You’d think a game about wanton destruction with split-screen co-op would offer lots of content and fun times to chew on. Sadly, that cud turns to crud in a few short hours. [November 2015, p74]

Great 4-player split-screen multi. Otherwise, a non-classic that didn't need to return. [June 2014, p83]

For those expecting a Tarantino-like exploration of the consequences of being a bad person, you're looking at the wrong series. It didn't take long for us to realise that Ninja Gaiden 3 has more cheese than a fondue party, but it works in the favour of this frantic over-the-top hack-and-slash title. [April 2012, p64]

What you’re left with is Max Payne 3 if it was stripped of half its budget, created by Michael Bay and forced into a co-operative experience. Fans might get a kick out of the fire and limb filled explosions, and the cameos from older characters in the series, but make no mistake, it will be short-lived. [June 2013, p78]

Grey, old, and well beyond retirement, KOF XII is irredeemable. [Oct 2009, p.74]

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

Orcs is unrefined in spots, but Cyanide punches massively above its weight in terms of production values and thought-provoking storytelling. Go in expecting some rough edges, but also expect to be surprised. [Christmas 2012, p.78]

You can easily lose a few hours stabbing your Vita to Smooth Criminal, Thriller and Beat It. It sucks then, that those hours (two of them) represent the entire runtime of this. [April 2012, p79]

The biggest problem is a lack of variety in the stages and enemies. Aside from the odd boss fight you're just hewing your way through the same old scum with the same old tactics. Couple that with the fact that this offers less story than a homemade sextape and this gets old, fast. [March 2012, p65]

At its core, Epic Mickey 2 is still an enjoyable throwback to the golden days of mascot platformers – albeit an incredibly unfocused one – but it simply doesn’t shine on the small screen. [September 2013, p74]

BigBig has put its shoddiest mini-games first, and mastering these challenges to get to the 'good' stuff is very tedious. Even if you do stick with it, the sense of reward soon give way to growing disappointment, thanks to re-skinned repetition. Not good. [March 2012, p64]

Improves upon the original in only minor ways, is still repetitive and reliant on you ignoring its unpolished nature, because bewbs. [August 2014, p77]

Though this game can offer fleeting firefight fun it is constantly dragged down by questionable design and a severe lack of polish. Whichever way your eye meets it, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is out of this world ordinary and to expect anything better from it would be lunar-cy. [September 2011 p80]

Good grief, this game. Does anybody know if PSN purchases are refundable? [October 2014, p79]

But for the last round in this mag’s Reviews chamber? This one’s hardly a magic bullet. [April 2016, p83]

Like a demolition job, Dangerous Golf starts off with impressive explosions but clouds of dust soon obscure the chaos. [September 2016, p79]

Initially exhilarating, but ultimately deflating, its sensational setup is disappointingly squandered. [October 2016, p77]

The game’s dystopian, drowned burg a pleasure to explore. It’s just a pity the engine is a little bit of a shambles. [November 2015, p78]

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

Welcome to brown town, ladies and gents. Escape is impossible. [August 2012]

The handful of events last for about one afternoon. [Mar 2010, 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]

Start the Party! is great for younger kids, but the young at heart will find the fun is spread pretty thinly. The game also doesn't completely live up to its title as a 'party starter', or its exclamation point for that matter. This mainly because 'multiplayer' is a missed opportunity thanks to it relying upon a pass-and-play style rather than head-to head. [November 2010 p67]

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]

A decent PS3 game swung low enough to limbo under our already low expectations. [February 2014, p82]

When a well-planned incursion comes to fruition, the game is rewarding; the rest of the time, it's plagued with camera weirdness, clipping errors and a clunky combat system. [April 2012, p75]

Buggy as hell, and multiplayer is severely lacking. [Christmas 2012, p.83]

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]