Deserves praise for artistic flair, but when it comes to gameplay approach with caution. [Jan 2010, p.81]

The Battle For Middle-Earth II may look impressive, and its basic, by-the-numbers RTS approach is fun in a mindless sort of way. However, in no way is it anywhere near the game we hoped for. What a waste.

It's deep, if you like repetitively killing things. [Sept 2006, p.77]

The joy of breaking things apart with giant hammers really is enough to prop up any amount of dull shooting. [Oct 2009, p.58]

It might sound trite, but if you like god games there's nothing here you won't have seen before. [Sept 2009, p.70]

And even though the game is rich with tension (certainly enough to offset the mediocre graphics), unless you're at her majesty's pleasure, you probably won't have the time.

Boss battles are explosive, brutal encounters, while some perfectly cast actors bring each character to life with genuine aplomb. If you leave your brain at the door, you just might find hours of mindless fun here.

Nothing VVVVVV does is actually new or different. [May 2010, p.91]

While there's still a decent driving model underneath, it's hard to see RACE appealing to fans who've driven Simbin's other titles, and so, this time at least, the hare comes out on top. [Jan 2007, p.87]

The PC market should revel in the fact that it can do console games, and do them better than the consoles can. [Sept 2006, p.70]

The balancing could do with some tweaking, with some enemies too hard to defeat and some bosses too easy. [Aug 2007, p.70]

The problem is that most of the downloadable content is aimed at specific character types: a pure combat character probably won't give a stuff about spell tomes or a Wizard's tower, while the average mage will find the powerful new quest items totally useless. You're far better off just choosing the content you want online, and this works out a hell of a lot cheaper too, even if you buy everything (£12).

Much as I was thrilled by the action, I was equally nonplussed by the lack of emotional connection to the characters and the plot. [Mar 2009, p.64]

However, once you pass the infant stages of the game, play becomes all too familiar, all too repetitive and all too unpolished. I'm not saying avoid Age of Conan - feel free to give it a go and enjoy the early stages with your free 30 days of play.

It still doesn't address the simplistic combat. [Christmas 2006, p.77]

This update isn't monumental. It's merely the bacon topping on an already bulging turducken. That's turkey, duck and chicken. [Dec 2006, p.99]

Infuriating loading times are a major issue. [Mar 2009, p.74]

Trine deserves recognition for bringing the Lost Vikings template back to our PCs, but it isn't a classic. [Oct 2009, p.66]

Playing Toki Tori is like putting your finger into a kitten's mouth, only to realise that the kitten is actually a great white shark. Except this is a good thing. [Oct 2010, p.86]

If you have a lot of patience, follow The Path. If not, bugger off and pick up an FPS. [Aug 2009, p.75]

One of the most challenging and addictive city-builders we've played this year. [Jan 2007, p.70]

A really involving little sim. [Christmas 2009, p.78]

While it's no classic, every Monkey Island fan should be playing this. [Oct 2009, p.68]

The spectacuar way in which the game is presented is enough to make the most players want to overlook the deep-running problems it harbors and plaudits must be paid to a setting this original and so excellently realized. [June 2008, p.64]

If I have a gripe, it's that the introduction of Hugh Bliss's magical talismans makes for some rather force puzzles. [July 2007, p.80]

Consoles, you win this round. [Feb 2008, p.82]

The plot is a bit of nonsense and the NPCs' AI is dumber than a bag of hair, but slashing up civilians with the Claw is always amusing. [Aug 2009, p.68]

An absolute ton of very German micromanagement. [June 2010, p.87]

As long as you realise that Crayon Physics Deluxe is a sandbox in disguise, you won't be disappointed by this charming physics puzzler. [Apr 2009, p.70]

Graphically dated. [Feb 2010, p.76]

That this is the last game in the Penumbra series is a genuine tragegy, because the series has finally found its footing. [Apr 2006, p.84]

Even though it feels so very wrong to say this, Open For Business is a Sims expansion worth buying.

As far as Sims expansions go though, it's mediocre. I mean, come on, it's bloody weather...And gardening. What's next? "The Sims 2: Picking Your Arse?" [June 2007, p.86]

You'll be having Duke Nukem flashbacks and shouting "I've got balls of steel" in no time. [July 2010, p.84]

Good fun, if a little short for the money. [June 2009, p.68]

Strategy gaming doesn't get much more hardcore than this. But if you, as I, have ever harboured ambitions of serving of quartermaster to a major military formation, this is for you. [Oct 2006, p.70]

It's for the patient. [Aug 2009, p.62]

Best advice is to pretend Al Emmo is a lot gem from the '80s that you've just discovered. It'll feel far more precious that way. [May 2007, p.75]

Not PC friendly. [Dec 2008, p.75]

It's not a bad game, and if you're one of the aforementioned strategy fans, you will likely enjoy it. [Nov 2009, p.76]

The quality of the content on offer is above cynical expectation - in fact, I'll come right out and say it: Northern Strike is a good expansion pack. [Apr 2007, p.79]

It's not terrible by any means, but it's just not very exciting either. [Apr 2007, p.76]

So while it's a Sims 2 expansion, and while it's about pets, it's a wellmade, superbly polished addition to the original game.

Dark Corners is at its best when you can immerse yourself in the story and get to work solving the biting mysteries on offer. Unfortunately, by the end of the game everything succumbs to a bit of FPS butchery, putting you in shotgun shootouts rather than mysterious crime scenes.

