A strategy romp that's as much hit as it is miss. [Nov 2008, p.84]

Tons of Nazis to shoot, but still mediocre. [Aug 2007, p.80]

NHL 07's dual-stick control opens a new world of tactics, but "NHL 2K7" plays for pure fun and speed. [Nov 2006, p.98]

Ultimately, the repetition and rough edges do hurt the expeience, but Earth Defense Force's wacky charm will certaily keep you entertained for a while. [May 2007, p.90]

A darkly poetic homage to horror cinema, but one that lacks its own identity. [Issue#179, p.89]

Ultimately, in being unashamed, obnoxious, immature and insane, Deadpool is Deadpool alright - for better and for worse.

Not an especially great game, but an enjoyable nostalgia-trip nonetheless.

While it's a quick-fix burst of fun, the fact SkyHeroes is a kids' game isn't an excuse to be this shallow. [Issue#66, p.98]

A solid FPS that delivers on the shooting, but fails to provide much else worth doing. [Issue#179, p.75]

Tons of official content make for an authentic racer, but there are visual deficiencies. [Christmas 2016, p.77]

Would make a better movie than a game.

An unremarkable shooter by modern standards, but the satisfaction of its cinematic kills is hard to deny. It's just a shame that these moments are encased in a generally shoddy gameplay experience.

It does get repetitive, but when it hitting its stride, Shiftlings is worth letting rip with.

Almost exactly what meets the eye. [Sept 2009, p.89]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Rough and ready, silly and ugly, this survival sim is charming, but hugely uneven. [May 2017, p.78]

That seed of potential excellence is frustrating, when the execution falls so regularly short of great.

A budget stealth romp that'll please the old-school crowd and frustrate everyone else. [May 2017, p.80]

Frustrating combat game with little reward to make the effort worthwhile.

Far from being the ultimate edition of the game, we end up with another case of nominative determinism. State of Decay, sadly, is a mess. It’s a mess with good intentions, perhaps, but the result is the equivalent of a wooden barricade infested with dry rot – it seems like it should hold up just fine, but ends up crumbling under the slightest pressure.

As good as ever, but no better.

A lower-tier fighting game that mech fans may nonetheless appreciate.

Spectacular but spotty, this demanding sim both fulfills and frustrates. [Issue#225, p.76]

Simple stealth with a theme you're not likely to forget, but it lacks cohesion and polish. [May 2017, p.90]

A basic, functional puzzler that has a nice idea it doesn't really know how to use successfully. [May 2017, p.91]

When Unleashed 2 is good, it's really good. The stage-long, multi-tiered showdown against the skyscraper-high Gorog, though mechanically uninspired, is guaranteed to take your breath away. But the contrived and insignificant plot undoes the majority of the improved gameplay's good work, and the whole absolutely fails to live up to LucasArts' earlier promises of Empire-grade grandeur.

A nice idea, with several fun bits, let down somewhat by poor action sequences.

A challenging fighting system is only the bare bones of what could be a better game. [Issue#225, p.84]

There's no multiplayer, and even on the Hard setting this game is a piece of cake. It's fun while it lasts, but it ends so quickly you're bound to be disappointed.

It's a great game in short spurts, but isn't good enough to play in the big leagues. [Apr 2007, p.95]

Proof that big thinking PC-based RPGs can totally work on pads, and how not to implement the weighty interfaces that come alongside them - but trudge through this and there's much to love.

Creepy and confusing, this cartoon chiller still delivers some unique scares.

Tedious puzzles and repetitious level design makes Overlord become very predictable all too quickly. [July 2007, p.90]

Tiger's looking a bit tired. [Aug 2010, p.107]

Chronically average. [Apr 2008, p.86]

An interesting curio for Halo fans, but expensive. [Oct 2007, p.96]

But if you are one of those four ardent fans, you'll find this is a remarkably faithful representation of NASCAR and a vast improvement over last year's edition. [Aug 2008, p.88]

Jetpac Refuelled has a lot of charm, and the inclusion of the Spectrum original is a nice bit of nostalgia, but the game lacks the depth and intelligence of other arcade games from that era.

Colonial Marines can't trade on nostalgia alone... It needed to offer intense combat against an unstoppable force, deft storytelling that matched the cinematic flair of the films, and some new ideas that could have rejuvenated an overexposed franchise. It needed, in short, to be a better game.

Its good intentions are sadly blighted by unacceptable performance issues. [June 2015, p.78]

The enjoyment only kicks in as a two-player experience. [Christmas 2007, p.98]

A fast, fun varied MMA fighter. [Dec 2011, p.92]

Lore fiends will find it lacking. [June 2015, p.90]

A fun but brief monster mash. [June 2009, p.93]

"NHL 07's" dual-stick control opens a new world of tactics, but NHL 2K7 plays for pure fun and speed. [Nov 2006, p.98]

Untangling this new world's intrigues, both political and personally for characters, is unreasonably complex. New terminologies and faces are thrown at you at such rapid pace in the first few hours that you find yourself not caring.

A wildly ambitious fantasy fighter that's sadly lacking the fundamentals.

Added depth doesn't add much. [Dec 2011, p.101]

A decent twin-stick shooter that uses the touchstones of Halo combat effectively, but lacks the longevity or depth to warrant the price tag - and especially the microtransactions.

DARK is frustrating, because that initial feeling of being a zippy blur of a vampire in a world of neon-lit night never leaves you. It's just swamped in frustrating design decisions, a script that lurches from passable to laughable, weak enemy AI, and a vortex of a lead character who's impossible to like or hate.

