If your PC is powerful, however, and you stick to its infectious single-player game, DiRT delivers in spades. [Oct 2007, p.60]

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

The flock of dizzying strategic possibilities and the brilliant plumage it's dressed in make this digital board game a must-play.

While it's not a must-have for current players, unlocking Faction's 300-odd new skills and discovering an entire new continent full of missions, monsters, and locales adds a lot of creamy icing to an already tasty cake. [Aug 2006, p.64]

A fantastic feat of interlocking storytelling and design.

A wonderfully executed, brilliantly stressful reinvention of party-based dungeon-crawling, Darkest Dungeon is great fun, even when it’s cruel.

One of the best story-driven games on PC, 80 Days is beautifully written, effortlessly charming, and thrillingly unpredictable.

It may not be my perfect PC game, but I think it's well on its way to becoming one of my favorite toys. And if there's one thing we could all use more of, it's time to just...play. [Nov 2008, p.33]

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

Enter the Gungeon is a good shooter that underdelivers on its promise. It's still fun, but there are better examples of the genre.

A masterful metroidvania that builds on Sekiro-style combat and tells a great sci-fi story too. Unmissable.

For well-crafted turn-based strategy with stunning artwork and powerful AI, Disciples II is the way to go. [Apr 2002, p.70]

Funny, touching and full of action and smart in-jokes, Citadel is Mass Effect’s heartwarming last hurrah to its fans.

Frostpunk is a stressful, stylish, and addictive survival management game filled with incredibly difficult choices.

Great characters, challenging resource management, and impeccable road trip vibes.

A vast and incredible playground for destructive experiments and improbable stunts. [Jun 2010, p.64]

Another superb entry that feels tailor-made for the series' most dedicated players.

Slight in form, but deep and consistently satisfying. Nex Machina is a gem of a shooter.

Streets of Rage doesn't do much to innovate, but it's a beautiful brawler with just enough depth to stay engaging through multiple runs.

No FPS diehard should miss it, but I say that more for the Team Instant Action multiplayer than the enjoyable but forgettable single-player campaign. [Dec 2008, p.54]

Exciting combat and a plethora of sexy costumes can't totally save Stellar Blade's middling story and occasionally questionable level design.

A gorgeous, relentlessly entertaining open-world piracy simulator packed with interesting 18th century rogues.

Shortcomings aside, Griftlands is another slice of low-key brilliance from developers Klei. Is there a genre they can't do? The balance of narrative and deck-building made for a much more engaging experience than I often have with card-based titles, even if it feels like more could be done to connect those systems and bolster the storytelling. Still, I'm going to remember my adventures with Sal and the little moments of friendship and betrayal throughout each run. I like playing as a grifter; it ain't much but it's a living.

Stylish, beautiful, and uncompromising, Hyper Light Drifter is as rewarding as it is frustrating.

A fun revival that opts for solid fundamentals over innovation.

Huge, open and beautiful. Sapienza offers up a different sort of challenge to Paris, and is a promising sign for Hitman's future.

This heartfelt, engaging reprise of a classic falls just shy of greatness due to a lack of fresh ideas and endurance.

Everything you've ever loved about the series has been given a gorgeous new visual treatment. If you've got the patience to handle the tough difficulty, it'll be a fun game. [Mar 2003, p.112]

At last, Ensemble fully capitalizes on the game's setting, and the result is most satisfying. [Holiday 2003, p.96]

Does a bang-up job of communicating the unique, topsy-turvy physics at play in keeping a 180-mph GP bike on the straight and narrow. [Sept 2003, p.80]

Perhaps a bit too divergent from the Final Fantasy formula, but rich characters and spectacular combat still make it an impressive sequel.

Slick and generous, Magic: The Gathering Arena is finally the adaptation the CCG originator deserves.

"Not every conspiracy has to be the f.cking Templars." If that made you smile, buy with confidence.

A satisfying, if conservative, return to the seminal roguelike's 2D roots.

A quality remake that broadens the scope of the original and massively improves its final chapters.

Given Bug Huge Game's big huge ambition level when crafting <i>Rise of Legends</i>, some dents in the genie lamp are to be expected. But they don't come close to spoiling <i>Legend's</i> fabulous magic carpet ride. [July 2006, p.65]

Toca Race Driver 3 offers advancement over its predecessors, but until Codemasters recognizes and repairs the game's physics and AI weaknesses, this franchise will continue losing track position to the superior offerings from either side of the Atlantic that currently steer this game. [Apr 2006, p.98]

Polished and involving, FTL spews superb sci-fi adventures like a cornered Mantis boarder spews hot formic acid.

Vessel of Hatred gives Diablo 4 a beating heart: Compelling characters to root for, creative loot to chase, and fiercely expressive action.

Innovative puzzle design and truly astonishing visual trickery make this puzzle game a must-play—even if it doesn't quite have the space to make the most of its best ideas.

A masterpiece of audio and visual design, SOMA is atmospheric, cerebral, and occasionally frustrating.

Defcon is delightfully fun in its simplicity and payoff, so don't expect incredibly deep strategy. [Dec. 2006, p.78]

Tense and atmospheric, Teleglitch wields difficulty, action and horror to create an unsettling survival experience.

A packed, rewarding, and frequently thrilling looter shooter that should have a bright future.

