With an undeniable charm, simple toolset and a decent lifespan, Create is worth checking out if you're looking for an inventive, harmless bit of puzzling fun. [Issue#104, p.120]

There’s a beauty on the game’s surface, but it doesn’t let you get deep enough for its payoff to truly strike home. Transistor is a game conscientious gamers will want to love. It’s clearly a work of true vision and artistic intent, backed up with skilfully constructed systems.

The combination of approaches offers gameplay that's initially engrossing. But a lack of emerging ideas and differing enemy types robs latter sections of that same excitement. [Issue#192, p.83]

An unforgettable few hours for gamers of a certain generation. [Oct 2009, p.122]

Dragon Quest VIII is a pretty lengthy game, with the total playtime for the main story racking up to around 40 hours. However, despite the somewhat basic battle system, the game keeps itself fresh by letting us explore dungeons, grab loot and givingour characters costumes, it never feels like it’s been padded out like so many other JRPGs...Dragon Quest VIII is just a joy to be in, with the world being the main reason you come, evil wizards and looming destruction be damned.

A bargain-priced challenge with complexity and depth almost beyond compare. [Issue#104, p.122]

Consider this a neat twist on the formula, which will force you to play this old favourite in some unexpected ways. [Oct 2009, p.132]

Story aside, everything that’s in the game is very competent and enjoyable but it doesn’t quite go out of its way enough to push the envelope as far as the overall experience goes, when compared to where the genre is today. [Oct 2004, p.116]

This sequel has built upon Saints Row’s foundations no end and created an experience that stands alone despite the competition. [Christmas 2008, p.118]

A rare game in which you really need to take an interest in all of its components in order to progress with any of them. [May 2009, p.119]

A licensed game that lives up to its heritage, and a music game that holds its own against the seasoned pros. [Aug 2008, p.109]

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]

A strange and hauntingly beautiful adventure. [Issue#192, p.84]

The Wii remote offers probably the most pleasing way to play the game, but there’s very little that could be considered new or different here. [June 2007, p.120]

An accomplished update but overdue a proper sequel. [May 2008, p.124]

What it lacks in exactness it more than makes up for in whimsy and, indeed, the decision to focus on Kinect more as an aid to deepen an immersive, tactile experience than to promote competition with friends is commendable. [Issue#104, p.116]

This dripfeeding of improvements is starting to frustrate. [Dec 2008, p.106]

An engrossing dabble into otherworldly forces. [July 2018, p.72]

Every change of camera is greeted by painful seconds as the textures load in. Every opened door is greeted with the loading screen. Every battle features a cataclysmic drop in frame rate. The result callously skims the cream from the top, depriving you of your ultimate satisfaction. [Jan 2009, p.106]

If you play Call Of Duty online all year round then Christmas has officially come early. But if you’re a sucker for the ludicrous, globe-trotting, re-skinned James Bond adventures that constitute these games in single player, you’ve picked the perfect year in which to take a twelve-month break.

Kessen III manages to prove that strategy and fun aren’t mutually exclusive in the war sim genre. The series still needs to find the right balance between depth and instant fun, but this is proof that Koei is getting closer to the elusive formula with each sequel. [May 2005, p.106]

Patapon really feels like a new experience. The seductive façade is a clever mask for an enormously challenging game that requires a substantial amount of grinding and micromanagement to master. [Mar 2008, p.116]

It soon becomes clear that not only is this a deep, well-crafted and carefully balanced RTS, brimming with features, but also that the developer is desperately trying to encourage a wider audience than the core strategy crowd. [July 2006, p.114]

There's a great game waiting to burst out of the chest of this one, not least with the addition of a proper co-op mode, and we sincerely hope that Team17 gives it another shot in the future. [Issue#104, p.117]

Cohort's game clearly isn't designed for the po-faced shooter fan, and holds more than enough character to enable most players to see past its more quibblesome design weaknesses to the light, throwaway fun it represents. [Christmas 2010, p.113]

Micro Machines V4’s only genuine problem is its overbearing similarity to "Mashed," a game that can be bought for a third of the price. [Aug 2006, p.120]

An adventure that anyone but the most black-souled gamer will feel compelled to see through to the end credits. [Christmas 2010, p.114]

Probably the best console RTS that we’ve ever played in terms of flexibility and control, but it will still prove frustratingly slow and awkward to seasoned PC and Mac users. [Aug 2006, p.116]