It still feels so right.. Sketchy music and coconut-sized pixels are a small price to pay for the chance to dabble with one of the finest two-dimensional beat-‘em-ups ever made. [Aug 2005, p.107]

You'll have fun, but the flaws are too great to ignore. [Issue#168, p.91]

Always Sometimes Monsters again shows up that ‘game’ is a word whose time is done. There is nothing playful about this experience – it’s a mixture of repetitive tasks that riddle your fingers with despair and increasingly-depressing plots. This then is a ‘life failure’ simulator, like Cliff Harris’s sandbox Kudos 2. Like that, it’s compelling, enlightening and moving – but hard to call ‘fun’.

Beautiful, joke-filled, but ultimately a little empty. [Issue#191, p.82]

On the whole, Worms Revolution proves that there's life in the old worm yet, its enhancements giving the franchise a fresh set of… uh… legs? The revolution will not be televised, unless you've got Worms.

A challenging and fresh take on Sci-Fi. [Issue#188, p.84]

The opportunity to play it all over again, along with the unconventional Metal Slug 6 (in its home debut), makes this collection a joy to play through and exceptional value for money. If only its controls were perfect. [Feb 2007, p.120]

To call Samurai Warriors one of the brownest games ever would be no word of a lie - the lack of colour is arguably the game's weakest area and this, coupled with the repetitive nature of this style of game, can make it feel that much more tedious at times. [July 2004, p.109]

Electronic Arts’ decision to free the series from simply being one man on a very direct mission by creating a virtual battlefield is a wise one but one that hasn’t quite reached as far as it could. [July 2005, p.106]

An intriguing, if imperfect, blend of two genres. [Issue#196, p.84]

There’s plenty of depth to the mechanics here for those that want to sink their teeth into a new fighting system, and there are some informed nods back to the franchise’s roots, but if you were intending to buy an Xbox One on the promise of playing this until you could afford another launch game, chances are you’ll get bored of it by the end of launch week.

To have this checklist of all the genre's flaws step up in place of the ambitious and promising title we were promised is wildly disappointing. [Issue#104, p.106]

Ultimately, with the antics of the on-screen characters, zany actions, video playback and favourite tracks, it doesn’t really matter even if Just Dance 2016 is making a very generous interpretation of your moves because there are enough layers of distraction in place to keep you happy.

By even allowing the choice between simple hack-and-slash gameplay and the more complex mix-up combos, LucusArrts has ensured that many will never view the title’s full potential. [Oct 2008, p.104]

Very ambitious, but we’d urge them to concentrate on the game; with poor matchmaking, few maps, overly simple game modes and a limited free game, players might not stick around. And that would be a shame.

Entertaining it most certainly is, but WayForward should really be pushing a little bit harder than this. [Issue#138, p.116]

The atmosphere is electric, the sense of making tiny in-roads to solve a great problem as satisfying as it is frustrating... Spark never allows you to forget that outside the restrictive confines of the first-person viewpoint there's a much, much bigger fight going on involving thousands of men. [Jan 2005, p.110]

Fast, intense, but flawed. [Issue#192, p.82]

The choice and number of tracks are our major gripes with the game. But play it as intended - with lots of people who are not necessarily fully aware of what's going on - and it'll no doubt be popping in and out of your PS2 tray for a while. [Dec 2003, p.122]

With its lengthy Campaign, fully customizable Battle mode and insanely good multiplayer experience, Glory Days II offers value for money and deserves your attention. [June 2007, p.112]

Great stuff. Now how about a proper sequel? [Apr 2008, p.125]

If "God Of War" never happened, Spartan: Total Warrior would have been a great example of a simple, gratuitous action game. As it is, it's merely a good one. [Nov 2005, p.124]

It’s an amazingly in-depth system that rewards skill rather than persistence, and for this reason alone it’s near impossible to recommend God Hand to any but the most hardcore of player or fan of the genre. [Feb 2007, p.108]

A generously long-lasting slice of festive entertainment for the peripheral. [Issue#117, p.120]

First Light struggles to display any new ideas. [Issue#153, p.120]

Though the pace of the game is appreciated, it would have been nice to see more than a simple sequence of questions with little in between. [Chrismas 2007, p.133]

Visceral Games has lavished Dante's Inferno with polish and atmosphere. [Issue#93, p.110]

While it’d be wrong to criticise EA for encouraging a passing game, abhorrent ‘trick stick’ dribbling assistance is far too jerky to be of any use, making all too many games a pretty, but nevertheless staid, midfield slog. [Dec 2006, p.119]