games(TM)'s Scores
- Games
For 3,166 reviews, this publication has graded:
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23% higher than the average critic
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4% same as the average critic
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73% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 8.3 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 67
| Highest review score: | Demon's Souls | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest review score: | Darkstar: The Interactive Movie |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1,101 out of 3166
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Mixed: 1,711 out of 3166
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Negative: 354 out of 3166
3166
game
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
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]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
The lack of a cover mechanic, limited controls, an awkward camera and some questionable AI result in a peculiar package. [Issue#102, p.110]- games(TM)
Posted Jan 20, 2011 -
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The main problem is that the dungeon creation is constantly interrupted by tedious tasks. [Nov 2008, p.122]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Gameplay is standard stuff, and very little imagination seems to have been given over to making the mini-games feel engaging. [Nov 2009, p.120]- games(TM)
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Even regular space travel proves trying; rescued from the unconvincing hands-on control by an efficient autopilot system, your journeys become a case of merely clicking on where you want to go and fast-forwarding time until you get there. This reduces the game to a dirge of menu surfing and loses all the sense of adventure on which the genre was built. [Feb 2004, p.119]- games(TM)
- Read full review
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- Critic Score
When the average game of Trivial Pursuit comes packed with thousands of unique questions for around the same price, this kind of wafer-thin package is hardly going to impress Mr and Mrs Non-Gamer. [Sept 2007, p.113]- games(TM)
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While your average consumer may struggle to justify another investment of time and money in such an incredibly generic adventure, we genuinely found a lot to like in Sony's latest RPG and we feel a sense of injustice that this enjoyable little game is in danger of being overlooked completely ... the game still delivers an enchanting experience. [Feb 2004, p.122]- games(TM)
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You will finish the game having experienced sporadic moments of fun, but your money would be far better spent elsewhere. [June 2008, p.114]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
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]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Jun 28, 2014 -
- Critic Score
Dead Souls isn't a bad game by any stretch; it's just extremely by-the-book on every level. [Issue#121, p.114]- games(TM)
Posted Apr 18, 2012 -
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When it comes down to flat-out value for money? The 3DS store has plenty of other games to hold your attention. [Issue#139, p.120]- games(TM)
Posted Sep 23, 2013 -
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In a perfect world all budget games would be of kill.switch's quality - that's where it would soar, that's where it would be ideal. As it is, it's almost exactly six hours of gung-ho entertainment from the moment you switch on your machine. But that's still just six hours. [Feb 2004, p.104]- games(TM)
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For every moment of satisfaction, there's an equal moment of frustration to match it. It's probably just as well for Ubisoft that the novelty of Nintendo's Wii Remote will carry Red Steel as a launch title. [Christmas 2006, p.110]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
There's little reason for the lonely man to pick this up. [Issue#121, p.117]- games(TM)
Posted Apr 18, 2012 -
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The minigames are the strongest asset. [Issue#93, p.118]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Nov 3, 2017 -
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Suffers from being too faithful to its old-school roots. [Issue#148, p.116]- games(TM)
Posted Jun 3, 2014 -
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It's too easy to get comfortable in the routines Reservoir Dogs offers and as such it feels like going through the motions. [Nov 2006, p.125]- games(TM)
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It sounds promising but, to be honest, there really isn’t anything here that we haven’t seen a hundred times before, and for that reason alone it’s very difficult to get excited about Codename: Panzers. [Sept 2004, p.117]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
