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

The live-action stuff is atmospheric and well-shot, but The Bunker is let down by poor pacing and staid design. [Dec 2016, p.92]

Fine selection of game types, but outdated and lacking in soul. [May 2007, p.80]

Makes a one-man war against the armies of hell quite depressingly dull. [Christmas 2009, p.116]

Glitchy and under-developed, it never ascends beyond ordinary. [Aug 2006, p.95]

On its own merits, it's an okay hack-and-slash but one that feels as old as it is - and nothing special when there's the likes of Recettear and Fortune Summoners offering other flavours of action-JRPG in more interesting ways. [June 2012, p.100]

Frustrating for newcomers and disappointing for veterans, Stronghold 3 is a combat overhaul away from being any good.

This is not the most convincing military sim ever, but it's a good approximation of grinding boredom followed by sudden death - and a virtually unplayable game. [Aug 2007, p.86]

Overstretched on launch, Fallen Earth is broken in too many places. Wait a while and the ambitious world could be impressive. [Dec 2009, p.84]

A tiresome, half-arsed effort. [Feb 2007, p.88]

Dated, mediocre babble, from those who should know better. [July 2006, p.90]

Shockingly bad voice acting. [Nov 2009, p.104]

This is not a town you'd want to visit for too long. [March 2013, p.99]

Confused and weightless, APB doesn't satisfy on any front: the shooting, driving, story and objectives are all sub-par.

Slightly less interesting than the first game, and still has a few rough edges and poorly conceived challenges. [Aug 2006, p.91]

The extra frills don't add thrills to the tried Pipemania template. [Oct 2012, p.90]

It poorly combines the micro-management of Men of War with the pacing and tactics of Company of Heroes. [Apr 2011, p.83]

The original game was used as a training tool for real soldiers. God help the US if this is what they actually have to deal with. [June 2006, p.68]

A decent slow-mo shooter spoilt by technical issues and a heavy focus on an empty plot. Wait for patches or a demo. [Aug 2012, p.88]

Without the old brill, open world and silly plot, ProStreet's mediocrity has no place to hide. [Jan 2008, p.76]

The challenges Blazing Angels throws at you are soggy squibs - all of them seen before in ten thousand, million, million previously 3D shooters. [May 2006, p.94]

Not quite as exciting as the title might suggest. [Sept 2006, p.103]

Unless a badly placed hemline is enough to ruin your whole week, this add-on pack won't change your life, just the style of your Sim's flares. [Sept 2007, p.89]

Saints Row IV really was more elegant. [Jan 2014, p.101]

The game doesn't make note of important discoveries. [Nov 2006, p.98]

Becomes obscure and irritating. [July 2010, p.54]

For 8 quid, this add-on manages to bite out Dead Island's biggest chunk of fun. [Apr 2012, p.98]

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]

This wet weekend in Wigan doesn't even come close. [Oct 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]

A lot of good ideas that are, sadly, very poorly executed. [Dec 2008, p.88]

A weak add-on to an improving game. [Sept 2008, p.92]

Repetitive, old-fashioned. [Jan 2008, p.86]

It's a case of Where's Wally meets Hercule Poirot. On a boat. [Jan 2009, p.79]

Comparisons with adventure classic "Psychonauts" are unfavourable. [Oct 2008, p.78]

A poor substitute for more focused action or strategy. [Apr 2012, p.116]

Cheap and cheerful, but also disappointingly shallow and shonky. [Mar 2010, p.88]

While there are "proper" missions, most are plotless busy-work. [Mar 2011, p.87]

It's tedious beyond belief, has a plot that must have been ripped from the Eragon junior colouring book and action scenes that makes me cry. And they've gimped the dragons. [Jan 2007, p.80]

Some nice ideas, but a mere damp squib as a spellbinder. [July 2007, p.79]

A hunk of old Russian bread: bland, hard, faintly nutritious. [June 2007, p.83]

Passably challenging. [Aug 2009, p.79]

Obscure II is not gripping enough to be survival horror and not good enough at storytelling to be an adventure; it's just a series of quite relaxing puzzles interrupted when some pink things burst through the wall. [Dec 2007, p.89]

A game so monotonous, it's inspired a new word - 'tediocre'. [Christmas 2006, p.90]

There are better and more rewarding ways to exercise your creativity. [May 2012, p.113]

Unluckily, it costs 20 quid, which is significantly more than it's worth. [July 2012, p.99]

This is very cheap, fleeting PvP combat. [May 2007, p.90]

Aimless and unfunny - a terrible way to end the series. [July 2007, p.79]

The 16 campaign sorties feel so HAWXian so Ace Combatish, you'll swear you've flown them before. [June 2012, p.101]

Lumbering sports behemoth. [Feb 2008, p.72]

If you can play it without yearning for "PlanetSide" or "ArmA 2", you're a better/weirder man than I. [Nov 2009, p.100]

Empty-souled, dated GTA clone. [Aug 2007, p.84]

An impressive endeavor for a small group of first-time devs with a shoestring budget, but as much as it feels like kicking puppies to say so, not a product worth your money. [June 2006, p.82]

Spiral Knights is fast, accessible and fun until the spiteful pricing system pops up to punch you in the face.

