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

The most detailed Pets expansion for the series. Horses, in particular, are an exciting inclusion. [Jan 2012, p.60]

A solid but unremarkable entry in a venerable franchise. [Jan 2012, p.56]

A great idea with strong visuals hampered by half-realised mechanics and barely functioning online connectivity. [Jan 2012, p.54]

If you own any previous COD, there's little reason to buy MW3. [Jan 2012, p.50]

Neither hardcore sim nor arcade fun, Take On Helicopters can't even get in the air. [Jan 2012, p.46]

A flawed gem that's very much worth playing. [Jan 2012, p.44]

DX11 and DRM issues aside, Arkham City is not just Batman at his best, it's a brilliant game in its own right. [Jan 2012, p.42]

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

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

Maybe just spend your four bucks on the soundtrack, and go play Tyrian. [Christmas 2011, p.69]

Revisit the Stupid Ned Stark meme instead. It's much more entertaining. [Christmas 2011, p.68]

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]

A competitive off-road sim that backs away from arcade mechanics, but also from any sense of fun or adventure. [Christmas 2011, p.66]

Family-friendly smash-ups and a goofy concept. There's something refreshing in this game's profanity-free self-confidence. [Christmas 2011, p.64]

Nothing more than a League of Legends clone, with a few subtle differences that aren't going to win over any genre fans. [Christmas 2011, p.62]

Both a triumphant leap forward and a return to form for the Battlefield series. This is the best multiplayer shooter on PC. [Christmas 2011, p.58]

Nearly charming and challenging enough to be worth enduring sadistic mission design, bugs, and bad controls. Nearly. [Christmas 2011, p.56]

A damn fine - if at times somewhat unforgiving - turn-based game with strategic depth and hours upon hours of play. [Christmas 2011, p.52]

Sexy, sloppy, silly, sassy, and substantial; everything you could want in a sandbox. [Christmas 2011, p.50]

Bethesda's finest hour and one of the greatest RPGs of all time. [Christmas 2011, p.47]

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

Another agreeable indie diversion. [Dec 2011, p.66]

A poor interface and repetitive, hard-to-follow action unfortunately limit Sengoku's already niche appeal. [Dec 2011, p.64]

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

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

A challenging, rewarding and sublime homage to the early days of the first-person shooter - with a few modern twists. [Dec 2011, p.58]

Rage won't change the FPS landscape, but it's beautiful to see in motion and a bombastic delight to play. [Dec 2011, p.52]

A modest, modern attempt at a hacking sim that unfortunately doesn't capture the magic of Introverion's classic. [Nov 2011, p.68]

Obtuse, ancient design and infuriating difficulty hides an addictive, oddly satisfying, well-translated hack-and-slash. [Nov 2011, p.66]

Accomplished, amusing city-builder sequel that's more evolution than revolution. [Nov 2011, p.64]

You'll laugh, you'll die, and you'll come back for more. [Nov 2011, p.62]

Hardcore tank combat clashes with a casual business model, ensuring only the most dedicated tread-heads will get the best experience. [Nov 2011, p.60]

A gorgeous game, featuring expert narration and meaningful mechanics, where story, lore and gameplay are effortlessly weaved together. [Nov 2011, p.56]

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]

Overture deals a winning hand with this gem, delivering addictive gameplay in spades. [Nov 2011, p.52]

Admirable, but maybe not lovable. Requires stubborn determination on the part of the player. Then it's rewarding. [Nov 2011, p.50]

This hallway feels a little narrow. [Nov 2011, p.48]

An excellent free-to-play game, but a less than stellar paid experience. Definitely worth the download, but not worth your cash. [Nov 2011, p.44]

A solid alternative to the deluge of twitch-based multiplayer shooters, with great potential to draw in new fans to the realism shooter scene. [Nov 2011, p.42]

A great wargame that doesn't sacrifice its depth for strategic challenge. Some puzzle-like scenarios will obfuscate enjoyment. [Oct 2011, p.64]

A scientific and psychological thriller, involving great characters you will go out of your way not to talk to, but it's over much too soon. [Oct 2011, p.62]

A superb, harrowing experience, guaranteed to crawl under your skin and stay there for a long time. [Oct 2011, p.58]

Despite its quirks, EYE's mind-boggling ambition evokes the best of PC gaming's past, while giving us a glimpse into its future. [Oct 2011, p.56]

An intriguing gimmick, but neither polished nor entertaining. A tech demo on stilts. [Oct 2011, p.54]

An unusual yet beautiful game bound to remind you of nature's power. [Oct 2011, p.50]

One of the finest PC games ever created. Eidos Montreal has touched the sun. [Oct 2011, p.40]