While it’d be wrong to criticise EA for encouraging a passing game, abhorrent ‘trick stick’ dribbling assistance is far too jerky to be of any use, making all too many games a pretty, but nevertheless staid, midfield slog. [Dec 2006, p.119]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Rather than being encouraged to play, it often feels like Bandai Namco is actively discouraging you from Lost Swords. [Issue#148, p.124]- games(TM)
Posted Jun 3, 2014 -
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Hard to recommend over the far more accomplished "Beyond Earth." [Issue#160, p.94]- games(TM)
- Posted May 3, 2015
- Read full review
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- Critic Score
It doesn't justify the time investment. [Issue#148, p.127]- games(TM)
Posted Jun 3, 2014 -
- games(TM)
- Posted May 3, 2015
- Read full review
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- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
If only as much imagination had been applied to the gameplay as the narrative. [Dec 2006, p.108]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Instead of embracing the technology on its own merits, the game is actually more an exercise in forcing Kinect to ape the functions – sometimes for good, but mostly ill – of a standard controller.- games(TM)
- Posted Sep 14, 2011
- Read full review
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- Critic Score
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]- games(TM)
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There is very little challenge. And even when you do start ‘digging’ into the past with the Hollow Pen, this involves simply drawing a circle with the stylus and carrying out an obvious action. [Christmas 2008, p.116]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
There's just nothing that's especially worth singing the praises of either. [Issue#160, p.106]- games(TM)
- Posted May 3, 2015
- Read full review
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- Critic Score
The problems of the original Shelter remain albeit in a bigger and more complex world. [Issue#160, p.108]- games(TM)
- Posted May 3, 2015
- Read full review
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- games(TM)
Posted Feb 28, 2012 -
- Critic Score
Enjoyable to play, but derivative and badly-written. [Issue#194, p.76]- games(TM)
Posted Dec 3, 2017 -
- Critic Score
The real tragedy of it all though, is the relative simplicity of the formula required for a once-and-for-all cure - less of the Z-axis, more of the Sonic. [Christmas 2006, p.104]- games(TM)
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For those moments of genuine excitement and exhilaration, it’s a game that will put a smile on your face. [Dec 2007, p.132]- games(TM)
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The purpose of a review is to help the reader to decide how best to spend their money, and there is little in Undertow’s familiar mechanics that can’t be found better executed elsewhere. [Jan 2008, p.130]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Feb 28, 2012 -
- Critic Score
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]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
A fairly competent twin-stick competitive shooter. [Issue#109, p.122]- games(TM)
Posted May 22, 2011 -
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An enjoyable enough score attacker, disappointingly one-dimensional and middling as it may be. [Issue#109, p.123]- games(TM)
Posted May 22, 2011 -
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There’s hope that the better elements can be salvaged for a future sequel then, but for the time being Sega’s Shining Force isn’t quite as shiny as it should be. [June 2007, p.118]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
If it's meant to be played for laughs, the joke falls flat with repetition. [Issue#157, p.125]- games(TM)
Posted Feb 17, 2015 -
- games(TM)
Posted Jan 23, 2014 -
- Critic Score
There's just not enough to do besides the main tasks to justify stealing the GTA concept ... the distinct lack of content reduces the amount of enjoyment you'll get out of it. Better than you'd think, but still very basic. [Nov 2003, p.118]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
The question of why Capcom even bothered with this HD remaster does beg to be raised, because while it might look like a modern release it certainly doesn’t play like one. It’s time that might have been better spent on something else.- games(TM)
- Posted Mar 23, 2016
- Read full review
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- Critic Score
The plea of distinction City Life enters ultimately fails due to tactical elements so facile they might as well not exist. [June 2006, p.120]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Rather than feeling like a mastermind escapologist, your actual role resembles that of an errand boy collecting the pieces of a pre-scripted plan. Yet while nothing here really shines, the overall package is solid enough to counter our gripes. [Oct 2003, p.114]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
There is little depth to the control of the boards, and we don't see why this shouldn't have been an on-foot racer. [Apr 2006, p.106]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
