A poor Tenchu wannabe that simply fails to deliver enjoyment. We played it because we had to - you don’t. [May 2005, p.96]

We wanted to like Spikeout, we really did, but less than a day of enduring what the game had to 'offer' and having so many flaws thrown in our faces was more than enough to convince us never to play it again. [June 2005, p.115]

This could have been so much more, but the shoddy engine and woeful AI let down some fairly solid and slightly confusing concepts. [Nov 2005, p.125]

When accurately describing videogames, we tend to use the word ‘dross’ rarely, but this particular X-Men title has forced the word from us in a spectacular fashion. [July 2006, p.130]

Nostalgia can be an intoxicating thing, but in the case of this iPad outing it's simply not powerful enough to overcome the boredom borne of run-of-the-mill design. Eternia? More like eternally dull.

With daft mini-games and Gadgets designed for four players to huddle around a single GBA, it's stupidity of the highest order that Nintendo should invent the 'one man party'. [July 2005, p.102]

Acquire has included little structure to complement the story's broad narrative scope or offer a sense of attachment, leaving it trapped somewhere between a Kung-Fu style wanderer's chronicle and a point-to-point adventure-lite that simply features too much wandering. [Apr 2010, p.109]

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

Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires would be less annoying if we hadn’t played it about eight times before. [July 2006, p.132]

Rigidity under the façade of freedom … prevents Rogue Ops from being aything other than a sub-standard stealth clone. Against the competition, which is growing stronger by the month, it's hardly surprising, but we expected better than this. [Feb 2004, p.110]

As soon as you pass the initial novelty of feeling like Legolas, or whatever character the Scout corresponds to - though we’d argue its inspiration is the Spy class from Battlefront - half of the gameplay disappears into the ether. [Feb 2009, p.118]

Samurai Western is a mess of a game, one that dangles a fun-looking carrot in front of your nose before bludgeoning your face in with a mallet. [Sept 2005, p.122]

One or two puzzles aside, there’s no ‘wrong’ response to anything asked of you, and no advantages to being right first time, completely negating any kind of satisfaction you might have gleaned from figuring out each case. [Sept 2008, p.112]

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

Had the handling and collision detection been improved, then Wheelspin might actually have been a good game. [Issue#91, p.114]

The narrated "found footage" was a novel idea, but the developers should have held onto it until they had something interesting to say. [Issue#157, p.126]

Ironically, the developer has actually been very successful in mapping a superbly intuitive control system to the gamepad, and by enabling direct control of your Titan a basic action element is introduced. Yet by totally amputating any strategic scope from the RTS equation, the ensuing battles becoming virtually pointless affairs. [Mar 2004, p.111]

Blade Dancer is an RPG lacking in character, soul, and most importantly, entertainment. Not recommended. [Oct 2006, p.129]

A lazy attempt at translating farming tasks to trivial gameplay. [Issue#140, p.119]

This could have been so much more, but the shoddy engine and woeful AI let down some fairly solid and slightly confusing concepts. [Nov 2005, p.125]

It's not broken, it's just dull. A disservice to the excellent franchise. [Issue#143, p.119]

As a catalogue of all the errors you can ever expect to see in a clunky first-person shooter Fall Of Liberty excels. [May 2008, p.120]

An affront. [Issue#96, p.114]

Dilute, disjointed and uninspiring. Feeling more like a staggered set of obstacles than a wholesome game, the action sadly boils down to little more than a tediously dull showcase for your equipment and abilities, which are put into use against some questionable AI stooges. [Jan 2004, p.118]

The story isn’t interesting and you’ll often find yourself flying aimlessly through space, waiting for your next set of orders. It may be realistic in relation to the world of Star Trek, but that doesn’t mean it’s fun to play. [Feb 2007, p.107]

There's simply not enough material here to justify the asking price, and the small amount on the disc is sub-par entertainment on almost every level. [Dec 2009, p.111]

Ironically, the developer has actually been very successful in mapping a superbly intuitive control system to the gamepad, and by enabling direct control of your Titan a basic action element is introduced. Yet by totally amputating any strategic scope from the RTS equation, the ensuing battles becoming virtually pointless affairs. [Mar 2004, p.111]

Repetitive tasks have a history as a means of punishment that goes back to ancient myth. Kingdom Under Fire: Circle Of Doom seems keen to emulate this for reasons known only to its sadistic creators. [Mar 2008, p.128]

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

An archaic combat engine, pitiful level design, a crushingly dull and unnecessary story and level of galling frustration that reaches and often surpasses even Stuntman for sheer annoyance all add up to the one PS3 launch game nobody should consider for even a second. [Feb 2007, p.122]

An odd visual style tops off a very poor title in a suitably poor manner, jumping between looking halfway decent and just plain nasty. An unbalanced and sorely broken mess. [Dec 2005, p.106]

With core mechanics this flawed, no amount of cut-scene-laden story modes, create-a-move editors or unlockable extras will make up for what is a truly putrid videogame. [Aug 2006, p.127]

The game is a shambles aesthetically. The visuals are perpetually murky and washed-out, and there’s barely any sense of attentive design; dim corridors lead to dim rooms that lead to more dim corridors.

