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

There's just something infectiously funky and likable about the whole thing. [Aug 2013, p.82]

It's quite demanding. [May 2012, p.29]

It's a little too easy to get far fast though. [May 2012, p.29]

Still enjoyable. [Jan 2014, p.82]

Better than it has any right to be, but still deeply flawed. [Nov 2013, p.68]

It's not all smooth sailing, but there's still some rich pirate booty to discover if you're up for it. [Nov 2013, p.70]

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

Get it for the Final Fantasy XV demo, stay for the surprisingly deep and enjoyable campaign.

Often too frantic and awfully repetitive, but the Platinum in its veins shines through. [Nov 2013, p.75]

Worthwhile for fans, but it's not up there with the rest of the series. [Aug 2012, p.70]

Starhawk is building a strong reputation as THE online title for PS3 players. [Aug 2012, p.72]

It's good at its core, but it could have been so much more. [Aug 2012, p.74]

Ambitious and enjoyable, but falters under its own weight. [Apr 2014, p.58]

An enjoyable bed-and-bus time distraction that is perhaps just a sequel away from greatness. [Apr 2014, p.60]

Despite being rough around the edges and extremely frustrating at times, Blackguards delivers an enjoyable balance of story and strategy. [Apr 2014, p.64]

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

It's great, but not quite as strong as either series' peak. [June 2014, p.66]

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]

You'll find Octodad: Dadliest Catch either uniquely charming or unbelievably annoying. [Issue#249, p.72]

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

A worthy high-score distraction. [Aug 2012, p.31]

Fundamentally it's quite well designed. [Apr 2014, p.75]

It's a simple idea executed well, even if it doesn't quite burrow into your brain the way the best puzzle games do. [Apr 2014, p.75]

Frontier doesn't stand so well on its own, but it's a neat free appetiser. [Issue#249, p.77]

An ambitious if repetitive combination of shooter and loot based ARPG. A boost in loot drop frequency could definitely boost the fun/score. [Issue#254, p.47]

[Pictogram of mild disappointment] [Issue#254, p.62]

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

A little too obtuse to be truly great, Flockers still delivers some great puzzle solving if you can deal with a lot of trial and error. [Issue#254, p.60]

A pleasant enough romp. [Issue#254, p.71]

Well at least it's better than ACIII. [Issue#257, p.66]

Codemasters' down the line look at racing doesn't quite make it to the final podium. [July 2013, p.74]

It's still fun, but there are big handfulls of frustration thrown in too. [May 2012, p.79]

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

Excellent table physics. [May 2012, p.79]

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

There are a few dud mini-games, but Nintendo Land does a good job at highlighting the strengths of the new system and the potential of asymmetric multiplayer. [Feb 2013, p.64]

A very cool puzzle game, but one that relies a little too heavily on the inherent brilliance of its concept. [Issue#257, p.77]

A little more polish and some much-needed rethinking and this would've scored much higher. [May 2012, p.81]

A fine attempt at something a bit different. [July 2013, p.85]

If "Lovecraft inspired" immediately excites you, this is definitely worth a look. [Issue#257, p.79]

Weirdly memorable. [May 2012, p.82]

A briefly mesmerizing trip backwards through sonic space that never quite coalesces into an essential purchase. [Nov 2012, p.64]

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

Despite the niggles and lack of meaningful exploration, Mirror of Fate is still quite enjoyable. [May 2013, p.77]

The central platforming is fun and the three characters are charming but Thieves in Time often feels both archaic and uninspired. [May 2013, p.78]

It's Gears 3, minus pacing and ambition. It's still fantastically enjoyable, but it's easily the least interesting Gears game. [June 2013, p.64]

A solid premise let down by rote design. [Issue#250, p.64]

A fantastic tablet racing game, but one that greatly overestimates its own importance and value with slow progress and expensive in-app purchases. [May 2013, p.81]

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]

Proof that, sometimes, style "is" substance. [Issue#250, p.74]

