Quirky humour, eccentric characters and strange combinations of everyday items - it's (yet another) return of the classical adventure in nicely rendered 3D environments. Pity that the wit and fun starts to gradually dry up around the midpoint of the story and some puzzles turn out less logical than expected, but all in all, this game is definitely worth playing. [Apr 2008]

One of the best series of hardcore strategies became envious of Total Wars' 3D graphics and accessibility. Consequently, it has lost its best features, becoming a game of moving the armies around. What barbarism! [June 2008]

It irks me that in many places the Ubisoft team didn't bother to polish the details, but this game has so many nice little features that it's hard to stay angry for long. The weapons have a heavenly look and a hellish bang, if much too weak recoil. [June 2008]

The confrontation between the greatest Victorian detective and French gentleman burglar who never met each other on the cards of the novels provides hours of mind exercise and also frustration - search for the relevant details turns into a painfully irritating hunt for a changing cursor and unfortunately everything hinges on it. [June 2008]

The intriguing story, breathtaking views and flawless acrobatic maneuvers are terrific, in fact, almost everything is nigh perfect, except tracking and eliminating the targets. That's right, in a game about an assassin the most boring part is his job. Well, just a part of it - the medieval parkour never gets old. [May 2008]

An average adventure game with mediocre graphics and a hero who looks like he could use his own professional help (he's a shrink). On the other hand, dark story with a psychological twist, eerie piano music and screams of tortured girls in the background might do the trick for you, if you're into that kind of... entertainment. [June 2008]

It starts really poorly - even the disgracefully short tutorial uncovers the deficiencies of this title, namely units getting lost and jerky sounds resembling old electronic games. Then the first mission sucks you in for good. Diversity of situations you face precludes any possibility of boredom, but the presentation and unit AI deserved much more attention. [March 2008]

A role playing game that poses as a strategy by using just the numbers. This means that your adventuring party can have as many as twenty or thirty members, and you have to take care of every soldier's needs and wants, from armor to magic crystals to retirement plans. The game's ugly looks combined with the unintelligible interface and bad AI make the whole thing marginally playable in the best moments and huge pain in the posterior in the worst. [Apr 2008]

It’s not an action game, not with the scarce ammo and omnipresent puzzles, but it’s not Silent Hill either. Rather an adventure in a horror set created mostly with the use of flashlight, screams, whispers and lapping sounds – the monsters, when they finally appear, are somewhat disappointing. [Dec 2007]

It's been a long time since I had to play something as bland and useless. Everything in this game is as ancient as its heroes. This kind of action wasn't much fun when it first appeared on PlayStation 2 in Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors. On PC and in 2008 it is genuinely annoying. [June 2008]

A masterful example of expansion that leaves the game essentially unchanged. If it's good or bad, depends mostly on what you expected from your purchase. I expected more bang for my buck. If you wanted more of the same, lucky you - that's what you'll get. [May 2008]

The expansion adds a whole slew of reliable German hardware and starting the career in 1943 or 44 lets you use the radar, radar detector and decent hydrophone immediately. And you can now issue orders to certain allied units, including Japanese recon planes and a pocket battleship. Fun!

After the release of Medieval II this Ukrainian game still had a fighting chance thanks to its radical concept, but even putting aside the chaotic AI it's completely unplayable - it runs at staggering 5 fps even on powerful gaming rigs. [May 2008]

This ancient city planning simulator got a bit more interesting, but is still lacking many managing options and the scale is certainly sub par, especially considering that the population of Rome at its peak was over 1 million. [May 2008]

I'm truly sorry to watch such a fine franchise brought to the brink of destruction by ruthless exploitation. Two races - all that's truly new here - are a weak excuse for selling a full priced game with tired graphics, boring single player campaign and imbalanced units. [May 2008]

