A better class of more of the same. [June 2006, p.92]

Endearing, yet thin. [Dec 2008, p.86]

Hardcore platforming at its most frustrating. [Sept 2010, p.103]

Funny and smart, but for a weak ending. So far, so good. [Dec 2008, p.92]

In terms of fulfilling what "Settlers" has always promised - building a city - it's true to its word. It just needs a bit more vim and vigour to it. [Dec 2007, p.68]

If you've got the patience to penetrate this game, and to put up with its dawdling, you're in for a treat.

Where a game like "SWAT4" manages to be fun, GRAW2 just feels a little bit too much like hard work. The fireworks don't crackle with the kind of spectacle we're paying for, and there just isn't enough juicy meat on the tactical bones for us to regard this as a feast. [Aug 2007, p.74]

A great big walloping drive of a golf game. [Nov 2007, p.78]

Still a remarkable strategy game, and for newcomers it's proof that trading doesn't mean tedium. Unfortunately, it's not quite the grand resurrection that Colonization deserves.

The perfect warm-up for a long, hot summer of football. [July 2006, p.72]

There's nothing else like it out there - only the original "Football Manager" series gets close. [Apr 2009, p.65]

Sweet as a kitten, and improving your personal lexicon. [Feb 2007, p.81]

It's by far the closest the series has got to nailing the spirit of the original animations. [Oct 2009, p.84]

Refreshing, exciting RTS. [Nov 2008, p.92]

Scoregasm may lack the polish and extra modes of the best examples the genre, but its frenetic pace and level variety ensure it's worth more than a quick fumble. [May 2012, p.113]

Lack of tutorial, buggy netcode and wobbly combat aside, it's hard not to love the sense of wonder and discovery.

Crucially, MotoGP 08 translates the speed and thrill of the sport to your PC, which "SBK08" comprehensively failed to do. [Christmas 2008, p.98]

Homefront never quite captures the feel of guerilla warfare, but its multiplayer mode is a warzone worth fighting in.

Visit for the mini-games and fairy dust, but stay for the opportunity to spend 2 quid on a pair of magic pants. [Aug 2009, p.78]

This is a game which takes absolutely no risks, as much Middle-of-the-Road as Middle-Earth...You won't be surprised. You will, almost certainly, be entertained. [June 2007, p.70]

You'll smile at the logic of the solution. [Oct 2007, p.86]

An oddly clumsy reprise of a much loved game. Beautifully hand-pained, wonderfully acted, but strange design choices. [Sept 2009, p.70]

Mindless violence in all the right ways. [Feb 2008, p.82]

A short but sweet platformer requiring ninja reflexes. [May 2014, p.85]

It's hardly the prettiest game ever, and the story is laden with nonsense, but it's a game with a racing pulse - energising, like the best action games are supposed to be. [Oct 2006, p.90]

City Life provides a valuable municipal service by being far more accessible while still providing a decent challenge. [June 2006, p.95]

Plainly the best plane-centric shooter on a 2D plane. Stick through the slow start and enjoy the view later on. [Jan 2010, p.94]

Modern Warfare 3 is linear, badly written and one note. It's still, from a certain angle, regressive. It's also fun.

Short but sweeter than a bucket full of magic flying berries. Take a time-out from your busy life and try it. [Sept 2009, p.88]

Original, fun and funny. A demanding, adrenal pleasure that's a few critical tweaks short of true brilliance. [Dec 2009, p.104]

An original take on the arcade time-trial formula. [Dec 2013, p.95]

An above-average movie adaptation. [July 2009, p.78]

If the imaginative approach of the Hong Kong levels could have reached Chicago. I'd be hoarse from cheering. As it is, I'm smiling with nostalgia for those days of four hours ago. [Oct 2007, p.80]

A mildly unsatisfying conclusion that still has enough charm and challenge to justify fans' faith in the project. [July 2014, p.88]

Fodder for EQ lovers but suffers from a lack of variety. [June 2006, p.82]

War for Cybertron is a respectable action game with a generous coating of awesome robots who turn into cars. [Sept 2010, p.92]

Overflowing with charm and character, this is, however, a random experience. [Sept 2010, p.95]

An excellent piece of fan-service, but the actual game part doesn't stand up to much dispassionate scrutiny. And now, if you're not a Penny Arcade fan, you can't criticize it for that. It's not for you. [June 2008, p.74]

A great pedigree - you'll be hooked on this like grade A catnip. [Sept 2007, p.89]

I really wanted to like Universe at War far more than I did. It never goes quite far enough, nor delivers the money shot. [Feb 2008, p.68]

Insta-fun air combat, daft and pleasing.

In ten hours of criminality, 2K Czech have made the perfect elegy to the mafia movie. Could have been more of a game, though.

