It's choked by its own clumsy presentation and inability to develop its own ideas. [July 2007, p.83]

The uncanny knack of mirroring real life is testament to the massive infrastructure of international scouts that provides the player database, allied to the witchcraft that goes on under the bonnet. [Christmas 2007, p.85]

It's an expansion that's clearly been designed with passion. [Jan 2008, p.82]

TAD is pricey for an add-on pack, but if you can stomach the cost, there's plenty of succulent, meaty goodness to be had from TAD. Plus it will big up your brain, and that can't be a bad thing for a pony. [Christmas 2007, p.82]

An insult to both fans, and the creators of the show, and serves as a lesson for developers on how not to treat licensed material. [Feb 2008, p.78]

This is a tale best told on paper, if only because the book doesn't have such awful music and voice acting, and it isn't shoe-horned into a generic RPG template. [May 2008, p.88]

So tough it's nearly impossible, and so it's almost unplayable. [Sept 2009, p.72]

It does nothing to expand upon the base game and therefore make itself worthy of notice, except for those of you with a burning desire to see how a sub-par fantasy story turns out who can't be bothered to look it up on Wikipedia. [Christmas 2007, p.88]

Lacks any sane rationale behind its price and hides within it a game that could have been so much more, but just isn't. [Jan 2008, p.78]

These animals are not that easy to deal with. [Jan 2008, p.87]

Unexciting...Unrewarding...Uninteresting... Ungood. [Aug 2007, p.82]

Because of the deep sense of planning, strategy, story and general slickness, it'll probably suck you in, anyway. [Apr 2006, p.78]

The perfect integration of classes, the character and level design, the visuals, and the level of accessibility. [Dec 2007, p.64]

Episode Two contains some of the series' greatest moments, and it's still every bit as charming as its predecessors, but it's so similar to Half-Life 2 that despite what Valve might believe, we're really left wanting something a bit fresher. [Dec 2007, p.60]

It may be short, but it's a wonderful learning experience, forcing you to rethink rather base concepts of the first-person genre. [Dec 2007, p.68]

All in all, this is a rather well-thought out expansion; Obsidians's release of a broken game is the only betrayal. [Christmas 2007, p.93]

The tackling has been improved, and while the whole thing can feel a bit spongy, it still plays a decent game of football. [Christmas 2007, p.76]

Unfortunately, things like the AI, graphics and crash damage, as well as the Porto track, still could do with some more tweaking. And in comparison to its big brother GTR 2, it's still most definitely a lap or two behind.

While some elements are playable and, occasionally, fun, this mixture of Fisher-Price "Theme Park" and a bunch of Flash-esque minigames isn't recommendable in the slightest. [Jan 2008, p.73]

A brilliant and immersive game...On the one hand you've got the sheer technical prowess and experience of id, and on the other you've got Splash Damage's intrinsic understanding of what makes a good online shooter. Together, you've got a game that could set a new benchmark for the genre. [Nov 2007, p.62]

More of a solid warrior and less of a gaming god. [Oct 2007, p.80]

An unexpectedly and unpredictably decent point-and-click game. [Dec 2008, p.71]

A hit-and-miss product that'll no doubt satiate the hardcore, but probably prove a tad too irritating for the rest. [Christmas 2007, p.86]

You're a passenger watching a crime solve itself - except you get to do all the donkey work. [Mar 2008, p.79]

It's not really doing anything groundbreaking. [Dec 2007, p.76]

While it has its fair share of hiccups, the game's fundamental quality manages to shine through and ensure that there's plenty of entertaniment to be had. [Dec 2007, p.70]

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]

Sure, Stranglehold isn't a perfect game - in fact, in many areas it's a bit duff. But even if the stupidity and brevity gets you down, I guarantee you won't have played a better representation of such utter, needless carnage. [Nov 2007, p.68]

It's a stunning achievement and one that puts it firmly at the head of RTS titles for the year...A tactical nuke of a game.

