Perhaps too complex for some but a beautiful, sprawling city management game nevertheless. [June 2010, p.58]

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

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

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]

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

A combination of DRM and instability ruins what should be an excellent game. Pick this up on console. [Apr 2010, p.58]

Modern Warfare plus squads and vehicles, and minus the stick up its arse. A solid multiplayer FPS. [May 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]

Supreme Commander in name only, this new take on the franchise has a refreshing focus on macro-strategy. [May 2010, p.62]

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]

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

Immersive, engaging, versatile, and packed to the brim with character and backstory. [Mar 2010, p.56]

Third time's a charm for this quintessential PC franchise. [Feb 2010, p.58]

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

Instead of reinventing the wheel, Hi-Rez just painted it silver, added some bling, and called it a velocity-transfer-disc. [Apr 2010, p.54]

A stunning example of cross-game persistence, genre-blending and adaptive narrative. [Mar 2010, p.62]

Some will fall in love with its stats and leveling, whereas others will abandon it due to its lacklustre story and polish. [Jan 2010, p.80]

Such incredible innovation deserves to be experienced. [Feb 2010, p.54]

A mix of good ideas, but they come off a little half-baked. [Feb 2010, p.59]

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

Being unable to execute the obvious solution to a problem because of poor design and implementation is simply inexcusable. [Mar 2010, p.70]

If you're into twitchy, fast-paced multiplayer shooters, Altitude might just be worth a look. [Mar 2010, p.75]

Flawed and monotonous. [Mar 2010, p.75]

The world is gorgeous; the gameplay dull and generic. A disappointing waste of potential. [Feb 2010, p.60]

A dazzling reminder of what FPS as pure entertainment can be. Serious Sam is still relevant, and this remake is a real blast. [Feb 2010, p.62]

Full of promise, but let down by unfortunate control and balance issues. [Mar 2010, p.73]

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]

After an hour or so of play this one is quite hard to put down. [Feb 2010, p.63]

Dripping with style and generously packed with content, Left 4 Dead 2 refines every aspect of its predecessor. [Jan 2010, p.82]

The type of player that will enjoy the gratuitous space battles might well be put off by al the number crunching and preparation involved in just getting an effective fleet together. [Feb 2010, p.63]

There are far more refined arcade offerings out there than this shallow use of a big-name license. [Feb 2010, p.62]

Despite the lack of dedicated servers, Modern Warfare 2 is undoubtedly the best thing to happen in 2009. [Jan 2010, p.76]

Zero-gravity combat is both fun and disorienting, but the underlying game is too shallow for long-term entertainment. [Feb 2010, p.61]

One of the most thoroughly enjoyable RPGs of all time. [Jan 2010, p.73]

Still the pick of the manager sims for this year, but the distance is shrinking. Reliability on match day crucial in the end. [Jan 2010, p.84]

Red Tide rewards patience and planning with immense satisfaction. [Nov 2010, p.62]

Fitting lead-in to the final installment for this season. [Jan 2010, p.86]

A reminder that games can be simple and satisfying all at once. A triumph of focused, self-consistent design. [Jan 2010, p.84]

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

What we have here is a slightly updated version of FIFA, with a couple of additions, and a sackful of seemingly new bugs. [Dec 2009, p.58]

Surprisingly deep city-building sim with lots of neat quirks. [Christmas 2009, p.62]

A spectacular heart-warming and utterly enchanting adventure. [Christmas 2009, p.66]

If you're after a basketball game that's more than just over the top dunks, 2K10 will most definitely satisfy. [Feb 2010, p.62]

Intriguing idea but in terms of execution: this ain't no SimCity! [Christmas 2009, p.60]

Charming and child-like yet frustrating and flawed. [Christmas 2009, p.64]

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

Maps are darker and more atmospheric. [Feb 2010, p.63]

Hard to see long-lasting appeal amongst the grind and lag. [Christmas 2009, p.48]

In a post-WIC world, it's hard to consider this much more than average. [Dec 2009, p.60]

A unique and intense challenge for RTS fans bored of the same-old. [Dec 2009, p.54]

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 new benchmark for superhero games, and a serious GOTY contender. [Dec 2009, p.56]

More fun than the entire French air force crashing into a firework factory. [Dec 2009, p.62]

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

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

If you are the kind of person who enjoys traditional MMO design you will find Champions one of the best to appear on the scene since Azeroth got connected. [Nov 2009, p.62]

This is what Battlefield 2142 should have been. [Dec 2009, p.52]

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

A schizophrenic shooter, equal parts entertaining and tedious. [Nov 2009, p.50]