You'd have to have a hell of a lot of spare time and cash to make room in your life for this. [Issue#119, p.119]- games(TM)
Posted Feb 28, 2012 -
- Critic Score
There is little depth to the control of the boards, and we don't see why this shouldn't have been an on-foot racer. [Apr 2006, p.106]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Unless you’re a big fan of the Homestar Runner series of web cartoons, you’re likely to spend much of your time with the game scratching your head. [Oct 2008, p.114]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Oct 23, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Afro Samurai radiates style both visually and aurally, but the underlying mechanics do little to raise it above an average experience. [Apr 2009, p.112]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
It’s a shame that poor execution lets Entwined down so badly. The themes being explored here have the potential to be touching and are, unquestionably, underrepresented in videogames.- games(TM)
- Posted Jun 18, 2014
- Read full review
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- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
State of Decay 2 falls short of its promise, instead offering the kind of brainless, repetitive experience that turns you into a de facto zombie. [Issue#201, p.80]- games(TM)
Posted Jun 15, 2018 -
- Critic Score
With such base-level functional inadequacies, this retro rehash comes labelled predictably with a 'for fans only' tag. [Issue#140, p.117]- games(TM)
Posted Oct 23, 2013 -
- Critic Score
Far too generic to be considered anything other than average. [Christmas 2005, p.114]- games(TM)
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Anyone expecting the DS's first role-playing game to be anything more than average is in for a bitter disappointment. [Dec 2005, p.126]- games(TM)
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Very young and very undemanding fans of shōnen manga may get a fleeting kick out of J-Stars Victory VS+, but there’s too much cheaper (and superior) competition currently available across all platforms to warrant a half-hearted recommendation.- games(TM)
- Posted Aug 28, 2015
- Read full review
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- Critic Score
Ultimately it feels too much like a cheap cash-in to be worthy of your attention. [Issue#143, p.116]- games(TM)
Posted Jan 23, 2014 -
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It’s important to stress that Clive Barker’s Jericho is really not a bad game. It’s just nowhere near as good as the top shooters that surround it. [Dec 2007, p.124]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
The poor AI becomes increasingly apparent and even more of a chore upon completing the campaign. [Issue#152, p.114]- games(TM)
Posted Sep 16, 2014 -
- Critic Score
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]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Boy racers will love Underground's edgy urban chic, otherwise you should stick with the less fashionable but ultimately more enjoyable "Burnout 2." [Christmas 2003, p.125]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Apr 14, 2016 -
- Critic Score
Wait for the sequel rather than invest in this slightly dumbed-down version. [Sept 2006, p.120]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Section 8's major problem is that, despite offering a huge number of options to the player - in both gameplay and ideas - it feels decidedly empty and the shooting lacks the pace and kick of other shooters. [Nov 2009, p.126]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
A blaster of mediocre proportions that might keep you hooked through sheer determination to see it through (if only because you’ll be convinced that mastery of the twitchy controls is actually possible), but isn’t actually much fun to play. [Sept 2005, p.102]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
It’s far too easy to tap on a square that’s actually adjacent to where you thought you were planting a tree/erecting a power station. [May 2007, p.125]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
With just as many levels where you'll pray for it to be over than where you're actually having fun, the game turns out to be a mixture of styles that don't meld together as solidly as they should, as well as having several frustrating joypad-throwing moments and often demanding extraordinary feats of memory from the player. [Mar 2004, p.114]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
The slightly clumsy controls and overly enthusiastic (read: nearly unbeatable) AI, plus with a new Hot Spot system that feels very random, makes the whole game feel rather lopsided and not much fun. [Dec 2003, p.125]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
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]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Sep 16, 2014 -
- Critic Score
For all it's button-mashing faults, though, Bloody Roar still manages to be fun. It may not be the most technical beat-'em-up on the market, nor is it the most stylish, but one thing works wonders in Bloody Roar's favour - simplicity. [Nov 2003, p.119]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Oct 27, 2016 -
