Nights of Azure has potential, but unfortunately falls into too many tropes of the JRPG world.

Fable Anniversary's structure is reasonably competent. [Issue#145, p.112]

Ultimately, you can only drive where you're supposed to drive - something we never expected to say about a Crazy Taxi game. [Issue#152, p.120]

If you're after value, Surge Deluxe delivers: it's pretty, it's cheap and it's a good quick game to play. Just don't expect anything game-changing. [Issue#145, p.115]

While it can feel rewarding to eventually squash a boss, you’ll very rarely be having fun while doing so – and that’s a feeling that carries through the entire experience.

Parallel Lines is a stylish game; everything from the cut-scenes and dialogue to the excellent soundtrack has been constructed meticulously to produce an almost Tarantino simulacrum of 1970s Americana. [Apr 2006, p.108]

Daft, short-lived fun. [Issue#180, p.46]

It's one of those mixed-bag situations - flashes of genius and genuinely enjoyable moments of success, occasionally mired by unbalanced weapon damage, clumsy AI and the odd bit of unfair level design that requires astounding feats of memory. [Dec 2003, p.98]

A tactical game this good deserves better. [Issue#145, p.120]

It's fair to say that Deception remains true to the series in that it delivers much of what you'd want from it, though this only means it's a reasonable fighting game with plenty of blood and some grisly deaths... Kould have been much better. [Dec 2004, p.110]

Nintendo was keen not to force "Mario Kart DS" in a typically DS direction, so we see no reason why Diddy Kong Racing DS wasn’t treated in the same way. [Apr 2007, p.118]

As a pack-in for the console, this would have been far easier to forgive, but at full price and with no proper multiplayer, it’s a tough sell. Rare’s game looks stunning and is enjoyably tame, but lacks in true winner’s grit and star quality. Maybe next season.

A fast and relatively action-packed water-based arcade racer that's more wacky than something like "Wave Race: Blue Storm" and has stupidly over-the-top stunts but still enough realism in terms of the physics to make it worth a look over other 'normal' racing titles. Three words? It's a renter. [Oct 2003, p.123]

Decent - if limited - fun. [Issue#180, p.47]

Spider-Man 2 emerges as not only a movie licence that eschews the 'fast-buck' approach, but as an enjoyable game in its own right – which is chiefly a testament to just how compelling it is to have superpowers and a vast city in which to show them off. [Sept 2004, p.118]

We've been spoilt over the years, and we simply expected more from Kirby. [Issue#117, p.114]

Gritty and imaginative, let down by fundamental flaws. [Issue#205, p.80]

EA has turned it into a story about gain. Whereas the motive of violence was once to illustrate Michael’s downward spiral, here it is merely a tool with which to boost your bank balance. [May 2006, p.118]

Despite the bright colours, cute simians, jolly music and overarching joyous abandon, Super Monkey Ball Adventure is a tremendously difficult videogame. And phenomenally frustrating to boot. [Aug 2006, p.130]

It's a good shooter, then, but one that struggles to hit the same heights of Cave's other Xbox 360 output.

The Pitt just isn't satisfying enough in any area to truly earn a recommendation for any reason other than it's more Fallout 3. [June 2009]

So if it’s short on believability and plain fairness, what does Blazing Angels 2 have to offer? In a word: variety. [Oct 2007, p.110]

Ultimately, this new Need For Speed has rebooted nothing; it’s an open world racer the likes of which we’ve already seen many times last-gen, but when the mechanics themselves fall short – well, that’s not a message any new start wants to begin with.

A great Suikoden game, then, but only a fair role-playing game by today's standards. [Sept 2006, p.128]

Narratively, it's reaching for a mature, considered story, but isn't there yet. [Issue#180, p.47]

It's got the speed, but not the finesse. [Issue#174, p.74]

As entertaining as this simple golf game may be, though, VR just makes it all feel even jankier. [Issue#180, p.47]

Silent Hill 4 is by far the most atmospheric of the titles to date, and if played under the right conditions will creep out even the most hardened survival horror fan. But being made to traipse over the same levels a second time seems a little lazy and really saps a lot of enjoyment out of the experience. [Sept 2004, p.113]

A brave sequel that tries a little too hard... Its lack of accessibility will annoy "Rainbow Six 3" die-hards, while the new direction will leave fans of the original feeling rather cold. [Christmas 2004, p.102]

The tongue-in-cheek Cold War-era humour is preferable to Cities XL's hard-faced exterior, but Haemimont's skill in masking the behind-the-scenes mechanisms pales in comparison to Mote Cristo's effort. [Dec 2009, p.118]

But don't let all this talk of management fool you, there's a real thrill to Rebellions real time battles, especially when you zoom in to watch the often impressive visual cacophony of lasers as droves of spaceships broad side each other or master the intricacies of its RTS rock, paper, scissors mechanics – and can use them to whip other players right back to their home worlds and bombard them.

