Thankfully, the trusted combo-move heavy, cutscene-riddled one-on-one scraps also return. [Dec 2014, p.87]

Splatterhouse starts off strong on a path of giddy puerility, always seeming on the cusp of offering more than misogyny and punching all the blood out of monsters - or at least giving you a sly wink to let you in on the joke - but it never actually comes.

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

Thing is, in spite of all this peripheral mediocrity, if you pick up Blood Stone, you'll probably get a day or so's entertainment from it.

It worked as a free demo, but now it costs real money, it'll leave you feeling Fleeced & Furious. [June 2015, p.91]

Functional but flawed multiplayer shooting. [Sept 2010, p.91]

The real horror is that a great story's been swallowed by a need to scare instead of intrigue. [July 2016, p.83]

Entertaining enough for what it is. [Jan 2010, p.113]

The very definition of cheap and cheerful, Sixty Second Shooter Prime matches simplicity with speed to make a shooter you don't mind either losing or switching off after one round. [Sept 2014, p.89]

While New Game+ lets you restart the adventure with all of your gear and experience, there's not much variation to the storyline, and the light RPG conversations add little in the grand scheme of things. That said, if you're aching for a solid, fun co-op game, War in the North might be worth a stab.

The lacklustre graphics means that when the action is at its most intense, the game is still a bit of an eyesore.

Beautiful graphics do not a good game make. [Oct 2006, p.104]

One for board game veterans only. [Feb 2010, p.109]

The introduction of the flow system early in the game seems innocuous at first, but it will quickly become the bane of your boarding existence. [Issue#67, p.88]

It's a smooth, slippery Sonic that takes another step away from it's single-button origins without losing any of the hog essense. With local and online co-op, it offers just enough entertainment to justify its steep episodic price.

Delivers an experience that’s as sweet as honey and buggy in all the right ways. [Issue#186, p.85]

Over the Hedge isn't anywhere near perfect, but it's still reasonably entertaining and not quite bad enough to be dismissed as a 'cash-in' (aren't most games made for cash?). [Aug 2006, p.62]

Wonky, repetitive and short but oh so very unnerving. [Aug 2014, p.87]

The few saving graces offered by the inclusion of a scrotum-seeking pooch do little to alleviate the more fundamental problems the game faces as a third person shooter. Dead to Rights: Retribution is a load of balls in exactly the way Volatile Games didn't intend.

It's the fights that really count, and they're crazy fun. [Issue#225, p.71]

Quirky, funny and colorful, Root Beer Tapper is both cheeky and challenging and a cheap distraction on a Wednesday night. [Feb 2007, p.101]

Certainly not a game for anyone expecting a challenge or long-term entertainment. [Oct 2007, p.86]

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.

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]

Respectable though its faith to the old-skool way is, it's not going to satisfy the modern gamer. If you and your three mates still adore the original arcade game you'll get a kick out of playing this prettier version, but everyone else will be snoozing within the hour.

Stylistically bland and clearly confused, the game's initially slick descent quickly twists into a belly flop. Floundering in a mush in ill-advised ideas, Moon Diver drowns itself in a paddling pool of tedium.

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.

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

A decent diversion, but far from a black belt. [Nov 2009, p.98]

Even with EA's Need For Speed-branded gloss stripped away and replaced by rudimentary menus, there's still a satisfying, if bare-bones, driving game beneath.

Turns out that fighting the machine has rarely been this dull. [Jan 2018, p.78]

Great bursts of short-term, shallow fun.

Stands alone from the film, proud and awkward.

Old-school fare, old-school swear. [Aug 2010, p.110]

Ultimately this anti-grav game is just too light, and could have benefited from a little extra ballast to add some weight to the decent structure that's already there. [Oct 2007, p.80]

More bogus than Bogart, White Night fuses the disparate worlds of cultured noir and trashy supernatural. The result? An inconsistent – if visually striking – trudge. A true hammy horror.

Strong characters entertain throughout the game's uncharacteristically involving story, with sheer imagination turning those limited core systems into something just that little bit more magical. There are tears, laughter - and most importantly, the first successful stab at Kinect-enhanced immersion - as Fable: The Journey gallops toward its epic conclusion.

Another cheap money-spinner. [Nov 2007, p.107]

Not enough going on up there. [Sept 2011, p.102]

Fighting still feels good, but the ring's power corrupts everything that made Shadow of Mordor special. [May 2015, p.96]

Far from a masterpiece, nowhere near awful. [Nov 2013, p.95]

You'll have more fun watching the cartoon. [Apr 2010, p.106]

There's nothing super about it. [July 2012, p.107]

Lone players need not apply: an offline campaign proves useful for learning the maps and the nuances of play, but the focus is firmly with the online game. And either way, we'd advise spending a little extra buying Awesomenauts instead.

The asking price is a little too steep, but long-term Mass Effect fans will appreciate this return visit. Small-scale stories are what Bioware does best, and we're hoping we'll see more stuff like Omega in the next Mass Effect game.

There are still moments when you can't know for sure if an individual failure is down to your own skill rather than the sensor itself. But for everyone else KSR represents a new high point for the genre, proving it can work as much more than just a passing gimmick. A huge leap in the right direction, then, but it's got a way to go before it's entirely frustration-free.

Hunted's big failing stems less from what it brings to the table as what it leaves in Diablo's bat-infested cellar. The level editor packs each and every one of the campaign's big tricks into one tidy grid-based package, but it lacks the single player's beguiling sense of mystery.

