The second DLC pack is definitely the strongest, and with the recent updates you should be loading this up if it's fallen off the rotation. Tell your mates, too - you'll need someone to play with.

It's short but engaging, with some fiendish platforming segments, and introduces enough new concepts as you snake up the Solar System to keep you spinning on your axis. [Feb 2016, p.87]

Small Arms is pretty blatant about copying the gameplay of Nintendo's "Smash Bros," but it's exactly the kind of frantic action suited for online play. [Jan 2007, p.97]

Another great slice of comic book action.

A genuinely atmospheric and often disturbing yarn that Ripper and Creed fans shouldn't miss. [Feb 2016, p.88]

400 Days is by no means an essential purchase - it unfolds so quickly that you don't have that much needed time to mull everything over. But for 400MP, it's a perfectly decent-sized bite that should whet your appetite for Season Two, adding welcome layers of intrigue and complexity to an already exceptional series.

A Bowie-esque reinvention. [Christmas 2015, p.75]

It doesn't bring many new tricks to the table, but Origins is still thoroughly entertaining.

F1 2010 is a brilliant recreation of the sport, but as a complete package it can't quite top the dizzy heights achieved by DiRT 2. [Oct 2010, p.96]

Scratch beneath the surface and there's a deep game that gives out as much as you're willing to put in. [Christmas 2015, p.79]

Fast, realistic, and cool as ice. [Nov 2007, p.98]

Transformers have a great line in banter, and the dialogue is perfect - Saturday morning black and white cartoon morality.

Magic Sword is merely a peculiar bonus: another side-scroller from 1990 that takes a swing at the fantasy genre. Its button-bashing core contains a few RPG fragments, as you can collect protective shields and rescue imprisoned allies who then serve as a support character, and it's a decent, if limited affair.

A delicious experience, containing some of the sweetest moments in any console game. The astonishing environment alone is enough reason to give it a shot. However, it's not quite compelling enough as an adventure to make you want to see the set missions through. [Oct 2006, p.82]

A very balanced, very precise game: you can see how it's managed to endure for 12 years. It's also a basic game, and one that offers no reward beyond the inner glow of self-improvement.

Forza 5 is often simulation racing at its best, but Turn 10 hasn't quite rendered all its previous work obsolete. Given the reduced track and car count, and the present wobbliness of Drivatars, the game sometimes feels like it hasn't quite burst out of its shell. As a launch game, though, it's a wonderful achievement.

Your Shape provides decent replacements for both of these things, with all the arbitrary but absorbing nonsense of levelling up, medals and badges. This might be the first fitness game we'll use after reviewing it.

By turns breathless, brilliant and fist-chewingly demanding, Velocity 2X might allow its tempo to drop too often, but it approaches excellence often enough to recommend - you might just fall in love.

Rewarding and engrossing, it's a fine F1 game. Fix that framerate and it's perfect. [Nov 2017, p.76]

Even on Normal mode, you'll find yourself overwhelmed until the combination of dodge rolls, grabs, pounces, and combos becomes second nature. It's a testament to Shank's new-found competence that this does, eventually happen. Shank 2 has that satisfying feeling of re-mastering a forgotten motor function.

It's not as technically demanding as Street Fighter IV, and feels like a more free-flowing, mobile, nimble fighter in comparison. [Issue#66, p.99]

An accomplished intertwining of robust mechanics, beautiful aesthetics and delicate storytelling make this a game not to be missed, but a slight shallowness stops it just short of brilliance.

If you want more of the same but shinier, and slightly more serious Tony Hawk action, this is the best skate game for some years.

Vocally and visually brilliant, but lacks story.

A great action-RPG - a few slight tweaks to the formula could see it become utterly essential. [Nov 2017, p.78]

Retro City Rampage has all the charm, scattershot wit and entertainment value of a drunk, gabbling child. It's shallow, mindless and simple - that's the point.

Temporary frustrations aside, Runner2 is a simple, lovely jog to the right that slowly builds into a manageably hectic rightward run. The easy difficulty might speed your passage through the world, but it's less fun. So don't rob yourself of a new and entirely needless motor skill. Put it on Rather Hard, and stick at it until the skills lodge in your fingers. It's worth it.

This Middle Eastern adventure is one of the most beautiful cinematic games ever devised, but not one of the most rewarding to play. It's also one of the most mature, thoughtful games of recent years, challenging you with ideas and concepts that are far from clear cut. But where is the freedom of choice? Unless you count the difference between the dagger or the sword, there really isn't any.