Those not expecting too much, who may be pining for an uncomplicated spin through familiar territory will certainly enjoy Tarr Chronicles, but it's no substitute for replaying the utterly fantastic and cheap, "FreeSpace 2." [Christmas 2007, p.92]

While the tactics are meaty enough and there are stacks of multiplayer options, the whole package falls short due to ball-achingly bland battles and a particularly user-friendly learning curve. [Dec 2007, p.84]

One of the better games from the consistently recommended franchise. [Dec 2007, p.80]

It rewards a determination to enjoy what it has to offer. But equally, the game's finer moments could equally pass people by. [Oct 2007, p.56]

As fun as malaria. [Christmas 2007, p.74]

At the heart of it all, just a damn fine, playable game, overblessed with the 'one more go' factor and a joyful sense of reward vs. effort put in. [Dec 2007, p.86]

Whilte it may not be totally perfect, the sheer depth and replayability of Kingdoms raises it high above any RTS expansion I've ever played. [Oct 2007, p.68]

Utterly, shabbily redundant. [Nov 2007, p.87]

You'll be left scouring the floor for items no bigger than a gnat's nutsack. [Jan 2008, p.78]

Two Worlds isn't a masterpiece, but it is entertaining. It's deep. [Nov 2007, p.78]

Delivers the goods in spades, with an improved engine and a new emphasis to real-time rather than turn-based action. [Oct 2007, p.82]

Never has the medium been used as a storytelling device in such a beautiful and engaging way, and never have we been drawn so deeply into a gameworld. Long live Rapture. [Oct 2007, p.62]

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]

Annoyingly, there's no way to change the controls and looks-wise, it won't win any medals. [Sept 2007, p.84]

Yet another love-letter from Firaxis to their fanbase, and as good a reason for living as chips. [Oct 2007, p.72]

As follow-ups go, it's certainly up ther with the best, if not quite the elite. [Sept 2007, p.66]

Something about Granado Espada is fiendishly addictive. What stops it from being truly great is the fact that it's both simple and rather boring at times. [Oct 2007, p.83]

It's very tactical, it's highly polished and I can pretty much guarantee you've never played anything quite like it. [Oct 2007, p.86]

For anyone who hasn't already got a helicopter license though, playing Enemy Engaged 2 is about as much fun as eating a pair of sheep's testicles. Yum. [Sept 2007, p.84]

Not that much more than meets the eye. [Oct 2007, p.78]

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

The AI has some dumb moments. Several enemies remained inactive until I'd shot them three times. [Sept 2007, p.70]

For 20 quid, it's a half-decent ride while it lasts. [Sept 2007, p.73]

This game is clever, deep, multifacted and a strategy nerd's wet dream. It's just a shame that it all comes at the expense of being very, very boring as well. [Dec 2007, p.84]

Excellent recreation of Hogwarts. [Sept 2007, p.80]

Too much micro-management with virtually zero autonomy and common sense. [Oct 2007, p.85]

It's mostly bland, somewhat interactive and slightly confusing. An improvement, then. [Oct 2007, p.75]

McRae's finest outing to date (minus, of course, Colin himself). The new types of racing offer far more variety of gameplay, the sound effects are impressive and there are eye-searingly gorgeous graphics and an excellent career mode to boot.

You really would be better off buying The Sims 2 and its Pets expansion though, and making up your own stories in your head. [Sept 2007, 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 sad that there are no great Gauntlet-style hack-and-slash multiplayer games anymore. Despite its flaws, this is the best that an old workhorse of a genre has to offer so, if you must play it, play it with friends. Don't expect too much though.

