That seed of potential excellence is frustrating, when the execution falls so regularly short of great.

Even though it's a bit of a flashy game, Ninja Blade is surprisingly shallow. It's not particularly long either - you can see everything in less than 10 hours, which doesn't help much with replayability. Worst of all, the novelties it wants you to like, it shoves in your face quite rudely many times over - resulting in a hack-and-slash that could have ultimately been a lot, er, sharper.

It's not very good. Who'd have thunk it? [Aug 2009, p.93]

The worst game on Xbox 360 to date. [June 2009, p.93]

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

Some truly neat ideas made ugly and fiddly.

Okay, it's a lighter package than the annual Smackdown update, but with the inclusion of a huge hunk of videos and a pitch-perfect retro flair, this return to the golden age of wrestling is well worth a look.

There's no multiplayer, and even on the Hard setting this game is a piece of cake. It's fun while it lasts, but it ends so quickly you're bound to be disappointed.

A fun but brief monster mash. [June 2009, p.93]

Resident Evil 5 has to unfortunately go down as one of the biggest gaming disappointments in recent memory, simply because it's merely great rather than unbelievable. It lags behind 2008's better games in each and every facet it seeks to excel in - Dead Space is scarier, Left 4 Dead is a superior co-op experience and Gears 2 is still the best third-person, cover-based shooter money can buy.

It's hugely addictive, enormously satisfying and will only set you back 800 points. What are you waiting for? [May 2009, p.96]

How about pursuing a price drop, EA? [May 2009, p.95]

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.

HAWX is an enormously exciting shooter, and manages to take modern combat, strip away the technical side favoured by the Ace Combat series, and create a game that's inspired more by the myth of fighter pilots than the reality. And as any three-headed fire-breathing griffin will tell you, the myth is far more entertaining. [Mike Channel]

It's too agonising to play through - and while that might be intentional, it's not in any way enjoyable. [May 2009, p.86]

Not bad if you can bring the skills. [Nov 2009, p.95]

A likeable shooter and a solid weekend's entertainment. [Apr 2009, p.78]

Pretty, but flaws stop it touching the stars. [June 2009, p.86]

This really is absolutely shocking.

Ultimately, if you can put up with the fact that it's aesthetically rough around the edges, you're unlikely to find a more viscerally rewarding racing experience than RACE Pro. [Feb 2009, p.78]

The only major disappointment is final boss Seth. Given how imaginative the rest of the crew are, going toe-to-toe with a bald, blue baddie that bears more than a passing resemblance to Bioshock's Fontaine feels like something of an anticlimax.

For the price, it's unmissable, and it proves that Liberty City can support far more than the two pieces of DLC Rockstar has committed to.

F.E.A.R. 2 delivers some meaty combat, but fails to improve on the original. Where was the ambition to innovate or surprise? It's by no means terrible, but for such a major franchise, more was expected. This is still an enjoyable shooter, just not a particularly hair-raising one.

Old-school Sega fans will be in heaven. [Apr 2009, p.91]

Quirky but not worth the asking price. [Apr 2009, p.90]

X-tremely poor in every respect. [May 2009, p.95]

Sloppy slashwork fails to hit its target. [Apr 2009, p.84]

For obsessive kit hoarders only. [Apr 2009, p.86]