A clever and satisfying experience that'll test your creativity and patience. [Nov 2017, p.82]

More of the same, which is fine for now. [May 2010, p.96]

Still the best golf game out there, but a short list of new extras means it's not worth the cash if you already own "06." [Nov 2006, p.68]

There's plenty to be getting excited about, despite a slight lack of originality and visual finesse. Make no mistake, Dark Athena is first class stealth/action game with a double dose of top-notch entertainment that competently unites elements of "Mirror's Edge" and the "Splinter Cell" series. [Mar 2009, p.84]

Fast, frantic, furious and fun. [Jan 2008, p.99]

Reminds us how great shooters were before Doom and Wolfenstein were rebooted. [June 2017, p.72]

Lego City hits the heights of the very best Lego games, with only a few of the lows. [June 2017, p.75]

A great series addition for fans and newcomers. [Sept 2009, p.79]

The best of the bunch is Oasis, a posh Middle-Eastern hotel complex full of corridors, courtyards, and shining surfaces. This map has a lot in common with the Hotel level from Black Ops, and provides a real treat for fans of modes like Domination, with plenty of pillars and balconies favouring tactical progression over rush-tactics or camping.

Gloriously shallow co-op shooting. [July 2013, p.79]

FIFA is always at its best when the pitch is tilted in the attacking side's favour, and this year's is a peach. It's not the 'true' next-gen FIFA we've been waiting for, but it's as dynamic and thrilling as any entry in the series thus far.

We're happy to sing this game's praises. [Jan 2010, p.113]

Perfectly evokes the brilliant point-and-clicks of old, from the puzzles to the one-liners. [June 2017, p.77]

The Kinect controls for all these activities feel intuitive, accurate, and responsive. Considering the range of gestures, there's impressively little frustration involved.

About as good as non-human poker gets. [July 2013, p.79]

Sure to keep you entertained for hours. [July 2009, p.96]

It may be tough, but Crown of the Sunken King delivers some of the series' best, most intricate level design so far. [Oct 2014, p.96]

Strange, brilliantly original and almost impossible to stop playing until you've solved the puzzle. [June 2017, p.80]

Battlefield 4 hasn't been too stable since launch, but this pack helps. Varied maps and a fun new mode - we like. [Oct 2014, p.97]

Still downright scarier than most of its successors and an unforgettable journey. [March 2015, p.74]

By permitting Traveller's Tales to parody the movies to such an extent, they've allowed the developer to create something above and beyond the standard movie tie-in. [July 2008, p.86]

The puzzles may be easy, but this is a beautiful and genuinely moving ode to childhood. [June 2017, p.84]

Beautifully thought through, has wonderfully coloured and varied levels and crazed bosses. [Mar 2007, p.92]

On top of its game - this is the one to get. [Christmas 2009, p.92]

Fable III is still a great game, but something this brilliant deserves a more considered - and climactic - ending.

One of the best team FPSs to date.

Def Jam Rapstar has the potential to go from very good to great. For now, it's very, very good. [Issue#67, p.89]

A surprisingly fun tie-in that'll keep kids busy.

With an excellent soundtrack, and beautiful [if simple] art direction, The Bridge is a sensory treat. [Christmas 2013, p.103]

This was never going to be the shock hit that the first game was, because we were forewarned of its excellence. While it does suffer a little from the stellar expectations, this huge finale is its own creature, and easily does MercurySteam's saga justice.

Tweaks and changes have successfully fixed most of EDF 2017's problems without damaging any of the dodgy aspects that made it so wonderfully wonky. If you're in the market for some mindless co-op nonsense, Insect Armageddon's comes highly recommended.

The cruelty of the levels can be frustrating, but you'll keep coming back. The infinite lives and near-instant reloading of checkpoints means stress always loses out to the classic "one-more-go" syndrome.

Divisive ending aside, whatever choices you make in life should lead to you playing this. [Xmas 2014, p.87]

The only regret is that it's so approachable as to make it less effective as a dancing tutor: the ability to muddle through moves and still succeed, and the lack of a hardcore boot camp that shows what you actually look like, means Jacko-esque proficiency isn't guaranteed.

Personality overwhelms in Unbox: Newbie's Adventure, making the world feel alive and kicking - if boxes had feet, that is.

The frantic 2D play, the limited movement options and the massed death from above make it a challenge even to twitch gamers. Throw in four-player survival, a boss battle mode and great co-op and it’s a must-buy.

