An absolutely beautiful recreation of a magnificently designed racer. [Issue#180, p.81]

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.

Crysis 2 skates on the thin ice of its own excellence. There are weaknesses, that might - if the mode-swapping suitplay hadn't been so strong - have dragged the game down. But the story and combat [are] strong enough to carry you through, and if you've got the stomach for competitive multiplayer, the Nanosuit will bring a new world of sneaky, high-jumping tactics to your online game. [Apr 2011, p.84 MC]

A Rare collection without GoldenEye is like the Louvre without the Mona Lisa, true, but it gives us room to appreciate the Raphaels, Michelangelos and, er, just pick this up, okay? [Oct 2015, p.77]

There’s always something to do on your plot of land, and it’ll be a long time before you encounter every species of Piñata and see everything this bright colourful world has to offer.

A winning tribute to TV's crassest kids, wrapped up in a fresh and fun RPG shell.

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.

The passion that BG&E inspires makes it too easy to gloss over the flaws - it'll take you a while to get used to the hyper-sensitive camera, the acting is choppy, and Jade's fighting style is uninspired. But this is a game in which killing comes second to the story, puzzles, the world, and the characters - it's 10-15 hours of genuinely compelling pleasure.

A great story mode and superb presentation, but gameplay clearly lags behind PES. [Dec 2016, p.70]

The best way to experience gaming's most loved, if not best, shooter series. [Dec 2016, p.76]

The aliens don't quite cut it, but Prey offers one of gaming's best settings in years. [July 2017, p.73]

Gears 5 is definitely a success story... it’s just not quite on the same Xbox tier of insta-classic territory as the original Gears Of War. Though combat is satisfying, there’s the nagging doubt it hasn’t evolved enough over the past 13 years – a point hammered home if you play Remedy’s recent Control. Still, despite some overly safe online modes, that refreshed, never-bolder campaign makes Kait’s story a tour of duty you should definitely sign up for. [Issue#183, p.69]

Hitting a difficulty sweet spot, Top Spin 4 is deep enough to let you spend hours mastering the perfect volley, but won't turn its nose up at you if you don't fancy anything more than an occasional late-night session of backhanding with Federer.

It's very much one of the year's best shooters, but for all Frostbite 2's volcanic achievements, it's more a triumph of consolidation, blending elements from past games and popular competitors, than a triumph in its own right.

Improves on the original in almost every way. [July 2010, p.90]

The strongest aspect of ACIII is the more mature moral tone.

An ambient platforming essential. [July 2011, p.102]

A cover shooter sequel with more wild imagination than we dared expect. [Dec 2016, p.67]

Citadel feels fresh compared to the tired 'haunted house' missions of recent DLC packs, and deserves to be filed alongside Kasumi's Stolen Memory and Lair of the Shadow Broker as one of the best expansions to the Mass Effect universe, as well as a fitting full stop for the trilogy.

The slavish devotion to co-op can cause Halo 5 as much grief as reward, but when it works with rather than against its teamwork mechanics the result is an epic, high-octane shooter. [Christmas 2015, p.55]

Each world is packed with mysterious treasures and treacheries just waiting to be discovered, and learning how to use them to shape the world to your benefit is enormously satisfying. [Jan 2015, p.89]

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

NBA 2K7 doesn't have the looks, but its solid on-court action puts you at the heart of the match rather than on the sidelines, with quick-fire tactics that you'd expect to see on ESPN. [Dec 2006, p.88]

This is old-school style gaming, sticking proudly with the DMC staple. Nevertheless, Capcom has got the balance right this time. "Devil May Cry 3" was undoubtedly the pinnacle of the series, despite becoming insanely difficult far too quickly. Here it's a much slower incline rather than a sharp spike.

The best band tie-in to date. [June 2009, p.79]

The closest any racer has come to completely simulating its target sport. [Nov 2018, p.94]

Civilization Revolution is currently the best strategy game available on the console. It has the controls, it has the pedigree, it has the depth, it has the multiplayer and most of all it has the accessibility. [July 2008, p.80]

Yooka-Laylee smartly ditches 3D to instead focus on perfecting 2D platforming. [Issue#184, p.77]