One good mode can't stop this getting pinned. [Nov 2008, p.96]

A great continuation of one of the greatest sports games on 360.

Our advice: fix the career, add in some quirky new modes other than the Gamer Face, and widen the character's fighting styles beyond one special attack, and we'll be queuing up for Round 2.

A big-hearted game with some rip-off DLC. [Dec 2008, p.101]

A strategy romp that's as much hit as it is miss. [Nov 2008, p.84]

Untangling this new world's intrigues, both political and personally for characters, is unreasonably complex. New terminologies and faces are thrown at you at such rapid pace in the first few hours that you find yourself not caring.

A clever cross between life sim and silly little collecting game with a lot of fun online party action thrown in, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise will appeal to a hell of a lot of people, thanks to its superbly created and welcoming open world.

The sequel adds considerable depth to the original's plus points, without turning it into a serious economic simulation of trying to work out how to get the right amount of Snickers bars to feed your hungry mercenaries.

Gloriously imaginative and heaps of fun. [Nov 2008, p.100]

A tale worth telling to JRPG fans everywhere. [July 2009, p.90]

This isn't just an excellent introduction to the series, but a great expansion of it to keep veterans interested. Without Xbox Live you'll miss out on some of the really cool stuff, but for everyone else 2009 is definitely the year of the Tiger.

Addictive, frantic and a worthy sequel. [Nov 2008, p.100]

It's the sort of game that, when things are going badly, leaves you spending a lot of time not being able to do anything about it. You've made a mistake, and now you have to sit back and twiddle your thumbs.

The tennis is good when your'e in a match. You feel like you're really in control of the game thanks to the array of shots at your disposal, but the pace of it and the euthanasia-like tedium of the Pro Tour will put most players off after half an hour. [Aug 2008, p.84]

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.

This is dull. So very, very dull.

It's online that Madden 09 really comes into its own. [Oct 2008, p.88]

Unique, charming, frustrating, innovative. [Oct 2008, p.94]

With the hilarity of multiplayer locked until you finish the solo missions, and a slightly too-high price, this is one to miss. Shame. [July 2008, p.94]

As wonderfully addictive as ever. [Oct 2008, p.94]

It's fortunate the series can now rest on the safety net of online play and character customization because, without it this would be a slender, anorexic package - a tad ironic, when you consider just how much attention Namco has lavished on its buxom babes.

Summer Athletics gets off to a good start with a generally competent control system. It's a shame that its lack of features means that it can't quite go the distance, and ultimately ends up coughing, wheezing and spluttering after just four or five hours of gameplay.

Not the hole-in-one you've been hoping for. [Sept 2008, p.92]

Innovative co-op...shame about the rest. [Sept 2008, p.92]

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]

Not nearly enough fun. [Aug 2008, p.93]

As a tech demo of Xbox 360's power and a showcase of how fast, skilful and enjoyable simple online battling can be when it's taken back to basics, there's nothing better around right now.

Confusing, annoying and frustrating. [Nov 2008, p.97]