Toybox mode is where the game hits its peak, offering open-world style gameplay packed with mini challenges geared towards a generation of kids far too young to be powersliding buses through parked cars and prostitutes in Liberty City. [August 2010 p77]

Buy this game immediately – and a PSP if you must. As well as unfurling the Metal Gear Solid story just that little bit more, and spending more quality time with Snake, it's a truly excellent game in its own right. Engaging and rewarding, this is a solid package no gamer should miss. [August 2010 p68]

It’s simple really. If you’re not into Green Day – and honestly, we’re surprised you’ve read this far – you’ll likely feel it’s a load of dookie. If you are, however, welcome to paradise. [August 2010 p75]

Simple without being simplistic, this is a gem. It requires a bit of patience though. [September 2010 p79]

Push beyond the first world and the erratic difficulty spike (thankfully you can skip stages and come back to them) and you'll have fun with Voodoo Dice. It's a welcome distraction from the currently slew of action titles, though not an essential one. [September 2010 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]

Obsidian has interpreted ‘be an aggressive hardcase’ as ‘be an obnoxious brat’ and, when it comes to suave, Thorton is about as subtle as sexual assault. It doesn’t help that his voice is about as intimidating as a slightly larger-than-usual cupcake. Basically Thorton is a jerkbag in need of a major identity realignment. [August 2010 p72]

UFC Undisputed 2010 may not have made leaps and bounds over its already excellent predecessor, but it is a straight jab in the right direction. [June 2010, p.68]

Ultimately, you'd be foolish not to buy this. It's more expressive than LittleBigPlanet but much accessible, and guaranteed to keep you playing for a long time. [July 2010 p70]

Things get better with faster cars but too often it feels like you’re trying to guide a brick through thick porridge. Drifting just shouldn’t this much of a chore, and we constantly crave more momentum when we’re loosening up the rear wheels. Online’s more attractive as these problems are masked by the thrill of the chase. [August 2010 p73]

If you’re for the West, you will latch onto Redemption like an ornery rattlesnake. If the old West is of no particular interest to you, you still ought to find it difficult not to appreciate the incredible level of workmanship and depth on display here. It is a true opus. [July 2010 p.69]

It's a slow burning experience. Your first couple of hours feel a bit ho-hum but stick with it. Forgive the disappearing corpses and the occasional odd animation and you'll be hooked all over again. [July 2010 p72]

Split/Second does a lot well. The key component is the environmental destruction. Each track is littered with dangerous traps and shortcuts that can be triggered by you or your A.I. opponents. [June 2010 p74]

If you’ve waited until now to give this series a shot, Skate 3 is as good a place to begin as are. It’s more of the same in some ways, but certainly better in others. We just haven’t fallen in love with the city. [July 2010 p74]

Essentially, Dot Game is a next-gen homage to early NES RPGs. This is a 23-year-old game design with a 3D graphic 'overhaul' - no more, no less. If you pine for the past, this should keep you entertained, but it may frustrate new gamers. [July 2010 p75]

Ostensibly, Lost Planet 2 has been built with multiplayer in mind. As a single player experience is competent but slightly underwhelming. [June 2010 p72]

Amazing value for the money. This isn't so much SF5 as it is "Street Fighter 4.9". [May 2010, p.76]

The cinematics, while cobbled together from a ‘90s cop movie handbook, are more polished than most. If you were starving, you could lick this dish clean and be satisfied. But it wouldn’t taste like anything you hadn’t eaten before. [June 2010 p74]

Production wise, there's little reason why this couldn't have been on PS2. With a little patience and a lot of forgiveness, you will have fun with Nier and it's very easy to get into, but there are far richer experiences elsewhere. [June 2010 p79]

Less about providing an expansive footballing buffet of content and more about being authentic Cup paraphernalia, it features no club leagues but instead focuses on guiding one’s preferred international squad through qualification to a virtual World Cup Final. [June 2010 p76]

After Burner is pretty simple kind of game, though that’s not a bad thing at all. Like Outrun, this is an exercise in getting better and better by looking for paterns and refining your skill in twitch gameplay, but the arcade thrills wear off pretty fast due to repetitive gameplay. [July 2010 p76]

Final Fight may not be the longest game in the world, but it has been upscaled to HD. It’s a wonderful time capsule of fun that is worth replaying. The ‘must be online’ DRM hurts the package though. [July 2010 p76]

This was an ambitious production, but it boils down to sluggish platforming and repetitive fetch quests. [June 2010 p78]

If you were soured towards the franchise thanks to Just Cause’s variety of glitches, repetition and a half-baked control scheme; you should totally give this franchise a second chance. Not only has Avalanche solved these problems, it has crafted one of the most exciting and entertaining open-world romps we’ve experienced in years. Plus; stripper zeppelin. [May 2010 p.67]

It really seems as though Monumental Games focused more on flashy presentation and cheap thrills rather than handling and physics with any true depth. That said, it is a much more fun and accessible racing game that will attract new fans without hitting them over the head with a super-hard technicality. MotoGP 09/10 stands as the antithesis of racing sims like SBK-08 Superbike whose superior track-side feel was marred by bare bones presentation. There’s eye candy and pizazz here now, but it comes at the expense of handling purity. [May 2010 p.78]

This game earns our highest accolade because it is a thoroughly entertaining ride from go to death throe. It finds a perfect balance between taxing platforming, cerebral puzzles, and glorious set-piece battles that loosen the bowel when you realise they're in-game graphics. Top that off with masterful camera work – that makes us totally rethink our hatred of fixed-camera action games – and you have a sequel that easily eclipses anything out there and reclaims it's rightful place at the pinnacle of its genre. [April 2010, p.61]

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]

But the more changes they make to get in line with a faster-paced style of gameplay, the further away they drift from what made the franchise unique for so many years. The drudgery at the beginning may annoy the casual gamer with an investment of several hours before Paradigm Shift is available and a half-a-dozen more before the first summons. Fans, however, won’t care in the slightest. They’ll be well aware lead time before proceedings really kick off. [Apr 2010 p.64]