So while Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has improved in single-player, it's the leap in multiplayer that makes it worth the reinvestment.

We can't tear ourselves away from the purity of the trick system, the pleasure of exercising long-dormant 'hardcore gaming' abilities and the tantalising target that is the top of the Live friends leaderboard.

The minimal animation style underscores that this is the deepest strategy and most hardcore game on Live Arcade, if not on the Xbox 360. [Jan 2007, p.96]

Vibrant and vivacious violence. [June 2013, p.91]

Solid - but lacks the intelligence of "GTA"... Without a doubt, Saints Row's biggest contribution to the genre is multiplayer. This also happens to be the most fun part of the game. [Sept 2006, p.8]

The smartest dumb game on Xbox Live. [Dec 2008, p.101]

Simple ideas knit into a beautiful platformer, if one that's too reliant on a few tricks to earn it essential status. We expect even greater things from Coldwood in the future. [Apr 2016, p.78]

A gimmicky but fun mix of fan service. [June 2013, p.103]

Excellent value. [Dec 2009, p.106]

F.E.A.R. is a good-looking FPS with great sound and amazing gunfights, but it lacks variety – sharing Condemned’s bent for basements, air vents, abandoned factories, offices and so on, and the identikit enemies don’t help.

Excellent single-player offering for those who aren't usually into fighting games. [Christmas 2018, p.74]

Just great action, a love of superhero cinema, and not one overpriced level pack in sight. [Apr 2016, p.82]

If you can demonstrate a bit of self-control, though, or better yet actually risk failure by limiting the number of continues you get in the menus, this is definitely one of the better sidescrollers around.

The Clone Wars is no bold new chapter for the evergreen franchise, but give it five minutes and you'll soon succumb. The Force is still strong.

Perfect if you can't afford a real dragon. [June 2011, p.103]

Perfect multiplayer customisation. [May 2007, p.94]

With Xbox Live play, leagues and mini-games you're never going to be bored - unless you just don't like American football. [Nov 2006, p.100]

Find turn-based strategy too intimidating but puzzle games too lightweight? This inspired hybrid bridges the gap perfectly, mashing up two stale genres and finding something fresh. [Apr 2016, p.88]

The personalities are great, and brilliantly caricatured. The matches are as much fun to watch as they are to play. The attempts to add variety don't always work - four-player tag teams are fun, but the rest is fairly uninspired - so it might not last too long without DLC.

While the polish is there, the Rockstar sense of humour and typical depth and complexity of experience are both sadly absent. [July 2006, p.80]

A good-looking and therapeutic dose of bird-tweeting, ripples of applause and gasps of mild horror. If you're happy paying the price of admission for a more streamlined experience and the Augusta National, don't let us stop you.

It adds visual punch, improved multiplayer, a better sense of progression (as new licenses must now be acquired to unlock further tracks) and an intimidatingly powerful editor with the potential to punt the game's longevity into the stratosphere. For 1,200 MP this is as unmissable an XBLA title as its predecessor and, while it's not quite an evolution, it's certainly an example of intelligent design.

A stylish, unsubtle but solid co-op shooter with lashings of old-school charm. [Nov 2018, p.75]

The most polished WWE game for years, with MyPlayer mode a highlight. [Christmas 2018, p.88]

This episode ends on a doozy of a cliffhanger, but as a fan of the comics (and to a lesser extent, the TV show), I'm worried it's straying into another kind of scenario we've seen played out several times before. Here's hoping Telltale proves me wrong. Keep that hair short.

A Destiny/No Man's Sky hybrid that you'll happily lose yourself in for many hours. [Christmas 2018, p.90]

An imperfect but thoughtful game that demands time, and will reward you by eating it up. [Aug 2018, p.71]

That's some good footballing sir. [Nov 2011, p.110]

The best LEGO game for a while, perfectly pitched for couch co-op family fun. [Christmas 2018, p.93]

The pack feels both more adventurous and more complete - a differently styled distillation of the things Skyrim does best which should last you well into Christmas.

A slick, chaotic arcade driving/combat game too easily spoiled by lag. [Aug 2018, p.74]

There are few titles that are as charming as Overlord II, and only in this distorted fantasy world could playing the bad guy be so fun, engaging and - most importantly - guiltless.

EA's touchdown sim gets plenty right, and leaves behind some fallow seasons. [Nov 2018, p.83]

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