No matter which side of the gaming coin you come from, this whole new universe of planets is the most inventive, exuberant and, yes, fun set of challenges and diversions yet seen in the platform game genre. It miraculously outclasses a game that many believed could not be bettered, and once again leaves us wondering just how close Nintendo's bar has come to reaching its theoretical peak.

We would never have thought that that by retreading the same patch of ground a studio could leave us feeling like we have just played one of the best videogames of all time. [June 2008, p.102]

If you’re not exploring the wasteland then you’re cheating yourself out of one of the best games in years. [Christmas 2008, p.94]

Reinvents a genre and unequivocally defines it in one fell swoop. [Issue#106, p.96]

In the vast majority of games, and particularly first-person shooters, quality is entirely dependent on minutiae such as weapon choice and enemy variety. In Bioshock these are merely details, adornments to a far deeper and more complete experience than any game since "Half-Life 2." [Oct 2007, p.104]

Sam Houser compared the making of Rockstar’s epic to the troubled production of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and in some ways the same result has been met: a product that represents the peak of the blockbuster triple-A form, that realises grand ambition without visible compromise.

We don't give out tens lightly, but we have to ask, what more could we have wanted from this game? What could it have offered that would have made it better? The answer is not much. Playing Super Mario Odyssey is to experience pure joy. We couldn't wish for anything more than that from this series or from Nintendo. [Issue#193, p.64]

As we begin to plan our eulogies for a truly superb console, how fitting it is that Sony delivers its final and finest offering. [Apr 2007, p.110]

It would be ludicrous to assume Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will appeal to everyone, but it is absolutely the best game in the series – and one of the best games we’ve ever had the privilege of playing.

Burnout 3 is special. It's not just another racing game, and despite lacking certain features car enthusiasts hold dear (such as customisation and ultra realism) it's easily the most fun we've ever had with any racing game. [Oct 2004, p.96]

Never have we played a game that punishes so much while constantly providing a reason to keep pushing on and see what brilliance lies beyond the next hurdle.

Gears Of War couldn't feel more vital. Some will see the future, some will see the past; we just see a truly great game. [Christmas 2006, p.96]

Despite all of the ways Mass Effect 2 is more engaging to play and explore, after 35 remarkable hours it was the characters that stayed with us… Game of the year in January? Oh, go on then. [Feb 2010, p.112]

Infinite is as lavish as it is cerebral, as difficult as it is accessible. It’ll be many different things to many different people, and it will be discussed, dissected and deified for many years to come...So, when will gaming have its Citizen Kane moment? Forget that. When will anything else have its BioShock Infinite moment?

Magnificent controls. [Issue#96, p.100]

Burnout 3 is special. It's not just another racing game, and despite lacking certain features car enthusiasts hold dear (such as customisation and ultra realism) it's easily the most fun we've ever had with any racing game. [Oct 2004, p.96]

The ultimate way to experience synaesthesia. [Issue#180, p.44]

Hitting the mark in just about every area, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a stunningly considered improvement on its predecessor. Essential for fans of the series, it's also an adventure of tremendous substance and beauty in its own right.

Horizon 3 is the best open world racer in years. [Issue#180, p.76]

Overcooked will enter your regular game night rotation for years to come – it’s up there with the likes of Rayman Legends and Super Mario 3D World. If you need a new game to play with three friends, this is the one.

In creating the Minish Cap, Capcom has managed to bring back feelings we haven't experienced since the first time we went adventuring with Link; considering those are the feelings that made us love Zelda in the first place, that can only be a good thing.

As a story, it may well be lacking, but as a collection of expertly crafted play spaces where design and mechanics reinforce and respond to your agency in myriad delightful and engaging ways, Dishonored 2 is pure magic.

It’s an affectionately crafted homage to the first game, retroactively building on the grim story and Ayn Rand-ian themes, galvanising them with a fresh perspective whilst simultaneously tying Rapture more wholly into the Columbian narrative. It’s intelligent, indulgent and nostalgic in equal measure, left dangling on a transfixing narrative hook. It’s everything we love about BioShock, condensed.

So if you’ve played it before, you should leap on the opportunity to revisit The Wind Waker in all of its newfound visual glory. And if this is your first time tackling the hazardous waters of the Great Sea, feel free to view the below score as a horrendous insult.

