There's just no thrill to the combat and no spark to the characters or story, which ultimately makes Magna Carta II a step backwards in an already static genre. [Dec 2009, p.103]

It's almost as though the team forgot that games are meant to be fun, because Ghosthunter isn't. Quite simply, you can't do anything (honestly, anything) or go anywhere the game doesn't want you to; it's almost an insult to your intelligence. [Christmas 2003, p.112]

We could well be looking at a number one here. Unfortunately, Batman Begins won’t deserve such an elevated status as it’s average to the core. [Aug 2005, p.106]

Mercifully, Staff Of Kings is a very short game and it won't be too long before you unlock the vastly superior bonus game, Fate Of Atlantis. [Aug 2009, p.127]

The whole experience isn’t awful, just thoroughly uninspiring; a box of biscuits where some are moldy and all are digestive. It’s fun to be a pirate, but it’s far, far more fun elsewhere, with Risen 3 once again struggling and failing to rise above anything but its own mediocrity.

Entirely unremarkable. [Issue#182, p.81]

The story is much the same as the game itself, and while there are moments when it seems it could be picking up, it shoots itself in the foot. Normal enemies that take full clips to dispatch, 'puzzles' that make Doom look like a brainteaser... the potholes are all too common and apparent. [Nov 2003, p.127]

It's only when the game reaches Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, the weakest of the movies, that the game boasts moments of genuine enjoyment. [Issue#146, p.119]

Forget any notion of playing this "Again", there's very little here to justify even playing through once. [Issue#96, p.110]

An offhand effort that adds little to the series. [Issue#172, p.87]

Ultimately, Shattered Union is just too frustrating to be enjoyable. Its accessibility problems are crippling and even after you've got to grips with how the game works, it still feels unbalanced and confusing. [Dec 2005, p.127]

Invasion’s innocent looks and gameplay do have some cohesion and its very simplicity is its one saving grace. It’s bubblegum for your mind and never offensive. If it had appeared five years ago at the same price it would come recommended for the younger gamer. [Feb 2005, p.108]

This is a real party pooper. [Issue#143, p.111]

The game is so immensely frustrating and linear that moments of fun are few and far between. [Apr 2006, p.124]

Velvet Assassin accentuates the negatives of the genre rather than it emphasises the positives. [July 2009, p.108]

The overall tactile quality is of a PS2 title that has migrated to a more powerful system and finds itself surrounded by far tougher birds. [Dec 2009, p.126]

A disappointment. [Issue#143, p.119]

The story is much the same as the game itself, and while there are moments when it seems it could be picking up, it shoots itself in the foot. Normal enemies that take full clips to dispatch, 'puzzles' that make Doom look like a brainteaser... the potholes are all too common and apparent. [Nov 2003, p.127]

While it might be a communism simulator at heart, its roots in capitalism couldn't be much more obvious or off-message. [Issue#179, p.81]

Blade Kitten saves itself from the lower reaches of the ten-point scale with some genuinely impressive level design. It's complex without being confusing, the tangled and involved areas seemingly offering multiple avenues but always pushing you along the correct route. [Issue#101, p.127]

Ninety-Nine Nights 2 is not a bad game; it's merely one whose appeal is limited to those blessed with saintly patience, an insatiable need to play every fantasy game, a penchant for mass genocide or some unlikely combination of the three. [Issue#101, p.106]

Unwritten Tales 2 comes up unfavourably when compared to the classic games it tries to emulate, contemporary titles that have tried to do a similar thing, à la Broken Sword 5, and games that have tried to modernise the genre such as The Walking Dead. In that context, it would perhaps have been better if those ‘unwritten tales’ remained as such.

Weirdly attempting to serve two masters, Supermini Festa tries to add both casual fun and hardcore depth to the original formula, with mixed results. [Apr 2010, p.130]

Contrived shooter with little to no depth... This is as generic as they come. [July 2005, p.122]

Ultimately, Shattered Union is just too frustrating to be enjoyable. Its accessibility problems are crippling and even after you've got to grips with how the game works, it still feels unbalanced and confusing. [Dec 2005, p.127]

While Worms 3D essentially delivers what it says on the tin, in surrendering its intuitive interface the concept has evolved into a far less attractive proposition. A shame. [Dec 2003, p.126]

Switching from an open threat such as the desert to the enclosed dangers of the Vietnamese jungle has caused Conflict: Vietnam to effectively cut out much of the need for having a squad in the first place; instead of having more freedom and creativity in taking down your enemies, your team become more like fish trapped in a jungle-shaped barrel. [Oct 2004, p.108]

When it's all said and done it's difficult to escape the mindset that Earthfall has taken the template of a decade-old experience for inspiration and failed to replicate (or expand on) it in any meaningful way. [Issue#203, p.84]