easily the best instalment yet – it looks great, plays great, and has oodles of expansion potential. The only downer is that even on higher-end machines, things can really chug in crowded areas. Still, that’s the price you pay for freedom.

Not the most innovative of games, but give Darksiders a go and you'll most likely be pleasantly surprised. [Issue#246, p.106]

Flawed but undoubtedly fun. An endearing spectacular shooter. [Sept 2006, 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]

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]

A must-buy for RPG fans who can't wait any longer for Diablo III. [Jan 2010, p.92]

Functional graphics belie an exciting and sophisticated racing title with plenty of under-the-bonnet tweaks, since last year's effort. [Dec 2007, p.60]

Played the original? Then you'll probably enjoy this. [June 2005, p.92]

Glossy, engrossing, and still fun, but just not nearly as essential as it used to be.

A new, simpler breed of Splinter Cell action, though with enough of its hardcore gaming roots showing to please us all. [July 2010, p.90]

It's ceaseless fun, but it still falls just short of greatness. [Dec 2004, p.98]

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]

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]

Plenty of depth and enough diplomacy to hold the attention, but it'll be too ponderous for some and too ugly for others. [Mar 2007, p.76]

After the beautiful, atmospheric adventuring in the last game, having your new nemesis introduce herself by slowing grinding her barely-clad buttocks in your face is about as welcome as having her suddenly fart into it. Modern? Mature? No. It's gratuitous, tacky and pointless. [Christmas 2004, p.98]

Low-end environmental destruction meets high-end global game world with sizzling results. [Nov 2009, p.94]

It's a beautiful, compulsive and rewarding world. [Sept 2009, p.99]

All the joy of "Heroes", with sinister eyebrows and crooked hats. [Christmas 2005, p.100]

Despite all the fireworks it's hard to suppress the feeling that Act of War is as shallow as a puddle. The objectives leave so little room for cunning that if you want to use your brain, you'll have to look elsewhere. [Apr 2005, p.100]

Easily the most engrossing and authentic sub sim out there. [July 2006, p.92]

Hardcore RPG players will probably hate AC2, deeming it too simple to be worth their while. It is simple, certainly far simpler than AC1 or EverQuest, but it’s not simplistic. Turbine has merely removed much of the annoying faff and limitations from the genre and concentrated on the game itself.

A successful resurrection, but not quite worthy of legendary status. [May 2006, p.92]

NWN2 is the sequel we've been waiting for. With the graphical and systematic changes to give bedroom RPG makers a boost, and a solid single-player campaign to play through while we wait to see what they can do, it's hard to think of anyone who could be disappointed with the contents of this box. [Dec 2006, p.102]

More of the same, but it's a good same, and it's an essential purchase if you're a fan of the first game at all. [June 2010, p.96]

Barbarian Invasion doesn't devalue the achievements of its precursor. This isn't a great triumph or a fall, just a gentle decline. [Nov 2005, p.95]

The focus on wizards adds far more of an edge than Heroes of Might and Magic’s army action, and the increased level of tactics puts Disciples to shame.

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

There are game that cost five times as much that don't come close to its levels of satisfaction and perfectly-formed miniquests. [Issue#246, p.100]