A solid bike sim, but one that lacks a bit of atmosphere and excitement.

Same game, bigger map. [Mar 2011, p.103]

Gently frustrating but well put together. [Sept 2013, p.93]

Pleasure and pain in a single package. [Mar 2011, p.105]

I'd go as far as to say that Killer Instinct is my favourite launch title for Xbox One. With a little more content, it could seriously have been a killer app for the system. It might be only half a game so far, but what an excellent half that is.

Not so easy to learn, even harder to master. [Mar 2011, p.107]

Hardcore fight fans are going to love it, but Arcana Heart 3 makes no real concessions to more casual players.

Another competent ball-matching puzzler. [July 2007, p.104]

Karaoke strong, but guitar weak. [Jan 2010, p.109]

Telltale make the most of what could have been a flabby third entry by piling on the pressure and ensuring you know that no-one is to be trusted. That said, the game's mechanics are clearly starting to show, which doesn't do the story any favours.

It looks great, it's easy to play and there are plenty of game modes to get through. But the loose and clumsy gameplay still has some way to go before it can match the ongoing king of football games, "Pro Evo."

We'd rather pay a higher price and get the game proper than being told we'll have to shell out for at least two more packs upon purchase. [Christmas 2006, p.108]

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.

Frontlines feels like an unfinished testing ground for excellent ideas that would have shone in a superb FPS game. Unfortunately, as there's not enough game modes, not enough maps and a weak single-player campaign, this is not a superb FPS game. [Mar 2008, p.88]

The gameplay itself has changed very little. [Dec 2006, p.82]

The game's still an utterly charming and absorbing linear platformer, with plenty of secrets knotted into its path.

It rivals Skyrim's scope, but as a genre piece (albeit a smart one), it lacks the other game's mystery - there's no craggy elusiveness, no glacial hinting at secrets beyond comprehension, to help you overlook the more familiar elements. It's less a world you discover, ultimately, as one you revisit, and that's a failing no amount of fancy footwork can disguise.

A decent, if inessential, upgrade. [June 2015, p.86]

That Ubisoft saw fit to make a shooter for laughs is enormously commendable, and a step that we hope others will follow. But its commitment to dumbing down means that this is a pure-bred B-game rather than all-star A-lister.

Let's put it in football terms: PES = modern, continental manager. FIFA = Mike Bassett. Like Liverpool, FIFA has talent, but it could be a long road back to contention.

Kinect Joy Ride provides a crammed package with plenty of games, a fine selection of unlockables and a challenge that offers plenty of room for improvement of your skills. If you're looking for a launch title to really get your teeth into even when you're on your own, you could do much worse than this.

There's wonderful art direction, fun combat, a great range of quests and some cute cutscenes. But it's the video game equivalent of a variety show. In offering everything, Darksiders II never once achieves greatness. Which is a shame, because if there is a Darksiders III at some point in the future the odds are it's going to be even broader.

A beautiful but unchallenging exploration game that's a little on the brief side.

It's Hexic. But, y'know, again. And better. [Oct 2007, p.98]

A bit broken, quite derivative and short on narrative appeal - but rich with customisation possibilities and enjoyable at the level of the firefight.

An encouraging start for the series, but future episodes need to pack more punch. [July 2017, p.80]

In the end, the titular journey proves to be far more satisfying than the eventual destination, but so it is with all adventures into outer space in search of unknown powers, right? The success here is how it meshes and moulds so many familiar ideas and motifs, while remaining so alien. [Issue#187, p.87]

If all you want is to gun down wave after wave of enemies set to the pleasant Southern drawl of its narrator, hang up your spurs and have at it. If however, you demand a little innovation with your arcade shooters, then much like Silas himself, tales of Gunslinger's greatness may be greatly exaggerated.