Clannad is a Japanese visual novel where you play as a young man called Tomoya Okazaki who spends his days going to school and hanging out with his friends. After a slow start the plot really starts to develop and you will find yourself involved in various romances and in other dramatic storylines. You will also cry a lot because the game can be really touching sometimes. I only wish that the game didn’t have so much filler material. It would have been better if the game had been a bit shorter. [March 2016]

Pretty impressive for a debut game. Excellent mechanics, I really wouldn't mind playing an enchanced PC-version. [Feb 2012]

This eautiful puzzle platformer is an atmospheric trip, but a tad too short. Well designed puzzles keep you occupied for couple of hours, but when the credits roll, you'll be crawing for more. [May 2015]

Assassin's Creed III is definitely a step backwards for the excellent and popular series. The main plot is decent and the assassination action itself good as always, but the main character is totally uncharismatic and the gameplay a dull repetition of old rotes. The game world is indeed huge, but sadly it's filled with uninspiring busywork like trade caravans and a pointless crafting system. Assassin's Creed III is still a very good game, but disappointing as it could have been so much more. [Nov 2012]

This ain't an adventure game in a traditional sense, but altogether the first episode of the new King's Quest is a pleasant surprise. It's an action-adventure, but with a high emphasis on a story. Puzzles are easy and sudden deaths won't sneak up on you anymore, but at its core, King's Quest is a new adaptation of Sierra's thesis of bringing faery tales to bits. This is something, that the game achieves with flying colors. Well done, sirs. [Sept 2015]

Telltale's Iron From Ice is a strong opener for what is sure to be a game series worth following. The pressing decisions and stellar dialogue are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, if you can ignore the lazy rehashing of character tropes and storylines from the source material. [Jan 2015]

Shadowrun: Hong Kong is a solid RPG. Whether it be the dialogue, story, combat or exploration, the third installment in the Shadowrun series delivers. [Sept 2015]

A fun tennis game, but it is too bad that it does not have internet play. Otherwise it is right up there with the more serious "Top Spin 2." [Mar 2007]

Improves on everything over its predecessor, first and foremost in letting you adventure and loot together with your friends. Runic has made a smooth and enjoyable action RPG that is at the top of its genre. So how about innovating something truly new for the next installment, both in character mechanics and the setting? [Oct 2012]

A fast, original and very clever turn-based tactical combat game, which is a kind of modern version of Battleships. [Oct 2012]

Very simplified re-imagining of a true classic. Now it is scripted, very fluid, very fast tactical turn-based action game, and luckily not a bad one at all! I'm still waiting for a technically modernized carbon copy of original UFO, thank you very much. [Oct 2012]

ArmA: Armed Assault is "Operation Flashpoint 2007" in both the good and the bad. The good far outweigh the bad, though, and I can hardly wait for the game to be properly finished. For a game of this calibre, I will gladly endure and finance the beta testing. [Apr 2007]

It seems like Aerosmith composed it songs for the Guitar Hero. A marriage made in heaven. [Aug 2008]

Axiom Verge is a very traditional metroidvania, but in its details lurks a whole lot of innovation. [Aug 2015]

A well made traditional fantasy RPG, even though the marketing department in Bioware would have you think otherwise. The world is well fleshed out and the story is traditional, but still interesting. The game lacks the truly epic atmosphere and realistic looking actors of Mass Effect, but it still manages to be great fun. Big plus for surprisingly challenging combat, which you don't see that much nowadays. [Nov 2010]

Lone Survivor has a great atmosphere that keeps getting more oppressive as the game goes on. At times there is too much running back and forth, but other than that it's a pure horror masterpiece. Just don't play it on a large monitor or the pixels will hurt your eyes. [Aug 2012]

A very good beat 'em up adventure with hundreds of simultaneous enemies. Too bad the awful Athens-level is a major pain in the backside. [Oct 2005]

