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

It's less polished than the original, but it's a more epic D&D adventure. [Holiday 2006, p.90]

A completely welcome contrast to anything you've ever played, supported by the most intense first-person fisticuffs we've seen in a game. [July 2009, p.78]

An intriguing mystery adventure with outstanding writing and performances.

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.

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

An underwhelming story but a massive, exciting sandbox of parkour and kinetic combat.

Familiar and inventive, tough yet easygoing, World of Goo 2 is a whole world of fun.

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

An inventive Souls-meets-roguelike that frustrates and delights in equal measure.

With its well executed timeloop concept, Lemnis Gate could be the sleeper shooter of 2021.

Door Kickers is a difficult, rewarding puzzler so obsessed with its tactical ideas that it rejects all else​—which is probably for the best anyway.

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.

Thirty dollars may seem a bit hefty for a free modification, but the incredible experience is well worth the price of admission. [Aug 2003, p.72]

Star Wars: Squadrons delivers on great dogfighting, even when its campaign doesn't live up to its full potential.

Modern Warfare 2 sets a new bar for Call of Duty all over again.

The only drawbacks to Soldiers are its murderous difficulty and speed. [Sept 2004, p.72]

Just what a visual novel should be—fun characters and the rush of solving mysteries make you eager to keep going.

I was bowled over by the level of quality of all this one person has achieved. Olija is clearly Olsson's personal work, and its story, of Europeans lost in mysterious and frightening Eastern waters, in part reflects his own experience of moving from his birthplace in France to Japan to be with his wife. But I felt sometimes a disquieting air of orientalist fantasy, as we encounter an inscrutable culture headed by the beautiful Lady Olija, who we chase into submission. But I also loved the clash of rough and ready mariners facing a strange and terrible world of corrupted beauty. I only wish their voyage was a little longer.

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.

What could've been a pure moment of celebration for a series that's overdue for a great videogame is complicated by the fact that its success is a win for JK Rowling, and all the bad feelings associated with the desire to play the cool new wizard RPG.

It's the only choice for PC fans, but as luck would have it, it still gets the job done. [Nov 2000, p.128]

As good as tennis fans may ever see on their PCs. [Holiday 2002, p.83]

With more pronounced effects than the first expansion, Snowfall adds new challenges and complexity.

It's well written, the pixel art and animation are nicely done, and the fact that you can draw your gun whenever you want, and that you can shoot key characters dead and just keep on playing, gives it a great sense of freedom.

Undoubtedly an excellent game, with its strengths far outweighing its weaknesses. My central frustration, though, is that it doesn’t allow you to play a deliberate, defense-oriented, puck-control style of NHL hockey.

Defense Grid 2 isn't just another tower defense game, it's the best new tower defense game.

If you're tired of cold weather, Castaway Stories could be just the thing to warm you up. [May 2008, p.61]