There's certainly nothing game-breakingly bad about Shift 2, and generally it is a polished, high quality, nice looking product. But it does fail to provide a more engaging alternative to the admittedly quite clinical driving experiences offered by the Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo series. Underneath its fancy aesthetic effects Shift 2 is also rather on the dry side, with no especially compelling reason to pick it up if you already have one of the aforementioned console racing giants in your collection.

There's certainly nothing game-breakingly bad about Shift 2, and generally it is a polished, high quality, nice looking product. But it does fail to provide a more engaging alternative to the admittedly quite clinical driving experiences offered by the Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo series. Underneath its fancy aesthetic effects Shift 2 is also rather on the dry side, with no especially compelling reason to pick it up if you already have one of the aforementioned console racing giants in your collection.

But as a full game in its own right, Ridge Racer 3D feels like a cold shell that is part of a larger, ageing franchise.

Resort offers a briefly satisfying jaunt, which only fleetingly manages to recapture the magic of its predecessors.

Shadow Wars could be criticised for not making any genuinely innovative steps forward in the strategy genre. But what it does do – integrating just about every conceivable feature of turn-based strategy into a single cohesive whole – is enough to make it one of the best handheld titles of its kind in years, and a surprising jewel in the 3DS launch line-up.

A vast experience, and a refreshing lesson in substance over style. [Issue#107, p.120]

For true "chillax"-based experiences, however, there are far less pressured examples available. [Issue#107, p.118]

In the cold light of day, however, it's difficult to see what all the fuss is about. [Issue#107, p.117]

Thoroughly engaging and original. [Issue#107, p.117]

For a franchise usually so keen on reinventing itself, this plays it very safe. [Issue#107, p.116]

More like a clinically insane uncle; you'll spend time with it because it's family, but it will confuse and embarrass you with every opportunity it gets. [Issue#107, p.114]

Lots of polish and some truly laugh-out-loud moments. [Issue#107, p.113]

It's certainly a solid addition to the franchise, just not as memorable as previous instalments. [Issue#107, p.113]

At its best, it's an inferior retread of some of the first game's finer moments, but at worst, it's dangerously forgettable. [Issue#107, p.112]

Frankly, we could play Stacking for 20 hours, and it's just a shame we can't. [Issue#107, p.110]

Ideal for portable gaming - handy, with it being a PSP game - and its mix of action, RPG elements, a challenging (though sometimes unfair) level of difficulty and a few nifty tricks to keep things strategic make it another solid title in the PSP's catalogue. [Issue#107, p.108]

Glowing reflection of the past. [Issue#107, p.106]

Morally bankrupt but creatively rich beyond the wildest dreams of most games. [Issue#107, p.104]

Clever inventory management. [Issue#107, p.102]

It feels particularly cumbersome in the wake of Need For Speed Hot Pursuit's simple yet ingenious social features. [Issue#107, p.100]

Superb when everything comes together, hugely frustrating when it doesn't. [Issue#107, p.96]

Perhaps the most telling criticism of all is that Apocalypse manages to render the sight of an entire city's ongoing death as interminably dull. [Issue#107, p.95]

A poor script and worse voice-acting. [Issue#107, p.94]

Simply refines the challenging gameplay armchair tacticians have come to associate with the Total War franchise. [Issue#107, p.92]

As beautiful as it is barbaric, and as technical as the player wants it to be. [Issue#107, p.90]

There's a lot to like in BioWare's latest, but the sad truth is that even before the halfway point you'll have seen pretty much everything the game has to offer, several times over in many cases. [Issue#107, p.86]

Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition could arguably be the best portable version of the core series yet produced, but this is testament to the severely limited nature of what came before rather than any standout success on this game's part.

Feels very much the stock update, disappointing in so much as it doesn't actually add anything of note or substance. The cruel under-utilisation of the cats, meanwhile, could genuinely disappoint fans of felines everywhere.