Savage 2 combines first/third person multiplayer action and real-time strategy and does it very well. The learning curve is quite steep, because the tutorial and the manual are lacking but that’s the only major problem with game. [Mar 2008]

A fine HD-update of the first three Ratchet & Clank -platform adventures. [Aug 2012]

Innovative features together with realism and playability make it a must-have for American Civil War enthusiasts and recommendable to all tactical-scale wargamers. The lack of strategic elements is a bit disappointing, though. [Aug 2006, p.55]

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensword fixes many problems that A Realm Reborn had, but one it does not fix is the situation with player-owned houses. End shortage, boot inactive houseowners! [Aug 2015]

This is an entertaining action RPG in a semi-prehistoric fantasy world. Prepare to grind, though. A lot. [March 2015]

Modern Warfare 3 is a solid entry into the series. The singleplayer campaign offers non-stop action to the point of excess, while the multiplayer offers the usual hooks and unlockables that will keep you busy for weeks to come. [Nov 2011]

A decent enough Track'n Field -clone. It looks nice and there's a lot of events. Too bad there's way too much waiting on one at a time -multiplayer events. [Aug 2008]

A stunningly beautiful real-time strategy with a powerful campaign and lots of fabulous action, although the AI is a bit on the silly side. Still, heartily recommended. [Apr. 05]

Infernal borrows a lot ideas from classic action adventures like "Deus Ex," but manages to stand on its own two feet. Awesome graphics, brisk action and realistic environments make Infernal well worth a try. [Apr 2007]

A few years back no one would have said it, but now it can be said. Thank God for Steam. Without this digital distribution platform we wouldn't be able to play games such as Plain Sight. The fast-paced multiplayer game is a unique combination of Super Mario Galaxy and first person shooters. After an hour of gaming, it plays like a charm. Plain Sight is like a refreshing gush of wind in a musty tomb, and for nine Euros it is an absolute bargain. [June 2010]

A technically flawless, movie-like episode of the famous survival horror series, although this time the focus is on action and not survival or even horror. The game's representation of Africa and its inhabitants seems to be from the Colonial era and is therefore somewhat disturbing, detracting from the overall enjoyment. [Mar 2009]

Radiant Silvergun is bewilderment and frustration at the same time. With excessive amount of weapons, breathtaking boss rushes, killer difficulty and a complicated combo system Radiant Silvergun is just too much - and awesome for that reason. [Nov 2011]

The sequel for the best Kinect game doesn't fail. The two player mode is the biggest improvement. Training leads to results, so this game is edu-tainment as it's best. Second Dance Central is – as it's predecessor – a Kinect application for both casual and hardcore gamers. [Dec 2011]

Wolf Among Us is great, better than the original comic. Willingham, take notes! [Nov 2013]

Sunset Overdrive’s supercharged hyper parkour has a bit steep learning curve, but once you master it, this sandbox shooter shows its true colors. It's totally over the top, always on the move and absolutely hilarious. [Nov 2014]

A refreshingly original adventure. It feels like a comic book and the story centres around courtrooms. There are some mildly annoying repetitive elements, but nothing too distracting. [June 2006]

Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall hits the target! Very nicely written, and captivating. Needs some chrome, though. When something epic happens, even a static picture would be nice. [Apr 2014]

Tomb Raider: Legend successfully brings the legend back in a movie-like experience. Great on atmosphere, tempo and diversity, but a bit short on content. The gunfights are passable, but the bike levels are just plain weak. [May 2006]

Has the most impressive physics engine seen on consoles thus far, but the game does not take full advantage of it. The action is straight-forward, but engaging, and the whole game has a nice cinematic feel to it. One of the best shooters for PS2. [July. 05],

Captures the frenetic atmosphere of the popular TV-show successfully. The game is fun to play, although the controls feel a bit clunky. The car chase scenes could have used a bit more thought. [Mar 2006]

