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]

If it's multiplayer automotive giggles you're after, "FlatOut 2's" party mode is far superior. [Sept 2006, p.78]

This is a pure action RPG with huge production values, great visuals and a fairly diverting levelling system. It doesn't rewrite the rules of the genre because it isn't supposed to.

It's a bit shit...Dialogue is laughably bad. [Christmas 2006, p.94]

For just over eight measly quid, you get one of the most challenging Total War campaigns to date. [Sept 2006, p.58]

Rise & Fall manages to bring some welcome action to a normally slower-paced genre, but it sometimes feels like this is at the expense of tactics.

The single-player campaign is varied and hardly ever falls into genre convention, which makes Rush for Berlin a decent WWII strategy romp. [Aug 2006, p.78]

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]

Boasts a horribly uninteresting storyline, mundane point-and-click tasks and blindingly dire voice-acting. [Aug 2006, p.83]

With new scenes and sets, such as blue-screens and miniature cities (for your highly original 'Nodzilla' and 'Codependence Day' movies), as well as the ability to control the camera's positioning within a scene (which greatly increases freedom of creativity), along with new costumes, effects and a bunch of fancy camera overlays like night vision and raindrops, The Movies: Stunts & Effects is an essential addition and should not be missed by fans of the original.

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

Overwhelmingly unremarkable. [Nov 2006, p.84]

Without a shadow of a doubt, Half-Life 2: Episode One contains the best Freeman moments ever conceived, but by necessity it carries too much over from before to be as consistently entertaining as its forbear. [Aug 2006, p.67]

With its amazing sets, inventive ways of killing, solid storyline with a great twist at the end and more emphasis on stealth, 47's latest is not only the most accomplished Hitman title ever, but a serious contender in the world of stealth gaming.

The menus are too awkward - selecting a betting amount is fiddly beyond reason - and there's too much competition out there for Stacked to distinguish itself as anything other than one of the ugly cliches from its own character selection menu. [June 2007, p.74]

The AI doesn't match up to the ambition. [Aug 2006, p.68]

Looks and plays like a game from 1999. [Christmas 2006, p.93]

Finally though, kudos to the scriptwriters and actors for providing a stream of banter that never once made me want to pull my jaw off and mash my teeth against my forehead. Something so rare, I added two to the score.

Truthfully, HOMMV is better in every department than its predecessor. It's grittier, funnier, prettier, more accessible, more strategic and rammed full of multiplayer goodness.

While it lacks the charm and cleverness of the "Broken Sword" games, it retains the compelling one-more-chapter allure of the novel. [Aug 2006, p.83]

Unless my brain is being fried by professor Xavier's Cerebro machine, I quite enjoyed X-Men: The Official Game. [Aug 2006, p.81]

By taking all that's best from the real-time build-and-conquer template, mixing it with elements of Civilization and Total War, and wrapping it up in an impressive (though not quite eye-popping) engine, Big Huge Games have taken the genre in a bold and exciting new direction.

While it may not be the most groundbreaking of shooters, Emergence's merits far outweigh its smattering of faults, and with six to ten hours of entertainment to be had, you can't argue that it's not value for money, especially as it also comes bundled with a copy of the original SiN. Eleven quid you say? Bargain.

The satisfaction of finally winning a battle doesn't even begin to outweigh the frustration of having to win it all over again.

Desperados 2 looks a bit dated, and the AI is basic 'search if you're heard, attack if you're seen.' However, it's still enjoyable - and with the effort comes a grumbling sense of achievement. [July 2006, p.89]

The world is fully realised, it feels solid and vibrant. The enemies are smart, the allies are smarter.

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

Ultimately, though, it's more of the same, albeit with a new storyline and exotic new setting. [July 2006, p.82]