Inversion is a heavily linear by-the-numbers cover shooter that fails to make the most of its few high points. [Nov 2012, p.72]

A space strategy game that streamlines empire-building better than any other. Combat and AI could be better. [Nov 2012, p.70]

Awesomenauts has fantastic potential, but is not quite there. Tweaks to the balancing and AI will make this one a star.

A lightweight distraction, but adding a competitive ladder or some more singleplayer content would've been welcome.

It could have been great, but this gruesome and ridiculous power fantasy is spoilt by a disgracefully shabby port to PC.

An accomplished and rewarding online RPG that does a great deal to reclaim the promise of its genre.

A messy story and horrible characters get in the way of decent, violent action in a scintillating open city.

There are some touches that rejuvenate the game we've been playing for 12 years. The new scoreboard is terrific. There's both a server browser and a party system, if you prefer that. There's a slider for scaling the UI.

A deep, dark, challenging and impossibly rewarding fantasy RPG, sadly given a straight and perfunctory port from console.

A generic shooter with lots to say. Spec Ops: The Line trades quality gaming for quality narrative and interesting characters. [Oct 2012, p.72]

The challenges don't always delight as they might, but there's always another to try--a prospect that's hard to resist once Shuggy's manic sense of invention sinks its teeth into you. [Oct 2012, p.71]

It's worth buying if you're sick of getting shot by premium players' overpowered new weapons on regular servers and want to equip the new arsenal yourself, but Battlefield 3's hectic fighting fails at CoD's smaller scale. [Oct 2012, p.71]

The best adaptation of the Magic: The Gathering card game yet, but with too many frustrating elements still intact. [Oct 2012, p.70]

SP2: Faith in Destiny is a mess. [Oct 2012, p.69]

You'll be impressed by how much depth and fun it packs into its 10 hours. [Oct 2012, p.69]

A massive overworld combined with a playful lick of humor doesn't mask Krater's wasted promise and grindy design. [Oct 2012, p.66]

Occasionally clunky, and sporting an unremarkable combat core, but offers an irresistible slice of stealthy co-op coordination. [Oct 2012, p.62]

The weak combat and MMO padding hurt the experience, but The Secret World has innovation, atmosphere and charm.

A few technical and dialogue hiccups annoy, but overall TWD continues to be one of the best stories in gaming.

I'm itching to play again once I finish this. If you have someone to team up with, get it without hesitation. If you don't, hesitate slightly, then notice it's only £12 and get it anyway.

It's a diverting racer that will keep you occupied longer than you might expect, but remains eminently disposable. [Sept 2012, p.77]

Orion: Dino Beatdown is an entirely broken FPS. [Sept 2012, p.77]

A grab bag of game systems to bring new life to Civ V. Definitely worthwhile, and almost certainly holier than thou. [Sept 2012, p.76]

A slow-burning but compelling universe in which to indulge your trading, mining and mercenary fantasies. [Sept 2012, p.74]

The biggest problem is that despite the increased focus on action, combat remains unchanged--a couple of new monsters, but few new tricks. [Sept 2012, p.71]

Sit through seemingly countless deaths, and you'll either break through the system, and master the stats--or bounce off the game and never go back. [Sept 2012, p.71]

A Weskered development gives us the Wong game. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is evil in the wrong sense. [Sept 2012, p.70]

Unintuitive, uninvolving and overpriced. Not even its satisfying trading system can put the wind in Port Royale 3's sails. [Sept 2012, p.66]

You'll watch as much as you play, but Max's story of non-redemption is as fun as his theatrical slow motion headshots. [Sept 2012, p.62]

Right now Moon Breakers suffers: its ships handle like HGVs and it's a multiplayer game that doesn't actually require you to work with other players at all. [Sept 2012, p.61]

Play never feels fluid, a problem compounded by the horrible, poorly ported PC controls. [Sept 2012, p.61]

Dirt Showdown provides thrills while it lasts, but afterwards you're left wanting the deeper experience of its parents. [Sept 2012, p.60]

Far from the RPG that Game of Thrones deserves, but still better than its components have the right to be. [Sept 2012, p.58]

A gritty Eastern Front soldier sim rushed to the front far too soon. Wait for patches if you're squeamish.

