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.