingly addictive. [Apr 2012, p.87]

Oddly comforting. [Apr 2014, p.78]

It's not the most polished in terms of gameplay. but fans shouldn't miss this. [Christmas 2007, p.60]

Great at telling stories, with a gargantuan world to feast upon, but its MMO failings let it down. [June 2014, p.60]

A must-have for all late Guitar Hero adopters. A must-not for anybody with the earlier titles. [Sept 2009, p.70]

A combat-focused 4X is a great idea, but Gladius puts too many frustrations in the way of enjoyment. [Issue#333, p.73]

The main downside is the poor map that's supposed to show where to find the objectives. Also, the loading times times tend to hold up the progress. Those quibbles aside, this exceeds all expectations. [Sept 2006, p.64]

Mega Man's back, and inconsistencies aside, fans will lap up the new content. [Apr 2013, p.85]

As solid as ever but lacks next-gen dazzle and is inevitably weaker online. [Dec 2007, p.44]

Thoroughly playable with enough variety and replay value to lure the hardcore. [Apr 2012, p.78]

Too-generous upgrades grind the difficulty curve into the dust. [Feb 2013, p.89]

A novel but insubstantial shooting gallery bolted awkwardly onto a fun sci-fi story. [July 2017, p.69]

Refreshing, and sure to delight all those men with no names out there. [Aug 2007, p.71]

Good fun but it won't linger in the memory after you've played it. [Christmas 2010, p.91]

An accomplished sim that deserves the Ferrari badge, even if it values realism over fun. [Sept 2008, p.72]

Like its protagonist, you're left feeling Get Even needed a little more love and attention to make its many ideas come together. [July 2017, p.83]

More content than the other versions, but at the hefty price of polish and reliability. [Feb 2012, p.97]

A beautiful yet flawed game that draws you in with its stylish looks and feels like nothing else. [Aug 2017, p.78]

When you're on the track Driveclub is stunning to behold, but it's held back by a lack of event types. [Christmas 2014, p.74]

We like what's on offer, but the clueless AI turns a crisis into a drag. [Nov 2008, p.85]

A clever, creepy refashioning of familiar ideas that will make your head spin - in a good way. [Issue#336, p.78]

It feels like From Software phone this one in. As DLC for the Souls series goes, this is a disappointment. [Christmas 2016, p.69]

Combines two of our favourite travelling pastimes - gaming and music - to great effect. [Sept 2008, p.74]

Initially dazzling, Escape Plan runs out of juice long, long before it's over. [May 2012, p.98]

Gloriously absurd shooter backed up with fast-paced and entertaining combat. [Apr 2009, p.76]

Variety would be welcome. [Apr 2017, p.81]

It can't match the point and click greats, but it's a welcome addition to DS. [June 2008, p.71]

A low fat FF rather than RPG heavyweight but still an ideal handheld adventure. [Issue#231, p.76]

Disappointingly, the patented 'escape and evade' gameplay dynamic comes with a hefty price to pay; put simply, The Bourne Conspiracy might just be the most linear game since the original Dragon's Lair.

A great idea in theory but far too fiddly and unapproachable to be truly satisfying. [March 2012, p.97]

One of the easiest Sims to play with an interesting adventure game style. [Dec 2007, P.66]

Survives on retro puzzle charm. [Nov 2009, p.62]

A big game made small, until the things that made it great became too small to see. [Feb 2012, p.95]

A neat little slice of nostalgia. [Feb 2011, p.94]

A massive step forward for SmackDown's fighting system. Now the rest needs tidying. [Dec 2007, p.42]

A nice twist on the Katamari template, but it soon gets repetitive. [Winter 2009, p.86]

It's not much to look at, but this is an absorbing experience for the patient player. [Feb 2011, p.87]

Paying up improves it tenfold. [Feb 2012, p.97]

Fascinating but alienating. [July 2018, p.83]

A number of the scenes lack any real zest. [May 2014, p.78]

A great party package that will improve with DLC. Worth a go if you don't have SingStar. [Jan 2008, p.76]

Witty writing and a large serving of cute means you might just rediscover your humanity. [March 2014, p.83]

Isn't quite as refined as Monster Hunter but it offers faster paced gameplay that some might even enjoy more. [Mar 2011, p.98]

A welcome, if slightly patch return for Mass Effect. The script has problems, but combat is bloody brilliant. [May 2017, p.62]

The levels are colorful but dull, and after a mere five minutes a lurking sense of deja vu descends. Dead poor. [July 2008, p.82]

A decent enough shooter, with good weapons and a decent cover system - but only fans of the comic will get the most from it. [June 2006, p.78]

The Udraw tablet is a good leveller. [May 2011, p.84]

With a PC version boasting finer tuned mouse controls, we'd test the waters before taking the plunge. [Aug 2013, p.76]

