Obviously, after eleven years the visuals haven't fared so well either. Back in the pre-GTA days Sega's take on San Fran was drool-worthy. Nowadays it's like driving through a bad cubist nightmare. Newer gamers who go in expecting some of the modern creature comforts – like traffic AI, lip synching or a physics system that makes a lick of sense – will be slapped in the face with a culture shock. Anyone who doesn't want their objective arrow to act like a broken ouija board won't like this game much either. [February 2011 p81]

Gameplay-wise, marginally better and prettier than the last. Content-wise, the worst example in recent memory of the tight-fisted annual sports game model. [Christmas 2014, p79]

This gallery space shooter shares the loosest of connections with the EVE mythos, and it lacks the frantic spectacle and VR dogfighting drama of Valkyrie. [January 2016, p80]

There are some neat ideas here, like the random modifiers that trigger in each area, and being able to turn on ‘oaths’ that increase the challenge while rewarding you with extra XP and coins. But these features aren’t original, and it’s hard for an unoriginal game to hold one’s interests after the 500th skeleton has had their head shot off. [July 2013, p79]

Someone forgot to add "fun" to the jetpack. [Mar 2010, p.75]

Familiar foes and even familiar ideas await to present a paint-by-numbers challenge. Despite occasional clipping, frequent atmosphere-breaking occurrences of bodies blinking out of existence, and an ally who literally warps to your next objective point, Burning Skies isn't a terrible game – it's just horribly average. Admirable ideas are matched by disappointing decisions. [July 2012, p80]

Taken on its own, this is a vaguely competent racer let down by some horrible technical issues. [Summer 2009, p.64]

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]

The 2017 model splutters far too often. For starters, the handling rarely feels right – it’s a strange mix of too heavy and too floaty. [October 2017, p80]

Splatterhouse's aesthetic is little bit late '80s and a little bit late '90s, like it started development a lot longer than a few years ago. From Rick's baggy nu-metal shorts to the crusty thrash riffage that occasionally paraphrases a good beat-down, it's all curiously dated in a cool kind of way – just like the license it seeks to re-imagine. While it lacks the production values and fluidity of God of War III, it does ultimately champion excessive carnage for excessive carnage's sake. [January 2011 p78]

Great idea, not so great execution. Contrast's really only suited for the hardcore puzzle lover. [January 2014, p82]

Dust 514 is ropier than a Japanese adult movie marathon. Movement is clunky, combat feels archaic, and this war takes place on worlds so drab they look like a rip off of Futurama’s Neutral Planet. This is yet another paid DLC bear trap. [September 2013, p80]

Rain World may not be the most forgiving adventure, but stick with it through its trickier times, and when it all comes together it’s capable of producing some genuinely brilliant moments. [June 2017, p76]

Killzone is only for the most curious of fans who want to see what the franchise was like before it got good (see: Killzone 2). Everybody else should dodge this draft and enlist elsewhere. [January 2013, p65]

If Defiance were purely offline you wouldn’t look at it twice. Objects wink out of existence, characters have little weight, and unless you’re in a team the enemies are tough. But it will get under your skin. [June 2013, p74]

Like him or otherwise, Eddie Van Halen is a guitar hero, no doubt. This game just doesn't reflect that. [Mar 2010, p.76]

The gameplay and look might not rock your world, but the story just might. [August 2014, p70]

Thankfully, PlayStation VR Worlds is a crowd-pleaser solution. It’s essentially the Wii Sports of Sony’s PS VR. [Christmas 2016, p73]

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

A missed opportunity. Entwined could have been something extra special, but is ultimately forgettable instead. [September 2014, p74]

Time Crisis isn't exactly gaming's Hamlet, but Razing Storm is actually a lot more dumbed down than Time Crisis 4. Deadstorm Pirates is the third game and requires a big install. It's Time Crisis with pirates. Pirates armed with laser targeting fully-automatic flintlock pistols. We'll let that description hang [December 2010 p73]

It lacks the bells and whistles, but give Blacklight a chance and you'll be pleasantly surprised. [January 2014, p79]

The main reason you will enjoy it is because the twin analogue stick controls are as simple as they are rewarding and each tackle is a cacophony of limbs that is extremely visceral. [July 2010 p73]

The battles are greatly improved over The Last Hope, but that’s squandered on a predictable journey that’s woefully short, and lacking in artistic direction. [September 2016, p70]

We love that Way of the Samurai 4 is batshit insane, and about as Japanese as a toilet that sings and shoots rainbows. Even still, that quirkiness quickly gives way to seriously rough edges. Clunky, repetitive combat isn't helped by comically bad animations, and when the visuals aren't bland, they're shredded to pieces by screen tearing. [November 2012, p78]

WayForward seems to have saved its 'A Game' for their own IP. Book of Memories feels odd, as though a Diablo has murdered a Silent Hill, and is traipsing about wearing its skin. [January 2013, p70]

Evolved's fun but you'll feel little attachment to it and once the campaign's over you won't ache to go back through. [November 2010 p78]

The overall presentation is pretty dire and it's got no spark. Daly's been on the wagon since July this year but that doesn't mean you can't still have a little fun. We've seen the guy tee off from a beer can. We're talking about a man who has admitted the only reason he doesn't lift weights is because his health club doesn't let him smoke there. As it stands ProStroke Golf is about as sedate as a sloth on a triple course of tranquilisers. [December 2010 p75]