Improves physics, feedback, and AI, but overlooks important details and under-utilises its immersive role-playing elements. [Dec 2011, p.60]

A challenging game full of tactical puzzles and some really engaging mechanics. [Dec 2014, p.62]

A polished revision of the famous multiplayer shooter that chooses to play it safe. [Oct 2012, p.70]

The best Resident Evil game in years is only bogged down by the blatantly RE bits. [Issue#259, p.58]

Really only compelling for folks who keep their gaming world PC-pure. Otherwise, pick this up on the console of your choice. [Dec 2009, p.66]

A smart, lengthy and logical adventure game that is consistently enjoyable without ever trying to be incredible. [Oct 2012, p.81]

Although the story is a definite middle section, the strategy and stakes of Banner Saga 2 are greatly improved. [Issue#251, p.64]

Like Leicester winning the Premiere League, FM18 Touch knocks over its more fancied rival. [Issue#269, p.56]

Though it lacks the subdued intelligence of Chaos Theory, there's still some cracking good sneaking to be had. [Oct 2013, p.92]

Short but sweet, Superhot is evidence that a good idea well executed can make something pretty damn special. [Issue#249, p.54]

The online game is excellent, but the lack of some beloved features is very irksome. [Issue#264, p.59]

Still one of the most polished and purely addictive games around. You know exactly why you're here. [Feb 2011, p.61]

Clever storytelling makes this an essential addition to the collection of any sci-fi or adventure gaming fans. [June 2011, p.64]

Don't play it as a puzzle game. Play it as a way of recalibrating your perception of reality. [March 2013, p.96]

A content-stuffed expansion that will thrill fans. If only it did a better job of paying attention to events in the first game. [June 2010, p.56]

Miles deep, loaded with options and gorgeous art, Sins: Rebellion is a great, genre-transcending strategy game. [Aug 2012, p.60]

If you ever find yourself staring at your computer monitor longing for a well made, easily accessible and thoroughly enjoyable action game then Aquaria is for you. [Mar 2008, p.63]

Moving even further from the classic RPG, strong story and clever combat are nonetheless still found within Dragon Age II. [May 2011, p.52]

A beautiful, melancholy, emotional sports RPG visual novel thing. [Issue#265, p.51]

Beautiful, bacon-fueled carnage. [Apr 2011, p.62]

Classic dungeon-crawling brought back to life. [June 2012, p.52]

Bulletstorm is perfectly designed to appeal to the 14 year old boys who can't buy it because it's rated MA15+. [May 2011, p.64]

A brilliant treatment of feudalism in terms of strategy and story, but requires major investment to overcome information overload. [May 2012, p.52]

Some say the Point-and-click adventure is dead, but with a combination of fun gameplay and humorous send ups, Sam & Max 201 proves that good things come in small packages. [Jan 2008, p.62]

The fur's not flying here - Mists of Pandaria is another solid addiction to World of Warcraft. [Nov 2012, p.68]

A brilliant, detailed racing game that stays true to the series lineage, for better and for worse. [Issue#268, p.64]

This isn't serious RTS. You may see RA3 trotted out at tournaments here and there, but it will never be a stalwart of the genre. Not in that way, at least. But when it comes to the elusive quality we call “fun”, this is a benchmark title. [Christmas 2008, p.71]

A slow-burn character study, some quick thinking and a constant air of menace make for a gripping start to a new adventure. [July 2012, p.68]

One of the better games of its type on the market but too similar to the first games to have existing fans cheering for joy. [Nov 2010, p.63]

A great game held back by poor balance decisions and a layer of petty bugs.

