I haven’t played the first This Is The Police, but I can’t help but feel like the sequel simply adds too much. The game feels like it needs to refocus on the day to day policing and the small storylets that accompany it, which are great. Unless the message is that running a police department is an impossible task, in which case: mission accomplished.

Tunguska's lush, atmospheric background art and slick FMV cut-scenes add measurable value to the experience, but its terrible English voice dubbing--Nina sounds like a teenage Nancy Drew--and the puerile(and occasionally sexist)dialog are often excruciating. [Feb. 2007, p.70]

More rehashed than remastered, your childhood might be better served holding onto old memories rather than making new ones.

What could have been a latter-day "Close Conbat" or a visually splashier "Combat Mission" is instead a tedious and underwrought quagmire. [Sept 2008, p.70]

A dark action-platformer which shows fleeting signs of life, but lacks the vivacity to climb above the competition.

Shabby joystick support also contributes to a number of annoying control issues. [Apr 2002, p.71]

A disappointing campaign, and a sandbox rework that shows promise, but feels like it's still some major balance patches away from leaving the game in a good place.

Biomutant's stunning world barely survives the painful narration, broken progression, and dearth of stuff to do.

This Xbox 360 port retains all the high-octane thrills of the original snowy adventure while incorporating features for the PC like mouse/key support and DirectX 10 effects(finally!). [Oct 2007, p.62]

With its simplistic and repetitive gameplay, Glory of the Roman Empire neglected my needs as a hardcore strategy gamer. [Oct. 2006, p.71]

Sunset's themes, setting, and plot are plenty interesting, but the player's interaction with them feels incongruous.

Puts out where it counts. Cold Fear is a pants-browner. [Aug 2005, p.68]

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified feels confused and half-finished, a hollow but beautiful slog through XCOM’s early years.

An impressively huge, occasionally beautiful map doesn’t make up for mediocre driving and a lack of multiplayer options.

Free-flowing strategy with a wealth of features. An element of grind, but plenty of satisfying moments too .

This throwback management sim's incredible building tools are let down by a limp campaign and a serious lack of depth.

It's just another in the crowd of well-meaning but ultimately pointless games that offer more tedium than entertainment. [Jan 2005, p.83]

Too brief and inconsequential to live up to expectations. One for Dragon Age lore obsessives and ardent completionists.

A flawed but fun action slaughterfest with a great NPC-possession hook.

The challenge isn't necessarily soliving puzzles, but making sure you've examined every single bit of every screen. [Dec 2004, p.89]

The series desperately needs a bigger leap forward, but this sequel fills the obvious Indy gap with no small style. [Mar 2010, p.82]

A smorgasbord of spectacular WW2 action scenes, none of which are excellent, and some of which are downright unfun.

Payday 3 could be one of the slickest co-op shooters around, but it's mired by a grindy progression system and its always-online nature. It needs some time to cook before it's worth digging in.

A bunch of fun new abilities and cool places but Dawnguard is far too glitchy to justify its steep price.

This phlegmatic Poirot caper will likely appeal to hardcore adventure game and Agatha Christie fans, but for the rest of us, Evil Under the Sun is all talk and no action. [Jan 2008, p.80]

There's simply too little to do. As a result, there's not much of a challenge to be had--at least any intentional challenge that is. [Holiday 2007, p.72]

Many great games have been built on the concept of expanding your space empire through diplomacy, trade and war. Armada 2526 is not one of them. [Nov 2010, p.83]

The story and decisions are bigger attractions than the limited-appeal loot and artificially toughened enemies.