No matter what you think of the movie, Tron 2.0 stands out as a thoroughly entertaining, infinitely playable, and visually spectacular experience. [Nov 2003, p.96]

A beautiful, melancholy action RPG that’s effortlessly stylish and utterly unpredictable.

This intense semi-sequel significantly ratchets up the enemy AI. [Holiday 2005, p.56]

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

Nioh is hamstrung by a sloppy PC port, but still manages to bring new ideas to death-treadmill action RPGs.

A confident remaster of a true classic. The puzzles have aged badly, but the sparkling humour and world design still shine.

A polished, wide-ranging update that brings the classic RTS into the modern age.

A thought-provoking and bittersweet adventure that understands that death is part of living.

A quality adventure game with challenging puzzles, oddball characters, and an intriguing, mystery-laden plot.

It's hard to find much fault in this fun and well-balanced game. It's set in arguably the best fantasy universe ever and its production values are sky-high. [May 2006, p.68]

A breakneck platformer that uses classic Sonic as a foundation for something fresh and exciting.

Viking doesn't have all the enhancements I would've liked, but its new gameplay mechanic is refreshing, and Medieval fans will definitely enjoy it. [Aug 2003, p.60]

Just an utterly fantastic multiplayer shooter, and while it doesn't replace "Battlefield 1942," it's a perfect complement. [June 2004, p.64]

A brilliant, massive sandbox of systems, albeit largely the same one Bethesda has been making for years.

Nightfall is easily the best of three Guild Wars products and has set a very high bar for the next chapter. [Jan. 2007, p.76]

The Drifter is a gorgeous and moody point 'n' click adventure with impeccable art, but its pulp leanings undermine its best qualities.

This is a game perfectly suited for the tournament scene, where players are being tested for tactics and teamwork and care less about immersion. [Holiday 2007, p.76]

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

A welcome refresh of a hack-and-slash mainstay that mostly impresses, despite a few glaring pacing problems.

An epic ode to the joy of football, but with room remaining for improvement.

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

Absolutely colossal, Rift aims high and hits its mark, proving that there's room to grow within the traditional MMO format.

Heaps of fun and plenty chaotic, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is the closest we've ever gotten to Mario Kart on PC… for better and worse.

An atmospheric, brilliantly written and acted detective thriller that tells a compelling story in a unique way.

Serious racing for serious racers. Extraordinarily convincing at each of the disciplines on offer.

A fun and engaging RPG with beautiful graphics and a bouncy pace.

A hybrid sim/arcade racer that challenges and entertains, despite controls that must be tweaked into submissions. [June 2011, p.68]

If you're sick of beating swords into ploughshares in plain-Jane Civ IV campaigns, Warlords is the cure. [Oct. 2006, p.72]

A no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.

A great update of a classic game, even with the micromanaging. [Mar 1997, p.134]

As any fan of this outstanding multiplayer game will explain, six new maps for Battlefield 1942 is almost like adding six new sequels to the game. [Apr 2003, p.100]

Gris’s visual appeal hinders as much as it helps its exploration of grief.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Naturally, once you've beaten the main quests you can continue exploring the world, and the biggest compliment I can give Origins is that I'd much rather be playing it than writing about it. It's a got a dazzling and beautiful setting, lots of enjoyable systems for mischief and mayhem, and has just the right amount of diversions and distractions to keep you busy without ever feeling like busywork. The extra year Ubisoft took with Origins didn't result in a completely new and novel experience, but it did provide one of the best games in the Assassin's Creed series.

Guaranteed fun for strategy fans of all ages, but especially retro gamers. [July 2005, p.68]

It was never going to be a revolution, but you feel the new features on and off the pitch.

A blend of mismatched genres that somehow works, Yoku’s Island Express is a beguiling game of modest brilliance.

Genshin Impact's open world and clever combat are fantastic, but its endgame tries way too hard to milk you for cash.

Two Point Hospital is a brilliant management game, regardless of nostalgia.

It's a little hobbled by old-school stylings and the story could be better, but few modern hack-and-slash RPGs are quite so fun.

A top-notch action-arcade game with a sly, dry sense of humor. [Sept 2000, p.93]

A decent port of a great Final Fantasy with one of the cleverest combat systems in RPGs.

Call of Duty's strongest multiplayer offering in years is dragged down by a tedious campaign.

The fighting is BG&E's weakest element, and there's a bit too much of it for the game's own good. [Mar 2004, p.71]

Bloodstained: ROTN faithfully recreates the metroidvania experience of the 2000s—a feast for fans of a very specific experience; a bit too old-fashioned for anyone else.

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

Smite makes the MOBA more approachable with smart tweaks to the formula and action RPG-inspired combat.

It's the outdoor areas - roughly 25 percent of the game's 20-plus hours of playtime - that host the kind of epic confrontations that you'll tell your buddies about. [Holiday 2003, p.98]

One great RPG and one curio. Not a perfect port, but definitely Square Enix’s best stab at bringing Final Fantasy to PC so far.

Combines robust storytelling with consistently inventive, surprising missions. Not just a return to form, but a new series peak.

Not the most inventive MMO expansion, but a robust chunk of new maps that flesh out the best MMO around. [Christmas 2017, p.66]

Hellblade could benefit from more exploration and enemy variety, but it's a powerful portrait of the strength of will over personal demons.

Climb aboard if your system has the juice. [Mar 2002, p.58]

A terrific game...Not a revolutionary leap like its predecessor, but it's still a satisfying experience. [Dec 2003, p.128]