This is without doubt one of Capcom's finest offerings for the Sony console…A sublime clash of old-school action and devious design, Joe on PS2 is more Viewtiful than ever. [Nov 2004, p.120]

Nevertheless, Trials Fusion is every bit the Trials game you’ve come to expect and then some.

This really is one of those great games where you’re constantly thinking ‘I wonder if I could do that…’ only to discover that in most instances (and usually with a huge grin filling the majority of your face), you probably can. [Sept 2004, p.104]

A faithful recreation in every sense of the term. [Christmas 2011, p.96]

An elegant and expressive new puzzle experience. [Issue#206, p.84]

As for consolidation and logical expansion, Final Fantasy Tactics: War Of The Lions achieves more for SRPGs than recent efforts from other studios. [Aug 2007, p.108]

Alien Hominid is a joyful experience, an unashamedly simple game that makes you want to play until you can’t feel your hands anymore... The perfect budget game. [Jan 2005, p.104]

Splatoon 2 is yet another example of a company that is hitting a similar stride to when it was at its creative peak - when new features like innovations, not gimmicks. Importantly, Splatoon 2 does improve on the original in every way. [Issue#190, p.73]

Black Rock’s fast, inventive and polished racing indicates Pure may have enough grunt to keep itself ahead of the pack. [Nov 2008, p.125]

Forza Motorsport 6 is not the conclusive leap that some fans were expecting. It feels like more astute groundwork; more prep for the definitive seventh instalment. It doesn’t feel hollow or lacking in content; it’s a cautious and discreet update that still feels, to its credit, genuinely cutting edge. You probably shouldn’t miss it. Just don’t expect the ground to break.

Sands of Time is very much a 21st century product - sumptuous visuals, intuitive control and many unique ideas. Buy it, play it, love it. [Dec 2003, p.92]

For its soaring highs and captivating hits alone though, Dishonored comes as an easy recommendation. With the Thief franchise stuck in a lab somewhere having numbers spliced into its title and Deus Ex still on the naughty step after those boss battles, Arkane has come good with arguably this generation's finest stealth title and a game so lovingly crafted that it begs to be played.

There’s plenty of content to be found in Tri Force Heroes, with a healthy set of stages that – despite its clear multiplayer leanings – are still fun to play through on your own. It’s blatantly never going to rival the Ocarinas or Wind Wakers of the world, but as a game for Zelda fans to get stuck into while they wait for the next main event, it’s an excellent stop-gap.

PixelJunk Racers is perhaps the most unlikely sort of game to appear on the boastfully next-gen PS3 but that also makes it one of the most enjoyable titles on the system. [Dec 2007, p.116]

A few localisation issues aside, Kingdom Under Fire is an absorbing and resplendent fusion of genres further improved by a selection of online modes that will ensure the game remains fresh and enjoyable even after the world has been saved. Again. [Oct 2004, p.112]

Along with being better suited to the PSP's capabilities than the previous Ys VI port, Seven also overhauls some major aspects of the series. [Issue#105, p.120]

Represents the best version of Animal Crossing to date. [Issue#136, p.102]

While Ninja Gaiden Sigma’s combat feels as fresh and vital as it did in 2004, its level design is starting to show its age. Certainly, trudging through the meandering streets of Tairon City is a considerable grind, leaving you begging for the next pack of ninjas to somersault into view. [Aug 2007, p.116]

It's a compelling return to form, featuring some of the series' most well crafted, inviting and testing stages, and while much has changed in the six-year interim, you'll be pleased to hear that Agent 47 hasn't.

This is easily the best Soul Calibur package to date, though there is a niggling feeling that things may not have moved on enough. [Sept 2008, p.114]

Its stylus control is one of the tightest on the system. [Christmas 2011, p.117]

While not the most technical or complex fighter on the market, it's certainly among the most enjoyable. [Issue#105, p.110]

Prey is a masterpiece of design, but there are a few niggles that slightly mar the overall experience rather than the immediate game. It’s likely that you won’t even notice them until you’ve finished playing and are debating its merits with friends. [Aug 2006, p.106]

For now at least, Skate remains very much this generation's go-to extreme sports franchise. [Issue#96, p.112]

Capcom Vancouver has therefore given the Xbox One something that PS4 does not have right now: a strong triple-A exclusive. Dead Rising 3 dares you to dream about high the bar can be set for the open world game during this generation on a technical and creative level, even with its obvious flaws in mission design. Not bad for a launch title.

It's a meaty, gratifying dose of excess that refuses to pander to subtlety. [Issue#136, p.108]

A testament to what the Wii is truly capable of in the hands of a skilled developer that understands the strengths and limitations of the hardware. [Christmas 2009, p.112]

Treyarch's shooter comfortably outdoes "Resistance" as the best FPS on PS3, a spectacular light show of WWII horror underpinned by a rock-solid engine and tight controls. [Apr 2007, p.130]

It's not particularly new or innovative in its core mechanics, but it marries the dependable and familiar with the not-so to create one of the year's most interesting titles. At its heart it's still a shooter, but at least it's also one with the brains to ask you to shoot something different.

