A space diamond in the rough, Pandora may not get everything right but exceptional combat and city management shines through. [Feb 2014, p.86]

Not without some significant problems, Ruiner is still a satisfyingly difficult slice of twin stick grimdorkness. [Issue#267, p.73]

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

Hardly essential, but worth it if you loved Skyrim's Daedric quests. [Sept 2012, p.52]

The best experience is probably on console. [Oct 2010, p.60]

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

Fans will love it, but it could have been so much better. [Oct 2010, p.62]

Despite its by-the-numbers storyline, the game grabs you into its sucking chest wound of a world and keeps you there until the last chitinous spike has been blasted from the final suppurating torso. [Dec 2008, p.67]

A more-than-capable shooter that is a blast to play. Shame about the pings. [Sept 2012, p.59]

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

A solid foundation for a street racing MMO, but one undermined by lack of local servers. [Oct 2010, p.66]

Terran Conflict is not everybody's game. It may be more accessible than previous entries but that is not to suggest much headway has been made in this area. I would have loved to have scored this game higher but it can't be ignored that this a difficult recommendation to make to most people. [January 2009, p.55]

A ballsy take on the WWII shooter formula. [July 2012, p.65]

Less Hot Shots and more Hot Fuzz. [July 2012, p.66]

An easy-to-play casual RTS. Starts a bit slow but the stylised graphics and immersive sound keep you hooked. [Jan 2010, p.81]

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 poorly-made, unashamedly dumb game that nevertheless offers equally dumb entertainment. [July 2012, p.69]

A strange, sad, introspective tone poem of a game. Totally engrossing if you have the patience. [Oct 2015, p.65]

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

What initially seems like a game of dressups and progress bars reveals itself to be a much deeper story based affair. [March 2014, p.58]

If you can come to grips with the controls and the rather unhelpful upgrading UI, Ring Runner can be a very rewarding experience. [March 2014, p.59]

Some marvelous mechanics don't add up to enough to detract from stilted writing, an overly grim aesthetic, and repetitive combat.

Incredible work went into the design of almost every element of Risk of Rain, shame that the gameplay couldn't have been more inspired. [March 2014, p.60]

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 beautiful expansion of a franchise hampered by its history. [Oct 2014, p.60]

Not the greatest writing, but the game's many overlapping mechanics make for some great emergent storytelling. [Issue#271, p.54]

It lacks enough pure content to be for anyone but Dawn of War fanatics. [May 2010, p.68]

This isn’t the greatest expansion in the series, but it remains 100% Command & Conquer and that counts for a lot. EA knows their fan-base and with Kane’s Wrath have dished up more of the same to ensure you get your recommended daily dose of the franchise. [Jun 2008, p.55]

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

Despite pacing issues, Teslagrad's strange blend of science and fantasy prove that opposites do indeed attract. [Apr 2014, p.58]

Substantial expansion with significant new content. But price is very hard to swallow. [Issue#254, p.58]

A simple shooter with some cool puzzles. It won't change your world but acts as a pleasant enough distraction. [Apr 2014, p.59]

With an impressive AI, clever campaign and focus on gameplay, Elven Legacy is well worth the asking price. [Aug 2009, p.59]

A proper video game adaptation of a great boardgame - at last! [March 2015, p.62]

If you're going to buy Homefront, do so for the multiplayer. The campaign is six hours you'll never get back. [Apr 2011, p.52]

Fantastic, absurd, and a little on the short side, even for an expansion. [March 2015, p.63]

Exciting to play with friends, utilising a clever, magic system that makes you think. [Apr 2011, p.54]

Both familiar and interestingly different, this is a gentle introduction for newbies, or a charismatic change-up for MOBA veterans. [Apr 2014, p.61]

Proves not every game needs to innovate to be entertaining. [Mar 2010, p.66]

Not for the casual gamer, Europa Universalis: Rome requires patience, the ability to micromanage and, quite possibly, post-graduate qualifications in ancient history. And if you don’t have them before you start playing, you will after. [Jul 2008, p.57]

Ignore the story and there's a very enticing world to explore. [Apr 2011, p.64]

Quick and easy, with some wonderful depth of maneuver. [Nov 2014, p.63]

Frustratingly difficult and sublime in equal measure, Flockers rewards patience over the quick fix. [Nov 2014, p.64]

Excellent offroad simulation almost entirely ruined by terrible, mass-market presentation. Add two points if you can live with the triangles. [Aug 2011, p.62]

A satisfying but not stellar action-RPG romp. [Aug 2011, p.67]

The take down system is cool, and the hacking has its heart in the right place. But the developer has been told: this game accompanies the film. Bond can't change the story. It's play it like you saw it on the silver screen, or reload from the last checkpoint. Fortunately, the production, the gestalt of this new-era Bond is strong enough to make QOS a pile of fun. [January 2009, p.49]

Smaller in scope than its predecessor, but still a competent psuedo-sim. [Christmas 2009, p.56]

Excellent fighting mechanics and an incongruously good story hampered by serious performance issues. [June 2015, p.56]

With more campaign missions, this would be easy to recommend. But even as is, it's still good, cheap entertainment. [Aug 2011, p.73]

It's not the most complex or nuanced of games, but the boss battles are great and the combat is brutally compelling. [Issue#261, p.70]

A series we're glad to see come to a close. But if you like games with HEAPS of graphics, or for the multiplayer. [Apr 2013, p.82]

