A shade too workmanlike in most areas. [Feb 2010, p.75]

An Android platformer ported over to Vita with little aplomb. A fun diversion, but only for a while. [November 2014, p77]

Not nearly as good as you remember it. Shooters have come a long, long way since the days of The Duke. [March 2015, p78]

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]

To the right crowd, hilarious. But overpriced and kinda stupid for everybody else. [Christmas 2014, p75]

Brilliant ideas, but the game feels old. Worth a weekend rental but that’s it. [October 2013, p76]

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India does little to curry favour from fans left unimpressed by the last game. [February 2015, p72]

The default end-to-end camera is still a massive pain when it switches for an intercept. Players, most notably the FRF and 2RF, love to drift out of position and hang out on the wings. Also, while expanded controls are welcomed, the game mishandles them – you'll punch walls when any tackle before an intercept gets interpreted as a grubber kick after you gain possession. [December 2012, p75]

It’s gaming’s equivalent of the earnest-but-terrible B-movie; its manifold flaws made enjoyable and riotously funny by its good intentions. [February 2015, p75]

In some matches it almost feels like the AI is taking the piss, effortlessly stringing together combinations and reversals, when it is nowhere near as easy to do this yourself. There's a lot of assumed knowledge and familiarity with the franchise, which can be disconcerting to newcomers. Positioning is key for finishers and signature moves and can get frustrating when your opponent is whaling on you almost effortlessly. [December 2012, p77]

After a weekend with Hazard, you may want to return him. [Apr 2009, p.77]

It's the kind of game you'd hire on a rainy Saturday night because you got to the video shop too late and all the good games were already gone – but then you get it home and it's actually alright. It's plain, simplistic, and totally no-frills, and you'll want to mute the "angry white man" soundtrack immediately, but on the other hand… sick jumps, bro. [June 2012, p79]

Quirky but has been done better and many times before. Wait for Ni No Kuni instead. [December 2012, p78]

New Little King's Story could have been a surprise hit. But, as it stands, all its charm and whimsy is marred by poor menu design and technical issues that aren't game-breaking, just a royal pain in the butt. [December 2012, p78]

Leaving you with no indication on how to progress might have been quirky, innovative game design in 1996, but in 2012, it's an exercise in pure frustration. Replaying the initial laps over and over again, just so you can have another crack only makes matters worse. The original Saturn version of the game is on offer too if you are so nostalgically inclined, but it still doesn't manage to escape the fundamental inadequacies NiGHTS possesses. [December 2012, p80]

A missed opportunity. Entwined could have been something extra special, but is ultimately forgettable instead. [September 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]

Get Even needed to get even better to be more than a chocolatey handful of our favourite things.[August 2017, p76]

Amusing and inoffensive, it's a winning formula. The only problem here is that the PS Vita version has a serious case of port-itis. Symptoms include itty-bitty characters and platforming elements that have clearly been optimised for living room-sized flat-screens, and noticeable compression artifacts in the full-motion video and spoken dialogue. [January 2013, p71]

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

There are more immediate giggles to be had in the Story Mode, which is rib-tickling to wade through, although "wade" is definitely the word. It really just boils down to running around dodging either projectiles or up-close Family Guy caricatures, like angry college guys with deadly melee bongs. Then you either cap 'em or bash 'em, and maybe collect a few things while being funneled towards your next inane but comical goal. [January 2013, p72]

You need to sit patiently and wait for the perfect opportunity. Only mark this as a serious target after much time, patching, and price drops. [July 2017, p77]

It contains everything you'd expect of a middle-of-the-road puzzle game, and it's executed competently. But the creators of this game suffered from a paucity of ambition. There is a tsunami of innovation crashing through the worlds of online and interactive learning, Rocksmith being but one example. [January 2013, p74]

Battles are random. You’re dumped in at the deep end with little indication of how to do what you’re meant to, and when compared to FFXIII everything feels so last century. The characters have the same emotion as a corpse. It’s not at all streamlined, and graphics are washed out and low-res; it’ll take the most hardcore JRPG fan – and we’re emphasizing the ‘J’ – to accept this. A pity, as the townships and world are intricately designed. [Apr 2010, p.76]

As another foray into the world of interactive storytelling, it's an interesting experiment. But as a game, it doesn't come together nearly as well as it should. [December 2013, p74]

We're happy with the decent foundations that TNA Impact! has laid out, but the content - which is a big deal in wrestling games - is paltry. [December 2008, p.80]

Alright, the new Overwatch it ain’t – but it’s far from tearable. (Sorry.) [July 2017, p83]

Short and puzzling in more ways than one. A clunky oddity. [August 2012, p81]