A Medieval action RPG with a great battle system, and there are many ways you can play the game. The game doesn't have a storyline, which is why it becomes a bit boring and pointless after a while, but it does have many good mods and they will keep the game fresh. [Sept 2008]

Dust: An Elysian Tail is probably one of the best XBLA titles this year. Stunning hand-drawn graphics combined with razor-sharp gameplay ensure, that this title is definitely worth a look. [Sept 2012]

Dark Arisen improves on the already excellent original game. The Bitterblack Isle is an interesting addition for a mid to high level characters. [May 2013]

Bows deeply to the classics like Monkey Island or Maniac Mansion but more importantly it still has a good, unique feel to it. Although Mr. Keane's adventure is an old-fashioned point'n click adventure the fresh environments, tricky puzzles and witty humour make it a great adventure game. It's not the best this genre has to offer, but it's a nice try. Thumbs up for Deck13. [Apr 2008]

While Gravity Rush is not a perfect game (The combat is lacking, the camera disorientating and the story lacks a proper ending) it is still an extremely fun and addicting piece of gravity shifting adventure. The world, with its odd inhabitants, colorful areas and memorable music deserves most praise. [Sept 2012]

A very intensive manhunt with a variety of puzzles. It uses the same graphic engine as Syberia I and II, which is to say the game is simply beautiful. [Apr. 05]

It's hard to imagine, that Activision let this one go. Sleeping Dogs is action packed sandbox shooter, which - in many ways - does things a lot better than GTA. Parkour, shooting and hand to hand combat are wrapped around a stunning virtual version of Hong Kong. The story isn't quite Rockstar, but it keeps the action going. The bar is set for the fifth Grand Theft Auto. [Sept 2012]

A very good FPS:esque shoot 'em up. The enemies are interesting and the glaive even more so. The surroundings are a bit too monotonous, though. [Apr 2008]

Strider is a very good 2D platform adventure with good combat elements and nice bosses. Checkpoints could be better and the levels are a bit too dark in places. [March 2014]

A very good multiplayer FPS. The warzone mode is an excellent idea. Some vehicles and a little more visual variation would be nice, though. [Apr 2009]

Tomb Raider: Legend successfully brings the legend back in a movie-like experience. Great on atmosphere, tempo and diversity, but a bit short on content. The gunfights are passable, but the bike levels are just plain weak. [May 2006]

Ten years of waiting has paid off: Prey is a fine shooter with good playability and graphics. It doesn't bring anything truly innovative to the genre, but what it does, it does pretty well, and stuff like portals and gravity tricks make preying a lot of fun. [Aug 2006, p.40]

Hack & slash games are addictive because they follow a simple formula: kill, kill and kill some more. Path of Exile is no different in this regard. During your quest in the perilous continent of Wraeclast you need to slay thousands and thousands of monsters but it never gets boring because there are a plenty of fresh ideas like the very vast skill system and barter-based economy that differentiate it from other similar games. But it's not a perfect game. The story is weak and the difficulty level is too low in the beginning. [Dec 2013]

As fun and fast as it should be. [Aug 2009]

Getting better every year. The 2D match engine is awesome and the only thing the game still needs is real-time line changes. Now it is done by AI only. [Dec 2006]

The most fun NHL game to come out in a long time. The smooth skating and the nicely flowing action make it an enjoyable hockey experience. The AI could still use some fine-tuning, though. [Sept 2007]

Looks and sounds great and the free-form gameplay with the nanosuit never gets old. Unfortunately the choices player can make lessen more and more towards the end of the game, where you are just forced to shoot things out. The end of the game is simply stupid, everything stops just when the final chapter is supposed to start. It feels like the developers ran out of time and had to ship the game before the levels could be finalized. [Dec 2007]

It has been a while since the MMORPG genre saw an innovative game. Turbine's latest feels very much like the tabletop RPG in digital form. Although the combat system is a bit strange and the forced grouping is definitely not for everyone, the game is overall good, solid fun. [May 2006]

