Being a Japanese attempt at Skyrim, Dragon's Dogma gets a bit overly ambitious in places. Exploration is not a case of 'if you see it, you can go there'. Firstly, because seeing the horizon is difficult; Dogma's graphics engine renders vistas with all the detail of a waterpainting. Secondly, you're held back by locked border towns, or high level enemy mobs, until you have some hours and major quests under your belt. Just as irking is the lack of authenticity to the towns and the NPCs within. You can ransack a house and sell the crap back to the homeowner (while happily stabbing them), or you can score XP by killing their pets. [June 2012, p74]

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]

Yes, it’s punishing. But it’s the good, sexy kind of punishment. [February 2015, p74]

Never before has a game so gruesomely represented the impact that 9.3 grams of lead travelling at almost one kilometre per second has on the human body. Thanks to this game's disturbing X-Ray Killcam, players are treated (subjected?) to a clinical view of each bullet passing through their target's vital organs whenever they pull off an especially good shot – and by 'good' we mean 'life-ending'. It's brutal, it's disturbing, and we're not quite sure how it got past Australia's over-eager censors. [June 2012, p76]

Absorbing, personable, and a lot cleverer than it initially lets on. The wildcard Tales series continues to impress. [October 2013, p81]

Beyond the addictive action, where RCR really shines is with its irreverent comedy and fan-service references. Expect to snort milk out of your nose when The Player randomly codecs a Solid Snake wannabe who responds in broken English. Even if you weren't gaming back then you'll get a grin when you're given a DeLorean and asked to run over 88 people to fill your Flax Combobulator. [December 2012, p75]

There’s a wealth of new content here, and it’s all been given the love and care this beloved franchise deserves. Whether you’re a veteran, or somebody who doesn’t know the business end of a keyblade, give this a shot. [October 2013, p81]

Coupled with a stronger focus on the sound and feel of gunplay, gamers are granted the chance to pull off memorable robberies worthy of Ocean’s Eleven, with shoot-outs as intense as Three Kings, unfortunately minus the Clooney. [October 2013, p82]

Infinifactory sounds like paying Earth money to play as the most under-paid drone in the shittiest vocation ever, but you’d be surprised by how much job satisfaction there is to be had here. [February 2015, p77]

The single player mode is quite challenging at any difficulty level as the momentum of any battle frequently shifts. There are some balancing issues (particularly on the easier difficulties), which may make going it alone less appealing. Versus and online, however, is where Skullgirls really shines and will keep you equally entertained and frustrated. [June 2012, p80]

Thankfully, Sega's made some tweaks to its Sonic 4-mula that manage to both advance the platforming while bringing the 'feel' of things closer in line with the series' halycon days on the Mega Drive. [June 2012, p 81]

Far and away the best flight game we've played - a huge surprise and thoroughly recommended. [Oct 2009, p.68]

Stupidly charming visuals add to the sense of weight of your floating cloud god as he rains blasts of energy on the demons who are impeding your pilgrims' progress. Damn tricky, too. [June 2012, p 81]

The formula's barely changed since Just Dance 3. Brightly coloured representations dance on screen, you follow with a Move controller in hand. Or you can do as we did towards the end and sit on the couch and wave it as convincingly and energetically as you can. This works just enough to keep the score counter ticking up, but you'll never hit the max number of stars or nail the new and tough sub challenges that way. These sub challenges ask you to achieve a certain rank in specific part of songs. We just want to let our aching arms recover. [December 2012, p81]

There are a bunch of new modes from previous versions to challenge your timing and they're insanely addictive. It won't just be your gems that'll disappear, it'll be your life. Our (life-crippling) highlight is the Poker mode. [June 2012, p 81]

Joe Danger 2 is tough, especially in the exclusive-to-PS3 bonus levels. Tough, but not unfair. You'll need to memorise the courses as you fling your vehicle through the air, and each of machines feels beautifully weighted and satisfying to control. [December 2012, p83]

A wild ride, and worth the price of admission, but you've been on this one before. [December 2010 p71]

Doesn't reinvent the wheel or go above last year's offering. Just a solid fan-service that delights much more that it 'infuhreriates'. [July 2015, p80]

It would be foolish of us to pretend that Sine Mora is for everyone. The fact is most of us simply don't have the time or patience necessary to properly appreciate a game that demands so much from the player. But for those who do: buy it. Buy it now. [February 2013, p79]

A large dash-step behind the generous content found in Injustice 2, but still represents a knuckle sandwich we’ll happily chew on for months. [August 2017, p72]

A polished collection that every Sony fan should have in their... collection. [September 2014, p81]

Nice one, Clever Beans – this is how you do "casual". [January 2013, p74]

Greatness was so close, and yet so far. [August 2017, p75]

Though the formula hasn't exactly been built from the green ground piece up, Telltale has gone above and beyond our expectations. Take, for example, the fact that Middle-earth is one gigantic, seamless hub world that can be be trodden across (or fast traveled through) from one end to the other. [January 2013, p64]

Even if you spend ages noodling around there, Gnog won’t last you very long. [August 2017, p77]

The top seed of tennis games made even better. [July 2009, p.83]

As an interactive story it's one hell of a good piece of entertainment. Taking your first tentative steps into this seriously rich universe, planting the seeds for larger implications later in the series, and tangling with one of the best antagonists ever, Saren, is a trip well worth taking. There's a rich, colourful cast you'll want to meet for the first time (Urdnot Wrex in particular) and very poignant moments to be had (e.g. becoming a Spectre). These are watershed gaming moments that the ME2's 'introductory' comic book could never hope to encapsulate. [January 2013, p69]

For the money you're laying down, Deathspank is like the glittering bags of swag it depicts. Highly-amusing and addictive as all hell. [September 2010 p78]