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

Frequent crashes and easy exploits make Gratuitous Space Battles 2 quite the superfluous sequel, ironically. [July 2015, p.86]

A lazy, uninspired update. [Christmas 2006, p.84]

Some nice touches, but lethargic AI, performance issues, and personality - deficient premiers make the ruling gruelling. [Nov 2011, p.120]

A beautiful alternative to the standard MMO, but unlikely to draw you away from more structured questing for long. [May 2012, p.88]

The good part of all this is, the game is very rarely boring. What's happening onscreen is always dumb, sometimes infuriating and often crap, but there's always something happening. [Feb 2007, p.72]

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

A mess, but an interesting one. [July 2007, p.76]

Procedurally generated levels and items offer plenty of possibilities, but if they're not guided by a designer's hand, it's always going to feel amateur. [Apr 2013, p.109]

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

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]

Far too little new content for your very few bucks. Ho hum. [Apr 2007, p.89]

This is a low-rent clone, barely an improvement, without a soul to call its own. [Aug 2007, p.80]

Mediocre turn-based vampire-battling from the Old Country. [Nov 2006, p.98]

It's great that it's varied, and the penguins are madly cute, but there's no sense of pacing. [Jan 2007, p.104]

A less than great RPG-shooter that you may still love to pieces, but keep a pack if aspirin on hand just in case. [Nov 2011, p.140]

Struggles for relevance as a commercial game. [Sept 2012, p.109]

Superb artistic design, broken game. [Oct 2007, p.76]

Mediocre and dismally uninspired. [July 2008, p.88]

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

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Fine selection of game types, but outdated and lacking in soul.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]