An intense and delightfully brutal co-op mode to a somewhat mediocre single player game. Success requires actual teamwork and occasionally even some planning, so it's not just mindless gunblazing. Also, the leveling system is a nice incentive to keep playing, although it could use more rewards such as a larger variety of weaponry. [Jan 2012]

Excellent expansion for an excellent game. Panzer Elite was a little disappointing due to politically correct whining and ze germenglish. [Nov 2007]

The judgement ring fighting system and the semi-realistic surroundings are the major high points. [Apr. 05]

An excellent "Marble Madness" clone. It is all about skill. A few more levels and multiplayer modes would not have hurt, though. [Mar 2006]

Looks and feels like "Scarface" the movie. Even though a more solid storyline would have been nice, the game plays great and offers enough things to do. [Oct 2006, p.54]

A first-class multiplayer-FPS. It doesn't do anything new, but what it does, it does very well. It’s fun and entertaining. [July 2009]

A very good beat 'em up that nonetheless feels more like evolution than revolution. The lack of internet play is a definite minus. [Mar 2007]

A great antidote for brogamer oriented western shooters. Game is chock full of nice atmosphere. [June 2013]

A very competent tactical RPG. There is nothing too revolutionary, though.

Mushihimesama (PC 88) has bugs. A lot of them. A bullet hell SHMUP classic. [Apr 2016]

A visually stunning spacefaring game that is still radically different from mainstream fantasy games. Even after Exodus it is still a bit lacking content-wise, but getting steadily closer to being a massively multiplayer Elite. Definitely an acquired taste, though. [July 05]

Top Spin 3 is much more realistic than the previous games of the series, mostly because of the new control mechanics. It takes more than just slapping the ball around to beat the versatile AI. However, to succeed one does not have to use the whole shot variety, which takes some depth out of the game. [Sept 2008]

Too bad the 3DS version suffers from horrible underwater controls, since the XL version of Circle Pad Pro isn't out in the west. [Apr 2013]

Looks stunning and contains some really clever gameplay. The game is really fun to play although some of the puzzles make no sense at all. The condensed co-op is a real downer. [Dec 2005]

Tribes: Ascend is a surprisingly good version of a classic shooter. The Free-2-Play aspect is well implemented. [Apr 2012]

A generic platformer combined with a very interesting draw-a-platform system. [Mar 2010]

An excellent combination of platforming, racing, combat and freeform vehicle building. [Jan 2009]

The fusion of free driving in a huge, realistic game world and the mixture of single and multiplayer challenges works really well, even though many things could have been improved. [Oct 2006]

A well made traditional fantasy RPG, even though the marketing department in Bioware would have you think otherwise. The world is well fleshed out and the story is traditional, but still interesting. The game lacks the truly epic atmosphere and realistic looking actors of Mass Effect, but it still manages to be great fun. Big plus for surprisingly challenging combat, which you don't see that much nowadays. [Nov 2010]

A very enjoyable RTS. Graphics, especially fireworks, are simply fantastic. The unit AI, however, seems to be lifted straight from the first Command & Conquer. [Oct 2007]

An excellent bite-sized game that captures the feeling of space exploration nicely. A bit more new content in the upcoming patches would be appreciated. [April 2006]

An excellent football game. However, the expectations were a little higher this year knowing that there will not be any rivals. The new passing system is a little step forward, but only a little. [Oct 2005]

A very good and varied multiplayer FPS. Some things, like the big attack/defend scenarios, were better on Killzone 3. [Jan 2014]

Stealth, puzzles and film noir mix beautifully. The only criticism is that it’s over too soon. [Aug 2013]

GTA on steroids. Huge city, very brutal combat, cool super powers and an interesting plot ensures that Prototype is one of this summer's hit games. There's a lot of gore, so this game has 18+ written all over it. [July 2009]

