PC PowerPlay's Scores
- Games
For 976 reviews, this publication has graded:
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40% higher than the average critic
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5% same as the average critic
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55% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.7 points lower than other critics.
(0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 70
| Highest review score: | The Witcher: Enhanced Edition | |
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| Lowest review score: | Infestation: Survivor Stories (The War Z) |
Score distribution:
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Positive: 438 out of 976
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Mixed: 464 out of 976
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Negative: 74 out of 976
977
game
reviews
- By Date
- By Critic Score
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- Critic Score
Where it all falls down is in the core game. The reality is that this is more or less the same FIFA we've had for the last couple of years. While all of PC FIFA's console brethren have married and moved into nice engines, our favourite platform is left with the gaming equivalent of a washed out, beaten up trailer. [Christmas 2008, p.81]- PC PowerPlay
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Overall a good mix of realistic action and tactical gameplay will appeal to the Private Ryans rather than the Rambos. [Dec 2008, p.73]- PC PowerPlay
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In the final analysis, Ford Off-Road is a shambles. Even without the numerous glitches and bugs the underlying game is so poorly realised that we find it hard to recommend this to even the most die-hard of Ford fans. [Jul 2008, p.58]- PC PowerPlay
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Regardless of whether you're a Batman fan or not, or whether you're angry that Batman's name has once again been taken in vain, the reality is that Lego Batman is just fun. And even angry people like fun, right? [January 2009, p.61]- PC PowerPlay
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For the serious gamer, expect lighthearted fun and you won't be disappointed. For the casual or younger gamer, expect to be painlessly initiated into the exciting world of strategic deck-based combat. [Christmas 2008, p.77]- PC PowerPlay
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Most will stay for the joy of new discoveries, even if Colonization doesn’t have the same long lasting appeal as the more extensive Civilization series. [Dec 2008, p.71]- PC PowerPlay
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Best of all, the only real resource you need to manage is the Multiwinians, so the game becomes much less about who has the best build order and more about crushing the two-dimensional skulls of your brightly coloured foes. [Christmas 2008, p.82]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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It doesn’t really push the genre any further forward in terms of gameplay, and as such loses some of the jaw-drop factor that Crysis brought to the market in spades. But then, it isn’t designed to be groundbreaking. It’s designed to preach to the choir. [Dec 2008, p.69]- PC PowerPlay
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All in all, the Enhanced Edition is a triumph. Projekt Red took a great game and made it better. While the new content won’t take too much time to plough through for a veteran, it’s worth playing the original campaign again just to marvel at how much has been tweaked. [Nov 2008, p.54]- PC PowerPlay
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The way the game is a whole response to the shortcomings of the original just goes to demonstrate how GSC believes in this title and IP. [Nov 2008, p.51]- PC PowerPlay
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In the end, Spore seems to me to be like the gaming equivalent of a massive meal at McDonalds. It tastes great as long as you’re eating, and there’s certainly plenty there. But once you start to get near the end, you realise that it wasn’t quite as ‘deep’ as you thought. [Oct 2008, p.61]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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Evolution is a fantastic expansion to an already amazing race sim. [Oct 2008, p.64]- PC PowerPlay
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Some will be fascinated by its near-impenetrable story, but it is incredibly backwards in puzzle design and interface. [Feb 2010, p.61]- PC PowerPlay
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The question is, will user created content be enough to keep the less hardcore Spore fan interested? [Sept 2009, p.66]- PC PowerPlay
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If the developers had really looked hard at what they’d made, they would have found they’d committed that cardinal sin; to make a game that just isn’t fun. [Nov 2008, p.53]- PC PowerPlay
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For its genre, Beijing 2008 appears to have succeeded. If you’re a hardcore gamer, you already know this won’t be your cup of tea. For everyone else, watch out for the RSI and everything will be gravy. [Nov 2008, p.55]- PC PowerPlay
