King Kong is perhaps a redefinition of the cinematic videogame – entirely based on peaks and troughs of excitement, and devoid of any sense of choice. Just like a movie, but interactive. [Christmas 2005, p.98]

Despite a veritable host of respectable changes and additions, this still can't live up to the standards of the original game. An improvement over the last console effort, but with so much more potential than is actually realised, Bustin' Out still disappoints a little. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

It's refreshing to be allowed this pace. [Issue#142, p.119]

It seems like it was made for an audience of gamers over a decade ago, brimming with try-hard references and cringe-worthy jokes. Penetrate the skin, and you’ve got a serviceable game at the core. But a ten-hour journey to the centre of what makes Sunset Overdrive good feels more like a voyage to the centre of the earth.

A plot slower than a walker. [Issue#183, p.81]

This politically moribund playground plays host to many guilt-free, brainless hours of insanity. Just be prepared to put the ground work in. You've got to learn to walk before you can run on the wing of a biplane. [Apr 2010, p.110]

Striding purposefully along the history of a genre it created, id has plucked the best ideas from four generations of first-person shooters and woven them into something not especially original, but truly exceptional nonetheless.

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

Table Tennis really shines as a videogame representation of the long-neglected sport that’s both authentic and extremely fun. [July 2006, p.116]

It demands skill without being overly realistic and is challenging without being overly frustrating – an ideal combination that forms the backbone of an incredibly enjoyable game. [JPN Import; Feb 2005, 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]

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]

Despite a veritable host of respectable changes and additions, this still can't live up to the standards of the original game. An improvement over the last console effort, but with so much more potential than is actually realised, Bustin' Out still disappoints a little. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

Even when the game begins to repeat itself, it never ceases to be fun. The initial wonderment may wear off slightly, but the engine is so solid and the gameplay mechanic is so enjoyable that SSX On Tour never drops below stellar status. [Dec 2005, p.102]

Watch Dogs 2 wastes its incredible, realistic world and believable characters by leaning on boring gunplay, basic cover-shooter mechanics and tonal-inconsistencies that upend every part of it. Watch Dogs 2 has the opposite problems to its predecessor then. Acts of aggression (in whatever form they may have taken) made sense for vigilante Aiden Pierce, his mission thrived on it; and oh god now Watch Dogs 2 is making us defend and justify the existence of the blandest protagonist in videogames. But that’s Watch Dogs 2, a game that will make you question everything you thought you knew about open world game design, because clearly something needs to change.

A delightful surprise that'll warm your heart. [Issue#184, p.81]

Fun monarch simulator that's almost too witty. [Issue#196, p.89]

It retains the proven mechanics and then adds tiny touches that make the old formula even better. [Jan 2007, p.106]

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]

There’s a wonderful nugget of a game in Spirit Of Justice. The writing, as always, is gripping and clever – even if the puns aren’t – and the series hasn’t looked this special since the intricate sprite art animations of the first three games. It’s a shame that it’s wrapped up in what feels like nervousness – the worry that a visual novel can’t compete with the big boys.

A short, simple showcase of artistic talent. [Issue#200, p.79]

It is fundamentally not an innovative package, and hopefully Polyphony Digital will decide to make a few significant steps towards the future next time. But this is an enthusiast’s dream and very much the game that series vets have always wanted it to be. A slightly rusty old banger perhaps, but also the most reliable motor in town.

It does a superb job of replicating the sensation of playing your memory of a decade-old shooter, even if it does so by basically being a decade-old shooter. [Christmas 2010, p.126]

Though its main campaign may be a little on the short side, Vampire Smile squeezes more clever gameplay detours, edge-of-your-seat encounters, knowing nods to the wider world and hidden goodies than most full price retail releases.

While it's huge and complex in many of its systems, it still feels as if it is caught in 2014. [Issue#194, p.68]

Between its wonderful style, superb boss fights and chaotic carnage, Madworld is evidently a magnificent and unique title. [Apr 2009, p.117]

Highly entertaining and, above all, fun. Despite being filled with all manner of videogame cliches, Metal Arms somehow feels refreshingly new and not at all like the cobbled together title that it so undoubtedly is. [Christmas 2003, p.103]

It’s the game that makes the entire franchise as relevant as it was in Nineties and early Noughties and it has fulfilled the destiny Square Enix wanted for it in that it has created a new platform from which even better things can be expected from it in the future. Without question, Final Fantasy is once again a giant within the RPG world.