It's a game of two halves, God of War. For the first dozen or so hours you may find yourself frustrated by the slow levelling up, a bewildering map system, and perplexing storyline stuffed with gated areas and treasures. Stick with it, though; the more you do, the more of the realms you'll open... and that's where the fun REALLY begins... Like Kratos, this game gets better with time. [Issue#200, p.70]

The remaster looks better than the low-budget releases we've played on the PS3, even at the end of its lifespan. [Issue#147, p.104]

Vanquish proves that there's still space for ridiculous dialogue, clichéd characters, amped-up power-suits and big guns alongside the Heavy Rains of the industry, as long as the intelligent gameplay structure is present too. And it is. Platinum Games knows how to craft a good videogame. It's as simple as that, and right now, the team is competing only with itself.

Vanquish proves that there's still space for ridiculous dialogue, clichéd characters, amped-up power-suits and big guns alongside the Heavy Rains of the industry, as long as the intelligent gameplay structure is present too. And it is. Platinum Games knows how to craft a good videogame. It's as simple as that, and right now, the team is competing only with itself.

OlliOlli 2 is polished and thrilling in ways that its predecessor was not.

After so many years of trying, EA has, with the exception of a few little missteps, finally gotten player AI right and created a fast, fluid football experience that looks and feels like the real thing. This will go down as the year that EA finally ticked all the boxes.

Reach couldn't be expected to replicate the impact of Combat Evolved, but it's superior in just about every other way. Mission accomplished.

A Link Between Worlds is a remake and a sequel, then – both a tribute to a classic and a worthy successor in its own right. For all the changes, it’s still recognisably Zelda, and a legend this powerful can comfortably bear another retelling.

Episode 3 ups the stakes and takes narrative risks that we rarely get to see: it expands the game’s universe not only forward, but outward… and the very last scene makes you question every single decision you’ve made so far, even down to the random photos you’ve taken around the Bay. We say that without a hint of hyperbole, without a hint of drama. Chaos theory in action, indeed.

An empowering, engrossing and downright gorgeous racer, Project Gotham Racer 3 is definitely among the best games to ever launch alongside a console. [Christmas 2005, p.124]

Wild Hunt is a masterpiece of open-world design in which it feels like every last detail has had the same level of care, thought and attention paid to by the team that created the game. It is fascinating to explore, consistently rewarding, always engaging and cements CD Projekt Red’s reputation as a studio to watch.

The most refined take on the genre yet. [Issue#138, p.98]

Taking the Devil May Cry formula and enhancing it with accessibility is a masterstroke from Capcom. Hopefully this slight tweak in the formula will lure many new fans to the series and more will sample one of the finest brawling series’ available. [Mar 2008, p.110]

What it is, though, is a supremely well- made open world game with some great new ideas and a really intriguing sense of paranoia and technological fear.

BlazBlue is an outstanding fighter that we pray blossoms into the successful series it deserves. [Oct 2009, p.124]

Everything we hoped it would be. While the excessive speeds on some courses can approach eye-melting territory, this only becomes a problem on a couple of tracks, and even then it only encourages better course knowledge and use of boosts. [Oct 2003, p.120]

That’s the real achievement here: that you can play it however you like. By removing any elements of linear progression, Slightly Mad has proven that players are smart enough to come up with their own direction through a game like this. Long may this approach to design reign.

It's tempting to brand this the watershed moment when we stop saddling narrative-driven games with blunt, inelegant descriptors like 'first-person shooter', 'platformer' or 'puzzler', and simply honour the mood. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action comedy - nothing else fits nearly as well. [Dec 2009, p.94]

A fine treat that succeeds on nearly every level. A genuine classic. [Dec 2009, p.110]

The Metroid series is in need of an overhaul before it steps out onto the Wii again. But for now, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption represents a triumphant last hurrah for what has been a consistently excellent series. [Nov 2007, p.116]

Every step of the way, you'll feel the classic Nintendo touch. [Issue#96, p.98]

If you enjoyed last year’s iOS/Android sleeper Fallout Shelter, but wanted more complexity, less predictable combat and a greater sense of achievement even in abject failure, look no further.

The final moments are phenomenally powerful. It would be criminal to spoil any of this stirring and heartwrenching story, but this is a heady combination of artful writing and innate knowledge of the power of videogames to draw players into a character. It achieves things that passive artforms cannot. Jake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman have established themselves as game writers at the height of their powers, and The Walking Dead is unquestionably one of the videogames of the year.