Lovely, if a little drawn out. [Mar 2009, p.70]

If enjoyable, charming, bite sized platforming is what you want, Storm in a Teacup is the right brew for you. [Apr 2012, p.112]

OotP's baseball smarts may be undisputed, but it struggles to capture the passion and sporting flair of the infield. [Sept 2012, p.106]

A great game, badly ported. [Christmas 2008, p.88]

Ultimately, this flipping from scary to stupid, from harrowing to humdrum, leaves FEAR 2: Project Origin a competent but slightly unsatisfying experience. [Mar 2009, p.72]

It's yesterday's testosterone nonsense clad in today's slickness, and savvy about the nature of fun. [Christmas 2007, p.84]

It's not as life-affirming as "TF2" or as deep as "Quake Wars," but the "Battlefield" fan not into the cartoon war of the coming "Heroes" will find solace here. [May 2008, p.80]

Rome is so lean and tooltippy, you may not need to open the manual at all. [June 2008, p.82]

Fine skating action and fearsomely addictive to boot. [Apr 2006, p.79]

Satisfying. [May 2012, p.105]

It's an agreeably straightforward 2D arcade game in shiny 3D disguise, experimenting with extraneous limbs while it tries to establish exactly what it should evolve into. [Dec 2007, p.86]

Which brings me to fielding, by far the worst aspect of Brian Lara and the sole reason that its score is down in the 70s rather than in the mid-80s. Fielding is totally inconsistent and spoils what is otherwise a fine sports sim - one that almost nails one of the hardest sports to simulate.

It's jaunty, silly, and extremely fun. Best played with a good friend, and a good joypad. It's just a little bit too short.

Brings a whole new meaning to the words "resource management." [Apr 2011, p.85]

The new scenarios are enlivened by the fantastic timeline system. [June 2012, p.97]

A rare sim triumph, although it's forced to make a ton of compromises to appease two distinct audiences. [Mar 2010, p.86]

Decent fun, but lacking the challenge of earlier episodes. [Jan 2009, p.71]

Fun in the purest sense of the word, Lego Universe is a delightful MMO that involves your imagination but ends much too soon.

It's a fun, polished platformer, but a limited one. [May 2003, p.83]

The sweetest car combat game in years. [Aug 2010, p.94]

If you're anything like me, its deeply tragic moments will make you weep real tears. [June 2006, p.70]

Exactly the kind of playfulness I expect from Tropico. [Sept 2010, p.93]

This crueller sequel is bursting with evil potential, but the fun is dragged down by clumsy execution. [Aug 2009, p.80]

It's an exciting business, but not one for fainthearts or fumblers. [Christmas 2007, p.76]

This expansion is aimed squarely at existing LotRO players rather than newcomers, but it definitely hits the mark.

Voice control redeems a simple RTS. [Apr 2009, p.80]

It's simple, well executed and, so long as you're not bothered by a little trial and error with your research, good fun.

An elegant and beautifully depicted strategy game that feels logical but fresh. Even if it is a little late to bloom. [Christmas 2009, p.110]

Somehow the world still works superbly, and the result is a big, compelling and unique adventure. [Mar 2011, p.85]

Broader multiplayer, daft campaign. [May 2008, p.76]

Won't stop you dreaming of Horned Reapers and Dark Mistresses, but still fills a gap that's been empty for far too long.

A container full of bloody FEAR jam. [Christmas 2007, p.92]

If Flatout 2 was (just) music, it'd be a second album of commercial punk rock. [Sept 2006, p.92]

With no clear improvement in graphics, it's hard to see this as more than last year's game with this year's roster. [Christmas 2007, p.95]

A game offering joyously vapid four-player carnage and some smart unlocks, but lacking substance. [June 2012, p.86]

A perfectly adequate console port. [Nov 2007, p.84]

A high score-chasing game that scores well with us all. [July 2008, p.83]

Better as a bite-sized diversion than a full day investment. [Christmas 2014, p.]

Age of Conan is beautiful, but it's not bold enough. [Aug 2008, p.80]

Exhilarating flying over fine scenery, but the story needed to be stronger and longer. Buy ToH for the thrills. Not the dialogue.

Given the incredible scope and the devs' track record for turning out hard-to-get games, EU3's riches are surprisingly accessible. [Mar 2007, p.92]

Penumbra is very likeable and accomplished. Clunky presentation holds it back, and wonky writing keeps you at a distance, but it shows potential. [May 2007, p.74]

Gorgeous and pleasingly free form. Without the bugs and oppressive DRM, it would be the best Silent Hunter 5 yet. [May 2010, p.102]

Lavish, but retrograde and unbalanced. [Christmas 2008, p.96]

A puzzle game that plays like Portal and does everything else like Ed Wood. Enthusiastic, but it's not high-art. [Dec 2009, p.93]

Goodness and gimmickry. [June 2008, p.88]

The backstory turns out to be garbled, annoying claptrap. Getting kids to design your civs is inspired. Getting them to concoct your plots is less wise. [Nov 2006, p.78]

The older games, while classics, are woefully dated. And the more recent titles, themselves more than two years old, don't justify the hefty price. [Apr 2006, p.95]

RoboBlitz is an R2-D2 of a game: resourceful, charming, with plenty of personality, somewhat quirky, and short. Luckily, it's priced correctly, too. [Jan 2007, p.76]

A slog that's worthwhile for arcade and music lovers alike. [July 2010, p.76]

Beneath the endless text, Analogue is smart, focused, and refreshingly unpleasant stuff with a style all of its own. [Apr 2012, p.112]

If D2 came with a level-skip cheat printed in the manual, it would be a lot easier to recommend. [July 2006, p.70]

A shame, then, that much of your time is spent wrestling with a defiantly hobbled control system. [Dec 2006, p.76]

A shallow but entertaining adventure. The world is wonderful to explore, but a lack of depth keeps this from achieving greatness.

No great shakes, but an awful lot better than "SimCity Societies." [Mar 2008, p.87]

I suspect that somewhere in Joint Task Force there's a 90% game dying to break out. But at the moment, it's pinned down under enemy fire. [Nov 2006, p.88]