In the end, Clash of Heroes spends too much time trying to distract you from the one thing that makes it brilliant. [Jan 2012, p.80]

Payday is the most exciting parts of your favorite movies cobbled together, swapping the brains for extra bullets. [Jan 2012, p.67]

It's mad. In fact, it barely makes any sense at all. But for all its wonky bits, there's an odd charm to Volition's decision to leave nothing on the drawing board. It's not the largest sandbox, but it is packed full of brilliant toys. Saints Row: The Third's commitment to unrestricted, ridiculous fun is unflinching, and the product is a city full of glorious slapstick debauchery.

An overhaul of the match engine and lively attacking play bring PES back into contention, but don't expect much from the AI.

Spectacular player collisions and tackles, and a far more realistic pace make FIFA 12 the best football sim yet.

Satisfying, suspenseful multiplayer is more than the sum of its parts, but marred by bugs for now. Ignore the single-player. [Holiday 2011, p.64]

A generous, history-respecting rethink that adds weeks of fun to one of 2011's finest strategy titles. [Holiday 2011, p.70]

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die--there is no middle ground. [Holiday 2011, p.74]

However, it's telling that the best of the Black Ops DLC packs is 80 percent recycled material. [Holiday 2011, p.75]

And that's about all you get, aside from a few new toys, some forgettable items, and another unnecessary boost to the level cap. [Holiday 2011, p.75]

The simple building system is very slow and expensive, often taking years, and enemy ninjas can destroy guilds or religious locations with ease. [Holiday 2011, p.77]

Not since lemmings has a game so seamlessly mixed humor, cutscenes, and cruelty. [Holiday 2011, p.77]

A challenge mode extends the shelf life of this strategy snack, but its appeal is likely wear thin after a few days of happy hooliganism. [Holiday 2011, p.79]

This is a game about smashing up artwork with a big rock, and there's nothing wrong with that. [Holiday 2011, p.79]

Hardly the drive of your life, but easily one of the most memorable--and a great one-time gimmick done well. [Holiday 2011, p.78]

Hard Reset isn't just a reference to what you're expected to do to the killer robots infesting the city, but what the developer tries to do to the shooter design itself. [Holiday 2011, p.80]

The Cartel's finest feature is a mess. Everything else is merely bland, repetitive, and dull. [Holiday 2011, p.80]

Now that it's saddled with a price tag, a bare minimum of polish, and one new course, I'm not even sure just telling you to avoid it is enough. [Holiday 2011, p.81]

Almost everything you'd want of a TrackMania, but as a TrackMania 2 it leaves a lot to be desired, and hopefully fixed. [Holiday 2011, p.76]

Rage isn't a complicated game. Despite what the developers might have suggested and we might have assumed, it's still set in a corridor. Fortunately, id still make some of the finest corridors in the world. [Holiday 2011, p.72]

A fine RTS in the classic tradition, but it takes players far too long to get to the good parts--even if you pay. [Dec 2011, p.76]

Beautiful graphics and fantastic controls are wasted due to a lack of content and an abundance of bugs. [Dec 2011, p.72]

CMBfN is a very good tactical wargame saddled with pre-alpha looks and controls. [Dec 2011, p.74]

When it comes to RTS design fundamentals, Achron is frustratingly primitive, which depreciates its brilliant twist. [Nov 2011, p.81]

For $5, you could do worse than this brief-but-bewitching platformer. [Nov 2011, p.79]

Earns points for originality, but with better pacing and a heftier casting budget, it could have been a much better zombie game contender. [Nov 2011, p.79]

It's a slick mix of Total War and Panzer General, but the strategic map is far too chaotic and implausible. [Nov 2011, p.77]

I endured a lot of frustration in some of the more challenging levels, but for the quick-witted and cool-headed, Vertex is full of cerebral, frantic fun. [Nov 2011, p.77]

Well-formed and horribly addictive. [Nov 2011, p.75]

A really good parody. [Nov 2011, p.76]

I quickly tired of War Inc.'s incredibly limited map selection. [Nov 2011, p.74]

There are simply too many flaws, and too little gameplay for even the bargain price. [Nov 2011, p.70]

EYE's lack of inspiration is matched only by its ineptitude. [Nov 2011, p.68]

There's no emotional soul, but Dead Island is an excellent open-world zombie hacker, slasher, and co-op loot party. [Nov 2011, p.65]

A gorgeous and rich land-sculpting simulation that's lovely to tinker with, but often buggy and stressful to play.