Feels unfinished. [Dec 2009, p.94]

It's still a fair bit of fun. [Nov 2015, p.87]

The combat isn't fair, the aesthetics are grim, and at times it's uncomfortably racist and sexist. But while it's an anachronistic mess of a game, it's weirdly compulsive regardless.

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.

Pretty annoying. [Christmas 2008, p.97]

Shaun White is not for "SSX" fans hungry for more extreme boarding action. If you like your simulations or have a genuine interest in the sport, you'll appreciate its realism. Everyone else, however, will just be itching to pull off a 24-rotation mega backflip.

A faded Arkham Asylum facsimile. [Oct 2011, p.103]

It's no fun, and charmless to boot. [Feb 2016, p.87]

The world of Defiance is singularly, spectacularly ugly. We appreciate that Earth's been terraformed beyond recognition - but who set the terraformers to "blurry; terrible water effects; mostly brown"?

Ryse looks fantastic - a genuinely promising example of what the Xbox One can do. But if you're not interested in co-op arenas, Ryse's five-or-six hour campaign might not offer you great value for money. If you are, you might find your weak, loinclothed gladiator is getting bullied into the gold shop.

In spite of minor grumbles, this is an expansive, varied and satisfying physics puzzler and, while it could do with a smidge more personality, it certainly benefits from a budget price.

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

Not nearly enough fun. [Aug 2008, p.93]

Time to reassess everything about 2001. [Christmas 2012, p.99]

A beautiful, innovative bit of stuff that just needed to push a little harder to truly open our eyes. [Oct 2015, p.87]

It's arguably more fun to build than to play. [Apr 2016, p.90]

Plenty of fun for seven quid. [Jan 2010, p.114]

After such a glacial wait, it's not unreasonable to expect more. Still, in spite of its pared-back ambitions, it is such a chorus line of brainless, sugar rush thrills, you'll rarely be anything less than entertained. Let's just hope we don't have to wait until 2024 for Crackdown 4 to arrive. [Issue#225, p.65]

Senko No Ronde can be amazing to watch, but it simply doesn’t make enough effort to make itself intelligible to a Western audience and there’s not enough variety in the gameplay, despite the selection of combatants. We can see the parallels with rounders immediately.

An average game made viable by its low barrier to entry - but outperformed in almost every way by the giants of its genre. One to dabble with, but think before committing real money.

The overriding problem is that the central character doesn't fit the environment.

Don't get us wrong, the 3D makeover turns it into a responsive and thoroughly modern duff-em-up. We just wish the fun lasted a little bit longer.

It's the most accessible entry to date, but not the most compelling. [Apr 2008, p.80]

A decent but unremarkable game, tied to a wan Lovecraftian setting.

Fun, but far too easily mastered. [Jan 2013, p.97]

Confusing for newbs and too shallow for fans, but has moments of flashy satisfaction. [Aug 2016, p.86]

A tragically neutered experience. [Sept 2012, p.103]

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

A re-release that's only just worth the fare. [Feb 2011, p.103]

It's hard not to feel sorry for Dark Void. It feels like all it ever wanted to be was a popcorn B-movie blockbuster, and there are plenty of moments where you can see how it might have managed it. But they're all so disparate, so badly arranged, that its latent charm is completely lost.

Unrelenting and vicious: this pitiless survival game is not for the easily frustrated. [March 2017, p.83]

Here's a puzzle: tshi egma si orbnig. [Apr 2010, p.111]

The additions are enticing, but they're also insulting. If you're the kind of person who's easily enraged, steer well clear of this cheeky cash-grab.

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

For a price that is a fraction of boxed, retail games RRP, it's a surprisingly lengthy and substantial experience. [Nov 2010, p.102]

Judging by the amount of new content, this is more of a stop-gap than a sequel. Hardcore fans will be best off waiting for the next installment, because this add-on feels desperately half-hearted.

Glorious art is a feast for the eyes, but if you've ever played a platformer, you won't be able to shake the feeling you've seen this all before. [Nov 2015, p.80]

Chronically average. [Apr 2008, p.86]

The worst DW game of this generation. [Mar 2010, p.109]

It's just a bit pointless, really, when all anyone wants to do is play Tetris. [Feb 2015, p.83]

Open Season is definitely a good kids' game - nice to look at and very easy with it. However, adults will burn through this game in less than six hours with no real difficulty.

Unexpectedly good stuff, despite its flaws.

Obscure, irritating and redeemed a little only by its addictiveness and the variety of the Bionicles that you control. [Christmas 2006, p.98]

For fans only. Fans of masochism, that is. [Oct 2007, p.95]

A jarringly inconsistent first poke at next-gen hockey. Makes bold leaps forward in terms of game day presentation, physics and AI, but large swathes of it seem unfinished. [Dec 2014, p.82]

A distinctly Japanese take on an irrevocably inscrutable cultural milestone, grab it from your nearest bargain bin for those sniggersome one-liners alone. [Issue#67, p.101]

Mickey's world-shaping brush is slightly sexier than Oswald's electro-ray, but both cause Goofy an equal amount of pain, so it's hard to complain. Niche then, but nice.

The sweeping world map is brilliant, but married by subpar presentation and frustrating AI. [Dec 2016, p.91]

A no-frills port of an already underweight horror package. There's much other developers can learn from Slender's terror tactics, but we suspect they've got the message by now. Give the tall lad a miss.

Fun while you're causing mischief around the house, but it doesn't rise to the occasion. [April 2017, p.90]

Plenty of modes, but still overpriced. [Aug 2007, p.100]