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In the end, PCM will be of little interest to most people. It has a few reasonable, sometimes even interesting ideas, but manages to execute very few to the level of similar games on the market. [Oct 2008, p.65]- PC PowerPlay
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For me, this was one of the most frustrating gaming experiences in recent memory. Most frustrating of all is the fact that this could have been a great game. Like a pack of half-starved zombies, the developers have simply bitten off more than they can chew. [Sept 2008, p.57]- PC PowerPlay
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Overall, Grid is an impressive racer, slick enough to forgive its obvious console origins and deep enough to forgive the frustrating AI. [Aug 2008, p.59]- PC PowerPlay
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Pretend you’re buying it for your kid brother, or spare your blushes and order online because there is a surprising amount of fun to be had in loading this chubby bad boy up and thrashing the hell out of pigs with sticks for an hour or two. [Sept 2008, p.61]- PC PowerPlay
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Cute graphics, big whips and Lego all add up to a rainy day box rammed to the gills with win. [Sept 2008, p.60]- PC PowerPlay
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Over the course of its 30 or so hours, Mass Effect defies many of your assumptions about the modern RPG. It’s as innovative as it is traditional and succeeds where you least expect. However, one assumption remains: Bioware still know how to make a terrific game. [Sept 2008, p.55]- PC PowerPlay
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If you haven’t played Lost Planet before, and mindless shooting of various people/things in some gorgeous locales is your cup of tea, the budget price sounds just about right. But for everyone else, it’s safe to give this one a miss. [Aug 2008, p.62]- PC PowerPlay
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Dracula: Origin is an average point-and-click Adventure game with a few cool new features. The Dracula theme is the game’s biggest plus, and starved adventure fans may have fun with it as long as they think outside the square. [Jul 2008, p.56]- PC PowerPlay
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The kind of eccentric humour and senseless attention to detail makes this worth a look, even if it can seem somewhat short, repetitive and claustrophobic. [Aug 2008, p.61]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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It’s more than just new content, it is a concerted effort to make Galactic Civilisations as polished and complete a product as possible. And you know what? Mission accomplished. [Sept 2008, p.58]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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Overall, Vegas 2 is a solid effort. Gameplay may not be particularly groundbreaking, but is of a high quality. [Jun 2008, p.57]- PC PowerPlay
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Play this game like a hack-n-slash violence festival and it just doesn’t work. Play it according to the Creed, and it’s sublime – in the strictest sense of the word. [May 2008, p.53]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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Bearing in mind that you’ll need to do some serious thinking, Stranger is otherwise a pretty thoughtful game and one that is worth a good many hours play. [Mar 2008, p.62]- PC PowerPlay
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Warriors Orochi is basically a semi-automatic keyboard-wearing-out application. You mash away at the keys while some bad graphics grunt at you and even worse techno grunges its ear-grating way through your speakers. [Jul 2008, p.60]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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In a genre that’s looking for new ideas, this would be a nice achievement for a brand new franchise. That Relic has managed to surprise us this late in the Warhammer day is all the more remarkable. [May 2008, p.59]- PC PowerPlay
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Via Domus is a game for the fans only. And even then it gives only limited insight into the world of the show. Meanwhile, its puzzle aspects just aren’t strong enough to amuse serious gamers. [May 2008, p.62]- PC PowerPlay
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Sadly, I immediately wished I’d left Carson for dead on the girders, saving myself the time and tedium of seeing things through to the bitter end. [Jun 2008, p.60]- PC PowerPlay
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For the Sims 2 fan whose enthusiasm has been decaying in the six months since Bon Voyage, prepare to be bombarded by new things. And for those gamers who haven’t yet experienced the world’s highest grossing game series, perhaps The Sims 2 is now exhaustive enough to deserve a second glance. [May 2008, p.61]- PC PowerPlay
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Frontlines is a great and engaging game that may not steal your life, but if you are a fan of FPS and online combat, this is definitely a worthy game to have nestled beside Battlefield 2142. [May 2008, p.58]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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The exhilarating rush of climbing a hill as a song builds up, and crashing down a slope as the music explodes through the speakers is incredible. At first it may seem like a fancy visualiser, but after mastering the more difficult modes it becomes insanely addictive. [May 2008, p.65]- PC PowerPlay
