At its core this is Konami's Ninja Turtles beat 'em up re-skinned for Matt Groening's cash. But whereas everybody gets a rad turtle in TMNT, one poor bastard in every four player posse gets stuck with Marge and a vacuum. [April 2012, p80]

There’s stunning art direction and addictive platforming, but none of it’s reflective of a reboot that’s risen to new heights. The old edge has been maintained, not honed. [August 2016, p68]

Stupid, emergent fun that's unlike any game you've ever play before. Two hour run-time hurts the package if you aren't a local co-op person. [June 2014, p83]

A handful of extra content and a bit of a spit-shine do not a great next-gen package make. [May 2014, p75]

Post-"Dead Space," this just doesn't cut the mustard. [Summer 2009, p.72]

It's slickly presented, but it's just not R-Type. [Jan 2009, p.79]

The visuals may be as appetizing as earwax, but this is still inexplicably fun, especially with a cohort. [March 2014, p79]

Few differences from last year. [Feb 2010, p.75]

There’s a lot here – a lot of scrap to collect and cars to push off the side of the road – but nothing gluing it all together. [December 2015, p75]

Like a crack dealer in council flats the first hit is free, then the really good stuff is gonna cost you depending on what you want. However, it’s a thrill you’ve had before, and unless you’re really pining for the past (and don’t have all these old titles on your myriad other handheld and home devices) you can leave these alone as they’re presented as arcade perfect with no upgrades. [May 2013, p77]

Starts slow then builds into a time sink, and each victory feels like a monumental win. Tacticians and action fans finally have something in common to obsess over. [October 2013, p80]

Think of Arslan as a fast-food joint’s seasonal range: a few flourishes make it more appealing than the standard menu, but it still ain’t top-tier chow. [May 2016, p78]

Madness Returns is in a tricky position. It could never offer pistol-quick mechanics because of the character design and it often feels like a chore to finish a stage. You'll also probably get pretty tired of finding and shooting switches to reveal a hidden platform, or slogging through another round of five or six enemies. Yet it dares to be different, so if you're happy to admire it for is own sake then you should find some fun amongst the insanity. [August 2011 p74]

In many ways, Touch my Katamari feels more like game for your phone than a Vita title: incredibly accessible, yet designed for small bursts only. [April 2012, p76]

Pretty dull. You'll grind rather than grin your way to victory in this limited ride. [Dec 2011, p82]

Not a cut above the main franchise, but a decent stab at a spin-off. [July 2015, p83]

Put the time into it and get used to its unconventional controls and it’ll eventually wriggle its way into your heart. [July 2017, p72]

As with the rest of Virtua Tennis' shtick it's a simple system that hides its complexity well. Along with an addictive, board game-style World Tour mode,it's hard not to recommend Virtua Tennis 4. Perhaps the stellar motion controls are relegated to throwaway mini-game, rather than being fully integrated. [June 2011 p 79]

I'd say for “fans of the genre” but this game simply isn't good for anyone. [May 2015, p75]

The Vita’s augmented reality answer to Pokémon. [Christmas 2013, p81]

Played as intended, with three mates in one room, Screencheat is the most fun you can have in a local multiplayer setting. Worth owning, just to have on your HDD for parties. [April 2016, p71]

The dialogue choices aren’t exactly Mass-Effect-calibre, but it’s a welcome means of disrupting the match-match-match routine. And of finding new ways to insult Reigns every week, should you so desire. [Christmas 2016, p65]

It’s balls-out hard pretty much from the get go, demanding pixel-perfect (snarf) jumps and committing entire levels to memory. There’s a point where it goes from being cute to very annoying, though. [March 2013, p80]

Exploration and experimentation that's clever but runs out of steam far too quickly. [October 2014, p83]

Only for diehard fans interested in the mildly enjoyable, but highly repetitive gameplay. [September 2013, p77]

Production wise, there's little reason why this couldn't have been on PS2. With a little patience and a lot of forgiveness, you will have fun with Nier and it's very easy to get into, but there are far richer experiences elsewhere. [June 2010 p79]

