Hard to recommend, as it doesn't really do anything especially well. [Aug 2009, p.79]

In a further bizarre twist, The Wheelman has no interest in how wheels behave. [June 2009, p.89]

An awful vision of strategy's future. [May 2009, p.69]

It's repetitive, mindless, claustrophobically linear, over-stylised and incoherent. [June 2009, p.93]

It's almost innovative. [July 2009, p.79]

Mystically charming. [Nov 2009, p.91]

A flawed but irresistible MMORTSCCG. [Apr 2009, p.74]

A bit too familiar, but fun while it lasts. [May 2009, p.72]

Passably challenging. [Aug 2009, p.79]

A free MMO whose ingenuity does little more than simply streamline what we've seen elsewhere. [July 2010, p.104]

A cracked and original masterpiece. [Feb 2009, p.60]

Flawed, intriguing art-game. [May 2009, p.70]

Ace Combat never felt this empty. [May 2009, p.76]

Its worst sin is simply being too ordinary. [May 2009, p.71]

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

Fun, but frustratingly contrived. [May 2009, p.62]

It's a highly polished, occasionally satisfying, wholly unremarkable game set not in WWII, but in an imagined reality where it had a sequel. Not World War III, but WWII 2. [Apr 2009, p.78]

Inventive, smart and adorable, but it plays oh so slowly. [May 2009, p.71]

Astonishing...Immense... A strategy masterwork. [Mar 2009, p.54]

It's not a game to rush out right now and buy, but you can definitely do worse. [July 2009, p.79]

For those new to this strange epic, the raft of under-the-hood fixes and balances makes it the best place to start. [Feb 2010, p.101]

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

It might not be as deliciously addictive as the original, but Galactrix will still suck up hours like a black hole. [May 2009, p.67]

A solid, squishy eyeful of Germanic RPG charm. [Apr 2009, p.81]

We don't give marks for effort, so the game they've ended up with is all that matters. It's a great and truly new one, just not varied or exciting enough to live up to this particular name. [Feb 2009, p.54]

No shock, just schlock. Almost impressively dreadful. [May 2009, p.67]

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]

Sadly, this sequel is a lesser game in almost every way. [May 2009, p.68]

The explosions and spells look lovely, but the game itself is drudgery. [June 2009, p.89]

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]

Better than Oblivion's DLC, but save your money for now. [Apr 2009, p.71]

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

Competent swords-and-sorcery excursion minus vital soul. [Mar 2009, p.69]

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

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

The result is the entire game feeling like a tutorial, with only one proper level to play at the end. [June 2009, p.93]

The sick filth you've been looking for. [Mar 2009, p.64]

A sound WWI naval wargame saddled with a sorry interface and unpleasant DRM. For hardcore wargamers. [June 2009, p.88]

Great fun, but goes out on a whimper, rather than a bang. [Feb 2009, p.62]

Dumbed down; drawn out; deeply annoying. [Jan 2009, p.84]

With no visceral thrills and little reward from exploration, this becomes something of an empty shell, or perhaps a wonky snowman - likely to vanish from memory with the first rays of sunshine. [Feb 2009, p.70]

It's the peripheral distractions of both going out with Roman, and meeting your girlfriends, that really make your virtual life so worth living. Although incredibly simplistic, they're oddly touching...One of the finest videogames ever. [Christmas 2008, p.87]

Takes merciless puzzling into the war room. Obssessive fun. [Feb 2009, p.62]

More rebel yelp than rebel yell. [Jan 2009, p.88]

Stiff, confused. [Jan 2009, p.70]

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]

Soccer sim solidly cluttered. [Christmas 2008, p.78]

It's not a bad idea, but it's hardly high strategy, and definitely not high adventure. [Feb 2009, p.72]

It's got all the nail-biting high tension of a control point assault/defence of Team-Fortress 2, mixed with the tightly designed levels of Half-Life 2 and the weapons of Counter-Strike. As long as they keep introducing new missions, there's no reason why it won't be sucking on your bandwidth for years to come.

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

Neither the need or the speed. [Jan 2009, p.82]

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

Still the best looking online world out there. [Jan 2009, p.64]

Another middle-of-the-road glimpse of the future. [Feb 2009, p.71]

Pro Evolution Soccer is still the game to beat. [Dec 2008, p.85]

Proof that more isn't necessarily better. [Christmas 2008, p.80]

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

Right up to date - the date being 2002. [Jan 2009, p.77]

Basic competence. [Christmas 2008, p.72]

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]

None of the three strategy games I just mentioned can match Red Alert 3's spirit of bloody-minded fun. [Christmas 2008, p.92]

Thrillingly dark, gruesomely adult and one of the most atmospheric games ever. [Dec 2008, p.66]

Dull, repetitive missions and a whiny hero. Super this ain't. [Jan 2009, p.89]

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

Not the Sims you're looking for. [Jan 2009, p.76]

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

Slow but satisfying sequel. [Jan 2009, p.78]

Weak riff on "Elite"'s trading with zero long-term appeal. [Mar 2009, p.75]

After playing Far Cry 2, I'm simply unable to go back to straight and simple first-person shooters. This game has executed my expectations. [Nov 2008, p.62]

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

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

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

X3: TC's inability to progress beyond its series template is painfully clear [Dec 2008, p.82]

It's Product Football. And in that order. Maybe next year, eh? [Christmas 2008, p.70]

A delightful puzzle classic. [Dec 2008, p.78]

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

An 80-year-old mystery wearing the skin of a teenage boy. Ew. [Feb 2009, p.71]

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

Singlehandedly saves fantasy 4X. [Christmas 2008, p.68]

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.

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

Whether your preference is for PvP or PvE, the frustrations of aimless wandering and vague directions are gone.

A shadow of the awesome original. [Nov 2008, p.70]

A decent ride until you get off. [Dec 2008, p.72]

They've made it feel like a franchise they'll dutifully milk, rather than a game they'll love to keep making. [Dec 2008, p.76]

Flawed RPG fixed. [Nov 2008, p.88]

Stalker: Clear Sky remains a remarkable misstep by the Ukrainian developers, and one that does not reflect well on their original game, or their independence from original publishers, THQ. We can only hope that their next effort will be more controlled.

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

Spore's triumph is painfully ironic. By setting out to instill a sense of wonderment at creation and the majesty of the universe, it's shown us that it's actually a lot more interesting to sit here at our computers and explore the contents of each other's brains. [October 2008, p.64]

Technically creaky but ultimately fun. [Nov 2008, p.82]

The campaign was too barren and the skirmishes simply broke on the overall weakness of the field combat. [Apr 2008, p.80]

CMSF is fit for duty at last. Roll on the Brit module. [Apr 2009, p.69]

Fair challenges, but a backward step for the series. [Christmas 2008, p.70]

A ghastly mess of bad design decisions that brings out the worst in user-made content. Not worth it. [Sept 2009, p.78]

FlatOut is the kind of game that's fun to win, but the charm quickly peels off when frustration sets in - and it will. [Oct 2008, p.82]

An impressive game, but not one that will be to everyone's tastes, especially not those after a quick thrill. [Sept 2010, p.88]

BCR is at once beautifully reminiscent of its era, and polished enough to be palatable to a modern audience. The core grappling and swinging mechanic is satisfying, the weapons a joy to wield and the levels are imaginatively designed.

There's definitely a good idea in this 3D application of the classic puzzle themes, but Quantz hasn't figured out what it is yet. [Dec 2009, p.105]