RalliSport Challenge is a cracking rally game that just falls short in so many places it can’t make the podium. For sheer content and powersliding potential, it’ll deliver in spades until "Colin McRae 3." Just don’t expect a perfect ride.

Harry Potter may posses a certain charm that transcends the generation gap, but don’t expect this game to weave the same magic.

Perimeter is capital-‘huh?’ weird from start to finish, in a brilliant way. The trouble is it’s also hard, with the single-player campaign often being incredibly frustrating.

A good addition to Galaxies which will only get better with time. [Christmas 2004, p.114]

The necessity to move between labs to drop off every single new clue and pick up results is more than a little tiresome. [Feb 2005, p.92]

Enormously inventive and irreverant silliness, and made of LEGO! [May 2005, p.94]

RPG fans will cry. [June 2011, p.86]

Everything in Northern Strike is fine. None of it, however, is vital. [Apr 2007, p.65]

When it does get going it's a crateworth of time-control fun. [Sept 2010, p.102]

The mix of real-time strategy and first-person war action works very well in places, but it's a touch lacking in drama. [Apr 2007, p.60]

Satisfying and technically proficient carnage. Watch that bodywork fly. [Sept 2006, p.103]

Not a massive leap forward from Advanced Warfighter, but it's definitely a worthy addition to any tactical shoooter fan's collection. [Aug 2007, p.58]

The force is just about strong enough to conceal the flaws. [Nov 2004]

This is one of the most original indie games we've seen in ages. A one-trick pony it may be, but what a trick it is. [June 2010, p.94]

When a game is this gripping, who cares about a slightly cranky engine? [May 2006, p.91]

The best Pacific-based flight sim you can buy, without question. [Dec 2004, p.86]

You'll enjoy solving the puzzles and the story is bizarre enough to keep you clicking along happily. [June 2006, p.97]

It needs a lot more polish, but it's a really enjoyable romp, with some splendid scene-stealing stories. [Apr 2008, p.108]

If you're looking for a fine-tuned, accurate representation of air-sea combat, you'll have to look elsewhere; If you fancy classic arcade dogfights where every battle is against the odds, Heroes is for you. [Oct 2005, p.93]

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

A schizophrenic game that would have been better-served had it focused on just half of what it sets out to do. [Dec 2009, p.86]

Our favourite is the A-10 Warthog – cruising at 50 feet, on the prowl for enemy tanks, it’s one of the most exhilarating missions available in any recent simulator.

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

If it’s championship kicks that you’re after, get yourself a copy of "PES 3," because what it lacks in glitz it makes up for tenfold in terms of gameplay. We certainly wouldn’t be seen kicking about with anything else.

Hard to get your head around, and not rewarding even if you stick with it. [Aug 2006, p.96]

It's got entertainment in spades. [Feb 2010, p.86]

Appealing to both the single and multiplayer real-time strategist, although R.U.S.E. will be a hard mistress online. [Issue#245, p.102]

Not big and not clever, but lots of simple, high-paced fun while it lasts... The story fits the action: it's speedy, unchallenging, over-the-top yet quite entertaining. [Apr 2005, p.108]

A well-executed sim, on the whole, but it lacks genuinely unique features. [June 2006, p.86]

A lazy port of a great game. Do not attempt to play it without a joypad, or you may end up moaning like one of the Spanish zombies. [Apr 2007, p.69]

Exactly what you'd expect, and full of good ideas. [Nov 2005, p.92]

Demigod is simple in concept, but thoroughly engaging and great fun. More content would make this an essential buy. [June 2009, p.92]

Headshot heaven for FPS addicts. [Dec 2005, p.92]

The production values are far higher than many rivals, and anyone looking back fondly on the RPGs of yesteryear will soon be sucked in. [Feb 2008, p.115]

Surprisingly, there is no option for random generation of islands, nor is there any scope for multiplayer frolics, making it feel rather limited.

It just doesn't feel like footie. [Feb 2011, p.107]

A less than appealing rehash of an uninspiring game. [Christmas 2006, p.104]

A welcome return to the Prince we all know and love, but we feel that now we know him just a little too well. [Aug 2010, p.92]

High seas trading, not hijacks. Passes the time, but gets old fast.

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]

It's primary objective isn't to engage you as a gamer; it's to engage you as a human being. And that makes it worth your time. [June 2006, p.90]

Slightly grotty in parts, but entertaining. [Feb 2005, p.93]

Solid, satsifying violence, but look elsewhere for genuine terror. [Christmas 2006, p.104]

Everywhere you look there's another cute animation and another cool gadget. Combine this with an addictive research tree and a challenging campaign, and you have yourself a great combination of "Dungeon Keeper" and "Austin Powers" - just not a very long one. [Oct 2004, p.94]

Forward-looking tech, backwards-looking gaming.

The best RPG we've played in a long time. [Apr 2011, p.101]

A competent example of a PC port and of an RPG, but its obsessions with consumerism dampens the adventure. [Aug 2011, p.100]

It teeters on the brink of greatness but never quite gets there.