Having said this, Prince of Persia is one of those games that has obvious flaws but manages to pull together to become so much more than the sum of its parts. The charmingly cliched story, the visuals, audio, and their sparkling polish come together to make the Prince of Persia a modern epic. [January 2009, p.51]

A great game of action and exploration, with rich, interlocking mechanics. May be a little bit derivative, but a tonne of fun nonetheless. [Issue#263, p.56]

A mostly triumphant return to form for this unique series. [July 2013, p.86]

Invites you into a beautifully realised, wholly consistent and ever-so-slightly alien ecosystem and keeps you wondering what you'll see next. [June 2012, p.63]

The diamond in the rough gleams more brightly, but still a chore to properly enjoy. [Jan 2010, p.56]

If you have the patience to redo the same level over and over again in search of perfection, OlliOlli 2 is pretty damn great. [Sept 2015, p.65]

A deceptively realistic racing game that doesn't care if you want to ignore the details and just smash every car on the track.

A potential classic, hamstrung by unkept promises made during 2.5 years of Early Access. [Issue#254, p.64]

DICE, please. Slow down, put the brakes on, and take your time. As Battlefield 4 shows, a two-year cycle isn't worth the rush. [Jan 2014, p.86]

An amazingly deep and unique roleplaying experience but marred by roadblock mechanics and repetitive game elements (Hollingworth). A deep and fascinating world with a compelling narrative and large degree of player agency (Wilks) [Issue#260, p.53]

A love story. A private story. A rare privilege. [Jan 2012, p.40]

Hong Kong features a wonderful story but patience is required due to the glacial pace with which it progresses. [Oct 2015, p.56]

It seems Gas Powered Games has really been listening to the fans because forged Alliance builds on the Supreme Commander legacy to make a great game downright amazing. [Jan 2008, p.58]

An incredibly tight, good looking single player experience, the anti-CoD if you will. [July 2014, p.50]

A surprisingly rich survival horror game that doesn't try to frighten you so much as leave you feeling slightly uneasy. [June 2012, p.65]

Quite possibly as good as it gets when it comes to sci-fi horror. [Nov 2014, p.48]

It rises above its problems to provide the kind of RPG that reminds you what made the genre so great in the first place. This game was a labour of love for CD Projekt and it shows. [Jan 2008, p.53]

If the first episode is a fair indicator for the rest of the season, this could very well be 2013's The Walking Dead. [March 2013, p.88]

A nice-enough end to a stellar first episodic outing, but some will find the puzzles lacking. [Feb 2010, p.61]

Loot interacts with combat far better than Death's abilities. [Oct 2012, p.68]

Though it oozes atmosphere, frequent and irritating monster encounters tarnish an otherwise solid shooter. [May 2010, p.56]

Beautiful to look at and a thrill to play, Blur combines speed, strategy and style into a thoroughly entertaining package. [Aug 2010, p.62]

A solid game that could use a little more hand holding, but otherwise another great effort from Relic. [Jan 2015, p.58]

Fast and flashy combat in a shallow fantasy world. For the solo MMO player only. [Apr 2012, p.62]

This is the freshest that Sam & Max have been in a while. [July 2010, p.60]

A deeply flawed yet passably entertaining co-op genre mash-up. [Christmas 2009, p.52]

The missed potential of the Napoleon story and some dodgy AI make this one a fun, but not essential, Total War game. [Apr 2010, p.50]

A bold experiment in semi-interactive narrative that doesn't quite succeed. [Issue#249, p.58]

If you liked Lemmings but thought it could do with more brain munching, this is the game for you. [Issue#254, p.68]

Creepy and cute in equal measure, Little Nightmares is a short but tense ride. [Issue#262, p.65]

The story is trite but the action, Pawn system and inclusion of DLC made Dragon's Dogma: DA a very compelling purchase. [Issue#248, p.64]

A celebration of speed and movement. [Jan 2010, p.86]

If this is what Ubisoft is capable of in ts "spare time", it deserves more time off. Inject this glorious blue neon goop into our veins. [June 2013, p.82]

Revenant Kingdom is one of those games that suffers for being a sequel to something that was a bit special. It's a good oddball JRPG. But Wrath of the White Witch had great storytelling, compelling characters, and epic boss fights. Revenant Kingdom just feels... smaller.

Beyond Earth is the finest thing that Firaxis has made and a game that we suspect we'll be playing for a long time to come. [Dec 2014, p.52]

One of the best bat-and-ballers since Breakout itself.

