The sequel to one of this generation's biggest disappointments has emerged as a strong contender for game of the year, and if you didn't see that coming, don't worry - neither did we. [Christmas 2009, p.122]

What bumps PGR2 into the league of truly great racers is the extensive Xbox Live support. It really does feel like you're part of a community full of gamers vying to be the ultimate Project Gotham racer. [Christmas 2003, p.92]

Playing God has never been as free, rewarding or downright enjoyable as it is here... Quite simply, this is a game so packed with features and so lovingly crated that, for the first time that we can recall, you’ll still be discovering parts of it by the time the add-on packs roll around. [Nov 2004, p.102]

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

Ping-ponging from the sublime to the ridiculous with sass, style and a potty mouth, Bayonetta is a ten-hour journey into both the obscenely brilliant and the brilliantly obscene, but you'll still be playing it for its wealth of extras long beyond that. [Issue#91, p.102]

As a single-player game it is very enjoyable, but as a multi-player Xbox Live game it raises the bar for all others to follow. [Apr 2006, p.100]

It may not lean enough in either direction for hardcore platform or RPG fanatics to find everything they're looking for, but as far as genre-crossing titles go, they don't come much more enjoyable or extensive than this. [Jan 2004, p.104]

Year on year, the main modes in the THPS games have moved further away from traditional over-the-top skating to encompass more and more 'crazy' goals, something we're not entirely sure we approve of. One thing we are sure of, though, is that the core skating engine makes for by far the best extreme sports game of this generation. [Christmas 2003, p.98]

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

Its overall challenge is both lasting and addictive. [Issue#122, p.109]

There’s an obvious luxury to riffing on a masterpiece that other games simply can’t enjoy, but that doesn’t make the choice to blow the city wide-open any less brave. [Apr 2009, p.110]

A groundbreaking moment for the future of virtual football. [Nov 2011, p.102]

The key word here is definitely 'more'; more weapons, more gadgets, more planets and plenty more instances where the platform-based exploration takes a back seat in favour of what can only be described as mini-games that try desperately to integrate themselves into the rest of the game. [Dec 2003, p.117]

A football game as good as - if not, somewhat controversially, better than - Pro Evo in its prime and as tight a sports title as you'll play this year. [Dec 2009, p.104]

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.

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]

Intelligent Systems has come good for Advance Wars fans and made its latest title arguably the best reason to own a DS so far. [Sept 2005, p.98]

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 focused, exhilarating, interesting and rewarding shooter.

We hope Atlus takes its time to deliver a more compelling and intelligent game with the next Persona, as the series has some remarkable potential. [Jan 2009, p.126]

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

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.

A near-constant flow of hardcore platforming, visual gags and references that span indie and retro gaming's rich histories makes Super Meat Boy a tireless entertainer. [Christmas 2010, p.119]

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

There's not much more you could ask from a sequel. Almost everything that you might have thought the first game was lacking has been provided. Our one minor complaint we have is that it's maybe not as much of a challenge as the first game was and it's not going to take long to see everything the game has to offer. [Nov 2004, p.114]

Does exactly what a good sequel should, retaining the core appeal of the first game but with enough twists added to make it feel as altogether new and exciting as a completely original title. [Oct 2008, p.118]

We're just a little bit disappointed that this Civ evolution isn't as polished as we'd expected. [Issue#102, p.108]

What Super Mario 3D Land does get right is what every Mario game gets right: a high benchmark for quality that virtually no other platform game series seems capable of matching. There's a level of humour, invention and a sheer sense of joy that you only find in a Mario game.