A cheerfully quirky, crunchy shooter - but it's a grind to get to the good stuff. [Apr 2012, p.76]

There's little here to risk the paper cuts for. [Aug 2015, p.79]

Fun while it lasts, but it won't keep you busy for very long. DLC desperately needed. [May 2011, p.62]

Polished. [May 2011, p.94]

Procedurally-generated infinity is a wondrous thing - but it's also strangely samey. [Oct 2006, p.64]

Exhaustive tennis sim with fantastic gameplay modes but lacking the depth of its rivals. [Apr 2012, p.84]

Too simple to be strategic, too slow to be a shooter, too basic to be next-generation. [Sept 2006, p.70]

A loving uppercut aimed squarely at the jaw of manga nuts - but it might leave fighting fans frustrated. [July 2014, p.77]

Cute vegetable-hunting platform adventure with bags of personality and satisfying gameplay. [Aug 2009, p.84]

An adventure for all ages, and another solid hit from Telltale - just don't expect Minecraft's freedom. [Dec 2015, p.81]

Critically, there's always something fun to do. [March 2013, p.93]

Needs to be seen to be believed. If only it needed to be played to be believed, too. [May 2012, p.77]

The game modes may keep you hooked, but the good stuff is obscured through a poor UI. [May 2015, p.71]

Even with these minor niggles, this is the game that proves Sony's smartphone service can actually deliver on its potential. [Jan 2018, p.81]

A mixed bag of brilliant deduction and tedious puzzling. A disappointing misstep for the series. [Aug 2016, p.77]

It should be online: simple as that. With just a few people in your vicinity, it's no monster. [June 2006, p.66]

A pale imitation of many more competent racers. A wasted chance to revitalise the series. [June 2012, p.74]

Maximum action, minimum story makes it a game you'll only dip in to. [Jan 2008, p.78]

Small in every sense. It's still pleasingly violent - but this is a bare-bones edition. [June 2006, p.69]

Not for everyone, but it's a unique survival horror oddity and as brilliant as it is barmy. [June 2013, p.83]

When a game is built around a single mechanic that is employed so well, so often and so entertainingly it's hard not to overlook its flaws and just enjoy yourself. [June 2009, p.70]

The ride is enough of a crazy Creed to be a surprising success. [July 2013, p.77]

A brutal fight for survival that's one part The Sims, one part roguelike, and three parts despair. [May 2016, p.66]

Some brilliantly innovative weapons but we miss the freedom of Guerrilla. [Aug 2011, p.82]

It'll delight you, it'll make you despair, but ultimately Ark will leave you with a real sense of satisfaction. [Nov 2017, p.76]

Still brilliant fun, but for every aspect that's been refined, another has frustratingly suffered. [Sept 2010, p.89]

Animals add that extra layer of depth to your virtual life. [Christmas 2011, p.89]

Its turnaround of ideas eventually won us round. [Apr 2013, p.83]

Solid but over familiar, Silent Hill is a town in need of some redevelopment. [Feb 2009, p.74]

Multiple genres reduced to their most basic forms, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. [Aug 2015, p.68]

It's rough in places, but the pay-off's well worth it. [Jan 2012, p.94]

A match for its bigger cousins on the surface. But dig deep and liberation starts to unravel. [Jan 2013, p.80]

A great time waster, with some terrific multiplayer options, too. [Sept 2008, p.85]

The Street sideshow adds value, but the actual football is well below that of 360/PS3. [Dec 2011, p.91]

A great game with gorgeous looks spoiled by excessive in-app demands. [May 2013, p.86]

Pick it up and expect to be battering aside thugs at your peril as its titular goblin hero is shockingly delicate. [Christmas 2014, p.78]

Not perfect, but TimeShift is a satisfying and empowering FPS, guaranteed to entertain. [Christmas 2007, p.83]

The emphasis is on easy enjoyment. Never mind if you die - coins will bring you back. [Issue#232, p.94]

A perfectly enjoyable card game, but one that struggles to keep pace with the heavyweights of the genre. [Apr 2018, p.68]

Short on scope, big on fun. [Aug 2011, p.91]

A fine attempt at modernising adventure games that's sullied by too much repetition. [March 2013, p.71]

A compelling drama undermined by overfamiliar action and a lack of onscreen consequence. [Apr 2016, p.78]

Kids will fall in love instantly. [Dec 2009, p.86]

What isn't so brilliant is the simplistic gameplay, gunplay and puzzle solving - it definitely won't pose much of a challenge for veterans of the series. [Christmas 2011, p.87]

Random wavy nonsense, but we like it. [Christmas 2011, p.74]

Fine for short-lived thrills and casual entertainment rather than serious racing. [Apr 2008, p.65]

Minigames with a sports theme and slightly overblown official Olympics presentation. [Mar 2008, p.79]