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]