Gory and pointless – just one more tedious stealth game.

Depth, detail and cars galore, but lacking the spark to be truly essential.

Hugely repetitive action game. Hugely repetitive action game. Hugely repetitive (you get the idea).

Cheap, tired and dull. Avoid it and the inevitable fourth sequel. [Nov 2004]

Slick, with better handling but seen-it-all-before gameplay.

We’re left with a terribly flawed gem that catches the light one moment and cuts with a jagged edge the next. We hope the dozens of glitches, bugs and random crashes can be wiped away with a patch.

Oddly entertaining, but still short, stunted, and with zero replay value.

When Far Cry does what only it can do, it’s a genuine classic (you’ll be waiting in vain to see anything of the scale of the outdoors sections in "Doom III"). When it follows in others’ footsteps, it’s merely a highly superior genre game.

Frustratingly similar to the first, but plenty of good set-pieces in there.

Glossy but vacuous; a short-lived, slow-paced distraction. [Aug 2004, p.91]

Note to Epic: just give us more unique Onslaught maps – and new vehicles for them – and we’ll happily keep playing. But keep churning out endless samey maps and it’s back to "Battlefield" and "PlanetSide" for us.

An enormously rewarding and complicated game Battlefield Vietnam is then, and unquestionably an improvement upon its predecessor. At the same time, it’s so remarkably similar to BF 1942 it’s almost not worth buying if you’re an existing fan.

Even with this variety, Rainbow Six is starting to feel decidedly over-familiar and all its flaws, from the flat combat to the flat graphics and utterly unconvincing AI, are very much in evidence.

Perfect for people who hate helicopters and simulations. [Dec 2004, p.104]

Despite its flaws, Joan of Arc has an unmistakeable pick-up-and-play factor, coupled with a learning curve that makes it very enjoyable, especially acquiring many rare items from the slew of side quests.

Predictably poor. Proof that every gaming franchise has its limits.

Complacency has set in by now and calcifies this ongoing saga.

It’s stable, easy to learn, cheap and has plenty of scope for development, which is perhaps more than the competition offers.

It’s astoundingly beautiful, too – by contrast, "Freelancer’s" visuals are like watching a brick float around a bucket of custard. But, needless to say, X² isn’t for everyone – but if it’s immersive liberty rather than fast thrills you’re after, it offers an almost incomparably satisfying experience, just so long as the really bad stuff doesn’t stop you from putting the hours in.

A superior resurrection of a presumed dead legend.

Creativity and gags galore, but we’re too close to falling asleep.

Had Deus Ex 1 not existed this would’ve been a godsend. But…

A sim of Arnie’s election campaign would be more entertaining.

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]

Unfortunately, there’s still the irritating third-person camera and chugging graphics to remind you of BGE’s console origins, and it never comes remotely close to justifying the pretentiousness of the title – at a mere 12 hours or so it’s undoubtedly far too short.

There’s no reason to fear its Xbox origins – while you may occasionally long for extra depth on a mission or perhaps some more involved combat, the rapid pace and dedication to narrative and character will soon have you back hacking away in the thick of the action.

Crazy-arse shooting with its brain in its arse, and a mean streak.

An ordinary platformer that struggles with expectations.