In theory, all it takes to make fans of the series happy is giving them an interactive episode. And that's exactly what they got. Unfortunately the spirit of the series is lost and there is nothing mysterious about its disappearance: because there is no mystery in the game at all. It's just a guided tour through the well known set, only slightly masked as an adventure. Fans will be happy, the rest... well, whatever were you looking for, it isn't there. [Apr 2008]

Brave construction worker breaks necks, perforates SS uniforms and fights for freedom while I sink slowly in my chair, disbelieving. It's been a long time since I've seen in a game such angular objects, bleary textures and enemies who ignore a 9 mm burst through the chest. A total waste of Unreal 3 engine. [May 2008]

The existence of sims comprised mostly of the same actions repeated over and over again gains some more colour now that cooking and cleaning up can be taken up as hobbies. Career and romance become even easier thanks to a new batch of options directed at starting and improving the relationships. There is nothing revolutionary in this rather utilitarian add-on, but if I can have a good time fixing the microwave, why not? [March 2008]

The concept of speed is central to this shooter and that's even more pronounced than in many racers. The challenge to meet both the body count and the time limit provides countless adrenaline-charged moments, the whole experience is so intense that it's hard to remain on the top and in control for longer than half an hour. The only weak spots are boring defence modes and the fact that without the Games for Windows Live account you can't even save the game. All the rest is fast, aggressive and wild action. [Apr 2008]

Adventure with a physics engine? Wait until you check out the puzzles. Or, if thrillers aren't your thing, better not. The arctic setting, the mysterious sounds and frightening sights combine into a terrifying experience - it's The Thing meets Lost! [Apr 2008]

It's hard to make a winning shooter these days, because it's so easy to make an average one. If you don't have anything original to show, you are lost in a crowd. And that's what happened to this really decent game. The weapons and the graphics are nothing to write home about, the heroes are a bit cliched, the cooperation between them is the best part, but that's just not enough. [Apr 2008]

Not your typical movie franchise - this one is actually quite decent. It has quests, secrets, simple yet satisfactory combat and scenes from the movie, but everything looks just a bit too much last year. [May 2008]

Switching the views and the lights, opening the doors, figuring out the puzzles and watching as doctor Lea Nichols solves the mystery of an abandoned secret lab - that's all it takes to get into the mood and experience one of the most remarkable adventures. [July 2008]

The best space strategy since Homeworld and Hegemony. The smooth zoom from the star map to the command of an embattled fleet is impressive, but the battles are won and lost mostly in the strategic view - the choice of clever tactical tricks and ship designs is much more limited than the vast array of technologies and logistical choices.

Drop the plural, there is only one story - and repeating it with a sim of the opposite gender doesn't change a thing. What's worse, however, is that there is nothing new about this whole affair. It's amazing to what lengths the creators went to ensure that this "castaway" adventure feels like any other sims on vacation tale. There is even a cell phone made from a shell! The story itself is quite interesting and compelling, pity that after finishing it you can dispose of the game. [March 2008]

The commander of the troops can enjoy this unique game much more than one of the hapless folks bleeding on the field of battle. And amongst them being a mage beats being a grunt in almost every respect. The hand to hand combat is so fast and random that it's hard to feel satisfaction even when you are winning. [March 2008]

The only bright (white) spot in the general mediocrity is the polar bear Iorek who fights like a professional wrestler. All the rest of the action consists of jumping and minigames repeated without much diversity. That is, if we don't count the occasional changes of the point of view that cause no end of frustration - it's easy to fall to your death from a shelf or plank when suddenly forward becomes right. Combined with very sparse save points, it seems like an attempt to punish the player for even trying. [March 2008]

The alien races fighting for control of the Earth are completely different from each other and from the usual anthropocentric units, and yet the designers managed to strike the proper balance of forces. It's easy to forgive the exceedingly huge mech designs taking up half of the field of view and occasional trouble with units failing to find the right path to the target. Overall it's a refreshing departure from the routine in the RTS genre. [March 2008]