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]

This is the first-person shooter distilled, a tribute to PC gaming's glorious days of yore. You need to play it. [Sept 2013, p.88]

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

First and foremost a game, the anthropology lessons are happy to sit in the background. [Issue#270, p.55]

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

The world building is excellent, the game building is deeply flawed. [Issue#268, p.72]

A gorgeous game in looks, but repetitive and miserly in its gameplay. And that voice acting - UGH!

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]

In full stride Kane & Lynch comes up trumps. It offers an action-packed ride of memorable settings wrapped around a couple of gritty-as-hell characters. [Jan 2008, p.55]

Yeah, it all looks really good when it works, but that doesn't help the problems of the base game. [Issue#272, p.59]

Shank - like the hero - is a pleasure to watch, but there's not much going on inside. [Jan 2010, p.64]

Short for what you're paying, Fated is nonetheless a prime example that VR is not just about flashy action and virtual heroics. [Issue#254, p.69]

Scant new features of gameplay are unsatisfying and unbalanced. Suitable for the stalwart fan, who doesn't mind repetitive tasks. [May 2012, p.60]

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]

The puzzles don't hold up against Wadjet Eye titles, but the writing remains strong. [Feb 2014, p.85]

Quantum Break is a great game on Xbone, but shoddy PC optimisation and the issues associated with the Win 10 store fundamentally break the game. [Issue#251, p.55]

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

Dull combat, pointless dialogue wheel, overly scripted and plagued with connection issues. Avoid. [Jan 2012, p.64]

A wrong-headed sequel that doesn't really address most of its predecessors' problems. [Issue#272, p.48]

I may be alive, but I am completely dead inside. [Nov 2012, p.82]

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

A competent, niche title that never fully realises its potential. Fills a gap in the modern game library but little more than that. [Feb 2014, p.88]

An inventive physics-fueled game that pushes players' patience a little too hard in later levels. [Nov 2012, p.70]

A surprisingly detailed add-in for this controversially received sequel. New approaches to encounter design and smarter enemies stand out, although story remains a strong feature.

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

Clearly isn't the game for everyone. [Feb 2011, p.68]

A refreshing change of pace for jaded MMO gamers. [Mar 2010, p.68]

An intriguing idea that the franchise is yet to live up to. [Apr 2012, p.64]

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]

Fun without the fundamentals, a simpering sim with irritating copy protection. [Feb 2011, p.58]

Has solid foundations, but there's not enough there to keep you engaged for the long hours it takes to finish. [Jan 2010, p.65]

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

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]

Some fun twin stick shooting but the bird's eye view removes any Halo nuance. [June 2015, p.65]

If you want to spend a night out with FreeSpace 2 in a slinky red dress, this is your game. Just don't expect thrilling dinner conversation. [March 2013, p.84]

Perfectly good puzzle design and art direction let down by haphazard writing and animation. Decent, but nothing great. [Aug 2010, p.60]

Will amaze for how thorough the dev team were in taking an exciting, original idea and making it as boring as humanly possible. [July 2013, p.91]

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

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]

Repetitive and lacking in depth, but good solid fun while it lasts. [Dec 2009, p.59]

Apart from that fairly strong central concept, everything else is distinctly bargain-bin quality. [May 2011, p.60]

It took me some time to reach the conclusion that Turok isn’t necessarily a bad game. The biggest problem is that everything Turok does, some other FPS does it bigger and better. [Aug 2008, p.63]

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

Clunky and unwieldy, ultimately its redeeming feature is a different subject matter to the majority of titles. [Oct 2014, p.64]

Tactical city-sim for the sub-menu-phobic. [Issue#265, p.58]

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

We think Battle March works best as a companion to a serious tabletop Warhammer player… On the other hand, if your love for RTS is equal to your love for Games Workshop, then Dawn of War should remain your Warhammer game of choice. [Aug 2008, p.60]

This gets three bonus points for being less snooty than Agricultural Simulator 2012 which clearly has some kind of underdog issue. [Dec 2012, p.84]

Like trying to solve a cryptic crossword whilst blind and being repeatedly stung by mosquitoes. [Oct 2012, p.82]

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

Based heavily on Dungeon Keeper 2, this title with its twelve year old trappings has ignored all the innovations that have come since. [June 2015, p.62]