Charming and brimming with nostalgia, but a little too limited to be truly great. [June 2015, p.59]

A skilled remastering of an important title - just one that fails to excite as it once did. [Jan 2013, p.70]

A golfing game with attitude; Vertiginous Golf currently offers little besides its single player, though it manages to be charming and fun nonetheless. [June 2015, p.60]

Hypnotic experience. [Oct 2012, p.72]

If you've always wanted to do Rick's laundry, this is the game for you. [Issue#262, p.59]

Mercenaries 2 put me off from the get go, however it has an ace up its sleeve. Yep – explosions. Right at the start of the game you pick up a grenade launcher, and start gleefully blowing stuff away. [Dec 2008, p.74]

Dead Space 3 brings refreshing gameplay options without sacrificing the gritty, believable universe, but scares are few and far between. [Apr 2013, p.92]

An interesting game, despite its hangups and frustrating difficulty. [June 2015, p.64]

Shiness is a decent camera away from being a great game. [Issue#262, p.62]

Frantic action, excessive gore and challenging progression with a touch of nostalgia that is a laugh while it lasts with little depth. [Issue#263, p.54]

It bothers me that it seems to think it’s an update, not a rehash, of the dungeon crawl formula. It bothers me that it could have been so much more. But it is what it is: a good game which doesn’t bother with the bits it thinks we don’t care about. [Jan 2008, p.49]

Beautiful to look at, challenging to master, over in the blink of an eye. [Jan 2013, p.84]

A quirky approach to turn-based combat. [Issue#263, p.60]

Sold twin-stick fundamentals executed to reasonably successful effort. [Issue#269, p.62]

Fast, intense, adrenaline pumping stuff... but without that special something that makes it a true Wipeout successor,

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

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

Addictive, nerdy and totally epic strategy. [Dec 2010, p.56]

Without pursuits, this game would be an overly-easy, bland rehash of earlier racing titles, devoid of any actual plot. As it stands, it could be attractive to any PC gamer looking for a new racing game. But with Burnout Paradise coming to the PC in February, some may find it prudent to wait. [January 2009, p.57]

The campaign requires an interest in 40K, while the basic multiplayer modes are fun for all. [Dec 2011, p.67]

Marketed more towards newbies than the hardcore SimCity veteran, Tilted Mill has found an amiable balance between dumbing down some of the more difficult aspects of the classic game and creating an interesting new system of city management. [Jan 2008, p.59]

The lack of content and generous helping of bugs can be easily forgiven thanks to the developer's high reputation. [Feb 2015, p.16]

Lame multiplayer and disappointing weapons aside, The Club is a solid enough singleplayer shooter whose self-improvement-with-guns gameplay will keep you coming back until you hit that perfect score. Go hard! [Jun 2008, p.58]

Its creative and quirky nature is let down by mechanics that don't feel strongly realised, Rock of Ages is still good for the occasional roll. [Christmas 2011, p.67]

Blackwell Deception proves that adventure gaming is far from giving up the ghost. [Christmas 2011, p.70]

Incredibly, not terrible! [Feb 2011, p.56]

Beautiful and mysterious, though more for lovers of tranquil exploration and spherical geometry than serious puzzle fantastic. [Oct 2013, p.84]

WAR is not about redefining the genre, and to complain it resembles WoW is to criticize it for being a fantasy MMO. Where it excels is group-based gameplay. [Dec 2008, p.64]

A great game for dedicated fans of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, but a poor narrative and structure may get in the way for casual players. [Issue#259, p.55]

Despite some niggles, Sanctum is a solid PC debut for this indie dev. Recruit a friend and get ready to lose a few hours! [June 2011, p.66]

A great idea with excellent presentation hampered by some iffy controls. [Issue#259, p.60]

Crippled by performance issues and bugs, there's an incredible game waiting to emerge if Rocksteady can remedy the Bat's woes with patches. [Aug 2015, p.55]

Despite the puppeteer's strings getting caught, Risen 2 puts on a good show that you'll see through to the end. [June 2012, p.58]

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

A competent tactical shooter that doesn't push any boundaries and is only peripherally related to XCOM. [Oct 2013, p.96]

Tough, unforgiving but lacking a certain something. [Dec 2014, p.56]

An appropriately simplistic arcade update that hits the fun/challenge sweet spot. [June 2012, p.60]

A great narrative experience but rather dull from a gameplay standpoint. [Aug 2015, p.62]

Fun combat and a genuinely funny script rescue this incredibly lazy port. [Issue#251, p.63]

An interactive, aural delight which doesn't quite offer gameplay to match its busy artistry. [June 2012, p.61]

Less tactical, less scary, all nonsense. Yet it's still great fun with your mates. [Sept 2011, p.]

Borrowing heavily from past survival horror games, The Evil Within still manages to create fear in its players despite some clunkiness. [Dec 2014, p.58]

Don't write this off as glorified shareware. Avadon has charm, as if it were an old gem unearthed. [Sept 2011, p.58]

A gorgeous and creative spin on the arena shooter formula. [Feb 2011, p.60]

An unflinchingly hardcore RPG that trades promises of "realism" for just another fantasy. [Issue#270, p.49]

A competent but confused and occasionally irritating shooter with wavering tone and unashamed intent to set up for the final installment. [March 2012, p.54]

It's slowly getting there, just like mould. Except this is better. [Nov 2009, p.56]