Plodding, bland fair. [July 2009, p.95]

This game is a shameful dismantling of an iconic (though possibly equally shameful) gaming figure. [June 2009, p.101]

Genuinely uninteresting racing. [July 2009, p.94]

Five years ago it might have been average. [June 2009, p.100]

A great idea that's failed because of execution. [May 2009, p.96]

The Last Remnant takes every opportunity to avoid immersion, if only this was the last remnant of the J-RPG on the PC. [June 2009, p.98]

A gorgeous dystopian setting. [June 2009, p.96]

Not an unwanted game, just one that's an uninspiring, run-of-the-mill shooter - aside from the lead curving. [June 2009, p.97]

Now play it, because I desperately need to talk to someone about it. [June 2009, p.100]

The gaming equivalent of Flight 1549: starts well then mercilessly plops into the Hudson River of bad flight sims.

Mildly engaging. [May 2009, p.97]

It's a hard game, but that challenge and scope will be what keeps you coming back after your arse is handed to you. Again.

The Complete Edition is a great way to introduce newbies to this RTS masterpiece. [May 2009, p.93]

A colossus of a game. The challenges presented by the Grand Campaign firmly establish Empire as the stuff of legend: it’s far-reaching, truly massive and utterly engrossing. Once more, CA has refused to rest upon its laurels, creating one hell of a time-filching game; expect some late nights and canceled social engagements once Empire hits your hard drive.

It's just not as 'hilarious' as perhaps it seems in its native land and, although it's sometimes a pleasing adventure, at 30 quid, I'd struggle to recommend it. [June 2009, p.101]

A splendid idea hampered by an average execution and a hideously uninteresting setting.

Most Puzzle Quest aficionados will quickly end up returning to the original.

The quests are interesting. [May 2009, p.97]

Dawn of War 2 is relentless, grindy, beautiful, but never less than an utterly compulsive real-time strategy game.

It may seem like a retrograde step for a modern FPS, but FEAR 2 still ticks all the boxes in terms of no-holds barred action. [Mar 2009, p.94]

Good intro to the PC for the Burnout series, but though it’s not meant to be a sim, we’d prefer a bit more meat on our games.

Sadly, those stand-out courses occur far too infrequently. [Apr 2009, p.98]

Its three hours of solid combat with identical soldiers gets wearing extremely quickly with nothing else to distract you.

A fantastic concept struggling against the weight of realism, and a community that can be frustratingly silent. [Mar 2009, p.99]

Tolkien must be revolving speedily in his grave. [Apr 2009, p.48]

A thrillingly kinetic scramble through gaming's prettiest Orwellian dystopia. It has the feeblest fight sequences, yet its greatness shines through. [Feb 2009, p.94]

The freedom that the game allows you to complete a level in your own way is both its beauty and its Achilles heel. [Apr 2009, p.98]

Like GTA used to be before it got all serious. This isn't just a sandbox, it's a brilliant, personalised playground of fun. [Mar 2009, p.92]

Fails to be what it sets out to be – a game. But still manages to be a charming journey for anyone with plenty of patience.

While beautiful, the sometimes frustrating combat and last-minute rescues aren't quite a patch of the "Sands of Time." [Feb 2009, p.88]

Defense Grid is fun while it lasts, but won't last you very long. [Feb 2009, p.101]

It's a half-decent game at a bargain price. Which doesn't, unfortunately, make it a wholly good game to actually play. [Mar 2009, p.96]

The most grown-up GTA and the best realised, but it doesn't respect the PC much. Enjoy the multiplayer madness if you can. [Christmas 2008, p.96]

It's a fresh idea, more than worth a few of your Earth lunchtimes. [Feb 2009, p.101]

In an age when intelligent, engrossing first person shooters rule the roost, Legendary feels positively ancient. [Jan 2009, p.100]

Lush, satisfying and thoughtful. [Jan 2009, p.92]

The 3D engine is hardly a revolution, but once the community get working the visuals will match the incredible simulation. [Jan 2009, p.96]

Possibly too relentless for the less devout mouse-jockey, but it's astounding proof that being a brain-dead shooter is a very good thing. [Jan 2009, p.86]

A High Fantasy MMO for the discerning player, which now has an expansion that, if not quite ruling them all, will keep many in its thrall. [Mar 2009, p.96]

Slog through the first few hours of Need for Speed: Undercover and you'll find something worth playing. But should you have to? [Feb 2009, p.96]

Bigger, prettier and cleverer than before and for most the perfect evolution. [Jan 2009, p.90]

Definitely the most realistic of the two big arcade footie franchises on the PC, but the steep learning curve may put off some gamers. [Feb 2009, p.92]

Mindless hack-n-slash nonsense, in a very pretty world. [Jan 2009, p.98]

It's a slick shooter, but the ultra-generic Japan campaign makes it feel very much the cut price CoD4 remake. [Jan 2009, p.94]

Homecoming adds a few small elements to the mix. [Jan 2009, p.100]

Largely solid, but it's just not exciting. [Jan 2009, p.99]

Pleasant enough, but it feels like little more than a glorified iPhone game. [Christmas 2009, p.95]

Even bolder and louder than ever. [Christmas 2008, p.92]

It couldn't possibly satisfy all of our hopes, but Fallout 3 is still a glorious experience that will utterly nuke your social life. [Christmas 2008, p.86]

Web of Shadows aims for a sandbox GTA-style open environment, but has neither the verve, nor the technical ability to pull it off. [Jan 2009, p.101]

