It's almost as if not enough time has been spent on either this or the Combat Upgrade, making it impossible to accept RoTW as it stands. [July 2005, p.95]

Bad translation... If you can speak German, get the native version. [July 2010, p.100]

A tremendous value. [Aug 2007, p.61]

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

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

A damp squib, really. The single player is far too short and the multiplayer only occasionally rises above the average. [May 2011, p.90]

Traditional point-and-click game complete with traditionally rubbish gameplay. [Christmas 2004, p.119]

A victim of its own sneers, this is the world's first self-parodying game. [July 2005, p.90]

Accurate rugby, but re-mapping controllers requires fiendish text file editing. [Mar 2006, p.101]

A fresh breath in the MMORPG genre. In some respects it's ELITE on steroids.

Interaction can feel clumsy at times, and some levels suffer from stifling, linear design, but if you're a graphic novel or action game fan, you could do worse. [June 2006, p.85]

Nothing special, but Da Vinci nuts will lap it up. [June 2006, p.96]

The game itself is too lightweight to stand much repeating, leaving two possible outcomes: you'll become a paranoid conspiracy theorist, or get bored, shoot the driver, and watch them all perish in the resulting crash. [Feb 2005, p.93]

A promising shooter which ultimately ends not with the final movie, but an impassioned cry of “What the hell were you thinking?!”

Entertaining, but little innovation to write home about.

Not "Crimson Skies 2," but quite acceptable tipple while it lasts. [Nov 2004]

Unfortunately all the flaws from the original are still glaringly omnipresent - from the awkward mouse cursor to the tedious mini-games. [June 2006, p.96]

Pretty funky and fun - but only for a short while. [Christmas 2005, p.96]

Highly implausible, but not entirely fun-free. [May 2006, p.90]

Essentially just "THUG 2" with corridors, and Elephant Man-ugly, too. [Apr 2006, p.89]

Only the inherent fun of multiplayer dogfighting saves it. [Dec 2005, p.92]

Cryostasis is a beautiful, yet flawed, gem of a game. It offers up a thoroughly unique experience, that at its height is as breathtaking as it terrifying. The decision to render this as a first person shooter is slightly double-edged though, because as a shooter it’s less of a stunner, but is still a worthy addition to your game shelf.

The problem is that the more you play it the more you realise just how slight and limited it is as an experience. The tracks are pleasingly long, but once you've got them figured out they don't represent anything of a challenge.

A refreshing enough take on war to make it an entertaining time killer. [Sept 2009, p.98]

Deserves to be banned over here as well. This is wack, even for toys. [Apr 2006, p.91]

It's a pretty decent port of the 360 version that unfortunately brings with it all the frustrating flaws of the original. [Oct 2009, p.97]

There is a hangar full of new additions including new 3D cloud textures that make hide-and-seek dog-fighting a real possibility.

Newbie friendly from the outset and tons of quests on hand, but misses the vital spark to make it a must-play. [June 2010, p.99]

Much improvement, but still a little lacking. [Aug 2005, p.97]

A decent game. [Sept 2010, p.105]

Futuristic first-person shooter with not-so futuristic game design. [June 2005, p.86]

There's simply nothing here to hold the attention. [May 2008, p.112]

Minor bugs aside, the game works, but lacks an inspired storyline and more content. It will frustrate the casual gamers and won't keep a dedicated MMO player hooked for very long. [May 2005, p.90]

A shameless rip-off, but still a wonderful, wonderful end to a busy day - if only for that chripy title music. [Apr 2008, p.114]

It puts up a brave fight, but can't quite defeat the champion of war games ("Rome: Total War"). After all, Rome wasn't beat in a day. [July 2005, p.96]

With so much effort put into Being Whatevercraft, it's a real shame that a bit more time wasn't spent on really trying to surpass it, rather than just being a solid game that's as ultimately memorable as a disembowel movement. [Dec 2004, p.89]

If you can stand the aesthetics, fun lurks within. [Sept 2006, p.97]

Relies on trial and error over good intelligence. [June 2008, p.108]

A competent, if soulless, city builder with delusions of grandeur. [Christmas 2009, p.90]

Explosive fun with a conscience; refreshing and interesting stuff. [Nov 2006, p.92]

The "Serious Sam" of the "D&D" genre: fast, brutal, and ultimately a teeny bit dull. [Apr 2005, p.100]

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

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

Miserable nonsense that would have Holmes reaching for the syringe. Real detective work is tedious, lengthy, frustrating and often pointless. In that sense at least, Silver earring is spot on. This is fun how? [Nov 2004]

Sigil says "The only limits are your own." I'd suggest that most players will reach the outer limits of their patience very quickly. [Apr 2007, p.68]

Smart design... Lacks visual innovation. [Jan 2011, p.110]

Solid, but hampered mostly by a terrible lack of depth. [Oct 2006, p.95]

Looks rather simple, but is in fact very deep. [Apr 2010, p.101]

An opportunity wasted. [Oct 2009, p.98]

A pleasant little game, but far, far too little of it released at this price. [Christmas 2005, p.62]

The dullest and most befuddling AAA Hollywood-endorsed title I've ever played. [Apr 2010, p.94]

Offers much of the pleasures of the original...and yet nothing has really been improved. [Sept 2007, p.62]

Not wholly innovative, but a rewarding tactical shooter.

