Murderous and mad, this is one of the silliest, most immersive open worlds on Xbox. [June 2018, p.73]

A gripping, well-told horror story held back by occasionally awkward handling.

Hitman: Blood Money is a unique and hugely enjoyable experience. Sure, it's violently amoral and the controls aren't fantastic, but what really makes it is a palpable sense of freedom.

If you're a metal fan, you'll love it. But if you didn't have to prise your fingers out of the devil-horn pose to play, you'll finish it in a day and feel underwhelmed.

Gloriously imaginative and heaps of fun. [Nov 2008, p.100]

Still the best footballing gameplay out there, shame about the licenses. [Dec 2018, p.86]

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]

The reason it works is it's so damn accessible.

Fluid and uniquely told. A classic reborn. [Aug 2007, p.102]

Satisfyingly chunky, Pitt's a knockout. [June 2009, p.92]

While the [single-player] combat is still brilliant and it looks a lot better, the unskippable cutscenes, unvaried locations, irritating characters and mini-games all really grate. However, adding in the much improved multiplayer with a variety of cool vehicles, Treyarch has really rounded off Infinity Ward's vision. [Dec 2006, p.90]

The moment-to-moment action of narrowly avoiding explosions and falling buildings produces hundreds of those heart-in-mouth moments that Burnout is so famous for. While comparisons to Critereon's superlative series are inevitable, Black Rock's effort is, if anything, even more spectacular.

One of the best sports franchises just got... exactly the same. [Xmas 2014, p.85]

The love that's gone into this HD remake makes it more than worth its budget price. If you've never checked out this series, don't get bogged down by details: Halo is about a big bloke shooting cool guns at cool aliens in cool places. Ten years later, that's still enough.

There's a great game in Revengeance, buried under the rubble of a previous franchise collapse. With a little less zatsu and a little more dan, Platinum Games could be on to something.

There's no denying that PES 2013 is a huge improvement over the last few offerings. However, the years spent fixing the football side of things have allowed FIFA to eclipse it in terms of game modes, so that's what Konami should now focus on evolving for next year's edition.

A game that celebrates the HD-era Sega rather than the old, forgotten one. Good job it's such a blast to play, then.

It’s strategically strong, with custom setups, objectives and teams available. The ten or so maps are, as always, well balanced though uninspired, and the AI can be a beast – humans even tougher.

The most exhilarating moments, however, arrive care of the game's brutal action sequences.

Still fresh 15 years on - and just as much fun. [Christmas 2007, p.107]

A traditional but beautifully crafted, memorable shooter with loads of personality. [Issue#225, p.78]

By far the best, most revined version of FIFA yet - its presentation and 'big game feel' are second to none. [Dec 2007, p.78]

A confident step up from the already impressive first part and a tantalising taste of what's still to come. [Nov 2014, p.90]

Full of an overwhelming amount of stuff to do this is insane value for money and pretty to boot. Still, we can't help but feel a shake-up is needed for Far Cry 5 to prevent series fatigue.

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

The combination of a compelling plot, plausible characters and a stunning world to explore means that, while rather brief, this is one of the more memorable experiences on the Xbox 360 this year.

Perhaps the most impressive thing, though, is that it's managed to feel like a totally authentic Halo experience, rather than just a cynical spin-off. We've no doubt a strategy game will be a hard sell to a lot of people, but if this introduces even just a small proportion of die-hard Halo fans to a rewarding new genre of game, or indeed just a small proportion of strategy fans to the brilliance of Bungie's rich sci-fi universe, then it can be deemed a success that the now defunct Ensemble Studios can be proud of.

A wonderfully emotional return, but struggles with some poorly written characters. [March 2018, p.76]