The speed of TrackMania is truly ridiculous: you might think the idea of subtlety is lost when you're hitting about a gagillion miles an hour, but the faster the car, the better the handling. [Apr 2007, p.74]

Despite providing three well-balanced, distinctive races, a host of spectacular units and powers, and some novel play factors like national borders and peaceful expansion, away from the rationale of the story of RoL can feel a tad generic. [June 2006, p.76]

It's the best add-on so far, playing to all the series' strengths. [Sept 2013, p.97]

Dazzling, vicious fighting extravaganza, with tons of replay value. But you have to work hard to find out what's going on, or to care. [Aug 2009, p.68]

An intense and beautifully designed action-physics platformer, which also happens to be dirt cheap.

The remarkable architectural vision, coupled with ultra-smart level design, all produced on such a huge scale, makes this as good as Tomb Raider has ever seen. [Christmas 2008, p.74]

How free-to-play gaming should be done, in a superhero MMO that's yet to be beaten for fun. More like this please!

Elegant and refreshing. [Apr 2007, p.76]

A good FPS and a good RPG come together to make an excellent game. Or FPSRPG if you're being fancy. [Dec 2009, p.86]

One expansion to rule them all. [Jan 2009, p.72]

Dead Space is solid, but it's not entirely smooth. [Dec 2008, p.74]

Decent puzzles with hilarious jokes. Surely I'm dreaming? [Christmas 2008, p.99]

All in all, it's the finest selection of planes ever to ship with a commercial non-combat flight sim. [Dec 2006, p.86]

A platforming evolution that turns the genre upside down. Has its own intriguing and original art style, too. [June 2009, p.98]

Excellent space strategy. [Nov 2009, p.90]

Standard quests and a throwaway story can't dent the thrill of Rift's invasions, or the depth of its soul system. [May 2011, p.92]

It might well be more twitch than tactics, but Vegas is the fun, modernised version of its own predecessors and FPS cousin "Brothers in Arms." I reckon that right now you're itching for a shooter with a brain at the top of that jittery reptilian nervous system, and this is it - if you have God's own PC. [Feb 2007, p.84]

More lands to conquer, new challenges, and a chance to star in one of the greatest stories of all time. [Aug 2006, p.86]

Short but sweet - a relentlessly imaginative adventure from Double Fine that never wears out its welcome. [June 2012, p.98]

Tactile, bloody and substantial. One of gaming's most exciting open worlds - but only when you're online. [Apr 2010, p.96]

A smooth, reactive game, FIFA is the best option for PC footballers, even with some niggles in the updated code.

An indie platform game with endearing retro looks, style, sophistication, and a sadistic streak. [Mar 2010, p.96]

The best Lego game yet. Utter fun. [Dec 2008, p.90]

When was the last time you played a game where you could make your horse slide down the face of a cliff, shooting with the six-gun in your left hand while reading from the Bible in your right? [Oct 2006, p.84]

Grippnig small scale stories of WWII. [Nov 2008, p.84]

A joyous and addictive action puzzler. [Sept 2010, p.102]

Well worth the 5 quid. [Apr 2012, p.98]

The best physics-'em-up since Armadillo Run. [June 2011, p.95]

A sturdy series well rethought, but it needs a gamepad. [Dec 2006, p.114]

It forms a natural companion to "Richard Burns Rally," which will likely remain the more technical racer's weapon of choice. In many ways, DiRT supersedes it, the sheer viscerality of hte roads putting the shoe to anything the older game can offer. [Aug 2007, p.78]

A brilliant redesign of Supreme Commander's robot armies, ironically limited by a lack of artificial intelligence. [Apr 2010, p.90]

With a clearer incentive to progress, Paradise would have the cohesion it lacks. But it's still a stupendous amount of fun to play. It doesn't offer a challenge for hardcore racing fans, but instead presents you with a giant island of opportunities for mucking about and enjoying yourself. Which is just fine. [J.Walker]

Showing Sims at work gives us more simple but enjoyable ways to play, though it still needs help from our imaginations. [July 2010, p.92]

It's utterly compulsive. [May 2012, p.111]

There's so much to do and see in this game, so many possibilities. It suits the careful player, but caters for the psychopath in you as well. You simply won't find a better executed execution game. [June 2006, p.86]

A blissful union of game and music.

Remarkably detailed, but desperately needs a tutorial. [Sept 2008, p.95]

This imaginative, thrillingly fast racer is better than it has any right to be. [Apr 2013, p.107]

It's a delight, a near-perfect example of a populist combat sim. It's a rare battle passes some nailbiting duel or pulse-propelling advance. [June 2011, p.96]

A beautifully crafted first-person shooter, but without a compelling context. How much does that matter? To me, a little. Not a lot, but it nags. [Dec 2007, p.73]

A great sticky glob of gaming goodness.

SiN is actually something of a guilty pleasure. It's over far too quickly and feels rather unsophisticated, but I enjoyed it anyway, a bit like I enjoy...eating hotdog. [June 2006, p.62]

More fun than a barrel of monkeys, and a fine follow-up to at least the last couple of Monkey Island sequels. [Sept 2009, p.73]

Manages to repeat Civ IV's trick of delivering something that's hugely playable and yet dares to be profound and intelligent. It's an invigorating complement to the original and adds some essential refinements. [Sept 2006, p.86]

A virtuoso display of strategy game creation, and a splendid experience for gamers with a modicum of patience. [Apr 2009, p.72]

It's a game that has a Nazi in a gyrocopter as one of your enemies: that's all I really need to say. [Nov 2006, p.82]

Satisfying combat and interesting mission structure saves this from the yawns of a thousand identikit space marines. [Nov 2009, p.102]

Bound in Blood is a much more enjoyable experience than the first Juarez. It lacks some of the whimsy (such as Ray massacring whole towns while quoting scripture) in favour of focusing on the shooting, but it's a good trade.

