This is an exclusive to be coveted. Nioh takes the best of Dark Souls, marries it to Ninja Gaiden, and delivers a surprisingly robust action-RPG. Few will be able to resist the attack of this clone. [April 2016, p80]

Packed with added content and smart mechanical revisions. This PS4 version is worth revisiting, even if the original was nacho thing. [September 2014, p77]

While it’s a shade short of perfect, there is no comparison: you will find no finer strategy game on PS4. [Christmas 2016, p64]

A fantastic fighting title that will ensure your thumbs are well ready for SFIV. [Mar 2009, p.85]

For the most part even here the game has been improved, particularly on new characters like Black Canary. [August 2017, p70]

A best-in-class puzzler that in no way caters to the lowest common denominator. Punishingly difficult. Extremely rewarding. [April 2016, p68]

Where Street Fighter IV feels like a measured and calculated game of chess, BlazBlue feels more like a game of basketball: it’s easy to get the basics, but once you’ve got to grips with its intricacies you’ll feel be slam-dunking and showing off. [Apr 2010, p.74]

The best soccer game on the market. [December 2008, p.74]

Easily one of the best downloadable titles on the Vita. Grab it pronto. [June 2013, p80]

Codemasters has a record of making its racing games shine visually and aurally and DiRT 3 is no different... Each vehicle has its own timbre, and with the inclusion of the riotous Group B cars and bespoke Gymkhana terriers the soundscape has been pushed further than ever before. Revving them out to redline and listening to the motor screaming and straining the bolts is a primordial joy where noise and fury fuel your desire to push these things harder. [July 2011 p.80]

There are also some breathtakingly elegant scene shifts where you play stints of classic, NYPD detective Max. Punchy script and Max's metaphor-ridden inner monologues are milked for all they're worth via action-text and motion comics. Some may find the constant artefacting effects distracting – but we found it accentuated emotional beats nicely, and suited Max's boozehound view of the world. Whichever way you look at it, Max Payne 3 is slicker than owl crap on an iceberg. [June 2012, p68]

It looks a treat, plays a treat and you can beat the crap out of Anthony Mundine, and unless Kyle Sandilands or Uwe Boll decide to lace up their gloves, it just doesn’t get much better than that. [Aug 2009, p.66]

Compelling, different, addictive - Heavy Rain is all of these things. Will appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. [Mar 2010, p.70]

The Bat could not have hoped for a better send off. Graphically astounding, narratively compelling, and featuring two utility belts full of new gadgets. This is bat-time very, very well spent. [September 2015, p72]

There’s no denying Tomb Raider is a heavily influenced work, both mechanically and aesthetically (its nods to Neil Marshall’s The Descent are so happy to be there at one point Lara even re-enacts the “girlrising-out-of-sea-of-blood” scene). While it offers nothing wholly original, its salvaged parts combine to produce an experience that is consistently better than anything its own heroes have produced. [April 2013, p70]

Okay in solo, but offers must-own 4-person multiplayer madness. [May 2014, p83]

At its best, Tearaway is a wonderful celebration of Vita's creative potential. [January 2014, p74]

2013’s The Show is the complete package: amazing visuals with the capacity to fool unsuspecting relatives that you’ve temporarily forgot what country you woke up in and are watching televised baseball, and incredibly nuanced gameplay that’ll sprout a Louisville Slugger in the trousers of ardent fans of what’s allegedly America’s favourite pastime. [May 2013, p76]

FIFA 14 on PS4 is a worthy upgrade, but by and large is the same game you probably already own. If you’re still waiting for a complete overhaul... well let’s see what EA does next year. [Christmas 2013, p.81]

All you really need to know is that Hotline Miami is one of the best, and hardest to master, indie games to ever grace a PlayStation. That said, Hotline Miami still needs to be a permanent fixture on your PS3, and the Vita version executes train trips without mercy. [September 2013, p70]

Unlike Super Street Fighter IV each character here is truly unique; no two fighters are the same as each other so you're guaranteed of an interesting battle, and also longevity. This just feels like a better game all round, and while it feels great it's not for everyone. The flavour is distinctly Japanese, so if you've weaned yourself on countless anime and manga, and don't mind some Engrish, then Continuum Shift should be on your shelf right now [December 2010 p81]

A solid racing experience being far too "extreme" for its own good. [Oct 2009, p.72]

Impenetrable for twitch gamers, essential for patience imbued fantasy fans. [Jan 2010, p.72]

So it’s official, last year’s game wasn’t a fluke. PES really is back to where it belongs: at the top of the league. [December 2015, p68]

While the controls are a bit too sensitive making some levels torturous (especially the bonus stages where touching the environment means instant death), Velocity ends up being one of the most addictive and rewarding games ever made. We honestly can't get enough. [August 2012, p81]

Not to be underestimated. Runs like a dream, sucks you in with an addictive cycle of rage-reward like any real nightmare. [June 2015, p73]

If this game could be summarised with one image, it would be walking out of a bunker and seeing the city of San Francisco being torn apart by hundreds of Chimera ships - large and small. [Summer 2009, p.52]

Got a Vita and never played the original? Then get this. [August 2013, p77]