It's a game of quiet beauty, scattered liberally with ingenious design.

The stealth mechanics are so pure. [Issue#136, p.110]

It manages to make the act of perseverance a relentlessly fun experience at all times. Yet for all its hardcore credentials, it also remains an instantly accessible racer as fun for non-gamers as it is for the elite. [July 2009, p.127]

By design, you’d expect any MMORPG to offer you a wealth of layers to delve through during the days, weeks and months that you exist within it; even by these standards, though, Everquest II’s scope is almost beyond compare. [Jan 2005, p.98]

It's far less intricate than a regular squad-based game, yet it retains all the elements that make them fun - as opposed to a title like Brute Force, which had none of them. A fine display of IO's creative talent. [Oct 2003, p.116]

It has never looked better. [Christmas 2011, p.124]

The game has set a bar for visual excellence as far as anime-inspired games go, and is liable to have the same kind of impact Tekken Tag Tournament did on PS2 thanks to its careful place as a launch title.

A tight and empowering boss rush. [Issue#177, p.79]

It's a game that just keeps giving, even as it tears your life from you. [Issue#136, p.110]

These were already among some of the best multiplayer maps ever made and these tweaked, rebalanced and remade versions have maintained their verve. The same can be said for the collection as a whole, if not the online connectivity.

It’s debatable whether or not this is worth buying if you own last year’s game…it comes down to how rich you are and how much you like golf. [Nov 2004, p.118]

The surprisingly lengthy co-op mode does not experience this fatigue, and coupled with the replayability of the other multiplayer options means there's a lot of fun to be had. [Issue#135, p.117]

The merits of streamlining revealed. [Issue#177, p.80]

The best available entry point for newcomers to next-gen racing, and a worthy investment for anyone else. [July 2008, p.104]

A drama-heavy storyline adds to the already deeply tense, ER-style atmosphere, making this a must-have DS title. [Christmas 2005, p.117]

Easily the best basketball sim on the market. [Apr 2007, p.131]

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS does an immaculate job of bringing Nintendo’s beloved fighting game to the handheld system and has packs in the best character roster and feature list to date, but the shortfalls of its hardware prevent it from reaching greater heights. It’s the perfect Smash Bros. game on an imperfect console.

It's a game that deserves a meatier and healthier package than the one Bandai Namco has given it, but even so, the online play will see Tekken 7 endure as one of the best fighting games this generation. [Issue#189, p.70]

Whether you’re a hardened Pokemaniac, an open-minded person with a love of great games or even an impressionable child, you’ll struggle to get better value for money than you will find in this glimmering pair. [June 2007, p.124]

It may not be the most perfect RPG you’ll ever play, but some will doubtless find Lost Odyssey among the most emotionally affecting videogame experiences of their lives. [Apr 2008, p.112]

It's just a bit of a shame about the occasional in authentic controls. [Issue#190, p.83]

An emotional if lopsided tale. [Issue#177, p.83]

For the most part, Xenoblade Chronicles X is astounding. For all its faults it’s still an enormous RPG with one of the best worlds you’ll ever explore and an expanded version of its battle system with fights that, while longer, are still a joy to seamlessly hop in and out of.

Challenging, beautiful and unique. [Issue#105, p.82]

A majestic evolution of its hit puzzle game. [Issue#120, p.107]

An amazingly fun experience. And when you're occasionally let off the rails and allowed to run wild in some of the larger open areas, it culminates in one of the most freeing experiences that PSVR has so far offered. [Issue#189, p.74]

Despite Airborne offering more genuine fun than any of its predecessors, there are only so many ways you can approach the same handful of battles. [Oct 2007, p.108]

Online mode or not, Virtua Fighter 5 is still the pinnacle of 3D videogame fighting. The engine is flawless, demonstrating the difference each combat style can have on a bout, and allowing for a level of mastery absent in its competition. [Mar 2007, p.100]

What Woolly World instead offers is one of the most visually charming and inventive games you’ll see this generation: one that will put a smile on your face, if not sweat on your brow.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is an excellent update to the already impressive Freedom 2 and features an unbelievable amount of new content and end-game potential. [Aug 2009, p.116]

Hardcore Total War completists are unlikely to be disappointed. [Apr 2010, p.128]

It is just an extension of PGR3. The shift in style, the new vehicles and weather, they could never hope to revolutionise the franchise in the way online has. [Nov 2007, p.124]

A refined step forwards, but not a perfect one. [Issue#105, p.83]

When you're sat next to someone, playing ARMS in local multiplayer mode (or Ranked, once you finally get it unlocked), is absolutely brilliant. It's as likely to get you screaming at your pals as Mario Kart, but it also possesses the depth and strategic options you associate with the best fighting games. [Issue#189, p.75]

A safe bet for those who missed it the first time around. [Issue#136, p.116]

Heartily recommended to anyone yet to spend time in Puma's company. [Sept 2006, p.114]

Sands of Time is very much a 21st century product - sumptuous visuals, intuitive control and many unique ideas. Buy it, play it, love it. [Dec 2003, p.92]

Between a clever mixture of single-player only score-chasing, fun co-op modes, light karaoke functionality, and a levelling-up system that’s incremental and actually pushes you out of your comfort zone, this is a game that repairs all the wrongs the peripheral-based rhythm action genre fell foul to last gen.

