It's one of those mixed-bag situations - flashes of genius and genuinely enjoyable moments of success, occasionally mired by unbalanced weapon damage, clumsy AI and the odd bit of unfair level design that requires astounding feats of memory. [Dec 2003, p.98]

A mildly diverting and inadvertently funny curiosity. [Issue#111, p.123]

It’s disappointing that Dead Rising 4 sees the series take a backward step. While there’s gory fun to be had, the failure to replace the time-limit based gameplay with any kind of alternative mechanic is a mistake. Even the biggest fan of zombie-killing frivolity will find that the endless slaughter wears thin eventually, and most will hit that particular wall much sooner.

Grow Home isn't the masterpiece you'll hang on the wall, it's the vase of tulips on the coffee table - appreciated at the time, but forgotten once they wither. [Issue#159, p.90]

A dated yet enjoyable stealth affair. [Issue#186, p.78]

A nice collection, but nothing excels. [Issue#186, p.79]

The unmistakable quality persists but only the keenest fans are likely to find the online component draw enough to upgrade, while the same newbie-repelling difficulty as before may struggle to attract fresh followers. [Jan 2004, p.115]

Between the variety, the playability and the great feeling of accomplishment that comes from completing one of the many tasks, FMX is really quite good fun. Overly ambitious but fun nonetheless. [Oct 2003, p.115]

Well-made, enjoyable, and completely forgettable. Kind of like a rollercoaster. [Issue#159, p.102]

Live & Reloaded is an odd package indeed. A great-looking port of a decent yet dated adventure isn't going to help Microsoft get a return on its $375 million acquisition. Luckily, the online multiplayer and its new content could write a different story. [Aug 2005, p.94]

This game had enough potential to be one of the sleeper hits of the year. Sadly, that’s not going to happen. On the plus side, Overdose delivers what you’d expect. [Sept 2005, p.118]

Just another brick in the wall. [Issue#186, p.82]

Unfortunately, the measures included to make the four-way fighting work - the inclusion of a ‘turn around’ button, for example - mean that with anything less than three players, Isuka is all but redundant. [Aug 2005, p.104]

If only the gameplay was as well realised as the engine that runs it, Inversion would be far more recommendable. Regrettably, as it stands, Saber Interactive has created a mechanically robust game, but one that doesn't do enough with the ideas it can lay claim to as its own.

It can’t hide the repetitiveness of its template but in the simple act of silently snooping and investigating every corner of the world, while circumventing every enemy, there’s a brilliantly tense, gratifying experience that Eidos Montreal sadly struggles to sustain over the eight hours of gameplay – resorting to cheap enemy types and crushing linearity.

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

Good for the franchise, but still not great. [Nov 2009, p.125]

A brave sequel that tries a little too hard... Its lack of accessibility will annoy "Rainbow Six 3" die-hards, while the new direction will leave fans of the original feeling rather cold. [Christmas 2004, p.102]

It does little to endear you to Tembo's later stages. [Issue#165, p.95]

Rather than providing the knockout punch they are intended to give, the comic extremity of the executions tends to diffuse the tension the game so effectively manages to build. [Aug 2007, p.106]

Unoriginal. [Issue#165, p.96]

Despite its rather generic opening (that lasts for a good few levels),Voodoo Vince hides a surprisingly good game beneath the standard head slamming and general collecting of random objects inherent in so many others platformers. [Dec 2003, p.125]

Forts Under Siege might have enough reward on offer but the series is still relying on gamers to meet it halfway by investing ample time and patience in learning its demanding intricacies. [Dec 2004, p.112]

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]

Good for a quick burst of fun in the short term, but gamers looking for a test of skill would be better off playing Angry Birds. Yes, really. [Issue#115, p.98]

Its unique Nintendo appeal and our own innate yearning for self-improvement make it a worthwhile little curio. [June 2006, p.117]

The one area it does get right is the driving. [Issue#115, p.99]

No amount of crystal-ball gazing can help Pirates Of The Burning Sea be anything more than a slightly above average MMORPG in the here and now. [Apr 2008, p.110]