As a standalone game it's the best music game available, even though it arguably has the weaker soundtrack compared to Rock Band and Rock Band 2. But it feels a little hollow as a standalone game; it needs you to build a massive library to fully exploit it. [January 2011 p76]

Football fans who go to sleep with their laces on and foam at the mouth at the prospect of creating a virtual team ... should tattoo this title’s release on their hand and sell their copy of FIFA 09 to the blind kid around the block. [Nov 2009, p.74]

In short, this sequel is a worthy heir. If Assassin’s Creed II was a cart full of hay, and the process of buying it represented an epic leap of faith from a tower, we would have no hesitation in telling you to dive right in. Hell, we’d push your arse into it. [Christmas 2009, p.90]

Borderlands 2 is smarter, sharper, bigger and funnier than the game it supersedes. Everything that made the 2009 title so memorable has been improved upon, designed for you to sink your life into. These coming months are going to be packed with excellent titles, but Borderlands 2 has enough potential and sheer stuff to keep you going well into 2013. You need this. [November 2012, p62]

I'll say it again: Killzone 2 is the best console first person shooter ever. It will be bested one day, and that is as it should be, but this game has set the proverbial bar so high we reckon it'll be the king for a good long while... Hail to the king, baby. [Feb 2009, p.66]

Collection is a title that you ought to play even if you played God of War and II back in 2005 and 2007. You ought to play it so you can marvel at the technical achievement, and to see how the games have shaped so many of those that we play today. [June 2010 p79]

It probably could have been a bit longer. [Oct 2009, p.64]

If we had the technology, we’d force all of you to lurch up out of your chairs and go buy this. [November 2016, p64]

If you don’t have others to play with, that doesn’t mean you should miss out on the fun, though, because have no doubt about it, Rayman Legends is one of the best platformers we’ve played in years. [October 2013, p79]

A worthy sequel to one of the best RPGs ever made. Noobs and casual gamers, it’s time to level up. [April 2014, p74]

A truly evergreen title that looks and handles noticeably better on your next-gen system. [February 2014, p79]

More than an update, this is an overhaul. If you have even a passing interest in basketball, or love sports games, get this now. [Dec 2011, p82]

This is the definitive version of Diablo III, both content wise and platform. [October 2014, p68]

Truly exceptional presentation, oodles of tactical nuance, and a rich universe. Blizzard’s first ever FPS can keep up with the genre big boys and then some. [August 2016, p70]

Brilliant in concept, truly great in execution despite a few stumbles. A must own title. [January 2013, p68]

While FIFA 12 is certainly solid, there's a big part of us that prefers FIFA 11. The tackling might have been brainless, but compared with the almost-there Tactical Defence it's almost the better devil. Last year's game might not have required the extra skill, but it was less frustrating. While FIFA 12 has fixed a lot of annoying bugs and introduced some great new features, at our next football gathering we'll still be kicking around with last year's champion. [November 2011 p72]

Seven hours of sweet nostalgic nectar. The true old-school needs to be dug up in NG+ however. [June 2015, p77]

A flawed masterpice for the ages. [Summer 2009, p.76]

Mind-bending and impossible to put down, Fez will have you thinking outside the box. [May 2014, p79]

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is a more than a worthy addition to the series canon. The similar setting of renaissance Italy will trick folks into assuming this is a half-arsed expansion, but honestly, this feels like Assassin's Creed 2.99. Don't be fooled by Brotherhood's cunningly familiar disguise. Mark it as a fresh target, pounce and take it down. [January 2011 p66]

Compared to GTAIV’s paint-by-numbers mission design, the average job in Chinatown Wars is more of a left-field, mayhem-filled shenanigan. This even extends to the wanted system; Huang doesn’t skulk away and hide from the heat like Nico – he prefers to utterly destroy pursuing cop cars in a crazy Blues Brothers-esque escape. [Christmas 2009, p.78]

The 2008 original was dubbed 'the PlayStation's Zelda' and received wide critical acclaim. Despite that, Okami was criminally underplayed and its shallow sales triggered the collapse of a great developer. It'd be an absolute sin to see that history repeated here. So buy this classic. Wolf it down. [Christmas 2012, p.74]

Controls have been upgraded to include a more intuitive feel, with the right stick now used for ball control as well as shooting. The old button controls are still applicable, it just depends if you want to keep up with the times, as well as how much flare you want to add to your floor game. [December 2012, p80]

Any PlayStation gamer looking to broaden his horizons really ought to take a chance on this. If you're like us, and you figured 'turn-based' was longhand for 'boring', you'll be shocked when your 1000th (sissy) save reads: 40 hours played. [November 2012, p68]

21st Century standards such as midlevel checkpoints and an inventory system that halts the action so you can equip yourself are eschewed in favour of, well, death. You can't even pause the game, so if you're in for this you're in it for the long haul, hours at a time. [August 2010 p76]

Even if you’re not coming into this with a brain full of nostalgia, the astonishing, zen-like freedom provided by Area X is unmissable VR. [Christmas 2016, p76]

Far from the footnote it could have been, Titanfall 2 is a huge, headline shock. In a standout year for the shooter, this interstellar adventure dares to go big and beyond the familiar. What it finds out on the frontier is worth seeing. [January 2016, p74]

Dark Souls III is all-consuming, it’ll drive you up the wall, and the sense of accomplishment you’ll get when everything clicks and you go on to finish that final boss... well, it’s simply beyond compare [June 2016, p70]