Only buy into this with a dedicated online crew, or watch your enthusiasm for Battleborn die in its infancy. [July 2016, p70]

If you like Terry Gilliam's work you'll love the art aesthetic here as you romp through art history, visiting historical figures as you go. It's quite funny if you can appreciate its sense of humour, too. [October 2012, p79]

Everything about EDF 2017 is a slog. Graphically atrocious and sonically awful, low-res buildings comically disappear after being grazed by heavy weaponry. While the bugs and bots twitch and spasm around their own character models, the bipedal robots are the worst offenders here, often getting caught up in their own limbs. [March 2013, p79]

Much more fun than it is frustrating, and don’t go in expecting evolution. That said, this is still a quill in the cap for a genre that is slowly making a comeback. [June 2017, p72]

Technically solid and fun to engage with. Its bland narrative and iffy UI will cause genre newbies to eject prematurely. [June 2014, p82]

Ostensibly, Lost Planet 2 has been built with multiplayer in mind. As a single player experience is competent but slightly underwhelming. [June 2010 p72]

This year's game is also more of a sim than ever before as the handling model is tougher to crack than a Kevlar-coated walnut... Yet, it's ultimately not worth your time. There's an amazing sense of speed but the feedback's muted in the way the bikes brake, and the first time you jam on the anchors you'll still cascade into the gravel. Adjusting to this is by an approximation of feel – there's little visual indication or general feedback that your rider is yanking on the front lever and squeezing the ball of his foot on the brake pedal, so you just need to guess how much space to give yourself. It's also about as pretty as a bag full of elbows. [June 2011 p.79]

Tenchu's in a dire need to go back to its roots. [June 2009, p.70]

It's anything but predictable, which is good, and there's lots to see, which is great, but it's also a bit sluggish, which isn't. [January 2013, p78]

Great design and syrupy animation. Busy without being chaotic, and humourous too. [December 2012, p81]

It's unforgiving as all hell, too: After you've barely scraped through a particularly insane dungeon, you might run afoul of a boss. This boss will, without fail, instantly kick your ass until you memorise his wicked ways, just like the old days. Then it's back to the start of everything with you. [February 2013, p80]

Red Barrels has tried to create something rather different to the first Outlast, but the result is a game that, while feeling undeniably grander than its forebear, is considerably less enjoyable. [July 2017, p68]

It’s never a good thing when gamers have to blindly drop their hard-earned cash on an unpolished ride. Especially one whose engine needed way more time spent up on the hoist in the tuning phase. [Christmas 2016, p58]

It's a superb rally game capturing the spirit and the thrills. Recommended. [November 2010 p74]

A tactical and accessible real-time RPG that's well worth a look for Dark Souls fans, and those against self-torment. [Christmas 2014, p70]

How long that buzz takes to wear off is down to how much respect for ASCII games you really have. [November 2016, p67]

Buoyed by a promising concept and Suda51's reputation, we expected and experience comparable to God Hand or Bayonetta. What we got is witless – an embarrassment that shames itself and the industry as a whole. It's idiocy that outstays its in record time. [July 2012, p78]

Doesn't push beat 'em ups forward with meaningful mechanical advancements. Worth a bash, though. [October 2014, p77]

Alone in the Dark and Sin City collide to shine a light for imperfect (yet mesmerising) adventuring. [May 2015, p79]

If you have all the accessories to play this game as it is meant to be digested (Move, Sharp Shooter, a decent online connection and four non-idiotic mates on standby for co-op) it's one heck of a good game. Lack even two of those prerequisites though and SOCOM: Special Forces will come across like a fairly standard operation that takes a bit too much liberty with the descriptor 'special'. [June 2011 p68]

MXGP isn't without its flaws, but if you're a motocross fan, you don't have a lot of options. [July 2014, p80]

A tidy little game that will please comic book fans. [Christmas 2008, p.88]

Ignore the lure of this worm and certainly don't wriggle over to buy it. This is a trap. [December 2013, p83]