You get the impression that "The Sands of Time" was just a warm-up for the main event, a game that's familiar at first but soon reveals a level of imagination beyond that of the original, and displays as little room for error as one of the Prince's most daring acrobatic leaps. [Christmas 2004, p.100]

It's through the amount of details, distractions and other additions to the more obvious elements that Symphonia builds itself up from what starts as an above-average RPG into one that'll stand as a benchmark in future. [Oct 2004, p.102]

If this is only the beginning of what this newly imagined Azeroth has to offer, we can see ourselves living there for a very long time. [Apr 2005, p.98]

And the reason it's so easy to ignore the faults – so easy to shrug off falling off a ladder again – is because there's joy in taking on an entire platoon of troops as a goatee-sporting nerd. There's joy in taking on situations and knowing they aren't scripted half to death. There's joy in scamming your way through a puzzle by pretty much breaking the game.

The definitive edition of the definitive karting game. [Issue#187, p.68]

This is still something very special, a work of rare craft and beauty, and almost certainly the best exclusive on Xbox One. Essential.

Hitting the mark in just about every area, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a stunningly considered improvement on its predecessor. Essential for fans of the series, it's also an adventure of tremendous substance and beauty in its own right.

By far the biggest step up lies in the course design, offering dozens of alternative routes and short-cuts on each map and making far more use of vertical travel than Burnout ever did. [Nov 2005, p.90]

It's a worthy and far more appropriate reboot of the franchise, easily the most addictive game this year, and one of our favourite Firaxis games ever.

Disgaea is without doubt the defining moment in turn-based strategy. Not since Dark Cloud 2 has a game offered so much in terms of optional further play, and we'd seriously question whether any other title will dare brave this lofty plateau of life-emaciating gameplay. [Jan 2004, p.108]

New ‘N’ Tasty is exactly what it claims to be: a new experience still instantly familiar to anyone that played the original, and vital playing for those that didn’t. Oddworld was a defining presence on the Playstation, and New ‘N’ Tasty will remain a defining experience on the new generation of consoles, too. It’s a pleasure to see a remaster done so well.

Between gamers' potential lack of patience and the people needlessly dismissing the title after half an hour simply because it's 'trying too hard', many are going to miss out on one of the most unique and rewarding gaming experiences of the last few years. [Aug 2005, p.120]

Where Journey truly excels is in its top-of-the-range visuals, inventive world and its tonal breadth. One moment you will find yourself avoiding the spotlights of menacing, sentient war machines 20 times your size in a barely lit dungeon, and the next plodding through the harsh mountain peaks with almost no visibility, all accompanied by a genuine sense of dread as your character visibly starts to die and can barely walk anymore.

It's fair to say that the fans have once again been spoilt by such a magnificent offering. There's not even a hint of disappointment here. [Feb 2005, p.112]

Patience is still a virtue, and fans of mindless action titles should still give Splinter Cell a wide berth. Unless you're partial to a little online gaming, that is. Put simply, Pandora Tommorrow's multiplayer takes your breath away. [Apr 2004, p.108]

Warlords is the ultimate celebration of the Warcraft franchise’s 20-year legacy and World Of Warcraft’s seemingly unending potential. Some of its mechanics are starting to creak under a decade-old design, but it shows no signs of withering against the tides of time.

Owlboy’s deceivingly simplistic delivery belies an enviable narrative, tourniquet-tight gameplay, and a cast you’ll fall in love with. Don’t miss it.

We’re tempted to say that there are few Wii games as deserving of your attention as No More Heroes but then there are few games as good as this on any platform. [Mar 2008, p.124]

We're hard-pressed to see how anything is going to come along and top this in the immediate future. [Sept 2014, p.108]

If this review was written in 1995 then we’d probably have filled six pages with screenshots to point out every touch of genius that makes this one of the best shooters we’ve ever played. We don’t have that luxury, but the sentiment remains the same. [Mar 2008, p.134]

A stunning work of interactive art. [Issue#199, p.83]

Rockstar North hasn't lost its grip on its capacity to take the GTA template and invent interesting twists on its design, ensuring that every mission is as amusing and explosive as the last, right up until the bombastic finale. [Dec 2009, p.122]

The Swapper manages to be both a perfect example of ‘genre fiction’ (it’s a sci-fi experience up there with Moon, Solaris or Alien), it also manages to make itself an exemplar of a ‘genre game’ – a puzzler so fresh in its ideas, yet so widely familiar, that no matter how you like your brain to get picked at, The Swapper will satisfy you.