There's fun to be had, but for every step towards the Light Side, there's a foot stuck firmly in the Dark Side of bad design decisions. [Issue#269, p.52]

If Trion can introduce better quest design, this will be a winner. [June 2013, p.88]

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

Bland and basic chopper sim which may destroy your PC. [Mar 2011, p.70]

It might have had a bumpy take-off, but with a bit of hard work Flight should grow into a competent sim worth flying. [May 2012, p.56]

A slick and stylish stealth-action game that could do with some greater depth. [Issue#265, p.60]

Too uneven to be great but there are few games that have done powerful destructive magic better. [Issue#265, p.54]

Nicely balanced in many ways, but frustrating for the single player. Not detailed/stable enough for interactive, co-operative play yet, either. [May 2013, p.86]

Better options available, but not a write-off. [Feb 2011, p.67]

A game of grand ideas, then, if not grand strategy. There is a core here that deserves further exploration. [Aug 2013, p.83]

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

Stick to human-on-human multiplayer. There's simply no reason to engage with campaign mode or Skirmish at all. [May 2010, p.60]

Difficult, ucompromising and obtuse, Inquisition will appeal to fans of the hardest of hardcore old-school RPGs. [Nov 2012, p.84]

Riddled with problems but charming in its obvious enthusiasm. [July 2015, p.63]

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

A fun old-school beat ‘em up with a few modern twists.

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

An indie platformer that never quite gets past proclaiming "Me too!" It's enjoyable in parts, but also forgettable. [Jan 2013, p.83]

It is not going to set the world afire with a wild reimagining of the format, but Imperium Romanum is a solid and enjoyable city management simulation, with some gorgeous graphics, an evocative soundtrack, and very confident execution. [May 2008, p.64]

A surprisingly compelling indie gem. Flawed, but fun for the stalwart adventure fan. [Feb 2011, p.69]

The presentation is great but the actual gameplay is firmly rooted in the early 90s. [Sept 2015, p.59]

Cold and expressionless. [Jan 2010, p.57]

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]

Some will be fascinated by its near-impenetrable story, but it is incredibly backwards in puzzle design and interface. [Feb 2010, p.61]

Admirably essential in its space-tradingness, but should have stayed on the tablets. [Nov 2012, p.80]

A relatively poor interface and the ongoing need for micromanagement mask the game’s many strengths and risks discouraging both casual players and bored veterans. [Mar 2008, p.59]

An able-bodied RPG in the land of bland, but one hardly worthy of the Gothic name. [Issue#185, p.64]

With some serious control patching, Impact Winter will be great. As it stands, it's almost unplayable. [Issue#263, p.73]

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]

The story and characters are excellent and the game is enjoyable, but the open world detracts from the experience rather than adding to it.

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

Fight through the performance issues to find that the heart of sub simulation's best franchise still beats strong. [May 2010, p.64]

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

Dex has a lot of ideas and mechanics, but ultimately feels unfocussed as a result. [Oct 2015, p.64]

A frustrating experience. [Nov 2014, p.60]

Despite the quirky aesthetic and presentation, Redshirt is ultimately as disposable as the poor, easily-killed people it's named after. [Feb 2014, p.84]

Speedball 2 Tournament is not the second coming of Brutal Deluxe. It is an evolution that will provide entertainment for people who are yearning for simple, accessible arcade fun. [Apr 2008, p.67]

An intriguing exercise in interactive fiction, let down by shaky writing and a major lack of emotional engagement. [Apr 2012, p.50]

If you're really into a D&D style game, why not just get a bunch of friends together and play D&D? [Aug 2013, p.90]

Looking for the greatest pick-up-and-play top-down car-combat game ever? This isn't it. [Oct 2012, p.80]

The real-time combat isn't the problem; it's everything else, which was done with a depth and confidence 13 years ago that this reimagining lacks. [Apr 2012, p.54]

Conceptually interesting, visually stunning, but ultimately feels hollow in the gameplay department. [May 2014, p.62]

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

Perseus Mandate trumpets a bunch of “new, new, new!” with its parallel story and extra characters, yet it’s quite happy to sit back and rely on its textbook knowledge of how to scrape by on the bare minimum. [Jan 2008, p.56]

Buy it if you want to see Six Days in Fallujah someday. Though donating to Atomic Games directly would be less painful. [Apr 2011, p.71]