Even at a budget price point, this is one slip-up that can't be blamed on banana skins. [Issue#112, p.120]

It's time the developer started exploring the potential. [Issue#112, p.119]

If you're in dire need of a new Remote, at least now you get to try and skim a stone over an island for a few quid extra. It's totally worth it. [Issue#112, p.118]

Trenched lacks the usual amounts of Double Fine secret sauce. [Issue#112, p.116]

Rich in character while on minimum wage mechanically. [Issue#112, p.114]

It's a shame that these excellent physics and novel weapons haven't been given a better showcase. [Issue#112, p.112]

Watching it charge forty quid for it is downright aggravating. [Issue#112, p.108]

From Dust is hypnotic, captivating and, most importantly, fun. It's a sandbox that rewards creativity and playfulness as much as it punishes it and, while it suffers some irritating issues, it's a very welcome experience.

Capcom certainly puts forward a good case for being able to teach an old monster new tricks. [Issue#111, p.124]

A mildly diverting and inadvertently funny curiosity. [Issue#111, p.123]

It's rare that you can state that no two characters in a beat-'em-up play alike but, in this case, it's absolutely undeniable. [Issue#111, p.120]

Gorgeous. [Issue#111, p.117]

Consistently let down by poor design decisions and outdated play mechanics. [Issue#111, p.116]

Halts under its own weight. [Issue#111, p.114]

Just don't expect it to live up [to] the potential of the D&D license. [Issue#111, p.112]

An enjoyable, recklessly fun game. [Issue#111, p.111]

Addictive and frustrating, cute and challenging, lovable one moment and the very embodiment of hate the next. [Issue#111, p.110]

It is the limited content that is Jamestown's biggest letdown. [Issue#111, p.110]

Although it misses a beat on one or two of the RPG genre's values, the rest is classic dungeon-crawling through and through. [Issue#111, p.106]

A short, sharp tinge of static electricity rather than the unrelenting shock of high-voltage conductors. [Issue#111, p.104]

It isn't nearly as awful - no, indeed, as hopelessly generic - as it might first appear. [Issue#111, p.100]

There's just uninhibited hubris masquerading as knowing, swaggering braggadocio, a technological Frankenstein's monster. [Issue#111, p.98]

Magnificent. [Issue#110, p.133]

A patchy but occasionally outstanding oddity. [Issue#110, p.132]

A solid template, then, and interesting foundations on which for the inevitable paid follow-ups to build. [Issue#110, p.132]

Just don't believe everything you read on the box. [Issue#110, p.130]

While it lasts, Cave's genre breakout does a great job of making you feel like a nimble little paper ninja. [Issue#110, p.128]

Though retro in style, Strania certainly isn't without original ideas. [Issue#110, p.127]

Navigation and combat [are] incredibly infuriating. [Issue#110, p.126]

Dirt 3 is different. [Issue#110, p.125]

The most inadequate of games: a platformer that struggles in its platforming. [Issue#110, p.122]

An engaging and pacey swashbuckling romp through the highs of an accomplished franchise that will delight Pirates enthusiasts and Lego fans alike. [Issue#110, p.120]

The game does get bogged down in far too many unskippable and boring dialogue sequences. [Issue#110, p.118]

To say the level of humour is an acquired taste would be an understatement. [Issue#110, p.118]

Of course, any niggles relating to the quality of puzzles is alleviated somewhat by the quality of animation. [Issue#110, p.117]

If we have to make a criticism, it's that The Witcher 2 leaves you wanting more than it offers. [Issue#110, p.110]

It's not the most technical or the deepest fighter you'll ever play, but you'll struggle to find something so skillfully designed to complement its platform in any genre. [Issue#110, p.106]

A brilliant game, one that offers something for both the experimental gamer and the mechanical player who wants to 100 per cent every Archive. [Issue#110, p.102]

A disappointment, there's no two ways about it. The scares just aren't there – we live in a post-Amnesia world, so we know it's possible for FPSs to terrify – and the rest of the action is so utterly standard it strays into boring territory more than we hoped it would. A more interesting co-op mode and the competitive, point-based leaderboards covering both single and multiplayer drag it out of average territory, but generally speaking we fear this is a missed opportunity.