FEAR 3 spends too much time being a mediocre horror game and not enough innovating, but it's still a wild shooter.

For a paltry 10 bucks though, there's plenty here to enjoy, and the new cards and decks make it a worthy upgrade for those who own last year's Duels of the Planeswalkers. [Oct 2011, p.81]

An artfully balanced essential upgrade for Street Fighter IV owners, and an amazing value for newcomers. [Oct 2011, p.80]

Simple, explosion-packed action is what SS:BR looks like, and that's exactly what it'll deliver. Nothing more, nothing less. [Oct 2011, p.78]

As it exists now, however, Solar 2 is a simple space physics simulation with just a hint of a game, and building disposable arrangements of revolving circles quickly loses its novelty. [Oct 2011, p.79]

OUTATIME corrects many of the past four episodes' weaknesses with plentiful locations, a strong script, and a fulfilling conclusion to what has been an upsettingly lackluster series. [Oct 2011, p.77]

It feels like a four-hour tutorial to a game that might have used its mechanics better, never trusting its players enough to present them with a thoughtful challenge. [Oct 2011, p.77]

Jamestown harkens back to an era when we played games just to get a high score--when beating a game this challenging actually earned you bragging rights. [Oct 2011, p.77]

It's a poor follow-up: the biggest puzzle is how, with the Layton games to steal ideas from, it gets the basics so wrong. [Oct 2011. p.76]

A dark, cool, and beautiful revival of an incredible game. [Oct 2011, p.68]

Still, this is only a problem in the first place because Sanctum is a tricky and exciting game that left me wanting a whole lot more. [Sept 2011, p.81]

Repetition and trial-and-error learning can be numbing. Only dedicated explorers will unearth its interesting gameplay. [Sept 2011, p.80]

Stuck on your own, easily ignored. With a friend, a solid hack-and-slash, but nothing special, or half as funny as it thinks.

It's not even remotely close to being fun, and serves as a fine example of how not to make an action game. [Sept 2011, p.77]

Despite being the first The Sims 3 expansion not to include a new town and not adding the biggest load of new clothing and items, The Sims 3: Generations isn't skimping. [Sept 2011, p.76]

Slow, clunky, and prone to glitchiness, playing Daggerdale feels like a sentence to an actual dungeon.

Garshasp falls short of genre standards in nearly every way, and its shortcomings are too numerous to compensate for. [Sept 2011, p.75]

As soon as the novelty of elemental attacks wears off so does EoW's appeal. [Sept 2011, p.75]

This great adventure is entertaining for adults and children alike. [Sept 2011, p.73]

It's still better than the first episode, but its weaknesses will leave you wishing you could go back in time to stop yourself from playing it--space time continuum be damned. [Sept 2011, p.73]

Hydrophobia Prophecy suffers from more than a fear of water: It's also afflicted with acute blandness, brain dead AI, and chronic backtracking. [Sept 2011, p.73]

Occasional thrilling battles can;t make up for the fact that a majority of the time spent in BSG Online is just plain dull. [Sept 2011, p.72]

Tremendously fun and mostly pothole free, this gorgeous and flexible off-roader has something for every driving fan. [Sept 2011, p.70]

This is where universe sandbox succeeds brilliantly: players experience godly power to create or destroy, while almost unavoidably learning something about the physical properties or our universe. [Sept 2011, p.69]

Fun but forgettable. [Sept 2011, p.68]

Exploring Cargo's bizarre world is charming and even thought-provoking at times, but ultimately turns out to be a superficial experience. [Sept 2011, p.69]

Intricate, turn-based tactical combat delivered straight to your inbox. [Sept 2011, p.64]

The story and decisions are bigger attractions than the limited-appeal loot and artificially toughened enemies.