I'm wildly outnumbered. [Sept 2010, p.93]

Serious military strategy games don't come any better, or pricier, than this. [Sept 2010, p.96]

The interface is mostly excellent, but it doesn't properly tell you why a train can't reach a station. That can drive any player to distraction. [Dec 2006, p.88]

Fun with physics, if you're happy to dig to find your treasures, Universe Sandbox has them in spades. [Dec 2011, p.112]

This year's first essential wargame. [July 2006, p.76]

Make the effort, see past the spartan maps, the sparse sound, and teh square counters, and you're rewarded with one of the most believable battle simulations ever created. [Sept 2006, p.100]

CTF steals the show. [June 2013, p.97]

Good, excellent, tip-top, neat, sound, and indeed marvelous. A casual adventure for even the most hardcore word geek. [Oct 2009, p.86]

The combat is a bit rubbish. [June 2006, p.96]

Epic in both space and time. [Apr 2008, p.72]

It might sound trivial to criticise the lack of a good in-game tutorial, but when each game takes hours to play out, discovering which technologies are most useful by trial and error can be a painful and tedious process. [Apr 2006, p.76]

Without doubt, it is the most realistic, rewarding and compelling football title around, so we can only hope that this prosaic update is a blip, rather than a sign of serious stagnation.

One of the most refreshing things about Rogue is how powerful you feel, and how well equipped you are. [June 2006, p.66]

If only it could have retained its sense of humour, this would be really good stuff. [Dec 2007, p.90]

The game is an aesthetic pleasure to lose yourself in. [Feb 2012, p.101]

This is one of the biggest expansions that EVE has seen, with some far-reaching changes. However, I can't help feeling that it was delivered now for the sake of bringing in some new content, when really it could have waited a few months for something more comprehensive. [Feb 2007, p.82]

If you were ever in your life a child, you'll love it. [March 2012, p. 107]

A sturdy sense of humour, and canny logic to its proceedings, raise Evil Genius above a noisy crowd. [Apr 2006, p.95]

Eugen Systems put the "real" back into RTS. The result is spacious, subtle, deeply satisfying tactical gaming. [June 2012, p.84]

Often beguiling and sometimes infuriating, FM 2012 remains a compelling and comprehensive sim of footie strategy and tactics.

A smooth operator. [Christmas 2006, p.86]

Demands more work than its predecessors. Get it right and there's little as satisfying, but it's easier than ever to get it wrong.

A colourful, campy and unfrustrating caper. [Oct 2009, p.84]

The co-op is a nice topping on a delicious slice of retro action – but you might still feel hungry afterwards.

A surprisingly deep and well-designed FPS/RTS hybrid. A Team Fortress 2 alternative that needs a community to thrive.

Immersive, absorbing, annoying, and very long – if you're after getting a tan from your monitor, get in there.

Watch out EA, 2K have turned up and shattered the backboard. [Jan 2009, p.91]

Delightfully drawn and packed with both personality and innovative game ideas, but more tiny than big. [Sept 2012, p.86]

Packs goofy characters, great loot, and a few bugs into an interesting new zone for the Fallout series. [Oct 2011, p.86]

Distinguishing between friend and foe is the most brutally realistic touch of all, and the first thing you'll hve trouble with. [May 2006, p.82]

The change of theme makes it all feel fresh again, the new mode adds special moments of its own, and the technological streamlining makes it approximately 15 minutes easier to jump into a game. [Dec 2006, p.106]

Much better than last year's effort. The improvements come through broadening the experience rather than heightening the quality. [Dec 2007, p.62]

It's really, really good and you should play it, but damn, it could have been superb.

Easily comparable with titles twice its price. Its core gunplay and design are more airtight than a collapsed mine. [June 2010, p.94]

It straddles the abyss between simulation and arcade, and it does it seemingly effortlessly. [May 2007, p.78]

While it's an MMO, it managed to make me forget it was, and I started treating it just as a wonderful place to explore, full of monsters to shoot, friends to defend and stuff to pick up. In other words, a world. Which was always the idea of this genre, but I'd lost the ability to see it in a fog of numbers and impeccably managed levelling curves.

Beguiles with its military polish and visual appeal. [Apr 2013, p.85]

A brilliantly in-depth and vast war simulator that rewards your patience. [July 2009, p.69]

A quality add-on to revive your habit. [May 2008, p.88]

One of the better sandbox games in existence. [Jan 2008, p.70]

Mount & Blade's new multiplayer is a brutal blast. It's a shame the solo side didn't get more attention, though. [June 2010, p.98]

Big punchy man action, with a surprising amount of brain. [Apr 2006, p.94]

Despite the obvious flaws, the many subtler achievements make this compelling. You'll find better shooting elsewhere, but if you fancy getting more than bullet holes for once, this is for you. [May 2006, p.84]

A punishingly tough light RPG that'll draw you in and spit you out without a second thought. Worth it for the presentation.

Has all the ingredients for sim greatness, except a strong singleplayer campaign and a robust number of planes. [Jan 2010, p.108]

Enormously entertaining combat in gorgeous settings. [Jan 2008, p.85]

I could walk away in disgust, but that would be madness. In between the bouts of befuddlement and frustration, I'm having too much fun. [Mar 2009, p.74]

An astounding world, and a flagship for the imagination and capability of independent game developers. [Christmas 2009, p.94]

Surreal castaway adventure for more than just Sims fans. [May 2008, p.85]

Incredible value. [May 2010, p.85]