Team Ninja takes one more stab and tweaks a below par sequel into being barely on the pace. Dismemberment has been reintroduced and shitty button mashing kills are now automated. [June 2013, p80]

Has made big steps beyond V2, particularly in terms of level size and multiplayer options. Still requires polish. [September 2014, p68]

Despite the heritage, and the memories of the time (if you did play it) promising a nostalgic trip, it's a reminder of how far we've come. In the end, Doom 3 just feels old. [Christmas 2012, p.81]

Red River stands out as the more intelligent but vaguely scruffier cousin amongst the likes of Call of Duty, Homefront and Crysis 2. What you have is a thinking man's game that begs to be played in co-op. PS3 owners have been screaming for a great game to play with mates who will work towards the same goal, and this is it. [June 2011 p.73]

The result is a charmingly clunky yarn that doesn’t wow, but has more to offer than clichés alone. [July 2017, p73]

A nice little curiosity, but seriously, Street Fighter V is out. [Mar 2009, p.78]

A nail-biting experience needing a few more coats of polish to stand out. [April 2014, p76]

You're still mindlessly hacking 'n' slashing your way through clones, but now you'll also engage in mini-games that use the gyro and touchscreen in very inelegant ways. [April 2012, p80]

An affordable little gem that will merrily kill your time. [February 2013, p80]

The fighting component, however, is where the game hits a stumbling block. More depth to the combat could have really made this a winner, as you really only have a dozen or so regular attacks and "specials" (and that's when you level cap out at 30) combined, so it can get old after a while. SOE may be hard pressed to sustain interest. [April 2011, p.76]

Get Smart, Dr Strangelove and Sean Connery-era Bond collide in order to inspire one martini-smooth spy escapade. [November 2014, p74]

The Godfather II starts off as a robust crime caper, but it alienates fans of the film and confuses those who haven't seen it. [June 2009, p.67]

A mess in need of a thorough overhaul. [July 2009, p.81]

We can’t help but feel as though this port was booted out of the door without so much as a kiss goodbye. Case in point: you still have the option to toggle ‘vibration’ on and off in the settings menu. Come on, guys... really? The Jak and Daxter Collection should be played by anybody who hasn’t already. But our advice: skip past this port and go for the home console version instead. [September 2013, p74]

All the PC features, just hastily stomp-ported onto your Vita screen. [June 2014, p83]

It’s an imaginative concept, executed poorly. Unless you’re a Lego fan with acres of patience, stick with Minecraft, block enthusiasts. [June 2017, p79]

MotoGP 15 is, by default, the best PS4 motorcycle sim out there. [September 2015, p76]

It was a worthwhile dig, but it just isn't a patch on genre leaders. [May 2009, p.64]

It's hard to imagine casual types persisting with Apache for too long. It's certainly good enough for a game of its ilk but, once the novelty of pounding the ground wears thin, that's it. With just a single type of helicopter available it lacks the variety you get in most other air combat sims. [March 2011, p78]

Problematically, because the dancing is scored by your hand movements alone, you don't really have to be particularly invested in proceedings to fudge your way through... Your overall enjoyment of Michael Jackson The Experience will obviously depend on how much you love MJ and how blitzed you are on Fruity Lexia. That said, if you're expecting a package on par with the likes of The Beatles: Rock Band forget about it. While the latter was more or less a love letter to the music of The Beatles, Michael Jackson The Experience is a late night booty call. The King of Pop deserved better. [June 2011 p.78]

A busy-as-hell palette meets repetitive gameplay and an uninspired story with no surprises. [November 2014, p77]

Fun in small doses... it's a good knockabout title. [June 2011 p.74]

Plenty of Guts, then, but not enough glory. [May 2017, p80]

Not bad, just disappointing. The best combat in the series spoiled by subpar plot and too-often-iffy visuals. [March 2014, p74]

Unsexy visuals, thin solo, and menu heavy. Only the hardcore won't look for the ejection procedure. [December 2013, p81]

The Golf Club is by no means a perfect game, but charm sure does go a long way. [October 2014, p78]

Want a robust, strategic, deep VR game? Grab this, but be prepared to digest it in small chunks over time. [Christmas 2016, p77]

