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]