ObsCure's smell of teen spirit freshens up a staid and stodgy genre. [July 2005, p.62]

At its core, it's a simplistic console game with all the usual trappings - brainless combat, lame puzzles, and shoddy controls. [Oct 2005, p.70]

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]

The game is great fun, but there's simply not enough content here for $15.

On the whole, this game feels like a retreat of older ones - only with +10 wackiness. It's decent, but hardly heroic. [Apr 2004, p.70]

Hardcore, platoon-oriented players will definitely enjoy what Core Combat has to offer. [Feb 2004, p.75]

Empire of Sin's many bugs, balance issues and competing systems undermine what could have been a novel mob management game.

This tank shoot-em-up has a lot of energy, but it's simplistic gameplay wears out its welcome quicker than members of a Hitler Youth group at a Bar Mitzvah. [Dec,. 2006, p.56]

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]

My biggest gripe involves gangland's implementation vehicles. You're occasionally given cars for drive-by shootings, but their awful handling makes completing those levels a chore. [June 2004, p.74]

Although dripping with atmosphere and loaded with great gags, Sir, You Are Being Hunted’s survival elements feel unnecessary and its stealth bores.

Swinging wildly between inspired and tedious, Deadpool is an uneven and unpredictable as its lead character. [Oct 2013, p.60]

2020 marks the third year Madden has been back on PC since the franchise's prodigal return to the platform in 2018. The novelty hasn't worn off for me yet. There is still something inherently weird and exciting about playing such a console-targeted franchise on my desktop; to type in my player's name and college with a keyboard. But that won't sustain many players for long. Madden is desperate for some new ideas, so let's hope some of 21's more exotic ventures foreshadow a more substantial rebuild in the future.

An attractive medieval survival sandbox that unfortunately gets bogged down in too many demands for time.

Though the game isn't deep enough to keep it from growing repetitive rather quickly, there's something satisfying on an almost primal level about being able to squash hordes of invading space bugs. [Jan 2005, p.83]

A cleanly executed idea falls short because of flat characterisation and a dissatisfying lack of consequence. If only real papers were this toothless.

The worst gaming goat since that one in Broken Sword. This is a dumb, limited novelty game that's not worth the asking price

A varied, atmospheric space simulator with beautiful Martian sunsets, challenging survival, and frustrating controls.

Even diehard grognards may be turned off by its complex interface and esoteric control panels, and newbies will be frustrated to no end. [Nov 2007, p.70]

A middling contender in the most oversubscribed genre around. Trades too hard on being free.

Broken Worlds doesn't offer enough new gameplay to interest anyone other than the most dedicated "Dungeon Siege" fans, and its once-innovative engine now feels clunky and no longer looks impressive. [Nov. 2006, p.98]

A lot of thought put into new chess pieces; not enough put toward PC gaming. Also, kinda pricey.

Starts promisingly, but soon slips into a tiresome, repetitive grind, never doing its unique period setting justice.

Enjoyable arcade handling packaged within a game that gets monotonous long before it rewards your time investment.

Watching your favourite game genres make out sounds exciting, but God of Rock doesn't quite nail it. It leaves a game that feels at odds with itself, sometimes fun to play but mostly frustrating or uninteresting.

The teammate AI is at times very helpful and other times is just plain whacked. [June 2003, p.84]

An accessible online heist game with some fun systems that wrestle with clumsy combat and an ugly presentation.

The impressive 3D graphics lose their luster because of the lack of interaction, and the actual gameplay falls short because of its spreadsheet mentality. [Dec 2003, p.124]