Each time you start [a minigame] it feels like you're forcing yourself to drink your own urine whilst frying in the desert: you don’t want to do it, but must to make it to the end. [Sept 2009, p.66]

Looks gorgeous, rewards driving out of your comfort zone, has pleasing physics and sense of velocity... but needlessly online-only, pumped full of irritating live-action pap, and runs out of fuel early. [January 2015, p77]

London 2012 is not a pretty game. In fact, it's rather horrid in most respects: athletes are modelled competently, but move with all the poise and grace of a stop-motion Terminator. Menus and other interface elements are all rendered in that garish, angular style that has sadly come to define the London games. [September 2012, p74]

There's no faulting the quality and content. But yeah, wait for a serious price drop. [Christmas 2012, p.75]

Gone are the wide beams and lovely safety fences around the edges of levels that we'd grown used to. They're replaced with a brand of fiendishness that'll have you tearing your hair out, punching objects and hurling your Vita across the room. Only to pick it up and have another, begrudging, go. [December 2012, p74]

Sigma 2 Plus might still satisfy die-hard fans, but its best moments come at a price. The game’s uneven combat, frustrating camera and shoddy performance make it a task of perseverance over entertainment. [May 2013, p75]

Beyond a party game with a crowd, there’s very little in the way of a compelling single-player mode here. Instrument-based games do a great job of making playing solo fun. Karaoke Revolution does not. [May 2010 p.79]

In the end the experience of piloting an F1 car around the world's premiere race tracks isn't here. This is one racer that gets the black and white flag for bad behavior. [April 2012, p74]

Essentially, the most entertainment here comes from (finally) tweaking your 'AC' to a preferred fighting style, applying tactics to infiltrate enemy lines and using the rocket boots to skate about and scale buildings. Frustration creeps right back in again when you realise how counterintuitive the menus are. [May 2012, p77]

There are 14 different rule sets to check out, but all of them fall victim to repetition. Gameplay revolves around dragging your finger across the front display to choose the area where you wish to hit, before pulling it down and then flicking. Rinse. Repeat. Woo. Pass. [April 2012, p78]

One for the masochists out there. Rewardingly difficult until an unfair bug kills you, then you'll want to throw your Vita. [October 2014, p75]

Like a new wrestler getting a push, the fans will determine if 2K’s series succeeds or fails. [April 2015, p80]

Possibly the greatest movie-inspired title ever. This positively oozes atmosphere and is a must for the fans. [Mar 2010, p.72]

Content-wise, F1 2015 has shed more parts than a car cheese-grated into a barrier. Fancy new visuals and some engineer add-ons prevent this from total disqualification. [October 2015, p72]

Being Sherlock Holmes is a welcome of pace. He's no Downey Jr., but this videogame version is still an amoral prick who 's totally down with poisoning plebs, breaking and entering, prodding corpses, and threatening some of the ugliest children ever rendered digitally. Aside from explosions, QTEs and loot, more could you want from a game? [December 2012, p76]

There are moments of brilliance, in particular the Riviera track where the barriers zip by as you zig around the corners and fly along the straights, though there’s just not enough charm here to keep us engaged. [Nov 2009]

Fun in small doses with a mate, otherwise monotonous, ugly, and done better elsewhere. [January 2015, p82]

Does the job, but will disappoint even fans of the anime. [Apr 2009, p.80]

While a bit old fashioned, Tekken Tag Tournament succeeds as an HD update and a cheerfully robust brawler. [January 2012, p.70]

Multiplayer is pretty limited in variety, all team-based, and with a fistful of maps. Couple this annoyance with the fact that the rest of the game doesn't attempt to raise the bar in any way – and only lasts a paltry five hours – and Blood Stone starts to feel like a very pedestrian shooter. Honestly, we doubt even Xenia Onatopp on herbal Viagra could squeeze thrills out of this short ride. [January 2011 p79]

Rev-heads will adore it, others will struggle. [Christmas 2008, p.93]

Could've been worse. It's blurst. [December 2014, p79]