As a street-legal version of a purebred racer, Horizon is something that anybody with an interest in cars can pick up quickly and play for ages. And if you don't like cars already, well, it might just persuade you.

Egypt and star Bayek make this a promising forebear to a new age of Creed.

Simply a must-have puzzle game. [Sept 2010, p.101]

Enormous, handsome and in love with the subtleties of world design, storytelling and class-based combat. The finest Dragon Age yet, and the most accomplished RPG so far on Xbox One.

It’s a familiar template that The Outer Worlds builds itself around, but the depth and wit within its universe invites you ever-deeper. There’s social commentary and late-stage capitalism gallows humour all over the place, but it’s the richness of its imagined future that really holds the attention. [Issue#184, p.84]

Wildly chaotic but obscenely enjoyable. [Mar 2011, p.91]

Codemasters have created their best racing game - and possibly the best F1 game ever. [Nov 2016, p.86]

The genre's star might be fading ever so slightly, and this game is no revolution, but it does deliver great music and a more refined band experience.

The greatest triumph is that it'll make you laugh and go 'wow' for the entire seven hours and then some. [Oct 2006, p.8]

Its enhanced framerate, more responsive controls and extra gameplay modes mean it's the most complete gridiron experience on the console. It's just...didn't we play this last year? [Oct 2007, p.94]

This year’s PES has improved its game in all the right areas of the pitch, resulting in a pulsating, best-in-class football sim – although there’s room for improvement presentation-wise.

Generous almost to excess, Battleblock Theater is one of Xbox Live Arcade's masterworks, and a reminder that genuine, bona fide imagination is possible even in the twilight of a console generation.

There's a lot of fisticuffs packed in, with a massive 114 fighters from the world of UFC to choose from, as well as the ability to create your own brawler (though the customisation options are more serious than THQ's WWE games - you won't be fighting in a zombie mask).

Mixing tense action sequences and clever character development with thoughtful scripting and meaningful dialogue, Cry Wolf is a spectacular end to an excellent series.

Even when we're note marvelling at this marriage of plastic blocks and Death Stars, there's something incredible going on in this game, and it's all in the little details. [Oct 2006, p.68]

At 800 MP, Forces of Nature is hard to resist. Epic's final and most dramatic dose of Season Pass content turns out to be its most conciliatory, a club sandwich of new and warmed-over jollies that belongs on every menu.

A beautiful, bleak puzzle game that any newcomer willing to look death in the eye should pick up. [Feb 2015, p.82]

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.

Trine 2 is a vivid and stunning game that spins the colour wheel on nature. It's completely absorbing as a single-player experience and bawdy puzzle fun with company. Just remember to turn on the unlimited mode and get stuck in.

Still struggles with technical problems, but the gameplay is tight, tense and tactical. [Dec 2018, p.80]

It has a solid, unrelenting challenge that will remind veteran gamers of years gone by when games made no apologies for being so stupidly, frustratingly, agonisingly tough.

Much more than the sum of its parts, Life is Strange is equally absorbing forcing us into impossible choices or capturing the joy of the mundane. It's not perfect, but you won't forget it in a hurry.

This exceptional tactical stealth game gives new life to what was a tiring genre. [Nov 2017, p.80]

A refreshing alternative to the darker platformers of the last few years.

Trials at its finest: simply to play it is to have a blast, and you can’t ask for more than that.

One of the best exploration games ever, thanks to a small but perfectly crafted setting. [Issue#179, p.85]

Far Cry 2 is this year's equivalent of Assassin's Creed... when it comes to enveloping the player in exotic sights and sounds, Ubisoft has absolutely nailed it. [Issue # 40]

FIFA 07 is fantastic. The reworked gameplay feels so right and its Xbox Live support is amazing. [Nov 2006, p.66]