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So without trying to sound too overjoyed by a game which satirises, and celebrates, a culture of nonchalant melancholia, it would be very difficult to hate this episode. In the words of Max: “You have a castle and a zombie army. What do you have to be so down about?” [Apr 2008, p.68]- PC PowerPlay
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Denied Ops is strictly for those who want big explosions, with no thought required. Pretty much like actually mercenaries. [May 2008, p.60]- PC PowerPlay
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Sins has inherited the most prominent feature of 4X games; the ability to make time completely disappear. [Apr 2008, p.65]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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The lesson I learned from The Golden Compass is that children these days can be viewed less as imaginative, problem solving young beings who deserve to be inspired by well made games, and more as an extension of the parental wallet. [Mar 2008, p.60]- PC PowerPlay
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We found the different races to be surprisingly equal on the battlefield and if this holds up under super competitive online play UAW could become very popular indeed. [Feb 2008, p.59]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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UT3 has all the elements of a solid, well-executed deathmatch multiplayer game, with a passable singleplayer campaign and some vehicle modes bolted on. [Jan 2008, p.41]- PC PowerPlay
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Gone are the open environments. Gone are the police chases. Gone are the FMV cut-scenes. Prostreet probably excised so many features with a view of taking things in a fresh direction, but the result is a bewildering one. [Jan 2008, p.60]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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Adding this one to your collection is nothing to be blowing one's golden trumpet over, except if your movie-to-games section is begging for attention. [Feb 2008, p.55]- PC PowerPlay
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Prefer a beastly PC over a console? It’s about time you played some Guitar Hero. Fun for kids and adults, great alone or with friends, and perfect for pretending you’re awesome at something you may well suck at in real life. [Mar 2008, p.57]- PC PowerPlay
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MMO gamers will be surprised to find that there is still a lot of adventuring goodness to be had inside the world of EverQuest II. [Feb 2008, p.56]- PC PowerPlay
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It’s the gaming equivalent of a made-for-TV SF movie in more ways than one, then. Your hoity-toity intellectual forebrain knows you’re too good for this candy floss, but your theme-park glands respond nevertheless. [Jan 2008, p.45]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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Empire Earth is a disappointment; a title that snubs its core audience only to ineptly target a new one. [Jan 2008, p.57]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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If Gears of War had appeared on PC first, we’d sing its praises as a straight-up FPS which displays refreshing game dynamics. But the fact remains it’s old news. Many 369 owners who are also PC gamers will already have it… But if you’ve resisted, it’s worth playing on the platform that can properly do it justice. [Jan 2008, p.43]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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It shows how a development team can tackle a new era with the techniques they’ve refined over the years, and rather than lose what made the originals so great, actually improve. [Jan 2008, p.47]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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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]- PC PowerPlay
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It was a nice idea, no doubt about it. It just wasn’t presented in a way that it deserved. PC shooters have done some amazing things, but Timeshift, ironically, seems like a bit of a step backwards. [Jan 2008, p.51]- PC PowerPlay
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Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition maintains the franchise’s unassailable position as the king of chess sims. [Mar 2008, p.64]- PC PowerPlay
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FM 2008 proves that sometimes a minor tune-up is really all you need. [Mar 2008, p.65]- PC PowerPlay
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Conquest of the Aegean has the niche market cornered when it comes to simulating the German attacks on Greece and Crete, and the impressive Pausable Continuous Time engine strikes a reasonable balance between moving symbols around on maps and real-time play. [May 2008, p.63]- PC PowerPlay
