The very definition of style over substance. Great art, but boring levels, lightweight combat, and dubious minigames sour the experience.

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

A brilliantly absurd arcade brawler that’s brimming with personality, but suffers from repetition and a glaring lack of online multiplayer.

At times, Watch Dogs can seem like a game we've played before, just another open-world city to speed through in a series of stolen cars, another crowd of hoods and hitmen to add to your body count, another moody, growling protagonist to endure in cutscenes. When it deviates from the familiar, however, it really soars: hacking the city of Chicago and all its cameras, utilities, and communications is freeing and fun, and invading the games of unsuspecting players is an unusual and welcome thrill.

This is still the most fun I've had with a singleplayer shooter since Bulletstorm, and the most substantially well-realised setting for a shooter campaign since Metro 2033. Its writing, music and environmental art all achieve far more than you might expect from the game about a preternaturally durable testicle with a revenge fetish and a gun in each hand. In a genre that is often overtaken by derivative or exploitative games, it's a pleasant surprise—a reminder of a time when a shooter's singleplayer campaign was the main event. A time when these games were made with attention to detail, care, and a bit of love.

Two great maps and a poor one make Expedition an over-expensive proposition. Respawn also squander a great chance to extend Titanfall’s fiction.

Not a dramatic reinvention, but still an enjoyable game of construction, economics and election fraud.

Blade Symphony's duels are electrifying and intimate, more than making up for a lack of content.

A brilliant and rewarding combat system propels a story that never becomes as interesting as it seemingly should.

Not half bad. Until the half that is makes for a disappointing return.

Although dripping with atmosphere and loaded with great gags, Sir, You Are Being Hunted’s survival elements feel unnecessary and its stealth bores.

Telltale's character drama is as strong as ever, but Clementine's boldest dialogue options end up making her more capable than the adults around her.

The combat is fun in parts and the characters grew on me, but so much more of Bound by Flame is tedious, frustrating, and unpolished.

Age of Mythology still has a lot of value beyond nostalgia, then, but I’d wait for a discount before committing your cash, especially if you already bought it a decade ago. This isn’t a total remake, so don’t go in expecting one. The Extended Edition is still a really well-paced and entertaining RTS, one that revels in over-the-top imagery and remains a one-off in subject matter within the oeuvre of the sadly departed Ensemble.

Not necessarily a bad superhero game, just one we’ve seen countless times before. The web-swinging, goon-bashing, crime-fighting fundamentals simply aren't fun.

The high-point of a consistently strong series, and a great showcase of adventure game design that fits the story's theme.

Fract OSC’s puzzles are often too few and far between the open-world wandering, and the music integration does little to stir the soul.

BF4: Second Assault is a sound purchase. [June 2014, p.81]

A beautiful game to look at, and wonderfully polished, but a thimble-deep RPG.

You can’t just chuck players in a maze with a ghost and tell them to be scared. Unfortunately this is exactly what Daylight does.

An inventive puzzle game that’s too short and easy to recommend—worthwhile only for the novelty of its concept.

Deus Ex: The Fall belongs on your phone, not on your monitor. This is a woeful port with few redeeming features.

More accessible, challenging, and rewarding than its predecessor, this is the Dark Souls sequel PC gamers deserve.

Warlock 2 is now the best version of an enjoyably streamlined strategy series. Unfortunately, for owners of the original, it isn't so much better that it's worth wholeheartedly recommending.

Streamlined in every way, War of the Vikings cut too much meat from the bone and left nothing to chew on.

Fusion's thrill isn't in leaping a yawning chasm as a jet screams below, but in simply clearing an overhanging ledge.

A few well-designed systems struggle to overcome lifeless presentation. Capable, but ultimately hard to recommend.

Smite makes the MOBA more approachable with smart tweaks to the formula and action RPG-inspired combat.