You'll still be thrilled by this original, amusing and brilliantly playable horror game.

For all its inventive turns and standout moments, however, much of Alice's return feels a little too templated for it to truly embrace the nonsensical.

The important thing, of course, is the racing, and the Codies tinkering permeates that with force, adding and subtracting features with gusto. Most alterations in this area, however, are welcome and inherently sensible.

An enjoyable enough score attacker, disappointingly one-dimensional and middling as it may be. [Issue#109, p.123]

A fairly competent twin-stick competitive shooter. [Issue#109, p.122]

So gratingly tedious in navigating stages that Monkey Ball's overarching identity is lost. [Issue#109, p.120]

As a download release, it has exactly the same flaws. [Issue#109, p.118]

Sega may need to up its game before the next iteration. [Issue#109, p.116]

A solid addition to the series that potentially offers plenty of additional scope due to its enhanced multiplayer component. [Issue#109, p.115]

Like booting up a mediocre run-and-gunner from the mid-Nineties. [Issue#109, p.114]

You simply can't ignore the fact that the developer has been unable to match the scale of its ambition in the lacklustre final product. [Issue#109, p.112]

A bunch of misfit characters, bland stages and overly repetitive, mash-happy action. [Issue#109, p.110]

There simply has to be some compromise between keeping the game world authentic and keeping it interesting. [Issue#109, p.106]

A lifeless carcass in the FPS mould lies in its wake. [Issue#109, p.104]

It's just hard to shake the feeling that Islands of Wakfu is, at its heart, something of a promotional item for its bigger brother. [Issue#109, p.103]

Very much feels like a game of two parts; that of profound identity and beauty in its artistic style, profound story and meticulous audio design, but also one of bleakness and emptiness in how it seriously meanders in play. [Issue#109, p.100]

Successfully plays on the strategy roots of the Socom series with impressive results. [Issue#109, p.96]

And though the final hours are somewhat trite and contrived in the way they weave seemingly unrelated threads together, L.A. Noire won't be remembered for its slightly disappointing finale – it'll be remembered for its pioneering technology, its adept fusion of genres and the respect and talent with which it opens a window on the past.

The fact that, in harking back to earlier days, the game feels stuck in the past, the fact the fighting system really isn't deep compared to other modern-day brawlers, the fact the gore is little more than a sideshow and the fact that most of the fan service appeals to fans who have grown up a great deal since the Nineties throws up numerous reasons to criticise, however.

A genuine triumph as a team experience, mind, Splash Damage has proved that it has a serious knack for creating videogames that require so much more than becoming skilled with a trigger finger. Smart, robust, exciting and always ready to play with the original template, Brink is a welcome surprise in a genre that has started to become very close-minded.

While it lasts, it's a brilliantly designed, original and fun experience. It just needs to last a lot longer.

A play-for-a-week fad. [Issue#108, p.131]

It may be a little rough around the edges, but it's still better than most contemporaries that are polished to a shine. [Issue#108, p.130]

The best Star Wars game in almost a decade. [Issue#108, p.128]

A lot like difficult classics like Mega Man or Ghouls 'N Ghosts in that the trials themselves are half the fun. [Issue#108, p.127]

It quickly turns into a daily act of attrition rather than anything that promotes mental or physical growth, and a game that is unlikely to hold the attention of anyone - of any age - for very long. [Issue#108, p.125]

It's just so devoid of soul that it's almost impossible to concentrate on. [Issue#108, p.122]

Medieval has just won the series some brand new fans - and we can only tip our hats to EA. [Issue#108, p.118]

Occasionally playable, but just mostly horrible. [Issue#108, p.116]

The 3D effect itself, cheerfully rotating its wheels in the background, does absolutely nothing. [Issue#108, p.116]