There's a major flaw in actually controlling Mario, as the physics just don't seem to act as they should - aiming at specific targets can be extremely tricky at times, making completing some tasks more infuriating than challenging. It's a shame, because everything else about Super Mario Ball is so impressive.

Just another day at the office for Layton and chums. [Issue#117, p.121]

It's to Croteam's credit that Serious Sam II manages to stay interesting for as long as it does, thanks to the weird enemy design and tight levels keeping the pace from slacking. [Dec 2005, p.112]

Gorgeous, but more frustrating than fun. [Issue#174, p.77]

Catalyst has some wonderful ideas and there are times where it’ll make you feel truly free, but it fails to maintain its momentum for more than a few minutes at time.

A great foundation, but sadly a giant misstep. [Issue#200, p.78]

VR done right, if you've got the stomach for it. [Tested with Oculus Rift; Issue#174, p.80]

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

A very sensible card-battling system with a theme that should be pleasingly familiar to seasoned gamers. [July 2007, p.120]

When only a couple of challenges require you to break the million point barrier, only the weakest players will have trouble acing the game in hours. [Christmas 2005, p.107]

Five years on from what was arguably the series' peak there has been no substantial development and no willingness to reflect the ambition of its own title - something we cannot abide. [Dec 2009, p.105]

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

With its roots firmly planted in the mobile space, EVE: Gunjack is proof that virtual reality often works best when the experience is built around short pick-up and play sessions. [Issue#180, p.48]

What you’re left with is a short slice of horror that’s got a few genuinely brilliant ideas up its bloody sleeve, but one that dulls the edges of its own experience with a lack of subtlety.

On the occasions when the game flows it’s possible to produce some breathtaking football, but all too often the game slows to a crawl and it’s extremely difficult to produce anything like a constructive passing move. [Nov 2005, p.116]

Battlezone will quickly feel routine, but it’s also fun – not to mention an interesting window into the possibilities and pitfalls of virtual reality.

By not setting impossible standards, and despite its derivations from countless other better shooters. BlackSite has achieved that most important of objectives: it is entertaining from beginning to end. [Jan 2008, p.129]

It seems content to re-tread worn ground without ever pausing to innovate along the way...As a result, Game Republic’s opening gambit is left feeling plod-through tired before the credits have run. [Sept 2005, p.114]

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]

Paraworld stands perfectly well on its own as a solid, if a little plodding, RTS game with some neat touches, particularly in the selection and development of units. [Nov 2006, p.114]

The game is still fun to play, and never becomes frustrating or dislikeable, but it never quite achieves the potential it so obviously holds. [Apr 2008, p.118]

An imbalanced but often enjoyable RPG rogue-lite. [Issue#200, p.82]

An enjoyable if obvious knock-off, then, and a refreshing new direction for a stagnant franchise, but hardly the kind of revolution that would worry the Templars.

Outlaw Golf 2 is actually a great game, but wading through the cut-scenes and commentary is hard work unless your sense of humour stopped developing when you were 15. [Jan 2005, p.115]

While games like "Twilight Princess" entice players with familiar settings and gameplay elements, Tools Of Destruction force feeds them. [Dec 2007, p.104]

The sound is unusually quiet, consisting mostly of ghostly bell chimes, only coming to life when battle begins. It's wonderfully atmospheric and gives OTOGI a distinct, mystical feel that's almost as important as the gameplay. [Oct 2003, p.127]

The repetitive nature of the majority of missions soon takes its toll, and the primary motivation for progressing soon becomes the desire to see how nice the next level looks, not the love of playing the game. [Apr 2006, p.110]

Think long and hard about whether four hours of hilarious gaming is as valuable as 15 hours of the humourless equivalent. Games TM’s verdict lies in Birdman’s favour, though it’s far from a unanimous decision. [Mar 2008, p.132]

Handheld editions of big console titles often feel like straight to video sequels – looking the part but lacking the polish – and Revelations is no different. It nails the atmosphere in its hybrid design, but those crucial sparks of brilliance that make the series so great, no matter which of its eras you prefer… they're as rare as a single use rocket launcher.