Life consuming strategy - after you beat that learning curve. [Nov 2009, p.60]

An unfortunate step backwards for Bethesda. [Nov 2009, p.58]

For now, though, Bohemia's opus is a boy that would be king; the potential is there, but it's just not ready yet. [Oct 2009, p.70]

Wholesome adventure fun for Threepheads and newcomers alike. [Oct 2009, p.78]

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

I was pleasantly surprised. [Jan 2010, p.86]

One Must Fall before this barrage of fighting goodness! [Nov 2009, p.54]

More "Young Guns" than "Unforgiven" but still worth it. [Sept 2009, p.64]

Despite some presentation concerns the rest of what was on offer during this match was truly thrilling. [Sept 2009, p.60]

"Deliverance" with a laser rifle - more fun than it sounds! [Sept 2009, p.67]

A realistic, but relatively bland title that's part recruitment poster and part tame FPS. [Sept 2009, p.62]

Another victim of the curse of the port, but the golden Ghostbusting heart still shines through. [Christmas 2009, p.58]

The game suffers from a major lack of restraint - next time they should focus on a smaller, more varied city with a limited set of better-balanced powers. [Sept 2009, p.70]

The Sims 3, while certainly not as comprehensive as The Sims 2, is a promising start to a new series. [Aug 2009, p.52]

Boring and repetitive, even in multiplayer. [Sept 2009, p.68]

None of this is enough to save this game from being anything but the mediocre rubbish big development companies with lucrative movie licenses seem to think we want to play. [Aug 2009, p.60]

So while the basics for a solid sneak-'em-up are here, a lack of polish makes for a dismal experience. [Sept 2009, p.69]

An innovative genre bending game with loads of replay value. [Aug 2009, p.56]

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

Solid backbone to a bright Warhammer future. [Mar 2009, p.50]

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]

Shaun White Snowboarding is at once the unfortunate victim of our towering expectations and the hapless result of a sloppy port. We've been waiting so long now for some decent snow, hopefully a more polished sequel will see us back on the slopes next season. [February 2009, p.60]

GTA4 is what it was always going to be: an expertly fashioned port. If you've clocked up 100 hours on the 360, there's not much point picking it up now. But if the idea of the video editor intrigues you, or somehow incredibly you HAVEN'T played the game yet, GTA4 is a must-buy. [January 2009, p.45]

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]

All in all, this version is the quintessentuial FM experience. Aside from a few very unfortunate bugs, this is the most complete FM game to date. It's a no brains purchase for any fan of the series, and maybe even for one or two people yet to take the plunge. [January 2009, p.58]

Despite its less than stellar story and struggling engine, Storm of Zehir is still an easy recommendation for the right RPG gamer. In many ways it is a more strategic game than the previous titles, just as Icewind Dale was to Baldur's Gate. [February 2009, p.57]

Whether or not L4D should form part of your gaming collection can be decided with your reaction to a single word: Zombies. If a little chill of excitement tingled down your spine right now, you know what to do. [January 2009, p.47]

As an expansion pack, Mines of Moria is practically perfect. It breathes new life into the Lord of the Rings Online, and if that life is occasionally plagued by deja vu, it's certainly worth the trade off for the new feature set it brings to the table. [February 2009, p.55]

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 basic feel of this instalment is that it’s a slightly better than normal football yearly re-release, than a drastic overhaul of the game play. [Dec 2008, p.7]

Okay, so there's plenty of irritating stuff but we're here for the clicking, and there's plenty of clicking to be had. This is no challenge to Diablo or even Dungeon Siege, but the world is big and there's plenty of stuff in it to murder. And isn't that, at its heart, the essence of the action RPG? [Christmas 2008, p.79]

Despite some concerns, the game is certainly not a bad one; it's no Call of Duty 3, by any stretch of the imagination – and Treyarch is definitely back in good form. The action is top notch, and the multiplayer will certainly keep people occupied for some time. [Christmas 2008, p.75]

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]

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

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]

Minor niggles aside, Fallout 3 is almost entirely spectacular. Everything from the graphics, to the sound, to the plot is first-rate. The VATS system worlds like a charm, and it’s so easy to get the hang of, you’ll be cracking skulls like there’s no tomorrow. [Dec 2008, p.55]

Despite the weird controls, console nature and repetitive play, WOS almost becomes fun (in a kind of ridiculous way) once you get into the groove. Possibly better when drunk. [January 2009, p.60]

The unique setting, brilliant AI and palpable atmosphere, make Far Cry 2 a quintessential PC gaming experience. [Dec 2008, p.63]

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]