One of the most interesting shooters of the year. [Issue#108, p.114]

Comes into its own in multiplayer. [Issue#108, p.113]

Polished until gleaming. [Issue#108, p.112]

If you've fallen out with the series, then this may be the best reason in years to return. [Issue#108, p.110]

It will be every bit as disappointing to those waiting for the marked change to give the series another shot. [Issue#108, p.109]

A rather dry experience. [Issue#108, p.106]

It's tangible magic that you can feel with every stroke of the brush. [Issue#108, p.104]

A game that's still unique, impactful and wholly entertaining despite containing every FPS cliche conceived since Halo and Half-Life. [Issue#108, p.98]

From gloriously glib opening to predictably musical finale, Portal 2 is a genuine delight and a game of rare quality. A well-judged sense of humour meets with some truly ingenious puzzle design to create a gaming experience that will linger long in the memory.

Though its main campaign may be a little on the short side, Vampire Smile squeezes more clever gameplay detours, edge-of-your-seat encounters, knowing nods to the wider world and hidden goodies than most full price retail releases.

On an objective level, Frog Minutes is hardly the sort of game that's going to establish the iPad as a hardcore games console, but it does have a strange hypnotic charm that makes those minutes tick by rather enjoyably.

There's certainly nothing game-breakingly bad about Shift 2, and generally it is a polished, high quality, nice looking product. But it does fail to provide a more engaging alternative to the admittedly quite clinical driving experiences offered by the Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo series. Underneath its fancy aesthetic effects Shift 2 is also rather on the dry side, with no especially compelling reason to pick it up if you already have one of the aforementioned console racing giants in your collection.

There's certainly nothing game-breakingly bad about Shift 2, and generally it is a polished, high quality, nice looking product. But it does fail to provide a more engaging alternative to the admittedly quite clinical driving experiences offered by the Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo series. Underneath its fancy aesthetic effects Shift 2 is also rather on the dry side, with no especially compelling reason to pick it up if you already have one of the aforementioned console racing giants in your collection.

But as a full game in its own right, Ridge Racer 3D feels like a cold shell that is part of a larger, ageing franchise.

Resort offers a briefly satisfying jaunt, which only fleetingly manages to recapture the magic of its predecessors.

Shadow Wars could be criticised for not making any genuinely innovative steps forward in the strategy genre. But what it does do – integrating just about every conceivable feature of turn-based strategy into a single cohesive whole – is enough to make it one of the best handheld titles of its kind in years, and a surprising jewel in the 3DS launch line-up.

A vast experience, and a refreshing lesson in substance over style. [Issue#107, p.120]

For true "chillax"-based experiences, however, there are far less pressured examples available. [Issue#107, p.118]

In the cold light of day, however, it's difficult to see what all the fuss is about. [Issue#107, p.117]

Thoroughly engaging and original. [Issue#107, p.117]

For a franchise usually so keen on reinventing itself, this plays it very safe. [Issue#107, p.116]

More like a clinically insane uncle; you'll spend time with it because it's family, but it will confuse and embarrass you with every opportunity it gets. [Issue#107, p.114]

Lots of polish and some truly laugh-out-loud moments. [Issue#107, p.113]

It's certainly a solid addition to the franchise, just not as memorable as previous instalments. [Issue#107, p.113]

At its best, it's an inferior retread of some of the first game's finer moments, but at worst, it's dangerously forgettable. [Issue#107, p.112]

Frankly, we could play Stacking for 20 hours, and it's just a shame we can't. [Issue#107, p.110]

Ideal for portable gaming - handy, with it being a PSP game - and its mix of action, RPG elements, a challenging (though sometimes unfair) level of difficulty and a few nifty tricks to keep things strategic make it another solid title in the PSP's catalogue. [Issue#107, p.108]

Glowing reflection of the past. [Issue#107, p.106]

Morally bankrupt but creatively rich beyond the wildest dreams of most games. [Issue#107, p.104]