Stressful platforming action made infuriating by a bad camera. [January 2013, p78]

Don’t put out an APB on what is a hilarious yet technically flawed Lego adventure. Apprehend it for little ‘uns at a reduced price. [June 2017, p77]

Lacking challenge and there's not enough new content to justify that full-priced purchase. [December 2013, p81]

[O]nline modes can be great fun, but they have one glaring weakness – within a week of release, they were all but deserted online. Getting into a 2v2 competitive match – which is the only thing that anyone has been playing at all – has been a struggle since launch, which is never promising. If you've got friends who also bought the game, this won't be a problem, but if you're hoping for something to play against random folk online we wouldn't expect this one to have a sudden huge surge in players. [February 2013, p76]

Inoffensive busy-work for the ankle-biters. Nothing more. Nothing less. [December 2013, p81]

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

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

Better than most kids games, but has issues. [Summer 2009, p.80]

Big Sky: Infinity manages to give the player a fun shooter that surprises each time they jump in, but have coupled these good times with utterly broken scoring systems. Why should our latest effort in Arcade mode be judged against the session that opened immediately with a score multiplier zone that severely boosted the points we got from those first enemies? Isn't it unfair that this boss fight occurred so early on? [February 2013, p81]

Fanging through the snow just gets old far too quickly. [Summer 2009, p.79]

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

Casual egg-chasers who played the predecessor could sidestep this and not miss much. But those of you hard-headed types with ears too cauliflowered to hear our warnings will probably buy it regardless. [August 2013, p77]

Generic in most senses of the word, but still dumb fun with friends. [August 2013, p80]

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is a compromise between two extremes, which is frustrating because there are so many meaningless textual back-and-forths in between the much improved adventuring that, every now and again, main charrie Neptune will even break the fourth wall and complain about it. It’s kind of like Hideo Kojima stopped by while this game was being made. [May 2013, p76]

If you’re an avid cyclist you’d be much happier outside on a bike, getting fit and savaging your sperm count, not suffering this flat, endorphinless facsimile. [August 2013, p78]

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]

Sure, there are neat ideas here, no question. But problems with Dead Star’s mechanics mean this is one space race that’s only occasionally worth running. [August 2016, p76]

While your characters are nimble – able to double jump, slide on the spot, cling on to walls, ceilings and sporadically placed platforms – the melee combat is pretty tiresome as enemies overwhelm often by number rather than by skill. Cross your fingers you have a ranged attack in your repertoire else you're screwed. [July 2011 p84]

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]

Epic Mickey 2 smacks of the brilliant game designer many of us admire as Spector attempts to redefine what has defined his great games for years within the confines of a world that can't really allow it. The end result is it's a compromise that, by default, isn't able to wholeheartedly please anyone. [Christmas 2012, p.72]

If you’re all for the idea of chuckling at a game that’s under budget, intentionally offensive and a bit archaic – here you go. But when you find out that same punchline includes a pitiful seven hour runtime and a 70 dollar price tag, we think it’ll probably wipe the smirk right of your face. [August 2013, p72]

Despite a few rays of fun, F.E.A.R. 3 is a production that offers gloom, minus any impending sense of doom. As an action-based first-person shooter it's solid enough to stand alongside is contemporaries in the faceless, grey-brown ranks of the FPS genre, but it does nothing to stand out from the status quo. [September 2011 p71]

While the episode does provide a conclusion to Max’s bittersweet story, its splintered things apart more than tied them all together. [January 2015, p75]

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]

Completely average. [Nov 2008, p.102]

Even the hardcore will be sorely tested by this. [December 2014, p78]

You'll never powerslide around a corner. Seems odd, doesn't it? Kart racers in general have implemented this move since day dot, and while it's one missing attribute that sets Race Stars apart from the competition (apart from the official licence, of course) it feels weird and frustrating. Tight corners need to be taken wide as the karts are especially stubborn in the twisty bits. [Christmas 2012, p.80]