It's heavily steeped in RPG tradition, however, its appeal stretches far beyond the hardcore RPG demographic thanks to its ease of play, boundless ambition and focused attention to detail. [May 2006, p.112]

Another gem of an XBLA release then. [Issue#99, p.110]

A delightful adventure and excellent VR showcase. [Issue#199, p.84]

There’s something oddly noble about Okami. Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke brought the deep forest theme of Japan’s ancient mythology to life in anime movie form, and Atsushi Inaba’s Okami does the same thing in a videogame context...The bottom line: this is a game you can really care about. [July 2006, p.110]

Knights suceeds in evoking the films without simply plagiarising Lucas' stories and characters. With it, BioWare has cemented itself as the number-one RPG developer outside of Japan...oh, and has made just about the best Star Wars game ever in the process. [Oct 2003, p.104]

Executed with the utmost intelligence. [Issue#93, p.114]

The first Hero brought a guitar peripheral to the masses, and for that it was praised. This time, we hope it's the enhancements that sell the product - it truly deserves it. [Christmas 2006, p.112]

It's certainly done its share to bring the World of Warcraft into the modern era. [Issue#106, p.102]

Phantom Hourglass launches from into the DS’s feature list like the past is over and out, moving from one new technology-application marriage to another. [Sept 2007, p.106]

It’s relatively shallow but contains enjoyable combat, and is packed full of secrets and wonderfully realized worlds. [June 2007, p.102]

Games like these succeed because they suck the player into a virtual world of their own creation and never let them go. Football manager does so in spectacular style. [Christmas 2004, p.104]

A tender exploration of memory, death, and mystery. [Issue#188, p.85]

It’s the relationships that really make The Last Of Us. It’s a technical marvel, a true triple-A with best-in-show production values, but it’s the beautiful combination of performance and story that elevates it clearly above the competition.

With its sense of fun, complex tools, and balance of enjoyment and depth, World Tour contains the ability to both teach and entertain. [Dec 2008, p.94]

The best Dragon Ball game to date. [Issue#197, p.70]

It’s not the best Nintendo game of all time, but thanks to the sheer amount of polished content packed within the disc, it is definitely the ultimate one. [May 2008, p.98]

A simple and highly affecting puzzler. [Issue#197, p.72]

PUBG lives up to its monstrously large reputation. [Issue#197, p.74]

The finest game Sports Interactive has released. Games released annually tend to feel incredibly similar year on year, but a lack of progress isn’t something that can be claimed here. Yes, at its core it’s the Football Manager we know and love, only this time it’s a treat for the eyes as well as the head.

Breath Of The Wild delivers a huge world, and one that is interesting to explore even when such escapades prove fruitless. It comes good with satisfying combat and dozens of reasons to carry on playing after the credits. For all of its issues, it’s a game that manages to reinvent itself, comfortably, effortlessly, in a space dominated by the industry’s triple-A heavyweights. This is one of the most creative and engrossing open-world games in quite some time.

The core formula has had slow refinements enacted upon it for generations, but X/Y feel like a triumphant return to the central philosophy that made Red/Blue great – these are games about exploration, and getting in touch with that childish joy of the undiscovered. A game that prompts that in both adults and children can be considered nothing other than a success.

The core formula has had slow refinements enacted upon it for generations, but X/Y feel like a triumphant return to the central philosophy that made Red/Blue great – these are games about exploration, and getting in touch with that childish joy of the undiscovered. A game that prompts that in both adults and children can be considered nothing other than a success.

Valve has put together a wonderfully unconventional game – a taut FPS multiplayer that retains the same unease felt in the likes of Resident Evil. [Jan 2009, p.114]

By far the biggest step up lies in the course design, offering dozens of alternative routes and short-cuts on each map and making far more use of vertical travel than Burnout ever did. [Nov 2005, p.90]

You get the impression that "The Sands of Time" was just a warm-up for the main event, a game that’s familiar at first but soon reveals a level of imagination beyond that of the original, and displays as little room for error as one of the Prince’s most daring acrobatic leaps. [Christmas 2004, p.100]

A marvellous game, beautifully remade. [Issue#197, p.84]

The time we spent with Mass Effect ranks as one of the most rewarding experiences we have had this year, and with the medium in such rude health that is quite a compliment. [Chrismas 2007, p.102]

When you're interacting with music in a way you never have before, you'll want to slap yourself for even giving the idea of emptying your wallet a second thought. [Christmas 2009, p.104]