Apathy-inducing hospital undrama. [July 2007, p.74]

Plodding, morose, half-decent puzzles. [Aug 2008, p.86]

Shoddy graphics and repetition means that this is more of a warm-up act than a stadium filler. [Aug 2007, p.92]

The worst is dressage, which plays like a Simon-says rhythm-action game designed by people without rhythm. [Sept 2007, p.89]

Good gags can't save this game from its repetitive combat and bland RPG-lite nature. [Nov 2011, p.126]

The Indiana Jones adventure that spent too much time at IKEA. [Apr 2008, p.86]

Runaway gets halfway there, but just doesn't have any soul. [June 2007, p.91]

Poirot is the strongest and best performed character, which makes his background role a great mistake. Competently built, OE is too often directionless, but most of all, dull. Dull, dull, dull. In conclusion: dull.

Psychonauts did brain-delving better. Serious Sam did campy horde-killing better. For this price, you could buy both. Twice. [Christmas 2009, p.111]

Hacky port that bleongs on consoles. [Sept 2007, p.80]

Your enemies are so blindingly accurate, and damage so extreme, you're often slowing time merely to peek around the corner. [Dec 2006, p.99]

Quickly loses steam thanks to repetition and bland design. [Jan 2012, p.114]

This isn't an awful game, but it is an unnecessary one: "Secret Weapons over Normandy" and "Heroes of the Pacific" have full air superiority in this sector. [Aug 2006, p.91]

Moxxi is pretty, polished, and as characterful as Borderlands ever was, and it adds a bank to store loot you might want to keep, but it's really not something you should spend your pocket-money on.

It wants to tell the stories of medieval history, but instead tells the stories of the limitations of modern game development. [May 2008, p.79]

The loose control means the precise movement required to traverse even some of the most basic levels just isn't there. [Apr 2007, p.50]

An intriguing spanner in the strategy game works, but one that causes too many malfunctions to justify its existence. [Dec 2009, p.90]

Sweet ideas, very poorly balanced.

A distinctly average point-and-click adventure that doesn't deliver on the potential of its prison-break premise. [May 2014, p.90]

Four player co-op always stimulates a baseline level of fun, but this is bare bones stuff. [May 2003, p.111]

A decent enough online shooter. If you really need another one. [Apr 2007, p.89]

An average slice of Borderlands. [Christmas 2010, p.103]

A decent game hampered by a completely bonkers and ill-thought-out payment scheme. A bad year for Tiger.

Rarely exciting, mostly disappointing. An unfinished tactical shooter let down by technical issues and terrible AI.

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

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

Spoiled by repetition and muddle. [Jan 2007, p.100]

Dark, moody, and full of hate. Your reviewer the day after the diary puzzle. [Aug 2008, p.89]

Lots of swearing as you protect a world that hates and fears you. [Aug 2006, p.85]

Pointless but not worthless. [Jan 2008, p.74]

Basically eight new maps for Majesty 2. [July 2010, p.91]

Night of the living dud. [July 2007, p.86]

Same old niche, now with less freedom. [July 2008, p.74]

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

When a game makes you alternate between screaming and laughing out loud at its faults, the rewards aren't worth the struggle. [Apr 2008, p.71]

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

Dull sporting minigames, not made for the PC. [Nov 2008, p.93]

Disjointed and muddled, wth embarrassingly bad acting. [May 2007, p.83]

Too clever for its own good. [Jan 2008, p.80]

Too tough for tykes, too dull for adults. It's not a looker either. [Oct 2008, p.78]

Depressing, derivative movie cash-in. [Sept 2007, p.88]

Despite its clumsy handling of some issues, Journal has clever moments. [May 2014, p.91]

Four pretty but stale multiplayer arenas. One comedy zombie map. Eleven of your pounds wasted. [Nov 2011, p.122]

An idea tangled in shoddy design. [Oct 2006, p.86]