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

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]

With the possible exception of the Katamari games, there are few other series that have as good a grasp on scale as God of War. [Issue#235]

Despite occasional dissonance between narrative and game mechanics, Tomb Raider is a highly polished, highly accomplished reboot. Kudos, Crystal Dynamics. [Issue#235]

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]

It is a triumph of artistry, technology and design. It isn’t perfect, but nothing this ambitious ever is. [Issue#235]

An incredibly irritating protagonist, and his tilt-fuelled infinite-runner-esque adventures are fiddly and boring. [Apr 2013, p.23]

It's funny and weird, if not a whole lot of fun past the first 15 minutes - but for that price, that's enough. [Apr 2013, p.23]

It's not bad, but Pangolin also isn't very compelling. [Apr 2013, p.23]

The puzzles are fun and it gets your brain working. [Apr 2013, p.23]

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

A functional but forgettable budget title featuring clarinet solos and wiseguys. Wait for Steam sale. [Apr 2013, p.78]

Some excellent ideas and multiplayer fun but not enough content as yet. [Apr 2013, p.76]

Far from Ron Gilbert or Double Fine's best, but The Cave manages to deliver just enough satisfaction to avoid disaster. [Apr 2013, p.74]

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

Not as bad as the wost Aliens games, yet it's also not in the same league as the very best, leaving ACM to meandering in the space system of mediocrity. [Apr 2013, p.69]

Could've used touch-ups in existing areas, but hey. [Apr 2013, p.64]

Rises to the occasion, even if it's not quite "Metal Gear" solid. A slightly tweaked, Kojima-written sequel would be perfect. [Apr 2013, p.61]

Extremely well executed and addictive. [March 2013, p.27]

The 'throwing bowling balls at zombies' gameplay feels pretty flakey and the humour doesn't really do it for us. [March 2013, p.27]

Online multiplayer is a nice touch. [March 2013, p.27]

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

Aside from a few moments of tank on robot action, Tank! Tank! Tank! fails to live up to the promise of its gloriously stupid name. [March 2013, p.84]

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

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]

Until the game can keep up with the player's creativity it's best enjoyed in short spurts. [March 2013, p.80]

True, it can be exasperating and tedious, but it can also be touching and insightful and supremely gratifying. [March 2013, p.78]

A test of your moral fortitude in a world that's gone to the dogs. [March 2013, p.76]

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 great reinterpretation of what makes Mario work. [March 2013, p.72]

Not quite a masterpiece - but still pretty special. Ni no Kuni has the depth and artistic credibility to justify the partnership with Studio Ghibli. [March 2013, p.69]

Check it out if you like brief frustration and big smiles. [Feb 2013, p.31]

It's fine, but forgettable. [Feb 2013, p.31]

There's a lot of charm. [Feb 2013, p.31]

Offers up the insanity we've come to expect from the Benami label, if not the cohesiveness. [Feb 2013, p.31]

It's a rather zen experience thanks to some sharp sound design. [Feb 2013, p.31]

This is a must for fans from the Monday Night Wars period. [Feb 2013, p.81]

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

Polished, thoughtful, and joyful. [Feb 2013, p.79]

A little too slow and boring to warrant the commitment it demands. [Feb 2013, p.78]

A little too slow and boring to warrant the commitment it demands. [Feb 2013, p.78]

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

Instantly gratifying but off-target and eventually weary. [Feb 2013, p.74]

Clunky, unpolished and altogether flimsy. [Feb 2013, p.73]

A benign but relatively feckless take on the whole kart-racing thing. Fun, but too lightweight. [Feb 2013, p.72]

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]

The interesting animations and imaginative products give enough for the asking price, and nothing more. [Feb 2013, p.69]

When you strip away the fluff of the career mode it's one of the deepest, most addictive games around. [Feb 2013, p.67]

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]

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

Tighter and more accessible than Far Cry 2, the third outing is a master class in open world shooting. [Feb 2013, p.59]

It's not as funny as it thinks it is, nor as enjoyable. [Jan 2013, p.31]

Short, but exceptionally sweet. [Jan 2013, p.31]

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

Good fun but rather slight. [Jan 2013, p.31]

Certainly the best kind of F2P game. [Jan 2013, p.31]

The worst possible anniversary tribute to a character that deserves so much better. A turgid, tragic piece of sh.t. [Jan 2013, p.79]

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

Still creepy, still fun eight years later. Not quite enough new content to win back old fans, but first-timers will delight. [Jan 2013, p.74]

There's no need for another basketball game series if the NBA 2K franchise keeps releasing games like this. [Jan 2013, p.74]

Bland, glitchy, linear to a fault and hopelessly redundant. You could go your whole life without playing this and not miss anything. [Jan 2013, p.72]

Some great level design hampered by some poor companion AI and sometimes inadequate controls. [Jan 2013, p.70]

Terrible AI, poor controls and questionable design decisions. [Jan 2013, p.66]

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

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]

A meticulous, engaging game and accomplished sequel that improves upon its predecessors in an organic way series fans will appreciate. [Jan 2013, p.55]

An ambitious attempt at making a simple but compelling game, hampered by a device that's not quite up for it. [Jan 2013, p.81]

The absolute lowest point in this gen's lunatic JRPG precedent thus far. [Jan 2013, p.80]

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

Acquire's joyously unusual samurai series, totally unmade by some seriously questionable gameplay tweaks. [Jan 2013, p.76]

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

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]

A drug-induced coma of violence, strategy, death and rebirth. [Jan 2013, p.67]

Halo 4 eschews esoteric delivery for a sledgehammer story with a blockbuster aesthetic. Epic, engaging and sensorially awesome. [Jan 2013, p.60]

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]

The art style is neat and the gameplay solidly addictive. [Dec 2012, p.29]

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

This is conceptually cool, as you man helicopters, firefighters, and other units all at once, but also quite dull. [Dec 2012, p.29]

It's a little fiddly, but Jungle Run is a beautiful way to while away a few hours. [Dec 2012, p.29]

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

The fluidity and speed of FIFA makes it pure joy to play, an area where it reigns supreme over its rival Pro Evo.

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]

There's an interesting idea at the core of Of Orcs and Men, but the muddled delivery and presentation make it very forgettable. [Dec 2012]

In its attempt to make the Forza brand more accessible, Horizon has delivered a ride that is fun for brief spurts yet doesn't reward mastery of the vehicles within. [Dec 2012]

Torchlight 2 is a distilled Diablo, a pure addictive flow of loot, gibs and skill trees. All for a third of the price. [Dec 2012]

DOA5 plays it too safe, coming across as more of a revision or remake of DOA4 than a full sequel in its own right. [Dec 2012]

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.

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

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]

Amazing tactical complexity, satisfying strategic depth; slightly dodgy ending, but your own stories are more important anyway. A modern classic.

A walk, drive, and jump down a whole city of memory lanes, but don't expect any of them to take you anywhere new. [Dec 2012]

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

Precise and elegant systemic design engenders an absurd degree of player agency, but is marred somewhat by a sloppy, unconvincing narrative and soulless characters. [Dec 2012]

A solid and well-produced installment that aims for console heights but delivers more of the same. [Dec 2012]

Succinct, smart, tight, fresh, mature and beautiful. One of the year's standout titles. [Dec 2012]

Hell Yeah is a rollercoaster ride through Hell. Its super busy art style is exciting and the humour keeps things rolling at a nice pace. [Dec 2012]

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]

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