Once you’ve been playing for a while, everything starts to get a bit formulaic.

The series still doesn’t quite work in 3D; you’d need a lot of patience and considerable tolerance to truly enjoy this game. [Aug 2005, p.112]

LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is about the purest and slickest LEGO game you could hope to play.

Ultimately, this offers little over the first Desert Storm other than a new campaign and several engine tweaks but given the game's setting, there's precious little more you could ask of it. [Oct 2003, p.126]

Legacy doesn't convey the greatest of first impressions, but the more you explore of the game's venerable interior the more you find yourself falling under its spell. [Issue#145, p.129]

The non-existent friendly AI combined with the relentless assault of dull attackers makes The Simpsons an almost depressing experience. It doesn’t feel quite right to be laughing when you’re not enjoying yourself. [Chrismas 2007, p.120]

That the development team has been able to retain the mechanisms of play together with the depth of the content in the face of a breed of gamer whose capacity to consume is unrivalled, is perhaps the game’s biggest achievement. Now all Bethesda has to do is keep up the pace.

Between the reworked note charts that often don't feel quite right, and the barebones structure of Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits, a full-price release seems optimistic. [Aug 2009, p.119]

We won't be playing Unit 13 repeatedly. [Issue#120, p.98]

An amazingly fun experience. And when you're occasionally let off the rails and allowed to run wild in some of the larger open areas, it culminates in one of the most freeing experiences that PSVR has so far offered. [Issue#189, p.74]

There are no huge faults here and the key problem is that the series seems happy to potter along without trying too hard - a strategy that is obviously doomed to fail. [July 2005, p.118]

The constant wave of new ideas and alterations on the concept will keep you coming back for more. [Nov 2008, p.119]

Ironically, the developer has actually been very successful in mapping a superbly intuitive control system to the gamepad, and by enabling direct control of your Titan a basic action element is introduced. Yet by totally amputating any strategic scope from the RTS equation, the ensuing battles becoming virtually pointless affairs. [Mar 2004, p.111]

It's extremely rare that a game would be better with less gameplay. [Issue#118, p.113]

An unusual, occasionally powerful, must-play game. [Issue#189, p.79]

Bright in style and execution, but imperfect. [Issue#189, p.84]

A few less serious forms of racing would do a lot to improve to the experience and catapult it into the same realm as the greatest of arcade racers, but what’s on offer represents a commendable attempt at changing the way we think about how competition is served in a racing game.

A strong, if sometimes frustrating debut. [Issue#206, p.81]

If only Namco had put a bit more variation into the actual content of the game instead of placing all the emphasis on the innovative interface, this might have been more than just a good starting point for the future. [July 2004, p.117]

It's the faintest of pulses on a cadaver we've seen many times before - identikit dungeons, faceless monsters and convoluted menu systems should be a thing of the past by now. [Christmas 2003, p.126]

Great gameplay marred by poor ergonomics. [Oct 2008, p.116]

Monolith has done great work in crafting a control scheme that feels completely without compromise and entirely suited to console, and has designed an accessible, familiar and extremely deep MOBA with the just as much panache as the games it imitates.

Despite its good ideas, Nuclear Dawn's rough edges, particularly on the FPS side, mean curious players will check it out, but they might not stay for long. [Nov 2011, p.104]

Its puzzles are unlikely to engage your intelligence or imagination at a particularly deep level, but that might not matter, as Escape Plan's personality might just win you over anyway. [Issue#120, p.114]

Broken up with vehicle and on-rails sections that aren’t nearly as horrible as tradition dictates they should be, Blood On The Sand is an entertaining action title with absolutely no imagination. [Apr 2009, p.102]

All the imagination seems to have been used up in story and setting, leaving little left over for intricate or satisfying problem solutions. [June 2009, p.119]

A cerebral and unusual war game with issues that don’t, in the end, detract from its effectiveness. [Apr 2006, p.122]

From the looks of things the formula is still going strong and is in no real danger of becoming stale any time in the near future. [Feb 2009, p.113]