A fresh, fun idea, beautifully and expertly made. Any game this inventive and clever is worth your £9.

An acceptable, lighthearted RPG that's often too simple, too staid and too black and white to be much fun.

Leaks fun like a cracked sump leaks Castrol. Thoughtful additions ensure it's as irresistible as its predecessor.

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

It's a delight, a near-perfect example of a populist combat sim. It's a rare battle passes some nailbiting duel or pulse-propelling advance. [June 2011, p.96]

It's sterile, it's empty, and has no sense of fun. [June 2011, p.95]

Ghostbusting isn't a challenge. [June 2011, p.87]

Flashes of brilliance and masses of bugs. Cliffs of Dover needed at least another six months in the hangar. [June 2011, p.84]

Play the game the way it asks you to and you can have lots of fun, but Brink can be a bit too needy for pick-up-and-play.

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

What's just not funny becomes sandpaper pants irritating when delivered in broken English. [May 2011, p.97]

Second time's a bit more of a charm, although the classic adventure style still isn't the perfect fit for Marty and Doc. [May 2011, p.86]

Played correctly, it's still fun, but never feels as important as its older brother did. [May 2011, p.79]

It's a worthy and handsome effort, but frustratingly badly explained, making it hard to play.

Red River takes all the things the Flashpoint name is associated with – creative, emergent destruction and go-anywhere realism – and lets them wash away. It tries to be a bombastic shooter, but dodgy AI, a warren of bugs and an unpleasant tone mean the few gulps of fun you could draw from its waters are to be taken in multiplayer only.

Standard quests and a throwaway story can't dent the thrill of Rift's invasions, or the depth of its soul system. [May 2011, p.92]

The most exhaustively detailed, realistic combat jet simulation you'll find outside of a classified U.S. military facility.

The old soldier shows his gregarious side. This is gruelling but great WWII action, spanning every theatre.

More an interactive fairytale than a game, this Sims spinoff tells a good yarn but feels limited.

Shift 2's sheer weight of stuff – from mud-ring circuits in a VW Golf to Bugatti duels at the Nurburgring – gives it a deep bag of appeal. There's an array of fiddly details for car geeks to poke at, and a range of control-difficulty settings that allow you to tailor races to your ability. The only downside to such a complete package is that it demands so many hours of acclimatisation before the cars start to make sense.

A fantastic story and great characters, but hours of tedious traps and mazes shows why Fallout is best without walls. [Apr 2011, p.98]

It's got decent spaceship sections and charmingly bad dialogue, but don't expect quality or compelling action. [Apr 2011, p.96]

The joy of the open road in a game that probably shouldn't get away with feeling as fun as it does. [Apr 2011, p.86]

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

A genuinely charming entry in the point-and-click catalogue. [Apr 2011, p.83]

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

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

A transitory pleasure that polishes up nice. But it lacks variety and competition, and is just a little bit too difficult.