Taken as a kind of tech demo of what the future of television could look like, #WarGames makes for an intriguing evening's entertainment. [May 2018, p.84]

A pleasant, relaxing experience at first, but s the dept rises and the work piles up, the fun begins to slip. [Christmas 2016, p.68]

A spectacle to behold, but Mad Max's barren landscape is lacking the toys to stand up as a proper sandbox. [Nov 2015, p.68]

Story is this game's greatest asset. It's just a shame you have to wade through boring puzzles to reach it. [Nov 2016, p.73]

The multiplayer's fun but the lack of games ruins the solo mode. [May 2008, p.77]

A remarkable visual experience paired with an average game that is sometimes less than fun to play. [Nov 2016, p.74]

Will probably create a future generation of keyhole surgeons. [July 2007, p.84]

Surprisingly enjoyable B-grade gaming - such a pity it doesn't retail for a budget price. [May 2007, p.78]

Mr. Fancy Pants feels noticeably stickier than before. [Aug 2011, p.91]

The perfect sort of game to play wile doing something else - unless you're a whale, of course. [March 2018, p.75]

A lovely looking/sounding romp. [Feb 2010, p.82]

Decent enough, but most will find them a bit archaic for their tastes. [Mar 2009, p.82]

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

Zesty and packs a punch, but becomes over-familiar very quickly. [June 2010, p.74]

A fun experience only let down by its repetitiveness. [Aug 2006, p.61]

A reserved attempt that's largely entertaining, but struggles to keep you coming back for more. [Sept 2014, p.68]

Polished, sometimes excellent, often dreary. Not bad, but will disappoint Mana fans. [Mar 2007, p.78]

Tiny-car heaven can't make up for a game that feels a bit wimpy next to bigger racers. [Aug 2006, p.79]

A competent racer with good looks, but it lacks any spark to make it stand out in the face of competition. [July 2009, p.83]

Guerrilla is one of the best games of the year, but this doesn't compliment it too well. [Nov 2009, p.71]

Slick but unimaginative scrapper with the odd flying bit chucked in for good measure. Meh. [Sept 2011, p.94]

Inoffensive and enjoyable enough for action-RPG fans, but it does far too little to distinguish itself. [Aug 2016, p.78]

Only average gameplay. [June 2012, p.79]

Great for kids - to save on construction paper. [Oct 2012, p.89]

The best kids' games look great and engage the brain. Sadly Mini Ninjas isn't one of them. [Nov 2009, p.70]

Like Doctor Foster's puddle, Absolver packs a surprising amount of depth into a small space. [Nov 2017, p.72]

A flawed horror game with few scares but plenty of B-movie appeal, it'll scratch an adventuring itch. [Jan 2018, p.79]

Funcom's game is more about planning and hoarding than the outright violence you might expect. [July 2018, p.77]

A great idea but it lacks the necessary atmosphere and drama. [Apr 2008, p.75]

Different and very Japanese - it will no doubt get a cult following online. [July 2007, p.78]

Drier than a camel's bumhole, but a strong time trial challenge for hardcore fans. [Dec 2011, p.87]

It's challenging, but with no real change of pace. [Dec 2011, p.87]

This is for beginners only. [May 2013, p.79]

The ruthlessly satirical writing, though, is in another league altogether. [Oct 2017, p.81]

A lovely chunky art style may lend a certain jolliness, but ultimately, it's a bit too lightweight and rather too tight-fisted to really satisfy in the long run. [Feb 2016, p.87]

The card game's excellently represented, but the adventure's a flimsy husk. [Mar 2007, p.79]

It's enjoyable in parts but the widely-placed checkpoints are tedious when you're on your tenth ill-judged leap. [Dec 2011, p.93]

Solidly made and good fun, but lacks the killer creativity that overflowed from the SNES original. [May 2014, p.66]

However bad it gets it's never an enraging experience. [May 2014, p.78]

It does what it says on the tin, but it's not really a game as such. [Feb 2008, p.82]

A horrible mess of a fighting system scuppers it, but fans will love it anyway. [Jan 2007, p.68]

A fairly bland game. [Feb 2012, p.91]

Not as exciting as it thinks it is. Standard movie tie-in fodder with added panache. [Oct 2011, p.94]

When on form it's a great arcade flight game. When it isn't, the gameplay can be monotonous. [Dec 2009, p.70]

Compared to previous Need for Speeds, this lacks enjoyment. [Jan 2008, p.76]

Needlessly muddy visuals and slightly unresponsive controls. [Oct 2010, p.84]

Addictive. [Sept 2010, p.103]

The tweaks improve it, but Tenkaichi continues to alienate with its confusing pace. [Apr 2008, p.73]

A rather uninspired remake of a solid JRPG experience. It's still a great game, and a history lesson, too. [Apr 2018, p.70]

