The game is fun and exciting to play, and it's great fun leading your fighter to championship glory. [May 2012, p.65]

This one just frustrated us. [Apr 2013, p.23]

A bursting at the seams port that sets a precedent for future Vita titles. [Sept 2012, p.74]

It's short and perhaps too forgiving for some, but Sorcery is a fun romp that respects your decisions. [July 2013, p.83]

Flawed, and the new Dante isn't as cool as he thinks - but the gameplay is as sterling as ever. There's plenty to love, but fans will be divided. [March 2013, p.74]

An astonishing technological and gameplay accomplishment, Planetside 2 leverages every ounce of today's broadband and processing power to deliver war on a truly epic scale. [Feb 2013, p.70]

Straightforward and deeply satisfying... for now. [May 2012, p.66]

Far from the revolution we were expecting, a shift in focus to simple, repetitive combat, overly-scripted missions and tedious sidequests has for now killed our interest in a once genuinely great series. [Dec 2012]

There's a real sense of tangibility to the table on screen. [June 2013, p.84]

Great multiplayer and a huge sandbox to play in make this a wild and crazy ride. [Jan 2013, p.64]

For 99c it's an absolute steal. [March 2013, p.27]

Even if it a lot of it comes down to dice rolling or coin flips, FTL leaves the player more than enough control to create a compelling, addictive experience.

Simultaneously tense and strangely meditative. [Feb 2014, p.72]

It's the verve at the game's core that's heartening. [Sept 2013, p.84]

The awkward controls hold it back from greatness. [May 2012, p.29]

By drawing on past glories, Nintendo delivers the best traditional side scrolling Mario game in years. [Feb 2013, p.62]

Compelling and fun. [Nov 2013, p.80]

Thematic appropriateness aside, a fantastic, mind-blowing narrative that will wreck havoc with your brain. [March 2013, p.82]

A ludicrous story and some gameplay missteps still don't stop Blacklist from being a truly enjoyable stealth sandbox. [Nov 2013, p.52]

Come for the excellent aesthetic design. Stay for the endless fun and frustration of chipping away at those best times. [Oct 2012, p.57]

Beautifully presented. [Apr 2014, p.75]

Nintendo magic strikes again, if you can adapt to the controls. [June 2012, p.68]

Delightful and clever, but also a bit limited. [Sept 2013, p.74]

Still the best 2D platformer in years. [Aug 2013, p.77]

A stunning achievement in creative larceny that improves on its predecessor in pretty much every way that matters. A pity about the lacklustre endgame though. [Oct 2012, p.49]

The best pirate game ever. [Jan 2014, p.51]

Depending on what you're after, it's either the best or worst CoD ever. If you only play multiplayer, jump in without reservations. [Jan 2013, p.62]

Not many games can claim to be "edifying." I think this one can. [Issue#257, p.75]

This is a great time-killer. [Issue#255, p.76]

A sublimely clever, well-designed, borderline impossible shooter. It will utterly consume you if you let it. [June 2012, p.71]

It's bleak, but very fun, with a killer soundtrack. [May 2012, p.29]

It's a bit of a meta-game for you to participate in and we like it. [May 2012, p.82]

Solid, strategic fun. [Nov 2012, p.29]

Full of enough adventure, daring-do and chocobos to make any MMO fan happy. [Jan 2014, p.72]

It's the ability to check opponents that is the real highlight of the violence. [Feb 2013, p.80]

It's more over the top aesthetically than it is in terms of mechanics. [Issue#253, p.81]

Crabitron's charm wins out. [July 2013, p.85]

A simple idea executed almost flawlessly. One of the most enjoyable stealth/action games in years. [June 2013, p.78]

A bit abstruse, but beautiful and engaging nonetheless. [Issue#250, p.69]

A tribute to the old point and click games of the 80s. [June 2013, p.85]

As glorious as its central mechanic is, it would be good if there was a bit more to Gravity Rush. [Aug 2012, p.68]

An accomplished rhythm game that compensates for its extreme difficulty with a unique sense of style. [Dec 2012]

Stunningly beautiful, ridiculously run, and incredibly well-designed. This has been a strong year for XBLA, but Dust is still a standout. [Oct 2012, p.60]

As excellent and generous rhythm game first and a loving series tribute second. [Issue#254, p.56]

I hate Tropical Freeze, but I hate it for the right reasons. It's an invigorating hate: I really badly want to beat this game. And when I do, it will be oh so worth it. [May 2014, p.68]

It's like a pixel-based WarioWare on acid. [Dec 2012, p.29]

A very hard experience to swallow for a modern player. [Issue#257, p.79]

Utterly generic but brilliant fun nevertheless. Shame about the perfunctory ending, though. [May 2014, p.74]

A learning experience of the best kind. [July 2012, p.67]

The art style and general design principles are smart. [July 2013, p.84]

A sweet, good-natured puzzler that continues the series' traditions with some great new elements, too. [Jan 2013, p.69]

The fast pace, the offbeat humour, the randomness...it was a bit like being trapped in a giant Pachinko machine, which would go some way towards why the Japanese like it so much. [Issue#235]