Getting to the handful of good puzzles Syberia 3 has isn't worth it for all the rubbish you'll have to wade through. This is a jittery, stuttering, mess of a videogame. [Issue#188, p.80]

It's the faintest of pulses on a cadaver we've seen many times before - identikit dungeons, faceless monsters and convoluted menu systems should be a thing of the past by now. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

The central mechanic barely works. [Sept 2014, p.122]

An odd visual style tops off a very poor title in a suitably poor manner, jumping between looking halfway decent and just plain nasty. An unbalanced and sorely broken mess. [Dec 2005, p.106]

In practice, Gundam: Crossfire is barely playable. We blame the game’s frame rate which we reckon must run as low as 10 fps and only as high as what looks like about 20fps. [Jan 2007, p.103]

The music, as you'd expect, is generally excellent even in the face of some odd inclusions, though that's the only praise the so-called 'experience' will be getting from us. [Issue#104, p.124]

It's fair to say that playing Advent Rising is about as enjoyable as getting home from a hard day's work to discover you've been burgled. [Aug 2005, p.114]

Namco Museum Remix is an insult to retro enthusiasts and a cynically designed waste of the Wii’s potential. [Jan 2008, p.131]

A challenge for all the wrong reasons, Tron: Evolution is a frustrating shell of a game, and exactly the sort of just-get-it-out-the-door festiveware that the pre-recession videogame market looked to have left behind. [Issue#104, p.109]

Street Trace boils down to a mostly random arena shooter where victory is assured through lucky button mashing rather than any kind of skill. [Nov 2007, p.126]

If quality control was an issue, we doubt SpyHunter 2 would have passed the planning stage. This will be back in the box before you know it. [Mar 2004, p.117]

A few hours ambling around this vapid environment is far too long. [Issue#136, p.113]

Activision and Robomodo should, frankly, be ashamed of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. If promises to fix the game are met and it, eventually, becomes a more faithful entry to the classic series, the Birdman’s last outing will still go down in history as an absolute hatchet job.

Every single component of this detestable mess is aggravating enough to put you off gaming for life. [Apr 2007, p.102]

This game is about breasts. That's it. There really isn't anything deeper to it, not at all. [Issue#167, p.97]

An odd visual style tops off a very poor title in a suitably poor manner, jumping between looking halfway decent and just plain nasty. An unbalanced and sorely broken mess. [Dec 2005, p.106]

Think of a bug that has annoyed you at some point throughout the videogame-playing years of your life and it’s more than likely that Two Worlds has suffered from it at some stage. [Nov 2007, p.114]

If Amy ever had a chance of keeping its head above water and surviving these problems, the awful checkpoint system ensures it drowns in them.

The biggest question you'll be left asking is why the Amazing Spider-man 2 exists. [Issue#148, p.102]

With core mechanics this flawed, no amount of cut-scene-laden story modes, create-a-move editors or unlockable extras will make up for what is a truly putrid videogame. [Aug 2006, p.127]

What would we change? Just about everything. Rogue Warrior isn't broken, but it is bland and characterless. [Feb 2010, p.128]

If ever a title were to prove that 3D fighters don't work with sprite-based characters on a small screen, Sonic Battle would be that game. Attack connection is nothing short of a joke and the appalling character balancing doesn't make it any funnier. [Feb 2004, p.116]

Fighter Within nearly manages to unravel all its hard work with a few misplaced punches to the groin. [Issue#143, p.108]

If quality control was an issue, we doubt SpyHunter 2 would have passed the planning stage. This will be back in the box before you know it. [Mar 2004, p.117]

Our review code froze four times during play, each occasion coming as a blessed relief, a welcome respite from the tedium. [Issue#101, p.111]

If only the developer hadn’t completely messed things up with its restrictive camera angles and unfair challenges then it could have had a uniquely fun DS game on its hands. [Mar 2009, p.120]

Postal hasn't aged well at all; not a good thing when it didn't look or sound too good, or play that well six years ago. [Dec 2003, p.127]

It’s an unparalleled mess of a game that manages top bore and anger in equal measure, exhibiting the occasional glimmer of a good idea only to snatch it away and laugh in your face. [Apr 2005, p.116]

To say that the gameplay feels clunky is a huge understatement. Throw in a cover system that defies belief, which is often essential for boss encounters, and it's a tiresome slog. [Oct 2009, p.128]