A cheaper, slightly longer and certainly more rewarding slice of saccharine silliness than before. Still not perfect, but very, very cute. [July 2006, p.74]

If you want a simple game that doesn't require you to devote the whole of your brain or your evenings, can buy into the game's modern-retro visuals, and can forgive a few flaws; it's undeniably worth a spin. [Dec 2008, p.76]

Combat feels clunky and unsatisfying. [Feb 2010, p.72]

Falls a little short of the bar set by the likes of "SimCity 4." [July 2006, p.80]

So sloppily ported. [May 2007, p.68]

A better proposition than the first remake. [Aug 2010, p.86]

An unreliably enjoyable experience. [July 2009, p.68]

Unless you can't get enough of the original game or you're a Star Wars fanatic who's been hankering for some new plot developments, then it simply isn't worth corrupting your hard disk with what has sadly turned out to be another promising but ultimately inadequate add-on.

Dreamfall never taxes the brain, and progression is more often than not a case of running to the next location and having a bit of a chat. [July 2006, p.75]

A definite improvement over "Euro Force." And that's pretty much the best plaudit I can muster. [Oct 2006, p.81]

While Extraction Point certainly does pick up towards the end, providing some absolutely sublime moments of action, ultimately it feels far too much like the worst bits of F.E.A.R. all over again, masquerading as something we love.

Muzzled! isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the previous episodes. [Oct 2009, p.73]

Treat The Maw as a casual half hour game and you'll be well satisfied, but don't expect any maw than that. Sorry. [June 2009, p.75]

A flawed gem. [Jan 2010, p.79]

BattleForge runs smoothly and is pretty enough, with a wide selection of large units to choose from. However, battles see you going up against the same units - the ones players have identified as being the best. So the only real variety BattleForge provides is on paper. [May 2009, p.73]

The levels feed artificially protracted. [July 2009, p.74]

Anyone with half an eye can see how the presentation levels have been slipping like a ferret on ice over the last few years. [Nov 2007, p.84]

A solid game, but one that suffers somewhat from stilted gameplay and a cliched plot. [May 2009, p.74]

Surprisingly deep. [July 2009, p.66]

A money sucking expansion whore. [Oct 2010, p.88]

Puzzles aren't too hard, but they aren't too easy. [Feb 2009, p.80]

If you're a reality fan looking for a full-on Civil War experience, this is it. [Aug 2006, p.54]

In a disappointing move, we don't get to play any of the Ghostbusters. [Oct 2009, p.64]

Long-time fans will be pretty appalled by this effort. [Dec 2009, p.70]

Effective time Hoover. [July 2008, p.84]

This is a simple game for simpler minds. [Dec 2009, p.76]

It's the shortest and easiest yet, with the episodic formula's skeleton (office/street intro, on-location puzzle, three-pronged task, conclusion) showing more obviously through the tighter, more linear flesh.

Hardcore fans of the series will no doubt love the additions; for the rest of us, the most fun you'll get out of this will be dropping your visitors into the shark tank. [Feb 2007, p.83]

A worthy successor to the Caesar family of titles. But chances are, you already know if this is going to be your cup of tea - follow your heart, young governor. [Christmas 2006, p.92]

FreeTime isn't bad. Actually, it's very good. [June 2008, p.80]

A lacklustre affair that we've seen many times before. [Dec 2006, p.85]

Arrowhead paints the most chilling picture of the horrors of war than any game has done yet. [Sept 2010, p.84]

If you like slide puzzles, it's disastrously addictive. [July 2009, p.73]

Despite design cleverness and an engaging cityscape, there's just no joy here. [Christmas 2006, p.90]

It's just not good enough and, crucially, makes Holmes and Watson do things they just wouldn't do in the books. Which is, at the end of the day, the biggest flaw. [Apr 2010, p.89]

Apart from throwing in a fair few wacky units converted from steampunk, like ice-spitting Rooski tanks and jetpack-wearing Nazis, and wrapping the game in the counter-factual, War Front is about as unique as a new series calling itself "How Clean is Your Wife?" [June 2007, p.75]

Ceville is a pleasant enough game that doesn't demand to be played (and, let's be honest, is too expensive), but adventure fanatics should get enough joy out of it to warrant a purchase. [May 2009, p.65]

Avoid combat and it remains an extremely smart adventure game with a lot to offer. [May 2007, p.82]

That exhilarating core deserves more than the pretty rancid crust that tops it. [Aug 2010, p.76]

Ten years late. [Jan 2010, p.78]

A bit crackers. [Nov 2009, p.76]

To say that the game is shallow would be harsh, but it certainly doesn't plumb the potential depths of the period, and while it has multiplayer I can't see it having much longevity. [May 2009, p.77]

The definition of solid, but unspectacular. [Feb 2010, p.82]

An anorexic "Oblivion" set in a budget version of Tolkien's Rohan. [Nov 2008, p.65]

The Last resort is still enjoyable for fans of Wallace & Gromit, but seasoned adventurers will run through it like a summer breeze. [Aug 2009, p.74]

Had Life Stories...been a little more mature in its scripting, I might have even recommended this. As it is, your mum would find it patronising. [June 2007, p.86]

It's nothing more than average, and occasionally nothing less than irritating. [May 2007, p.76]

A worthy follow-up and well worth your time if you are an enthusiast of the gem-matching genre. [June 2009, p.75]

An admirable amble across the African wilderness at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. [Oct 2006, p.82]

It has numerous problems, most notably the A.I. But there's something beneath all its faults I can forgive; a Western game that has Reverends, shows reverence and even features the occasional smear of puerile humour. [Nov 2006, p.66]

It's an improvement on the original and if you fancy landing a plane on the Champs-Elysees, this may be your only way to wing it. [Christmas 2007, p.75]

Lots of tactical freedom. [Christmas 2009, p.89]

Lacks a coherent structure. [Dec 2009, p.68]

The Halo 2 Vista experience is as forgettable as it is tardy and somewhat deptressing. [July 2007, p.72]