And it's this amateurish feeling that pervades the game...Best to swat this fly. [Sept 2011, p.71]

Great card game, and dangerously addictive, but fails to realise the potential of both the Magic system and platform. [Sept 2011, p.70]

Minor gameplay changes mark this as one for fans only. [Sept 2011, p.69]

Unique, arty, and ambitious, yet awkward. [Sept 2011, p.68]

Too much effort required to get to the good stuff, for war-gaming aficionados only. [Sept 2011, p.67]

Might not have been built in a day, but sure feels like it at times. [Sept 2011, p.66]

Competent hack-'n'-slash with a few neat ideas wrapped in a package that's remarkably unremarkable. [Sept 2011, p.64]

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]

Intricate detail and strategy make for an excellent value release for the serious war-gamer. [Sept 2011, p.62]

Combat is flawed, but does little to detract from the game's breathtaking depiction of lunacy. [Sept 2011, p.61]

This is one storm-chasing RTS that can't escape The Suck Zone. [Sept 2011, p.60]

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

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

More than a mere Minecraft clone, Terraria takes 2D platforming to a whole new level. [Sept 2011, p.54]

Visually sharp, technically accomplished, but hardly memorable. [Aug 2011, p.75]

Proof that gleeful surrealism does not automatically indicate arthouse brilliance. [Aug 2011, p.74]

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

A Hobbesian God of War clone: nasty, brutish, and short. [Aug 2011, p.72]

This game won't be everything to everyone, but it does what it does with supreme confidence, foul-mouthed grace and seemingly effortless attention to detail. [Aug 2011, p.70]

A fun, light-hearted romp, but one that pales in light of its predecessors. [Aug 2011, p.68]

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

A beautiful and rewarding action adventure. [Aug 2011, p.65]

Another free-to-play MMO in an over-saturated market. [Aug 2011, 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]

Not only fails to live up to the legacy of Duke Nukem, it even fails to be a decent shooter. Don't ruin your precious memories. [Aug 2011, p.60]

Quite simply one of the most exciting strategy games to come out in years. [Aug 2011, p.58]

A charming, multi-genre-hybrid experience, that will appeal to those who don't mind the sometimes tedious underlying gameplay. [July 2011, p.75]

As PC's only alternative to GT5, Shift 2 is satisfactory at best. But true racing enthusiasts will need to go elsewhere to really satisfy their...need for speed. [July 2011, p.74]

Should never have been released in its current state - simple as that. [July 2011, p.72]

This is a gorgeous and amusing diversion, even if puzzling feels tacked-on, rather than integral. [July 2011, p.71]

Perhaps the console kiddies might think this is tactical compared to Call of Duty, but no PC gamer will find this satisfying. [July 2011, p.69]

Solid enough, if not a candidate for natural selection. [July 2011, p.68]

What Portal 2 gains in cinematic narrative presentation, it loses in puzzle-solving ponderousness. It will delight you and entertain you, but it will not fill you. [July 2011, p.66]

Look, just play Magicka. Because it at least makes some kind of sense. [July 2011, p.65]

Rather satisfying post-medieval combat sim hidden behind jank, bugs, and general awkwardness. [July 2011, p.64]

A terrible shooter and a terrible stealth game all in one! [July 2011, p.62]

Visually spectacular alien-blasting action; another fine port from Volition. [July 2011, p.60]

Complex without being deep, Brink is a hollow interpretation of Splash Damage's classic teamplay formula that speaks to the very core of what is wrong with multiplayer FPS today. [July 2011, p.58]

Preposterous, hilarious, and above all, devious. Tricky doesn't begin to describe it. [June 2011, p.72]

An original concept and deceptively complex time-waster. [June 2011, p.73]

Entertaining, but flawed; just like its mythological counterparts! [June 2011, p.71]

Not brainy enough to satisfy the hunger of zombified strategy enthusiasts. [June 2011, p.69]

The Last Starfighter of Political Science. [June 2011, p.68]

A unique take on the zombie apocalypse, and one we would love to see more of in the future. [June 2011, p.67]

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]

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

Awesome idea but amateur execution means it costs an arm and a leg for what it is. [June 2011, p.62]

This is about as good as an indie game can get. Treat yourself. [June 2011, p.60]

Sharing the experience of tense, realistic flight simming does wonderful things for the game's appeal. [May 2011, p.62]

Difficult to get into and somewhat unintuitive, but so wonderfully tactical and complicated! [May 2011, p.74]

A tighter, louder and gaudier journey than the first, but the core sandbox gameplay still manages to occasionally shine through. It's also the best looking game the PC has ever seen. [May 2011, p.72]