Nicely filling, but could do with some relish. [Dec 2011, p.103]

Neat ideas, but lacking longevity. [July 2010, p.104]

Mostly just crashes and burns. [Dec 2011, p.105]

Serious Sam HD has just one, explosive, bloody, wildly spinning gear - one unlikely to arrest your interests for long.

Far from great, with a fair few bugs, Morphite is enjoyably shabby all the same.

It's a faithful remake, but it dredges up a lot of what was wrong with the original game, and the fun lasts barely as long as it'll take you to hum the theme tune.

As a game Family Guy is average at best. If you've never seen the cartoon, you won't get it. If you love the show then your patience will be tried by the mediocre gameplay. Either way, be prepared to have your willpower tested. [Jan 2007, p.124]

Glimpses of horrors can't save this horrifically frustrating experience. [July 2017, p.88]

For obsessive kit hoarders only. [Apr 2009, p.86]

Loads of appealing content for MotoGP fans, but it’s sluggish and all-too familiar. [Issue#180, p.89]

If you remain nostalgic about this strange era, love the books, and don't mind turn-based combat, this is surprisingly compelling stuff. Everyone else should approach with caution: don't expect an awesome dwarf to give you the cash back if you hate it.

Pretty, but flaws stop it touching the stars. [June 2009, p.86]

All zombies must try (harder). [Apr 2012, p.105]

It's unfriendly to navigate, but the basic enjoyment from jumping around like a robot who wants to be a real boy is intact. It's just well buried and overpriced, considering what else is out there.

Nostalgic fun that's aged badly. [Apr 2012, p.105]

Great platforming, shame about the rest.

Lovely design, ruined by imprecision. [Apr 2012, p.109]

While the game doesn't sour our love for Suda-51's output as whole, it feels less faithful to his unpredictable blend of Western pop culture and Japanese quirkiness than last year's Shadows of the Damned was. Instead Lollipop Chainsaw seems to purposefully shift the balance in an attempt to pander to some perceived audience made up entirely of sex-obsessed American teenagers.

An appealing-enough concept mired by shoddy execution. Unabashed scope junkies may find something to amuse them here, however, providing you put a bullet through your better judgement.

Ghost Of A Tale is repetitive, but quite endearing in a rough-edged sort of way. [Issue#177, p.86]

Gains legs but loses charm. [Apr 2011, p.108]

id Software's take on hell might be a little two-dimensional, but if you don't have the patience for the likes of Dead Space, this should scratch your diabolical itch.

A tense and immersive adventure – but with one too many rough edges. [Issue#177, p.85]

If only the combat matched the visuals. [Apr 2011, p.111]

The interesting power mechanic and the return to fun, exaggerated rock and metal aesthetics are there to be enjoyed, but this is a series in dire need of a reboot.

Slower and duller than Episode 1. [Apr 2015, p.79]

Great new maps, but deleted scene too short. [Oct 2009, p.92]

Playable, but no real advance on the original. [Oct 2010, p.100]

A great little fighter though a bit repetitive. [Aug 2008, p.78]

The initial reaction when Happy Tree Friends was fired up was "rubbish", "stupid" and "why are you playing this?" It looks bland, boring and slow...Yet for the person playing it, it's endearing, addictive and surprisingly fun.

A decent port of the classic board game. [Mar 2009, p.93]

Pneuma is let down by its waffling and insistence on shoving questions about the nature of reality down your throat. [Apr 2015, p.83]

Even though it's a bit of a flashy game, Ninja Blade is surprisingly shallow. It's not particularly long either - you can see everything in less than 10 hours, which doesn't help much with replayability. Worst of all, the novelties it wants you to like, it shoves in your face quite rudely many times over - resulting in a hack-and-slash that could have ultimately been a lot, er, sharper.

With around 50 levels to chew on, the game is substantial but no banquet, and the later levels don't really build on their predecessors in any mind-blowing ways. It's a welcome break from the frenzy elsewhere on Xbox Live, but it never threatens to become a fixture.

Fun, in a mindless sort of way, but lacks the big set-pieces and the frenetic action that made lightgun games so compelling. At around three hours long, you'd get better value sticking that gun hand up your nostril.[Apr 2015, p.83]

A multiplayer game that doesn't work solo. [Oct 2010, p.108]

It might not have much depth, but if you just want to have a good, silly and above all violent old time, Zombie Driver does the trick - and this is by far the best version going. [Sept 2014, p.92]

Burns bright, but won't last long. [Oct 2010, p.110]

An explosive Zumba party fitness outburst. [June 2012, p.93]

Better suited to playing on your phone waiting for a bus than buying an Xbox for. [Jan 2016, p.85]

Despite the largely one-note action, noticeably low budget, as well as the lack of imagination on show, there’s at least a scrappy charm displayed here that makes this zombie romp just about worthwhile. If you have a few Xbox Live chums who have an undead-annihilating itch to scratch, you could do worse than waging this brain-biting battle [Issue#178, p.78]

Not the home run we'd hoped for. [June 2012, p.96]

A playable and competent - if lightweight - crack at a Left 4 Dead style shooter. [October 2018, p.78]

Stick with it and you may find yourself disappointed by the uneven challenge factor and scanty online features, but these are obscured by all the brightly-coloured nonsense and if you get far enough in to notice then you're probably enough of a fan not to care.

An entirely adequate karaoke machine. [Feb 2013, p.87]

The on-track action can be exhilarating, but the career is too functional to impress. MotoGP 13 goes just as far as it has to, but never becomes truly essential.

Happy, sunny, cheesy singing fun. [Feb 2009, p.89]

Fans might wonder why they should accept all these missing features for an inconsistent visual update. Newcomers will be impressed by the lack of loading screens and rewarding gameplay, but series veterans who’ve played PGA Tour 14 will never crave Xbox 360 backwards compatibility more.