While Rogue Legacy lacks the balance and crispness of Spelunky, it mostly makes up for its shortcomings with heart, imagination, and a killer compulsion loop. [Oct 2013, p.75]

Not everything it should've been, but sporadically brilliant and usually fun. [July 2004, p.56]

A gritty detective adventure that's nearly as clever and captivating as the original.

Octahedron gets more mileage than you'd think out of the ability to summon platforms beneath your feet.

Deep, exciting and, for the first time, as human as real football, Football Manager 2014 has hit the back of the net.

In a field of one, it's king. [Feb 2001, p.71]

The last few herbs and spices that Civ V’s epic stew was missing. A recipe for hundreds of hours more delicious turn-based strategy.

A new bar for complexity in the historical grand strategy genre that sometimes buckles under the weight of its ambition.

With a newfound litheness on the pitch and deep data analysis, FM21 gives you an easy excuse to relapse.

Not the best Total War game but not the worst by a long shot.

A captivating story and varied card battles ensure this light-touch RPG remains entertaining throughout its lengthy campaign.

On par with its (excellent) predecessors, Shadow Gambit trades some focused design for deeply compelling piratical freedom.

A better version of everything the MMORPG community has cooked up so far, and more. [Feb 2004, p.60]

Better than the original in almost every respect; good, mindless fun. [Apr 2002, p.74]

It definitely adds more than the two preceding expansion packs, but it’s still a slave to the simplistic mechanics that, for many, start to get old after a few weeks of play. [Jan 2002, p.60]

A visual masterpiece with enough good gameplay to make it a classic. [Feb 2001, p.50]

No flight sim has ever been more convincing...IL-2 Ace continues the series' climb as the runaway leader in the World War II prop-sim wars. [June 2004, p.72]

Merciless, frustrating, and harder than dry cereal, but exquisitely balanced. Few games are so rewarding. [July 2013, p.62]

If the Warhammer universe intrigues you, get this add-on AND "Dawn of War." [Dec 2005, p.82]

Beneath its charming and inventive worlds, Outer Wilds hides a cleverly unfolding mystery.

A palatable metroidvania with a mediocre story, my biggest frustration with The Lost Crown is how long it takes to get to the good stuff.

THUG 2's combination of goofball story, challenging skate stunts, and ever-more-ridiculous objectives is so addictive that I'd learn to play with my feet if my hands fell off. [Jan 2005, p.97]

A serene gravity flipping puzzler with impossible structures to wrap your head around.

An original and pleasantly demanding puzzle-style game that leaves you wanting slightly more and slightly more variety.

With Doom’s campaign, id Software found a sweet spot nestled somewhere between nostalgia and modernity that celebrates the pulpy sheen of big-budget shooters and resurrects an intense, simplified focus on the shooting itself. Doom sticks a bit too close to home to reinvigorate the genre, but it’s a reminder that FPS games aren’t limited to stop and pop corridors and political melodrama. It’s a reminder that sometimes a controlled, crafted appeal to base desires—going fast, flying high, and swift, tongue-in-cheek demon justice—are more than enough.

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

There's a good wedge of new content and some polished visuals in the Shrouded Isles package, but what's missing is any sort of improvement to the game's Realm-vs.-Realm premise. [Mar 2003, p.108]

And did I mention massive? The Shadowlands expansion introduces a whole new quasi-metaphysical world to explore, along with two extra professions. [Jan 2004, p.107]