Beating the shit out of incoming musical notes has never been this much fun. [Issue#252, p.70]

Some rough edges, but this is the finest RPG to emerge in many years. [Nov 2014, p.56]

A loving celebration of bullet-hell, which relishes its intricate perfection without the distraction of a whole game's worth of content. [Sept 2011, p.63]

Sometimes the best way forward is a humble step back. [Jan 2010, p.60]

It's not perfect, but it's a worthy successor to the now 20-year franchise. [Aug 2015, p.58]

An ambitious game hobbled by laborious, unsatisfying combat and a "ready-made" approach to quest design that undermines player autonomy. [Dec 2015, p.58]

A prettier but more generic experience overall. Still fun, but somewhat lacking in the skill department. [Dec 2011, p.62]

Full of funny moments and some great new mechanics but doesn't quite feel like it lives up to its own potential. [Issue#268, p.56]

Simple controls don't mean a simple game. A great game for those of you up for fiendishly complex battle. [Apr 2012, p.60]

There may not be much in the way of story, but Death of the Outsider is a fine farewell to Dunwall. [Issue#267, p.71]

This is a gem that deserves to march past your defences and into your game collection. [Jan 2012, p.62]

Intense anti-grav racing for the purist who values speed and control over all distractions.

The series' new benchmark for quality. Don't let these bricks get lost under the couch. [Sept 2012, p.62]

The question you’re asking is: “Yes, but is it better than World of Warcraft?” Well, is it? Undoubtedly. Easy to get into, awesome combat, great story, and massively detailed world, gorgeous to look at. [Aug 2008, p.57]

An excellent expansion for an already excellent RTS. [Aug 2014, p.56]

The rarest of all expansions: the one that's better than its base game. [Aug 2012, p.58]

A solid GTA clone that ticks all the boxes but forgets to add the magic ingredient of improvisation. [Oct 2012, p.77]

Sleek and competent and detailed and not really very exciting. [Issue#263, p.62]

Your typical Obsidian experience sans compelling companion characters. The foundation's there for a good sequel, at least. [Issue#258, p.70]

FM 2017 is the best the series has been, and thus the best football management game around. But the improvements are too incremental and the new features too disposable to make this a value-for-money day one proposition.

A definite step above the original but still not without its problems. [Issue#268, p.60]

For all its flaws and shortcomings, The Banner Saga's ambitions shine through well enough. [March 2014, p.52]

The rest of us might like future instalments to try something else, or at the very least tweak the formula rather than copy its shortcomings. [Mar 2008, p.61]

Despite a few issues with pacing, Hand of Fate 2 crafts an atmosphere based on its predecessor, but also full of surprises. You will want to spend hours playing games within games within this game, even as the Dealer taunts you for your missteps.

Incredible potential squandered by a focus on action and dull quest design. Still a decent romp in co-op, but it could have been so much more. [Nov 2011, p.54]

Bloated and hubristic, Assassin's Creed III is a shocking disappointment. If you adored Assassin's Creed II, you would be better served replaying that and forgetting this even exists. [Jan 2013, p.77]

An unrelenting torrent of gore and terror that plays your nerves like a fiddle...until all the strings break. [Nov 2013, p.94]

Despite lacking variety in activities at the moment, it has laid the foundation for a very special space sim. [Feb 2015, p.22]

Strangely, Pure is best described through its title. It's not complicated, it's not especially deep, and in parts it's not even that refined. It's straightforward, fast-paced, exciting racing. [Christmas 2008, p.80]

Chalk this one up as another PC adaptation hemmed-in by the need to make it all work on the PlayStation 3 If Lara's got a saving grace, it's that she's the archetypal 'pub game' girl. To the sozzled, life isn't an intricate cornucopia of detail and possibility, it's a pinball machine one gets hurled through, head first; linear and idiot-proof. [January 2009, p.53]

Pricey, but five hours well spent. [Oct 2009, p.80]

Some great level design and new abilities await those who take this welcome return to Dunwall, but we wish the visit lasted longer. [June 2013, p.90]