One of the main areas in which MotoGP '08 impresses is its extensive career mode. [Christmas 2008, p.99]

Sumptuously realised, stuffed with action and pushed along by an engaging plot. Far Cry 2 is how shooters should be made. [Dec 2008, p.86]

Not without epic moments, but even they can't shift the 'lazy console conversion' feeling that permeates the pant-soiling atmosphere. [Christmas 2008, p.90]

If you're a fan of the sport, there's little bad to say about NBA 2K9. [Christmas 2008, p.99]

For a fiver, it's not too bad - a little different, at least. But that's all. [Sept 2008, p.116]

A far more tactical FIFA than we've seen before, though sorely lacking the 360's impressive new online mode. [Dec 2008, p.96]

Indie gaming's finest hour and the best puzzle game since "Lemmings." Easy on the eyes, your system and your wallet - it's a triumph. [Christmas 2008, p.94]

A proper war game that tries to have its rations and eat them, and chokes because of that. [Dec 2008, p.94]

A refinement. [Christmas 2008, p.98]

Luckily, get into the actual game to practice your skills and failure is quite painless. [Jan 2009, p.101]

Best of all, Col08 brings multiplayer to the table for the first time, making it even more fun to smash the other European powers in your race to dominate the New World. [Dec 2008, p.99]

How the hell does such a simple system manage to be this fiddly? [Feb 2009, p.100]

It's a gorgeous, charming and suitably priced offering. [Dec 2008, p.99]

Easily the most important MMO launch in years, and a much needed shot in the arm for the genre. [Dec 2008, p.90]

As an arcade blast it's an impressively polished and well worth a look if PC's lack of "SSX appeal" has graded for all those years. [Christmas 2008, p.98]

Crysis: Warhead offers another six hours of more open-world shooting at a bargain price. Still a shame about the aliens. [Nov 2008, p.102]

Rough enough around the edges to replace sandpaper. [Jan 2009, p.100]

I forsee this causing some severe sleep deprivation. [Dec 2008, p.98]

Finally, The Witcher fulfills its potential, and, best of all, it's available as a free update, just in case you bought it anyway. [Nov 2008, p.110]

Not strictly a failure, but it is potentially 2008's most disappointing PC game, and will certainly need a hefty post-release patch. [Oct 2008, p.100]

Assuming that the humour clicks with you. This is a first episode as awesome as the Bad of Much Strong himself. [Nov 2008, p.109]

Despite a clunky couple of stages and too much micromanagement, it's the vast galactic toybox that we've prayed for. [Nov 2008, p.98]

Great in small, explosive doses, particularly with a friend, but longevity is unlikely to be one of its strong points. [Nov 2008, p.106]

A game that feels a bit like what Lord of the Rings would have been if Tolkein had decided to write it on an Excel spreadsheet. [May 2008, p.113]

The spirit of GTR lives on, but the engine needs an overhaul and even the hardcore's patience will eventually wear thin. [Dec 2008, p.98]

Not a new game, but certainly looks like one. It's a great ride, but if you've seen it before, you've seen it all before. [Aug 2008, p.104]

A must-have for anyone who has fond memories of the golden age of games, whether you played the original or not. [Oct 2008, p.108]

A big disappointment after a promising preview. Far too simplistic and generic to hold anyone's attention for any length of time. [Oct 2008, p.104]

Includes everything you'd want from a game about the 2008 Olympics, apart from the fun gameplay and repression of Tibet bits. [Nov 2008, p.108]

There's nothing to see here whatsoever. [June 2008, p.111]

A fun hack-em-up, but like inferior designers who use mirrors to make a room look bigger, this is half the game it pretends to be. [Sept 2008, p.106]

The driving model is so bad, it makes you wonder if anyone involved has ever been in a car. [Sept 2008, p.117]

Wears its simplicity on its sleeve and is certainly a different slant on the genre. [Oct 2007, p.66]

Slightly fun, but only in the most stupid definition of that word. [Sept 2008, p.115]

It's as much fun as cycling up the wrong side of the M5. [Sept 2008, p.115]

Just another lazy-port-slash-cheap-cash-in that is designed to fleece fans of the film, who in this case are mostly children. [Oct 2008, p.114]

Occasionally veers on gimmickery, but it's genuinely a smart, novel strategy game. Well worth a turn on your rig. [Sept 2008, p.112]

An engaging, if sometimes brain fizzing, option. [Sept 2008, p.114]

Poor controls and too much reliance on trial and error in order to progress within the game. Hacking up the zombies is good fun, though. [Sept 2008, p.102]

Momentarily entertaining clicky clunky puzzling, but lacking enough real imaginative freedom to make it truly essential. [Sept 2008, p.110]

The only thing you'll be smashing if you buy this game is the area surrounding your PC. It really is truly offensive. [Sept 2008, p.114]

Like going to dinner with a supermodel only to discover she's also as witty as a stand-up comic; GRID is gorgeous and emormously good fun. [July 2008, p.104]

Familiar and frivolous, let down by respawning enemies spoiling the fun. And did we mention atrocious vehicles? [Aug 2008, p.96]

One of the worst adventures I've ever played. [Sept 2008, p.116]

Mass Effect's impressive storytelling struggles against remarkably clunky combat action, and wins - but only just. [July 2008, p.100]

What it lacks in logic, it more than makes up for in mood and atmosphere. [Sept 2008, p.114]

A frustrating experience. [June 2008, p.106]

Every bit as ambitious as it is visually stunning. A little more polish, and WoW could finally have serious competition on its hands. [Aug 2008, p.92]