It's strangely hypnotic. [Dec 2008, p.74]

It's a good game, a solid remake, but having said that, 11 years on, it was never going to garner the awe-struck plaudits of a gobsmacked world. [July 2007, p.60]

Sadly, ten years on, Hospital Tycoon has added nothing new to "Theme Hospital's" stellar gameplay and ends up feeling, a bit like its subject, cold and clinical. [Aug 2007, p.75]

If you've exhausted X3 to an inhuman degree, you could do a lot worse than check this out, especially given the bargain price tag. [Sept 2007, p.86]

This content pack really is unmitigated bum. [Sept 2007, p.82]

Brighter than ever. [Sept 2007, p.78]

The glass isn't 'half empty,' it isn't even 'not full.' It's a soundless, hateful asphyxiating void. [Oct 2007, p.74]

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

Wooly, hollow and redundant. [Aug 2007, p.78]

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

Awkward, clumsy, and unpolished. [Sept 2007, p.85]

Somehow it manages to be far more entertaining than you'd expect. [May 2007, p.72]

It's fun, tough, cheap and really hard to stop playing; sometimes it's good to look back. [Oct 2007, p.86]

Love it or hate it though, you simply can't argue that Armed Assault is one hugely accomplished modern combat simulator. If that's what you're looking for, you won't be disappointed. [Mar 2007, p.60]

Fans of the series are bound to love it and if you have enough patience, you too might uncover the gooey warmth at the heart of this initially cold title. [Apr 2007, p.85]

When you consider that the game is far too ugly to be shown on an unforgiving monitor - cel-shaded Ultimate Spider-Man looked infinitely better - and that it asks for an unjustifiable 6GB of HD space, and that we couldn't get more than 30 frames-a-second out of a fairly hot PC... Well, it doesn't seem like the best way to spend £30. Our advice would be to avoid the PC version of Spider-Man 3 like a spunk-filled bowler hat.

Timely, compelling, packed with features and slickly presented. [Oct 2007, p.88]

Alpha Prime, with a passable storyline and passable gameplay, is a little passable anomaly. [July 2007, p.77]

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]

Best Tolkien game, beyond a shadow of a doubt. [July 2007, p.66]

Wannabe "Age of Empires". [July 2007, p.82]

The problem's with the lack of inspiration or effort. [Christmas 2006, p.81]

There's a platoon of issues lurking to ambush the unwary. [July 2007, p.70]

A tired old rehash of Blitkrieg - the last RTS game from developers Nival. [June 2007, p.76]

Food poisoning. [Dec 2007, p.81]

A good, cheap laugh, and if you can get some friends to play, it's worth giving it a whirl. [July 2007, p.78]

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

It's like going to bed with clean sheets, and squirming around because you'd forgotten how great going to bed was. [June 2007, p.85]

Remains teh best 'arcade' football game around. [Christmas 2006, p.74]

Like a once-great champ who's come out of retirement for one last crack at the title, C&C3: Tiberium Wars doesn't quite have enough tricks in its repertoire to defeat its younger, fresher opponents. But while it may be more contender than king these days, it still packs one hell of a punch. [May 2007, p.62]

It's overflowing with creative vision and imagination. [June 2007, p.66]

It's a reasonably effective swing at a cricket game, with a nice range of shot and bolwing types, which suggests that it might find its mark in the multiplayer sector. But if you're expecting a spot-on simulation of the sport, you'll find youself stumped. [June 2007, p.82]

As a brave experiment in all-action shootery, STALKER has certainly succeeded, though with its dearth of personality and many peculiar foibles, you can't help but wish that the publishers had granted GSC some extra time to polish their creation. Oh, hang on a minute... [Apr 2007, p.56]

TDU still offers a massive, inviting, and involving world for racing fans to gather in and share their love of cars. All with a cocktail on the side, too. [Mar 2007, p.64]

I haven't enjoyed an RTS this much in a long time, not because it's spectacularly unique on a gameplay level, but because it has an aesthetic that's just so different from the pervasive goblin-WWII axis of RTS games. [June 2007, p.84]

Once you get past that initial irritation, it's one of the best underwater games. [June 2007, p.78]

While Silverfall's artictic style and nature vs technology theme do set it aside from its rivals, the game still feels a bit rough around the edges. [May 2007, p.70]

It's for kids and that's fine. But children deserve better. Get them a version they can actually control. Better still, get your beloved sprogs a game that won't decay their minds through dumb repetition. [June 2007, p.82]