Has fantastic parts, but isn't the sum of them. Wait for the inevitable remix version, which may fix some of the problems. [Aug 2012, p.55]

The robots blow up good, otherwise this ho-hum shooter fumbles its few ideas and is a shonky port to boot. [Aug 2012, p.58]

The shooting is precise, but the overwrought customization system sacrifices depth for brute-force completely. [Aug 2012, p.62]

It isn't a challenge or an epic, but for an arty game that's worthy of a seat next to Limbo, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet knows how to give you a good time without taking very much of it. [Aug 2012, p.69]

A hideous collage of unconsidered platforming and vapid combat in a procedural world bleached of meaning. [Aug 2012, p.70]

Ultimately, there is fun to be had, but once the first burst of joy is done, you'll likely find it a little repetitive and unrewarding. [Aug 2012, p.77]

Sworcery is worth a look for the presentation and music, but despite the upgrade to HD the mobile version is still the one to go for. [Aug 2012, p.77]

A different kind of adventure, in a very different kind of world that wastes no time before growing on you.

Bigger and more stable than ever, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion will happily strip-mine your life of its free time.

Heavy grind will rightly put people off, but make it to grouping and its combat shines. Some of the races are still creepy though.

Tactical systems and satisfying ballistics marred by irritating levels and punishing sight-detection by the enemy.

It's a changed game, but it's never been such spectacular fun to play, or so creative to tinker with.

Clunky quest structure and uninteresting main characters shoot this weirdly compulsive RPG in the foot.

By some creative miracle, modest difficulty and interaction are outweighed by genuinely great survival storytelling.

The best-yet marriage of third-person gunning and MOBA spellcasting.

Confounds your expectations to create a racing game as much about finesse as destroying buildings.

A smart, unembellished survival horror adventure which rewards patience and inspires introspection.

To be clear MLB 2K12 is hardly a terrible game. It simply lives the worst fate imaginable for gamers: It's never fantastic, but it also perennially avoids being too terrible to merit blowing up and rebuilding from scratch. [June 2012, p.81]

A very devoted homage that nevertheless brings back a golden era – provided you lived through it the first time.

A brilliant resurrection of a classic. Speed and skill-driven mechanics separate Tribes from other modern shooters.

If you like to set your own goals and don't need a high-score table to know you're having fun, then Pineapple Smash Crew is well worth the $10. [May 2012, p.81]

While not broken, ugly or terrible, SOL: Exodus settles into a mediocre rut, making it impossible to recommend when games like X3 and Evochron Mercenary offer a bigger, better spacefaring experience for a bit more money. [May 2012, p.81]

Egregious DRM and poor matchmaking mar a surprisingly fun and accessible multiplayer shooter. [May 2012, p.80]

It took its sweet time, but it's still a genuinely skin-twitching survival game with an original twist to the combat. [May 2012, p.78]

It's light on the strategy, but an intriguing dark fantasy tale and RPG elements lift King Arthur II above the average. [May 2012, p.76]

Held back by a difficulty that isn't satisfying to overcome, but annoying for its fiddly controls and cheating AI. [May 2012, p.77]

A good squad-wargame for those patient enough to forgive the awful interface for making the strategic component a chore. [May 2012, p.74]

Great combat and mountains of loot can't compensate for Amalur's generic world design and familiar story. [May 2012, p.72]

At $10, Shank 2's hardly a regrettable purchase. Just a largely forgettable one. [May 2012, p.71]

Syndicate's confused story gives way to passable shooting with a pointless layer of hacking mechanics. [May 2012, p.68]

As a game, there's not a lot of challenge to Eden--but as an experience, it's well worth spending time with. [May 2012, p.67]

With unconventional subtleties like plotting, matchmaking and title distribution, CK2 never cramps your creativity with mundane victory conditions. [May 2012, p.67]

A glorious scramble for power elevated by some fantastic new units. Shame about those boring boat battles.