The relentlessly brain-dead action gets a bit dull after a while. [Feb 2005, p.85]

Unquestionably the most impressive thoroughly mediocre game you'll play this year - but hardly a religious experience. [Nov 2005, p.98]

The best version of FIFA Manager I've played and has a level of depth I've not seen before from EA. [Jan 2010, p.93]

Gory and pointless – just one more tedious stealth game.

A bad trip down memory lane - this is the FPS circa 1996 incarnate. [July 2006, p.95]

It is engaging, interesting, and definitely a little bit of a break from the norm. [July 2007, p.71]

A competent shooter that makes the best of its license. Those early 80s cartoons have been suitably honoured. [Sept 2010, p.100]

The challenge of maintaining your reputation in the face of a weak Nile, defending the city from attack and completing the scenarios is gratifying, but there's not really enough here to justify long-term play. [March 2005, p.99]

This is a flawed game, but it's getting better. [Feb 2010, p.95]

The most interesting part of the episode is how it plays with the characters. [Sept 2010, p.104]

A waste of time for all involved, go watch paint dry instead. [Aug 2005, p.97]

An example of British resilience, striving on against daft AI.

A difficult prospect when you're playing with a pad that has different mapping than the game it's set up for. [Nov 2007, p.57]

JC isn't perfect. There are some stolid, on-rails bits, the missions get repetitive, and did we mention the physics is crap? But there's abundant pleasure to be found. [Dec 2006, p.116]

Despite its fantastic visualisation of Wonderland, repetitive gameplay means it fails to muster a chortle. [Sept 2011, p.100]

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

So, there are short bursts of charm, interspersed with long sections of tedium. [Dec 2005 p.89]

If you're after something laid-back but enjoyable you could do far, far worse. [June 2010, p.101]

Unfortunately, sheer numbers alone are just not enough to set this apart from the competition. [Nov 2005, p.90]

An almost-perfect war game that manages to deliver just enough for real-time strategy and sim fans alike. [July 2009, p.90]

Offers great weapons, a great destruction model...and not enough ways to have fun with them. [July 2011, p.94]

The idea is excellent, but overall a weaker expansion than the first and not as exciting. [July 2010, p.98]

Ultimately, the lack of a convincing "feel," combined with a predictable and rather uninspired selection of weapons mean War World is never going to grasp you by the imagination and shake you with a hydraulic arm until you lie limp and broken. [Oct 2005, p.98]

It may be unoriginal, but it's got the atmosphere. [May 2006, p.90]

Unfinished and unrewarding, the game's gorgeous artwork is not matched by the plot or the nonsensical puzzles. [Feb 2009, p.98]

Rather too over-familiar, but still a very entertaining stealth experience.

Vietcong is everything Platoon should’ve been: realistic, immersive, tense, reasonably flexible, and thoroughly addictive. How ironic that two Czech developers should be the first to create a truly brilliant Vietnam game.

A cumbersome and confusing affair. Order a full retreat. [June 2006, p.86]

It's not going to keep you up late for months on end. [Dec 2007, p.58]

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

A strong stomach is more important than a Pentium IV for this one. [March 2005, p.113]

Worth a bash, but lacks the multiplayer support to hold your attention throughout. [Oct 2009, p.90]

An atmospheric online version of D&D. Best with friends - but what isn't? [Apr 2006, p.86]

Fans should definitely indulge but more frugal souls who choose to meet Monica for the first time via a budget copy of the original game are certainly no fools.

There are times when this can be offensively unimaginative, but the combat and co-op are too good to ignore. [Sept 2011, p.96]

Engaging, turret-waving fun that unfortunately lacks "Battlefield 2's" variety. [Oct 2005, p.92]

Neither disastrous nor memorable, which is certainly a disservice to a once-proud Nazi-bashing legacy. [Nov 2009, p.92]

Stuff the storyline and just play the game.

The world of Lumines isn't always a pretty place, but it looks much better in motion. Try it. Hey, it's free. [Mar 2008, p.110]

A real shot in the arm for what is becoming a dull genre.

Far from flawless, but you have to admire the sheer ambition and scale of the game. I'll be playing this at home for years. [Mar 2007, p.58]

A visual and aural feast. [Dec 2009, p.98]

The naval combat and countryside levels make a change from the urban warfare that ran through the original, but it's the engaging, conspiracy-fuelled storyline that keeps this feeling fresh. [June 2006, p.96]

Not as complex, but more focused than "CivCity." For resource geeks only. [Dec 2006, p.112]

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

It's a good golf game, admittedly, but it's also unnecessarily ugly. [Dec 2006, p.108]

Competent but underwhelming - like a good spy this never stands out. Its parts are somehow more than its total. [Oct 2009, p.94]

Maybe a great sandbox toy, but selling itself as a named campaign expansion is a work of great fail. [Aug 2010, p.100]

Tired-looking. [Christmas 2009, p.88]

The different location means that it's more than the usual tat. [May 2008, p.112]