PES 2017 works wonders on the pitch. Its smooth controls, various great game modes and attention to detail make PES an enjoyable football experience. [Oct 2016]

Top Spin 3 is much more realistic than the previous games of the series, mostly because of the new control mechanics. It takes more than just slapping the ball around to beat the versatile AI. However, to succeed one does not have to use the whole shot variety, which takes some depth out of the game. [Sept 2008]

Definitely feels like a part of the series but it's also refreshingly new. The new look doesn't really work and the amount and quality of the dialogue is off-putting but it doesn't really matter when the game itself works wonderfully and has surprisingly many medium and minor changes. [Mar 200]

A well-polished remake of the excellent action RPG from PC. It is only due to the far too simplified and illogical character class system that the new version falls slightly behind the original. [Jan 2008]

The true heir of the classic X-COM and almost as addictive. However, the game has a multitude of irritating design flaws that need correcting. [June 2007]

Black Mirror 3 is the third instalment in the horror-thriller point'n click adventure series and definitely the best one yet. It's a little better than its predecessors in every aspect: the story has more intensity and puzzles are a little bit more polished. BM 3 offers a decent ending to the sinister saga of the Gordons. On the minus side the inventory is cumbersome and the grande finale loses some of the game's otherwise compelling atmosphere. Still it's worth the while. [Aug 2011]

Much better than Aftermath. Geoscape and RPG elements are excellent. Tactical fighting is far better than before, but still needs some work. Battlefields should be generated randomly, and structural damage is not good enough. Take Silent Storm for a role model, please. [Nov 2005]

A very convincing package with stunning graphics and nice feel for arcade'ish racing. There's maybe a bit too much emphasis on gymkhana game mode though. [Aug 2011]

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx shows how DLC packs should be done. It raises the level cap from 50 to 61, it is extremely challenging, and it offers violent, yet addictive, item hunting. Most delightful of all, the tongue-in-cheek humor is kicked into high gear. Simply put: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx delivers on all fronts. This add-on is a must-have for every self-respecting Borderlands player. [Apr 2010]

While Hyper Light Drifter is sometimes too obscure for its own good, its combat is fierce and the environments stunningly beautiful. [May 2016]

Some will say "We have seen this before", which is true, but luckily Volition has taken the best parts from the GTA series and spiced them up. The result is immersive and fun to play. One of the best games on Xbox 360 so far. [Sept 2006]

A well made traditional fantasy RPG, even though the marketing department in Bioware would have you think otherwise. The world is well fleshed out and the story is traditional, but still interesting. The game lacks the truly epic atmosphere and realistic looking actors of Mass Effect, but it still manages to be great fun. Big plus for surprisingly challenging combat, which you don't see that much nowadays. [Nov 2010]

Hopefully the public will see the gravity of this situation, because the newest Angry Birds game is the best of the bunch. The concept is more hardcorish than before and the space brings its own physics to the game. This is so addictive! [Apr 2012]

A very good superhero's sandbox. There's a lot fighting, but it's good fighting. A lot of replay potential. The level editor is a worthy bonus, too. [Aug 2011]

Offers a stunningly beautiful fighting frenzy. It is frustratingly difficult at times, but also rewards persistence and experimentation. You will break a sweat just thinking about all the action. [Mar. 05]

Trine 2 has aged exceptionally well. This Finnish platformer is one of the best looking Wii U launch titles, although it's initial appearance happened over a year ago. This game is a solid platformer, which combines action and puzzles in just the right proportions.

While overshadowed by Grand Theft Auto V, Sleeping Dogs is still a well written and executed action game. The combat mechanics are nothing short of superb. [Dec 2014]

The second season starts out nicely. Everything that made the first season so terrific is still in the game: nutty humour, witty dialogue, entertaining plot and interface that works. The puzzles are good, although still not hard on adventure game terms. The sub-games do need something new, though. Driving the car is nice, but starts to get a little bit dull. [Dec 2007]