The end of the series is a mixed bag. Satisfying in some ways, nonsensical in others, and ultimately too simple. But the sheer scale of the adventure it's ending – and the music, which is gorgeous throughout – gives it an emotional impact that goes beyond its plot payload.

Plenty of progress, especially in the areas of graphics and air traffic control, but don't toss aside Microsoft's FSX yet. [Apr 2012, p.69]

This is an immense disservice to the Flatout franchise, and one that makes Flatout 2 look like a vehicular ballet. [Apr 2012, p.72]

If interacting with it weren't such a pain, it would be a tremendous achievement. [Apr 2012, p.73]

A wonderfully detailed and terrifying sim. Expanded and slightly improved, but still an opaque and cruel game. [Apr 2012, p.78]

It's unfortunate, because this Groundhog Day game design significantly impairs what could have been a diverting and sentimental blast from the past. [Apr 2012, p.79]

Even $12 is too much to ask for what feels like a half-hearted community mod. [Apr 2012, p.79]

The game's wonky art assets and cursory narrative trimming feel like placeholders, but take it as a no-frills Portal mod pack and there are ideas here worth winding your brain around--building blocks of a development talent almost as impressive as the game it apes. [Apr 2012, p.81]

The once proud sim-racing marque splutters across the finishing line and slowly rolls to a halt. Time for a new model.

A frenetic, old fashioned monster blaster best played with friends. Creepy-crawlyphobes, look elsewhere.

A trip through a brilliantly conceived landscape that rewards attentive engagement with a moving story.

Style and intelligently scaled difficulty make Dustforce an instant classic, and a lesson in the rewards of hard work.

A dark, violent comic book given light and heart. a ripping yarn that tears along as fast as you can tear through bodies.

The game's still a bit too repetitive for its own good, but its single-minded agenda makes it easy to fall for in brief, concentrated bursts. [Mar 2012, p.81]

The Sonic Pulse Grenade that makes Zombie heads explode is a satisfying reward, but the new environments simply just aren't enough to justify the $10 price tag. [Mar 2012, p.81]

Unlike most Eastern Front wargames, Unity fends off overdone unit counts and dull AI. Wargame of the year material. [Mar 2012, p.80]

A hugely fun, mega frenetic co-op shooter that embodies the soul, and depth, of 90's twitch shooters. [Mar 2012, p.78]

As a parody of Lovecraft, The Stars Are Left is a deeply under-baked adventure, and only the most hardcore need apply to take on this single-player campaign. [Mar 2012, p.77]

Stylish and obscure, this is a fascination exploration of abstract puzzle design. No idea where the name comes from though. [Mar 2012, p.76]

These four fantastic maps are pricey, but they're more than just a nostalgic throwback. They present Battlefield 3 at its best. [Mar 2012, p.74]

Reloaded has recreated APB, but reined in its ambition. Most of the same problems are here, but for a better price. [Mar 2012, p.70]

Trine 2 is far from mould-breaking, but the edges have all been smoothed and it's lovelier than ever.

Enhanced with hi-res sprites and a spiffier soundtrack, this indie success story has received the update it deserves.

Anno 2070 is a polished management sim with some innovative ideas, but it doesn't push them far enough.

Bat-brawling shows wear, and Batman's a charisma void, but the freedom and depth of the open world are mesmerising. [Feb 2012, p.62]

Tiresome racer that only takes two hours to complete, yet somehow feels longer. That's both impressive and depressing.

Intuitively interesting and contagiously fun, with an unparalleled scope for creativity and memorable experiences.

An achievement as an RPG and an MMO, The Old Republic offers something bold and new for gamers. Don't miss out.

If you don't mind the relative difficulty and dark overtones, forget that footlong and invest your $5 in Isaac. [Feb 2012, p.79]

Fires a salvo of ghastly, unwarranted features into its own guts, thankfully doing no harm to a defiantly enjoyable series.

Dear interactive movies: Go away, go away, go away. And get eaten by dinosaurs. Thank you very much.