The challenge RUS presents is well worth your time if you can deal with its no-frills presentation. [Aug 2011, p.79]

Sanctum of Slime could've been partially redeemed with co-op, but since it's ridiculously limited to local-only(no online or even LAN), few will ever bother to play it on PC. [Aug 2011, p.76]

Burning villages and abducting princesses for ransom as a loot-hungry, fire-breathing dragon might be fun on the PS3 version, but Hoards PC port is riddled with beastly bugs that'll make you wish you'd hoarded your money. [Aug 2011, p.76]

Good grief--I could buy Half-Life 2 with that $10. [Aug 2011, p.76]

It's a great way to spend your casual hours, if a little pricey--but its still cheaper than a trip to the casino. [Aug 2011, p.73]

Still, its charming in its disgusting way, with a thoroughly entertaining story, great gameplay, and a cast of detestable-yet-oddly-likeable characters. [Aug 2011, p.73]

An ambitious and unique shooter, World of Tanks starts slow, peaks in a few hours, and soon runs low on fuel. [Aug 2011, p.72]

It has a fresh look going for it, but Brink's fancy footwork and terrible AI Interfere with its fast-paced gunplay. [Aug 2011, p.70]

An affordable, bottomless action-RPG that loves freedom. [Aug 2011, p.68]

It may not be the Dungeon Siege you remember, but this stunning, story-driven co-op dungeon crawler is entertaining just the same.

Obsessed with teaching a lesson in morality, Fable III loses focus on its charm, and is far less interesting for it. [Aug 2011, p.64]

Even with the generous free-to-play model factored in, it's hard imagine why anyone would want to deal with the basic combat and utterly forgettable lore of this world. [Aug 2011, p.63]

Last minute collapse onto its own silver sword aside, this is one of the most impressive RPGs you'll ever play.

As fresh and insightful as it is slow, Pride of Nations offers major rewards to the patient player. [Nov 2011, p.76]

Don't expect a miracle. Duke is still the hero we love, but struggles to keep up with modern times. Crude humor and classic weaponry keep him in the game.

The subtle differences are improvements, but if you already own MLB 2K10, this edition is too similar to justify the upgrade cost. [July 2011, p.79]

Like a dinosaur skeleton in your local museum, Dino D-Day is barebones, missing some pieces, and ancient-looking. [July 2011, p.78]

Citizen Brown's story is predictable, its dialog lacks Telltale's usual subtlety, and it takes far too long to ramp up the action. [July 2011, p.77]

Even with these improvements, it's held back by n incredibly small game world that too frequently revisits its few sets, and makes being stuck in the '20's for a second episode monotonous. [July 2011, p.77]

The TD genre needs more like this. [July 2011, p.77]

A chaotic(yet surprisingly deep)tower defense game, Revenge of the Titans is as charming as it is challenging. [July 2011, p.76]

The new chapter of the IL-2 Sturmovik series is a dark one--Cliffs of Dover is visually stunning but technically hobbled. [July 2011, p.74]

Colorful graphics conceal a deep and merciless dungeon that should not be attempted alone. Bring a team to find its treasure. [July 2011, p.70]

Dropping into multiplayer battles in Prejudice's armored suit is a thrill, and its battles are never over 'till they're over. [July 2011, p.68]

Don't hesitate to try it as a flavorful and humorous new way to experience a beloved strategy template, with the AI or distant friends. [July 2011, p.69]

After Theatre of War 3: Korea crashed for the last time, I realized it'd only succeeded in whetting my appetite for a good Korean War real-time strategy game. [July 2011, p.69]

Whack-a-mole warfare done right with terrific weapon handling, but the missions keep you on too short a leash. [July 2011, p.66]

It's not fancy, but Drakensang: The River of Time is a well-made RPG in the tradition of the genre's classics. [July 2011, p.64]

RFA is basically one great moment--destroying buildings with a powerful weapon--repeated for a whole game. [July 2011, p.58]

A strange animal, Darkspore doesn't seem to want you to like its characters-and won't let you make your own.

There's only one good co-op map and a few middling deathmatch ones. The price is obscene for what you get.

Vivid and tactically demanding, Assault Squad is a brilliant multiplayer game that's even better with friends. [June 2011, p.78]

Mytheon is just shy of being a really good venue for inexpensive adventuring. [June 2011, p.79]

Despite hitting most of the right notes, it's so short that it's barely memorable. [June 2011, p.77]

With its rockin' techno beats, ARES takes me back to the days of the classic NES Mega Man games. [June 2011, p.77]