There aint no one-more-go mentality lurking in this one. [Oct 2009, p.99]

Is there a form I can fill in to get these hours of my life back? [Feb 2010, p.95]

There's a vast array of technologies to research and build, but the true joy lies in lovingly crafting your empire, species and ships. [Apr 2007, p.73]

Big, brash and varied, if a little on the crude side, TC is assuredly a top cat. [Aug 2004, p.88]

If you’ve ever been excited by Sculder and Mully, or terrified by hydrocephalic children, there’s a game for you. It’s not pretty and it’s not perfect, but we’re so glad it’s there.

Obtuse, ugly, hair-teraingly frustrating at times, and only very occaisionally imaginative. [Nov 2004]

Achingly mediocre and its lack of innovation is frustrating. [Christmas 2005, p.96]

Ultimately, the licence both saves the game, by giving even the most basic of its scenarios a degree of weight, and hinders it by causing regular moments where you double take, realising something isn’t quite right.

It's certainly not worth more than a third of the asking price. [Apr 2008, p.115]

Solid but wholly uninspiring. [Aug 2005, p.95]

Quickly repetitive actin, with ultra-violence that soon becomes mundane. [March 2005, p.100]

The enemy AI is slow to react, your character is slow to move. [July 2005, p.98]

Mostly, it's just pants. [May 2010, p.101]

There are hidden depths to the game mechanics, but only a dedicated killer will stick with it long enough to plumb them. [Aug 2007, p.50]

It's plagued by page after page of 'I don't daren't [sic] skip this' tutorial help, but there are rewards for those who persevere. [Dec 2005 p.89]

A well-timed cue to buy the original game, but not worth buying by itself. [Dec 2004, p.101]

The equivalent of a lusty, full throttled fling - it's good fun for a little while, but it's hardly a solid base for a lengthy love affair. [Mar 2008, p.98]

Impressive as the scale and visuals are as a technical achievement, the game itself is little more than a hollow shell. [Aug 2009, p.90]

A decent game. If the subject matter grips you, or you're coming to it from "Civilization," it's compelling and well designed. Exciting it isn't, and in the end, the glory of Rome demands a level of oomph that it just can't quite muster. [Aug 2006, p.101]

A disappointing, mediocre shooter at best and a frustrating swear-a-thon at the very worst. I can't honestly recommend it. [Jan 2008, p.66]

The game’s combat system is competent and fiercely enjoyable for fans of the ‘quick, kill that heavily armed hotelier’ genre.

Misses a few crucial tricks which could have given it greater mass appeal. [Mar 2006, p.97]

A bit like Paul Daniels, its magic is only really going to work on the kids. [Aug 2004, p.86]

Looks great, but not quite as full of variety as you might expect from NYC. [Mar 2006, p.92]

Diplomacy, sea battles, trade, construction - it's all here, but sadly it never quite gels to fulfill East India's potential. [Oct 2009, p.96]

A step too far in EA's attempts to make the franchise print more money. [Sept 2007, p.62]

Just as serving a delicious cheesecake on a bed of rotten mackerel kills the appetite, so OpFlash: Red River turns the stomach with its nauseating intro. No matter how appealing the main event might be, you just can't get that image out of your head.

Someone obviously told the voice actors that the script was dreadfully witty as they proceed to deliver e-ve-ry li-ne slo-oo-w-ly just so you can get the full effect. It makes every conversation impossible to listen to without wanting to cut your ears off. [May 2007, p.67]

Still a superior RTS, but it's not as impressive an update as we'd have liked. [Dec 2006, p.113]

Until EA decides it's going to port the 'next-gen' versions, it's sports titles, such as NBA Live 08, are always going to be a huge disappointment. [Christmas 2007, p.67]

It's only long-term adventurers who are likely to get much out of it, not least because of the hideous controls, irritating voices and glacially slow pace, but there's more under the surface than first appears. [Apr 2008, p.115]

Just don't blame us for the clumsy controls, dodgy camera angles and ultra-frustrating gameplay. [Sept 2006, p.104]

All that leaping and fighting doesn't fit very well with keyboard controls. [Jan 2005, p.98]

This is totally outclassed by new stars like "Company of Heroes,", "Faces of War," and old favourites like the "Close Combat" series. [July 2007, p.68]

Confusing, often nonsensical execution, and a bit slow on the draw. [June 2006, p.91]

Nothing new or genre-shaking on show here, in what is basically a port that's far too short. Give this cold planet the could shoulder. [Sept 2007, p.50]

Slow progress and lack of originality detract from a fun if bland title. [Aug 2006, p.100]

Survival horror, that's as bland as bland can be. Cold, yes. Fear, no. [June 2005, p.92]

Hack, slash, repeat. Clumsy but functional. [Dec 2006, p.118]

Because of the lack of competition at the moment, this is the cricket game to buy. [Nov 2009, p.]

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]

Intriguing plot and visuals, but we've had enough of these lazy adventures. [March 2005, p.104]

This is the fifth incarnation of a Lego license game and it hasn't moved on. [Feb 2010, p.94]

It's the same old game with prettier graphics and a half-decent story. Settlers-heads will love it, but best wait for it to appear on budget. [Nov 2007, p.52]

If you can put up with the banality of the missions and NPCs, and the fact that all the player characters look the same, Neocron is slowly becoming one of the most interesting MMORPG worlds.