Best in class monster combat makes up for a wilderness that's a touch too streamlined.

You've got a huge island to explore, ridiculously effective tools for scouting every hostile situation, and so many clever intersecting systems to inspire creative ways to conquer them. It's a better stealth game than Far Cry 1, set in an open world that feels richer than Far Cry 2's. That's an amazing thing to play.

For dynamic looks and pure depth of gameplay, Winning Eleven 8's smooth, stylish, fast, and fluid style of soccer is a joy to behold. It's better than "FIFA," and that's the bottom line. [May 2005, p.63]

A sublime addition to the Rogue Legacy family and one of the best roguelites yet.

It's a charming, sunshine-bright indie action-RPG with an old-school disregard for your time. It'll consume you with a smile, and you'll be smiling, too: but it's down to the community to turn it into something special.

Exceptionally tough, rewarding strategy and a masterful reworking of the XCOM formula. We’ll play this forever.

Myth II has wanton carnage, great multiplayer action, and killer graphics. What more could you want? [May 1999, p.101]

Not just for the masochists, Cuphead is a demanding but supremely rewarding modern 2D shooter that looks and sounds fantastic.

An engaging, vibrant and challenging platformer that adds narrative to a genre often shy of it.

This 3D take on the Vampire Survivors’ formula is brilliant dumb fun that’ll have you bonking monsters for hours. Eww.

The genre-defining shooter holds up fantastically, despite an imperfect package.

It took the core aspects of every good shooter, and made them great. [Jan 2002, p.64]

Not just a great sequel, but a thoughtful and human narrative adventure wrapped in a satisfying and beautiful puzzle game.

If you like you action games fast and furious, Shogo is your one-way ticket to nirvana. [Dec 1998]

You should play this because it's an inventive story with three or four things you've never done in a game before, and because it suggests a future where games don't insult our intelligence with dull plotting, dire exposition, and endless cut-scenes. [Dec 2012, p.75]

An excellent evolution of its predecessor that, while carrying over some of its weaknesses, has further strengthened its high points.

Wargames don't see a lot of innovation, but Unity of Command 2 builds new things out of familiar parts.

A bigger, prettier, and more addictive game that leaves even the series' most recent efforts in the dust...If you think "Rome: Total War's" battles looked good, especially for the number of units on-screen at once (i.e., thousands), Medieval II will blow you away. [Dec 2006, p.28]

Apex Legends is a quiet revolution in how we communicate in games, and an excellent team-based battle royale I can recommend to anyone, caveat-free.

Perhaps the most impressive new feature is F1 2002's dedicated multiplayer support for up to 16 players. [Sept 2002, p.70]

Effortlessly inventive, frequently surprising and consistently hilarious. The Stanley Parable shows how to make a story about game stories.

This wonderfully clever strategy roguelike demands your best, and it deserves to get it.

Similar and slightly improved mechanics make this a worthy sequel, despite a sadly less-memorable story. [Mar 2010, p.70]

Sight, sound, and systems harmonize to make Civilization 6 the liveliest, most engrossing, most rewarding, most challenging 4X in any corner of the earth.

By returning to the past, Battlefield 1 feels renewed. The best game in the series since Bad Company 2.

A brilliant strategy game that manages to be both broad and deep, challenging and accessible.

It's a changed game, but it's never been such spectacular fun to play, or so creative to tinker with.

The deep career mode is even better when managing your own team, and the racing is superbly tactical.