Great multiplayer. Quality, yet anorexic single-player. Knock [20] points off this score if you're an offline-only gamer. [April 2011, p.68]

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]

While the learning curve is a little steep, the combat and weaponry has an extremely different feel and is well worth a look for the bargain price of 20 bucks. [February 2011 p81]

But for every archaic design choice that's needlessly re-trodden for the sake of sticking to 'the blueprint', Sonic 4 introduces other new features that help to replace the nostalgia with a bit more substance. Just the simple ability to quick-jump to any zone, act or special stage in any order (and to compete with your mates scores and times) makes this instantly better than its predecessors. Long-suffering Sonic fans rejoice; the magic is back. [February 2011 p80]

Championship Edition DX is superbly balanced. It rewards skilled players with a great challenge and extremely frantic gameplay, while those that initially struggle won't feel unfairly punished when the game speed knocks itself down every time Paccers dies. You will crave to beat your highscore on the litany of tables, and every time you complete a round something new opens up. [February 2011 p80]

It helps that the graphics have been revamped, and they bloom into widescreen HD. It's a given that they look better than the PS2 originals, but even more importantly they don't betray your memory of how good they looked. [February 2011 p 78]

NBA Jam always succeeded by being better with friends, and that hasn't changed. There's an updated remix mode with a few new modes that are more gimmick and curious distractions than serious contenders for your time. You'll get the most amount of playtime out of the standard mode, especially when you're really dominating a game against your mates. [February 2011 p78]

The list of faults we've found during our time with GT5 is surprisingly long. And yet, we just keep playing it, and playing it. For all its foibles the profoundly realistic handling keeps drawing us back. The desire to tune up competitive cars from old pusbuckets keeps us fiddling with air filters and extractors. We'll criticise the final product, but that doesn't stop us drooling over the supersexeriffic premium car models, lavished with the kind a detail that we just did not anticipate seeing this generation. [February 2011 p72]

Demanding. You'll love it and curse it at the same time. Much better with friends. [January 2011 p80]

Chains of Olympus was a pretty title, but even it stands as nothing compared to this graphical juggernaut. While there's no denying that the scenes depicted within can't compare with the exercise in colossal that was God of War III, the amazingly high fidelity of the graphics are guaranteed knock your sandals off in other ways. Don't let the seemingly diminutive size of the PSP fool you, this is one of the best games in the GOW series. [January 2011 p80]

Multiplayer is pretty limited in variety, all team-based, and with a fistful of maps. Couple this annoyance with the fact that the rest of the game doesn't attempt to raise the bar in any way – and only lasts a paltry five hours – and Blood Stone starts to feel like a very pedestrian shooter. Honestly, we doubt even Xenia Onatopp on herbal Viagra could squeeze thrills out of this short ride. [January 2011 p79]

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]

As a standalone game it's the best music game available, even though it arguably has the weaker soundtrack compared to Rock Band and Rock Band 2. But it feels a little hollow as a standalone game; it needs you to build a massive library to fully exploit it. [January 2011 p76]

It's also a problem that punches and kicks don't usually feel as powerful as you'd like. In Fight Night haymakers sounded like truck accidents. Here they kind of feel like slightly over-zealous high-fives. [January 2011 p75]

Clocking in at a paltry five hours to complete on 'hard', The Force Unleashed II feels shorter than an Ewok's genitals. Length hang-ups aside, Lucasarts has tightened up almost everything iffy about the original game, but they also managed to drop a hydro-spanner into the parts that were working fine to begin with. For example, TFU had a stellar, award-winning Star Wars plot – this sequel's storyline comes dangerously close to breaking established canon and, like Jabba's Sarlacc, it sucks you in, only to take you absolutely nowhere. [January 2011 p74]

So while you'll be unconvinced by the visuals and voices behind the boy and his beast, when the Majin goes harumphing into battle to save you from the latest onslaught of sinister humanoid ooze, stopping only to breathe his healing gingivitis all over your battered body, you'll find yourself wondering; why this has done for you what the massive production of Enslaved could not. The answer? Heart, baby. Kid's got heart. [January 2011 p72]

We suspect that last year's excellent Shift didn't make as much of an impact as EA anticipated. That semi-serious sim has given way to a positively Burnout inspired iteration that liberally takes the better bits of old NFS titles and makes this gorgeous fast paced treat. [January 2011 p70]

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is a more than a worthy addition to the series canon. The similar setting of renaissance Italy will trick folks into assuming this is a half-arsed expansion, but honestly, this feels like Assassin's Creed 2.99. Don't be fooled by Brotherhood's cunningly familiar disguise. Mark it as a fresh target, pounce and take it down. [January 2011 p66]

Call of Duty: Black Ops still represents one hell of a hefty package. It's bursting with hundreds of hours of entertainment that caters to every conceivable configuration of gamer out there, be they an adversarial gamer, a co-op connoisseur or a staunch offline soloist. [January 2011 p60]

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]

Though your moves become bigger, faster, flashier, you'll rarely feel like Spider-Man. We've often thought of him as being a fluid, dynamic character and in Shattered Dimensions he's anything but, as he gets 'stuck' for a moment when transitioning onto a wall from the ground, or not being able to stick to certain objects. Not all surfaces can be clambered, and forget about web swinging and leaping onto a wall in one motion. Also, why have we gone back to swinging from invisible hooks in the sky? Hadn't we done away with that [December 2010 p80]

You'll burn through each movie pretty fast; there are only a few hours of gameplay here. The levels are designed with unlockables in mind to prompt multiple playthroughs. If you get sucked into high scores you'll likely want to give it a few goes to try and boost it. [December 2010 p79]

Unfortunately we just found the system makes the fighting itself feel quite alien and unsettling. It's that feeling of only partial control you get when you're reaching in from behind someone and using their own arms to teach them perform a task, combined with those dreams you occasionally have where your punches are all weak and flaccid despite the fact you feel like you're putting enough energy behind them to punch the rings off Saturn. [December 2010 p79]

There's really been nothing else quite like it this generation, which makes comparison difficult, and its one misstep is the fact that its only online component is a paltry ranking system. In truth, having multiplayer inside the chaotic sphere of Vanquish would have made Mikami's latest baby the prodigal son of third-person shooters. There's always next time though. [December 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]

As a cerebral challenge SAW II is refreshing, fares noticeably better than the rushed original and is bloodier than an abattoir killing floor. That said, if you buy it expecting action that feels as visceral as the subject matter, you'll soon feel trapped with no way out. [December 2010 p76]

Hardcore lovers of the sport will relish the challenge, enjoy every throttling by the AI, and take their skills online. But there'll only be so many times basketball punters will endure this level of difficulty without reverting to Tourette-like hysterics. So yes, it's complex. And yes, the experience oscillates between sublime and diabolical between each game, but basketball is a complex sport. With such unparalleled presentation and unapologetic gameplay, this is likely the best basketball game ever. [December 2010 p76]

Shaun White Skateboarding just feels a bit limp. The skating itself is competent but not tactile, and trekking back to a skate shop, rather than just an in game menu, to buy moves wears thin after a short while. Kudos for finding a way of distinguishing the game from its competitors, but Skate 2 is still chairman of the board. [December 2010 p75]