The platforming here is simple, but also pleasantly familiar. [Issue#250, p.74]

A fun and clever attempt at something fresh that doesn't quite live up to its full potential. [Sept 2012, p.77]

An excellent tutorial partially makes up for the tiny roster. [Feb 2014, p.68]

With limited content that is painfully slow to unlock, not to mention issues with AI and multiplayer, Forza 5 scrapes by as [a] decent launch title thanks to its immaculate presentation. [Feb 2014, p.70]

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

In the case of Shootmania Storm, access to a thriving community is really needed. [June 2013, p.70]

It's hard to fault Lego Batman 2, but it's hard to get very excited about it either. [Sept 2012, p.79]

Bitterback isle is a wonderful dungeon and a pleasure to explore, but as a package Dark Arisen is let down by Capcom's cynical attempt to squeeze more cash out of dedicated fans. [June 2013, p.74]

Better late than never, P4 Arena is a strange beast that is at turns both satisfying and terribly long-winded. [June 2013, p.76]

You might not keep coming back, but you'll enjoy the time you spend with it. [Sept 2012, p.31]

Tight, solid fun. [Nov 2012, p.72]

Manages to carve out an identity for itself in a crowded genre. [Feb 2014, p.85]

There's a great feeling of responsiveness to Finger Hoola that makes the wold weird project work, more or less. [June 2013, p.84]

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

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

It stubbornly refuses to capitalise on its full potential, but Prototype 2 is still a whole lot of fun. [July 2012, p.64]

An enjoyable, addictive rhythm experience with some great music, but it's not quite up there with the genre's best. [Oct 2012, p.67]

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]

Devoid of tactical depth and exhaustingly repetitive - yet somehow still entertaining and enjoyable, if taken in moderation. [Sept 2013, p.76]

Often very pleasurable, even if the main missions drag. [Issue#255, p.42]

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

Gauntlet needs DLC. Badly. Still, good fun in the short term. [Issue#255, p.54]

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]

A tighter focus on multiplayer modes would have helped with the online population. It's definitely worth the budget price, though. [March 2013, p.81]

It's worth revisiting frequently. [Nov 2012, p.29]

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.

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]

Crysis 3 reunites the outfit with a voice, Prophet, and his supposed buddy, Psycho and tells you that only one set of sentient long-johns can save the world. It’s a functional excuse for the action but uninspired, much like the bulk of the game. [Issue#235]

Extremely janky controls. [May 2014, p.82]

ZombiU is too packed full of controls and gameplay ideas to make a cohesive whole, but it's still a welcome addition to the genre. [Jan 2013, p.58]

A solid re-tread of a Wii classic, but one that lost the charm of its source material along the way. [Jan 2013, p.68]

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]

Pleasant, but not particularly memorable. [Jan 2013, p.78]

A remarkably ugly game. [June 2012, p.60]

Inoffensive and competent, but not exceptional. [June 2012, p.67]

The combat is really interesting the first few times you encounter it, but the simple system behind it becomes too obvious after that. [May 2012, p.61]

There are explosively brief thrills to be had, but makes it really hard for most peeps to give it a chance. [June 2012, p.72]

As buggy, glitchy and convention-defying as Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is, it's still a buttload of fun. [May 2012, p.68]

An ok campaign with potentially great co-op marred by uninspired design, poor storytelling and glitches. [June 2012, p.76]

The game fares quite a bit better on Steam. [June 2012, p.29]

We found matches to be a little hectic, with very little teamwork going on. [May 2012, p.75]

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 fun, but not super addictive. [June 2012, p.29]

It's time to stop treading water and take some freaking chances already. [Oct 2013, p.72]

The game sort of falls apart in combat. [Oct 2013, p.78]

A game that relies on bothersome microtransactions and generally boring action. [Oct 2013, p.78]

If more maps and game modes are released, War of the Roses could turn into quite a niche time sink. Whether such hope is worth gambling $29.99 US on is up to you. [Dec 2012]