Gamers will revel in the destruction that unfolds as they guide Spanx and Redmond through the Genron labs, but you soon realise that the humorous touches are hiding a basic and rather childish title. [Mar 2004, p.119]

There are moments when player adrenaline levels will rise above the base level, but they are so few and far between that in the end most will decide that slogging through the copious average sections simply isn't worth the effort. [June 2005, p.116]

A plot slower than a walker. [Issue#183, p.81]

Players now react quicker and more like their real-life counterparts when handling the first touch of the ball. And first touches are generally smoother now, with players being able to flick on, trap or kick straight away on receipt. In practice, however, it’s not such a massive advancement and the player movement and control is still fairly sluggish. [Nov 2004, p.121]

An expensive taster that will leave you hungry. [Issue#180, p.45]

A plot slower than a walker. [Issue#183, p.81]

Manages to be inviting without being too condescending. [Issue#112, p.124]

Fable: The Journey only has Kinect, and once again it's too unresponsive, too fiddly and too annoying to carve a genuinely enjoyable experience out of Albion. Whether Fable: The Journey was a labour of love or a contractual obligation matters little; when all's said and done the only thing that matters is that this feels like another nail in the coffin for this generation's version of Kinect – and perhaps even its last.

Controls are Ultra Smash’s biggest problem.

A clever story married to dull gameplay. [Issue#183, p.83]

The action is a little too samey, and things become just too repetitive. Aside from scenery variations, FMV cut-scenes and the odd boss fight, the game is practically the same from start to finish. [Jan 2004, p.125]

It’s a fun, frothy take on a scene that could have easily led it to drown in detestable ghetto references and urban nods, but even though B-Boy manages to avoid travelling that dangerous path, it remains no more than a guilty pleasure. [Oct 2006, p.121]

Rocky Balboa is the second best boxing game on PSP, but then there are only two of them. [Mar 2007, p.102]

If only Namco had put a bit more variation into the actual content of the game instead of placing all the emphasis on the innovative interface, this might have been more than just a good starting point for the future. [July 2004, p.117]

At least it provides some hope for the franchise's future. [Issue#155, p.130]

Mediocrity wins out. [Issue#93, p.124]

For now, Moto GP is still ahead of the pack. [July 2007, p.127]

Settle into the initially jarring pace of the game and it eventually becomes the sort of RPG that you simply play for the sake of playing, immersing yourself in the world and discovering its many surprises as you go. [Sept 2008, p.108]

Its attempt at being a jack-of-all-trades could seem quite appealing to gamers who casually approach the driving genre. Connoisseurs, on the other hand, will own the highest quality examples of each trade that do the job better, leaving R: Racing Evolution feeling mostly redundant. [Mar 2004, p.98]

Its simplicity counts against it in the long term. [Issue#155, p.131]

A poor payoff for hours spent trudging through this black-and-white world. [Issue#147, p.120]

With so much going on, getting any enjoyment out of the multiplayer modes is far too much work and the simple, fun aspect found in titles like Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has been replaced by, well, clutter. [Jan 2005, p.112]

It’s hard not to like Cold Fear for what it’s trying to do, but it’s also hard not to see the glaring errors that it makes along the way. [Apr 2005, p.119]

It’s often said that co-op makes any game better but in this case, co-op is the only way to glean any enjoyment from the game at all. Played alone, Temple Of Osiris struggles to evade box-ticking tedium and it’s only when confusion and banter come into play that it’s even worth considering.

By trying to compete in the 'ultimate first-person shooter' squabble, many a title finds its grasp underplayed by its reach. The beauty of Serious Sam is its totally nonchalent attitude towards the genre and the way it plays what could be seen as its weakest card as its strength. [June 2004, p.109]

It’s a fun, frothy take on a scene that could have easily led it to drown in detestable ghetto references and urban nods, but even though B-Boy manages to avoid travelling that dangerous path, it remains no more than a guilty pleasure. [Oct 2006, p.121]

Playable, yes, but nothing new. [Issue#141, p.110]

Outside of a few key moments when things get changed up, gameplay is only ever average at best. [Issue#138, p.108]

In the process, it becomes less of a game and more of an anger generator – that’s anything but a recipe for fun.

You're better off just watching the movies. [Issue#196, p.86]

It's the compound effect of its traditional design that causes the most problems. [Issue#93, p.134]

It’s good stuff, but not good enough to keep you playing for long without having to stifle a few yawns. What you’re looking at here is your standard hack-and-slash adventure that’s been brightened up with some impressive visuals. [March 2005, p.116]

It’s the same old formula with a few moments of motion-controlled inspiration. [Aug 2007, p.111]

It is so mortally by-the-numbers that you'll genuinely believe you've already played the game before. [Issue#141, p.120]

Unfortunately, the difference between what Crystal Dynamics wanted to do with Snowblind and the finished product is a crevasse that good intentions fall well short of bridging, leaving the game lying in a Wile E. Coyote-style could of dust at the bottom. [March 2005, p.110]

If fewer ideas were crammed in, and those that were left in were developed more thoroughly. Rooms could potentially be an excellent puzzle concept. [Aug 2010, p.130]

It provides a bit of fan fare and not much else. [Issue#162, p.103]

As a 360 title, average visuals and wretched clipping problems should be an issue, and the slick-at-times physics and ample combat system just can’t make up for it. [Apr 2007, p.120]