Too much monkeying with the recipe lets the side down after a promising start. [Christmas 2012, p.85]

It fails to match the original's arcade urgency, but if you have to have it, the new co-op maps and upgrade system make this the definitive remake. [Issue#231, p.93]

Bargain basement material from start to finish, but boasting admirable spirit. [July 2011, p.89]

A slightly unsettling but basically enjoyable game. [Nov 2006, p.84]

An endearing and engrossing world, but one that hosts a bit of a dud game. [June 2010, p.85]

Big, stupid and, at times, unpleasant. But despite that it can be gruesome fun. [Feb 2011, p.82]

Like murdering stick men? Then you'll like this cutesy battler. [Nov 2008, p.85]

It manages to capture the spirit of the B-movie surprisingly well. [Jan 2014, p.85]

There's zero excuse for the criminal lack of multiplayer, however, especially for the price point. [June 2013, p.75]

Throwaway shocks. [Dec 2009, p.86]

Shame the clever strategy doesn't entirely gel with the brainless blasting. [Christmas 2012, p.96]

Heavy on text, low on game, which makes it less fun than "Trauma Center." [Christmas 2007, p.84]

Handsome and harmless, but a lack of depth means these dinos will never rule the earth. [Aug 2015, p.73]

A hugely mixed bag. On one hand, it's fantastic that there's a developer so staunchly dedicated to making games that veer towards the artistic while still retaining mechanics we know and enjoy. On the other hand, this is a game full of design decisions that feel stuck in the past, made obsolete years ago. [Jan 2016, p.60]

A fun distraction with some word-based cleverness, but it's far less substantial than it should be. [May 2018, p.66]

Despite its beautiful art and promising gameplay, it's weighed down by poor pacing and storytelling. [Oct 2018, p.81]

Can be very frustrating. [May 2011, p.89]

Why play this when you could be playing the incredible Street Fighter 4? [Apr 2009, p.82]

Fun minigames, but these can't keep the rest of the game afloat. [June 2008, p.83]

Not totally without merit, but the repetition will wear even the most ardent fan down. [Sept 2009, p.76]

Gorgeous to look at but forgettable to play. [July 2007, p.81]

A short but sweet burst of preschool tomfoolery. [May 2008, p.84]

Monster Hunter fans may just find enough to like. [Nov 2016, p.82]

Overall, this does everything you'd want it to (and no more). [Feb 2009, p.86]

Sluggish port of an excellent fighter. [Christmas 2011, p.88]

It could have offered so much more. [Apr 2013, p.82]

Follows the template of the console versions to produce a competent 2D platformer. [Feb 2008, p.78]

Casual fans will be entertained and impressed at the Vita's capabilities, but serious racers will be disappointed. [Apr 2012, p.96]

It's all quite charming, but not enough to elevate it to an above-average adventure. [June 2010, p.85]

Fans of the film - and those after a traditional platformer - will overlook it being average. [Sept 2008, p.73]

Fun, but this isn't Meteos any more - it sure doesn't play like it! [Aug 2007, p.85]

A potentially epic scare-fest with a slew of neat ideas ruined by bungled execution. Shame. [Apr 2010, p.74]

Solid fishing challenge, but even considering its arcade heritage this isn't anything special. [May 2008, p.80]

Missions become repetitive. [May 2013, p.84]

An uninspiring action game that manages to tell a cracking story. [Christmas 2006, p.98]

Finishing feels like hard work. [Oct 2012, p.92]

Despite the quirky ideas, it lacks the dynamism to thrill or the tension to scare. [Oct 2009, p.72]

A pure idea, rendered in 3D, but a little shallow. [June 2012, p.83]

The game's biggest issues are technical. [June 2014, p.69]

It's lacking the depth of content offered by its four-wheeled inspiration. [June 2015, p.79]

There's a simple, if somewhat dull, pleasure here - like settling into an easy chair on a Sunday afternoon. [June 2014, p.78]

It's great trying to perfect all of the recipes, but the terrible utilisation of the Wii-mote is tougher to swallow than a week old pork pie. [Apr 2009, p.79]

Weak combat and shoddy visuals saved by some excellent mech customisation. [June 2012, p.88]

BL's ace style is weighed down by unwieldy gameplay. [Jan 2013, p.88]

It's all quite charming, but not enough to elevate it to an above-average adventure. [June 2010, p.85]

Perfectly solid but wholly predictable on every level. [Mar 2008, p.84]

A tough shooter to recommend for the price. [May 2013, p.77]

The cynic in us says it's more like an advert for the Virtual Console than a full game, but the veteran gamer in us can't help but rejoice at the happy memories it conjures up. [July 2014, p.79]

You'll finish Ranko in about an hour. [July 2014, p.79]