But even with so much free material competing for the attention of Oblivion fans, Knights of the Nine offers a compelling package of polished content. [Mar 2007, p.64]

Episode four makes Bigby's struggle more personal, then ends abruptly, transferring the pressure to deliver onto the finale.

A great cozy yet creepy puzzle adventure packed with dozens of little mysteries to solve.

Modern Warfare 2's convincing weapons, evil enemies, shock-and-awe set-pieces and beautiful-but-unrelated locales suit nothing so well as co-op. [Jan 2010, p.72]

The top-notch writing and superb voice acting, coupled with the visually vibrant hellscape, keeps your interest from start to finish.

Still, considering what it had to work with, Noblis has done the Da Vinci name proud. [Sep 2006, p.94]

An atmospheric, well-designed adventure elevated by borrowing elements from role-playing games.

Phallic imagery and sore wrists don’t stop this from being uniquely charming. Definitely worth a few quid and a few hours of your time.

A shot of adrenaline for the year-old game, these new armies bring the best parts of Company of Heroes into the upgraded Company of Heroes 2 world.

Confounds your expectations to create a racing game as much about finesse as destroying buildings.

Even if I can't see myself logging into WoW every day, The War Within's campaign satisfied the urge to get lost in Blizzard's big fantasy world again. The story will continue as major updates happen and that might be enough to keep me hanging on until the end of the trilogy. But anything past that is a bottomless chasm that I'm happy to skip over, unless Blizzard finds a way to blend its powerful storytelling with a grind that doesn't drain the joy out of its world.

An extremely refreshing space exploration take on the massively multiplayer genre. [Holiday 2002, p.92]

Great monsters, stunning locations and a quality mystery makes this one of Supermassive's best.

Another charming indie. [Dec 2009, p.83]

A convincing examination of player choice set in an all-too-realistic modern world.

It's entertaining, challenging, and worth playing, but it's not a graphic adventure that will blow you away. [Jan 1997, p.234]

A dark, violent comic book given light and heart. a ripping yarn that tears along as fast as you can tear through bodies.

Elden Ring Nightreign is just as confusing and abrasive as FromSoftware's other games, but there's really nothing else like it.

An atmospheric collection of clever, surprising interactive short stories with a gorgeous retro aesthetic.

But MechWarrior 5 is a game that will get a pass on its narrative woes because, I must concede, the narrative is so thin the gameplay completely trumps it. MW5 is unmistakably a game about being a sandbox mech jockey, and the stories are just a low-quality veneer over some superb robot combat. If you're here for a mech smashing simulator, this is the best new mech smashing simulator around. Here's hoping for more and better from a MechWarrior 6.

Fans of Penny Arcade will get a good laugh out of playing alongside Gabe and Tycho, but the game is a little more than interactive comic strip fun. [July 2008, p.82]

Paradoxiana at its most approachable and bellicose. Engaging engagements, feisty AI, low price.

If it's a bit flabby and messy, though, Nobody Saves the World is far more often a delight. Guacamelee was a showcase for ingenious level design, but here DrinkBox demonstrates a different knack for layering up complex systems, which combine and play off each other in deviously logical ways. Under the brash exterior lies a wonderfully technical game that offers the freedom to let you discover the quality of its craft in your own time. Grinding through quests is a genuine pleasure and, well, who doesn't want to be a horse with the powers of a slug?

Total War: Pharaoh’s battles may be limited by history, but Creative Assembly compensates for this with a complex, thematic, and highly dynamic campaign.

To underestimate this lively RTS game would be a mis-step for fans of the genre. [Mar 2002, p.78]

There are no huge new strides in gameplay, but the story-driven campaign is top-notch -- albeit murderously hard. [Holiday 2002, p.84]

A big ‘ol chunk of game with a lot of things to do, and just as importantly, new ways to do them.​

As mechanically polished as driving sims have ever been on PC. Stately and familiar, but finely crafted.