Serious fun for broadband players, but others should look elsewhere. [Apr 2006, p.88]

Can't decide whether it's a single player game, a co-op game or a tech demo. [Christmas 2010, p.102]

Ditch your standards and enjoy shaping a mediocre world to your will. [Dec 2006, p.105]

Incredibly easy, very short. [Jan 2011, p.109]

Clever and surprisingly rational, Aura is only let down by plot and game length. [Oct 2004, p.96]

Utterly unremarkable. [Jan 2008, p.72]

A spectacularly simplistic game, and bears no relation to the logistics of city building at all. [Jan 2008, p.73]

A more in-depth take on strategy than normal, but not quite a "Rome"-beater. [June 2005, p.93]

Obscure rewards innovation over frenzy, and it seems only fair to do the same in return. [Dec 2004, p.94]

Lazy little film tie-in with some purely irritating features. [Oct 2005, p.99]

A bog-standard, enjoyable romp with enough skills and spells to challenge most but nothing to distinguish it from the crowd. [Nov 2006, p.104]

Like an MMO, there's an undefinable something that keeps you playing, probably far beyond what your sanity can properly stand.

For the jaded gamer with a few hours to spare it's like a zen garden for the soul. [Oct 2011, p.104]

This is an expansion pack for Dungeon Siege II, and little else. [Oct 2006, p.96]

[July 2005]

I'm convinced that the captain of a supertanker has more to do to shift 350 metres of iron than press cursor keys. [Oct 2007, p.64]

This is neither a great racing game nor a particularly terrible one, but it does feel like a missed opportunity. [Issue#244, p.108]

It’s an epic achievement in some ways, but our expectations weren’t met.

There is amusement to be found here, for those with low expectations. [Oct 2005, p.91]

The DRM alone could sink this sim, but the core Carrier Command-style gaming is worth the battle. [May 2010, p.99]

An unexpectedly charming diversion of a game, but one that ultimatey fails to deliver on its early promise. A shame, really. [Apr 2007, p.62]

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

A great flyer for beginners, but not enough new features for the hardcore fan. [Dec 2006, p.114]

A silent and deadly change from the usual WW2 percussion. Refreshing. [Mar 2006, p.98]

New York really is the home of swing, but that alone isn't enough to save this potentially tie-in from death by mediocrity. [Aug 2007, p.56]

It lacks enough of a hook for existing MMORPG fans to sink into, and there’s many, many competing titles that offer a more exciting holiday in the land of orcs, elves and shrieking demons with gold up their bottoms.

Could this ever have been anything but an utter disappointment? This misses the mark so much... it hurts. [Feb 2008, p.112]

Achingly beautiful, eccentric combat in the clouds.