- Critic Score
In the long wait for Digital Devil Saga we’ve been spoiled by some bar-raising and envelope-pushing efforts in the RPG genre, which make it seem rather tired and staid. [July 2006, p.136]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
Despite its pretty environments and swollen production value, Garden Warfare 2 feels a lot like its smartphone cousins, less a videogame, in the noble sense, and more a tar pit, swallowing down your time and providing little in return but useless virtual tat.- games(TM)
- Posted Apr 12, 2016
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- Critic Score
A hugely frustrating experience, then. Lords Of Shadow 2 is a game with flair and gusto that constantly bogs itself down with design choices that should have never made it past the first week of studio meetings. Dracula deserves better.- games(TM)
- Posted Mar 12, 2014
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- Critic Score
Many of the puzzles are somewhat straightforward in design, and while ensuring players are less likely to hit those infuriating brick walls typically found in the genre's great titles, your input into the proceedings once again tends to feel slightly shallow and less rewarding than before. [Christmas 2003, p.108]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Aug 9, 2018 -
- Critic Score
The traditional Guilty Gear gameplay just doesn’t translate that well to the arena style of play: most of the moves would be better suited to a straight one-on-one fight. [Nov 2007, p.120]- games(TM)
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Occasionally you’ll have to fight in formation, or against an elephant or a slightly bigger Persian soldier, but none are exciting enough to lift the whole experience above its more banal moments. [May 2007, p.115]- games(TM)
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- games(TM)
Posted Oct 4, 2018 -
- Critic Score
Despite being a relatively original take on the RTS genre, this suffers from the same problems that have been around since Command & Conquer - eventually you'll just throw masses of troops at your opponent, hoping for the best. [Aug 2004, p.120]- games(TM)
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Fleeting fun and a mild distraction it may be, but The Run finishes this particular race upside down in a ditch. On fire. [Issue#117, p.112]- games(TM)
Posted Jan 9, 2012 -
- Critic Score
Lego's 13-year-old series needs serious building. [Issue#203, p.81]- games(TM)
Posted Aug 9, 2018 -
- games(TM)
Posted Oct 4, 2018 -
- Critic Score
It's a non-offensive way to while away a few hours digging up the past, but the core gameplay doesn't hold a candle to the title it's so fondly remembering. [Nov 2005, p.108]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
This game is big, chunky and bright but no amount of bold colours and cuddly enemies can save Air Ride from being a rather short-lived and simple affair. [Jan 2004, p.120]- games(TM)
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Only through a scarcity of decent alternatives could we ever truly recommend this, and that’s just about as backhanded as compliments get. [June 2007, p.113]- games(TM)
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We found this version to be glitchy and often a little frustrating. [Issue#180, p.47]- games(TM)
Posted Nov 19, 2016 -
- Critic Score
Far too generic to be considered anything other than average. [Christmas 2005, p.114]- games(TM)
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The core Hustle Kings gameplay is solid and some of the game modes and table designs are a lot of fun to lay with, but some design choices for VR get in the way of a fully enjoyable experience. [Issue#180, p.47]- games(TM)
Posted Nov 19, 2016 -
- Critic Score
L.A. Rush isn’t so much bad as uninspiring. Driving round the city is fun for a bit but after that nothing but the mediocre races, ill-conceived stunt sections and the meandering extra missions remain. [Nov 2005, p.110]- games(TM)
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Watching it charge forty quid for it is downright aggravating. [Issue#112, p.108]- games(TM)
Posted Aug 8, 2011 -
- Critic Score
If you are willing to put a lot of time and effort in with The Nightmare Princess in order to unlock the more elaborate traps and levels, then you’ll find a game which will perfectly scratch that sadistic itch. Otherwise, the game’s shortcomings continue to botch a series we would otherwise love.- games(TM)
- Posted Aug 31, 2015
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- Critic Score
The slightly clumsy controls and overly enthusiastic (read: nearly unbeatable) AI, plus with a new Hot Spot system that feels very random, makes the whole game feel rather lopsided and not much fun. [Dec 2003, p.125]- games(TM)
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- Critic Score
A perfectly average platformer. [Tested with Oculus Rift; Issue#174, p.82]- games(TM)
- Posted May 29, 2016
- Read full review