All the pieces are there for a game unlike any you've ever played before, but it ultimately feels too much like every game you've played before. [Oct 2012, p.63]

An ambitious, unique, and intelligently-designed puzzle game that is as gratifying as it is frustrating. [Apr 2013, p.72]

A must play for Sega stalwarts, and damn good fun to boot. Mario best watch his arse. [Feb 2013, p.76]

A reminder of why you want Darkstalkers 4 to happen so bad in more ways than a million. [May 2013, p.74]

Telltale's take on normal people trying to be Vault Hunters is off to a great start. [Issue#257, p.74]

Easily the best form Tekken has been in for years. [Nov 2012, p.68]

Duet is wonderful. [Jan 2014, p.82]

The two-player training mode and 3v3 team battles function exactly as advertised. [Issue#253, p.75]

With an improved player AI, you'll be able to pull off some great attacking raids. [Jan 2013, p.77]

A relic of the RPG's golden era, revived and refined for the modern age. [July 2012, p.71]

Fantastic stuff. [June 2012, p.29]

While players, new and old, may shrug off the new Pandaren race for its lack of ferocity, Blizzard actually did a good job with producing interesting content that enriches the gameplay of World of Warcraft. [Dec 2012]

It's very unique and cool, and as such easy to like. [Nov 2013, p.81]

An intriguing and gorgeous little game that's sure to frustrate as well as captivate. [Issue#255, p.48]

Great both standalone and as a gateway to a larger series. Let's hope it all pans out. [July 2012, p.76]

It's a fine sequel but plays it a little too safe for our liking. [Issue#257, p.70]

Wave Wave's entire aesthetic is basically Super Hexagon, and it's gameplay is similarly inspired by it. [Issue#257, p.76]

Funkifies the tedium of airport security with aplomb. [Jan 2013, p.31]

Manages to capture the rewarding highs and terrifying lows that define the souls series. [Issue#253, p.68]

Kudos to the development team for creating some truly insane courses. [May 2012, p.72]

It looks good and plays well. [Jan 2014, p.82]

Beautifully refined controls, a vibrantly silly world and some fantastically designed levels, Joe Danger 2 is a hugely likeable game. [Dec 2012]

The story is very well-written. [Feb 2014, p.85]

Well written and charming but Broken Age plays it too safe to be particularly memorable. [Apr 2014, p.67]

It may not blow your mind graphically and has some niggling issues, but this is easily the most fun you can have with you clothes on, or pixelated off. [Nov 2013, p.60]

Despite some balance issues, Injustice is spectacular and satisfying, and should please many a DC comics fan. [June 2013, p.61]

A beautifully presented retro game that proves less really can be more, but lacks any lasting appeal beyond the immense joys of local multiplayer. [Apr 2014, p.70]

Thankfully coutroom battles are still as tense as ever, but it's clear the script was written by the B-team without series head Shu Takumi. [Jan 2014, p.74]

Enormous fun. [March 2014, p.76]

A pleasant but rote and slightly bland RPG with a handful of fine ideas that aren't pushed enough. [Oct 2013, p.68]

It's great fun, but the touch screen will never be ideal because your finger is occasionally going to cover up incoming bullets. [Oct 2012, p.25]

Great strategic action, made better by the addition of an open campaign. Some tutorials would have been nice. [Issue#257, p.71]

Probably the best next gen exclusive we've seen so far. It's not perfect but a great return to form for Insomniac. [Issue#257, p.56]

If you haven't played these before, the console release is for you. For super fans, the Vita version is still highly enjoyable. [Sept 2012, p.75]

Boring for normal people. Add [10 points] for each minute you can hold forth on the torque output of 1990s Skyline variants. [March 2014, p.72]

It's a game you'll often stumble through like a botched hit. [Issue#249, p.77]

Blood Dragon is to the 80s what Fallout is to the 50s. [July 2013, p.78]

Almost perfect 4X fun. [Issue#255, p.45]

Not just a loving tribute to apocalypses past, Wasteland 2 is an incredible, engrossing experience. [Issue#254, p.53]

Madden 13 marks a vast improvement over the past few Maddens. The first one in a while. [Dec 2012]

Artfully drawn, confronting and informative this is a different look at war, its consequences and it isn't afraid to put you though the wringer. Play it. [Issue#251, p.77]

An improvement in some ways, but a let down in others. [Issue#254, p.63]

Oodles of fun in perhaps the most living game world we've ever experienced. Holster your weapon and hack the planet. [Issue#250, p.53]

You have been here before, and you'll be back again. [Nov 2012, p.74]

Exhilarating, rewarding and maddeningly frustrating, you'll have an intense love-hate relationship with Trials Fusion, always chasing that elusive absolutely magical run. [Issue#249, p.63]

Between the jokey dialog you uncover during missions, the opening thank-you screen, and the focus on user-created content, Volume is a charming game: it’s the sort of game that makes you feel as though if you ever met the lead designer, you’d pretend to like it just a little more than you actually did.