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

Impossible to recommend in its present (v1.07) condition. [Sept 2010, p.94]

Smug, poorly made, and incredibly frustrating to play, they managed the fearfully but not the wonderfully made. [Apr 2007, p.86]

It's a shooter for people who don't shoot and have the initiative of a house elf. [Feb 2011, p.97]

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

Why am I empty, then? Perhaps because this crass, banal, unchallenging belch of a first person shooter has left me that way, groaning and giggling like a mental patient. [Nov 2007, p.72]

Looking for a fulfilling lane defence game? Get Plants vs. Zombies. [June 2014, p.91]

Honestly, I thought the era of 100% cash-in gaming crap was over. I was wrong. [Sept 2008, p.88]

Don't shell out for ol' shellhead. The action-figure is more fun. [Aug 2008, p.79]

What the f..k were they thinking? [Sept 2009, p.79]

Avoid. Run screaming. The funniest - and smartest - part of this game is the fact that the developers told you exactly what to expect when they named it. [Oct 2012, p.109]

Great style but absolutely no substance. [Christmas 2006, p.70]

The Mark approaches dreadfulness like a collector, cataloguing every scuttling horror in the digital world. The sound is terrible, echoing cheaply into dead environments. The voice acting is terrible, with lost children's presenters in place of military tough guys. The cutscenes are terrible, except for when they're rubbish slideshows.

Revoltingly poor insult to a wonderful book. Just don't. [Mar 2008, p.81]

It's a shame what lies behind the giggles is so weak. [July 2009, p.76]

If you're going to be offensive, you need a point. This has none, either as satire, commentary, videogame or comedy. [Mar 2012, p.118]

Perhaps the dev team just asked the pizza delivery boy to do the job to save some pennies for the sequel. [Aug 2006, p.95]

Tremendously ambitious but agonisingly incomplete. Its battlefield is buggy and crude, and its RTS credibility is MIA. [June 2012, p.96]

If this was a budget release, it would merely be a rubbish game. At full price, it's unforgivable. [Mar 2012, p.113]

Boring, buggy, profoundly meaningless, and utterly dreadful in every imaginable way. Not just bad - this is novelty bad. [June 2009, p.92]

Despite a respectable turn-out by the film's cast for new voices, none of Pixar's magic remains. [Apr 2006, p.95]

Decent fun, easy to pick up, but a little too old to pass into legend. [Sept 2008, p.66]

A hopeless, pathetic rip-off of everything that's gone before it, devoid of inspiration or entertainment of any kind. [Jan 2007, p.82]

Funnier still is the influence meter. [Dec 2006, p.101]

For the avid DAoC veterans, it's a must-buy. [July 2007, p.78]

Unless you're already wrung every last drop of fun out of the outstanding "Combat Mission" trilogy (unlikely), I wouldn't bother braving this Winter Storm. [Oct 2006, p.87]

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

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]

Great physics; the best PC fighting game since "Rag Doll Kung Fu." [Christmas 2006, p.90]

No surprises, just great ease-of-use and an endless supply of puzzles. [Apr 2007, p.100]

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

Lasting only two hours (but costing 2.50 pounds), and occasionally frustratingly obtuse, it's a gentle, bite-sized memory of the better days of adventuring. [May 2007, p.90]

Offline tedium, online repetition. [Apr 2008, p.82]

Not as bad as you'd fear, not as good as you'd secretly hope. [May 2008, p.90]

Completely broken and utterly idiotic in almost every way. [Aug 2007, p.91]

It's only really good for two or three novelty-endowed playthroughs. [Aug 2007, p.72]

Not pretty, plump, or progressive, CaW succeeds in spite of itself. The gripping subject matter, the refreshing absence of turns, and the fact that victory and defeat are often just a couple of bomb or torpedo hits away, combine to produce pace and levels of excitement you don't often find in hardcore wargames.

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

It reeks of lazy Xbox conversion from the flat graphics and poor physics to the lack of explanation as to what to do. [Aug 2008, p.89]

I'd like to have seen more impressive rendering of the incredible geography of the continent, but nevertheless: 18 Wheels of Steel, you are weird and brave. We salute you. [Apr 2008, p.79]

Modern Tactics reminds me why I loved the series, but also reminds me why I moved on to rivals such as "Combat Mission" (slower, smarter) and "Firefight" (sleeker, smarter). [Feb 2008, p.79]

If you're going to ask someone to continuously pay money to be able to play your game, you're going to have to provide one hell of a decent shooter. And not, let's say, something that looks and feels like a weak "Quake II" clone. Yeah, you read that right. "Quake II." [Mar 2008, p.82]

With the cumbersome camera controls, you end up just wishing they'd hurry up and escape already. [Apr 2008, p.71]

What could have been an exercise in heart-pounding stealth is just dreary and mechanical. [Apr 2008, p.83]

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

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

You're just here for the Swayze puns, you filthy slut. [July 2008, p.89]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is the eerie absence of fun. [July 2009, p.89]

It's good to have a sim like RailWorks forging ahead. [Sept 2009, p.79]

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

For the price, it's easy to recommend. [Sept 2009, p.89]

Undeniably an interesting, surprising and oddly haunting experience. [Christmas 2009, p.117]

It's fun while it lasts. [Christmas 2009, p.106]

Essentially a very promising tech demo. [Christmas 2009, p.110]

In short, it would take two humans deliberately missing every shot to ever be in jeopardy. [Christmas 2009, p.117]

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]

A surprisingly moreish zom-bomber. [Dec 2009, p.109]

It's laser-focused on delivering a tense, one-on-one game, but its rewards are blurred under no-frills packaging and a too-serious demeanour. [Feb 2010, p.85]

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

A gorgeous, sci-fi themed platformer, rich with tough puzzles and smart design. Simple, but amazingly detailed. [Mar 2010, p.94]

Mystically charming. [Nov 2009, p.91]

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

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

Interesting locations, all well made, but five quid for four maps is a bit steep. [Sept 2010, p.105]

A clever music based puzzler, that is unfortunatley restricted by the small amount on offer.

Wonky visuals, but this is as close to The Da Vinci Code meets Monkey Island as we'll get. Did I mention the hot French accent?

Uninspired campaign approach. [Christmas 2010, p.103]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

It's less good at variety. [Feb 2011, p.97]

It's fun, and a treat for the JCB-obsessed little-ones. [Jan 2011, p.99]

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

A smarter camera and tighter controls might have made its other flaws less noticeable. [Mar 2011, p.85]

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

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

A satisfying self-contained chapter, driven by an engrossing story, with exploration encouraged. Plus flying laser robots.

There's some nice, quirky puzzles here, but ultimately very little else.

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

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

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

An engaging and enjoyable take on medieval strategy. [Feb 2012, p.107]

A very fair price for the pleasure of their covert company, even if you only end up leading them for a couple of campaigns. [Mar 2012, p.109]

Hate seeing your battle banners blanche? Go Ikko Ikki. [Mar 2012, p.109]

The one Shogun DLC I have trouble getting enthusiastic about. [Mar 2012, p.109]

Does absolutely nothing with this age-old genre. [Mar 2012, p.113]

If you weren't a big fan of the original's combat or writing, there's nothing to recommend about Origins. [Mar 2012, p.117]

What Chaos Unleashed adds is solid, but there's nothing essential enough to warrant fighting against the game's lazy matchmaking system. [Mar 2012, p.117]

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

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

Pretty standard, but entertaining enough. [Apr 2012, p.98]

Two cool new brawling modes with no upper limit on challenges. That's worth 2 quid if you're getting seriously good. [Apr 2012, p.98]

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