This is only Act 1, of course, as an agonising cliffhanger reminds us, and as such this can only be regarded as a very promising start.

The rebirth of true role-playing in games. [Issue#105, p.84]

What Warp lacks (or, perhaps, borrows) in personality it more than makes up for with gameplay that's so finely honed, it proves impossible to put down until every corner of its cutesy horror has been uncovered. [Issue#120, p.109]

There’s definitely a special vibe about Microsoft’s next first-party racing game, and it’s taken a solid leap over the inaugural Forza title. [July 2007, p.100]

A real tour-de-force for both a developer best known for comic mischief and a franchise that seemed doomed to eternal mediocrity. [Issue#114, p.92]

Everything about it feels lovingly crafted. [Issue#168, p.88]

Killzone 2 is a gamer’s game. And although it fails to go beyond the confines of the genre, we wouldn’t criticise it for being anything other than a wonderful example of what can be achieved within them. [Mar 2009, p.108]

Electronic Arts has managed to fire yet another positive shot in the football sim battle. [May 2008, p.117]

A very good rhythm-action game, and a confusing but compelling RPG. But, above all else, it is a nostalgic anniversary package that will be adored by Final Fantasy fans and sets a new benchmark for interactive celebrations.

PES 2016 is inconsistently superb, but it can no longer be ignored. Football fans have a difficult choice to make this year. You can follow the money and glamour of FIFA or embrace the grassroots love of the game in PES 2016. Neither choice seems wrong to us, but neither is perfect yet either. What we do have finally though, after a decade or so of waiting, is a real contest.

Small, affordable, and utterly absorbing. [Oct 2008, p.121]

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.

Online play, pleasingly, holds up its end of the bargain. [Issue#135, p.118]

For now, Hearthstone is very much a triumph, and with a mobile client rolling out there’s a sense that we’re at the beginning of a phenomenon rather than in the midst of one. Yet again, Blizzard seems to have played its cards absolutely right.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of Pokémon Conquest, however, is that it made us want to go back and play one of Koei's earlier, duller and more convoluted Nobunaga games. And any game that can make us feel that way is worthy of high praise indeed.

Another unmissable release from Relic Entertainment. [Issue#137, p.110]

DICE offers a brief taste of a Battlefield game driven by story and characters, where the completion of objectives signifies more than reaching a dot on the radar without dying, but delivers a product that leaves you feeling much the same as any of its ancestors. [Aug 2008, p.94]

Minor flaws, but still a contender for JRPG royalty. [Issue#168, p.92]

It could be argued that Pandemic's extra-terrestrial effort is a little on the simple side, but in terms of sheer playability, scale and freedom - albeit within fairly limited areas - Destroy All Humans! is a class act indeed. [July 2005, p.96]

You’ll see and hear a lot of things your senses weren’t prepared for and revisiting a more traditional RPG afterwards is like walking out after an all-night party and going straight to the local library... A wonderfully pleasant and refreshing surprise. [March 2005, p.112]

A simple setup that gives way to complexity the more you experiment with the game’s higher levels of play. [Apr 2009, p.120]

The game has a universal appeal, and its status as a modern classic is uncontested. This is just another block in its pedestal. [Issue#189, p.80]

It’s a genuinely interesting story to try and wrap your head around, and a perfect game for the Vita, to boot.

We've sworn at the screen more times while playing Spelunky than practically any other game. So we wouldn't recommend this to anyone with anger management issues or a heart condition. But, by the same token, it's also afflicted us with chronic one-more-go syndrome. So we would recommend it to anyone who loves videogames. Which is surely all of you.

Full of humor and charm. [Issue#137, p.112]

Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition definitely belongs in that upper tier; its campaign no longer carries the industry-shaping impact it once had but it remains tremendous fun, while its multiplayer is still dramatic, unique and engaging, perhaps even more so now given the final touches The Coalition has added. As was the case back in 2006, come for the campaign and stay for the multiplayer – you’ll be glad you did.

For fans of the series, this is an essential purchase, and for first timers, this is a great opportunity to get hooked. [Issue#167, p.83]

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.

One the one hand what’s already here is enjoyable and compelling, for the comparatively short amount of time it’ll take you to play through it, but the promise of more makes me feel like Shadowrun Returns is only going to grow in value as time goes on. If the players really latch onto the capabilities of the editor, it’s going to be an incredible rich offering, and one that could theoretically never stop giving.

NBA 2K16 is masterful at providing a re-creation of what we expect to see from a TV broadcast. [Issue#167, p.84]

Media Molecule's sense of pure creation sits perfectly with the karting genre and we'd even go as far to say that players will find it easier to be both player and creator here than they would in the previous games. Just don't expect to find Mario looking over his shoulder anytime soon.