Just to add insult to injury, Inferno Pool started out as an iPhone app - costing a paltry 59p. Boo. [July 2009, p.97]

Does a tidy job of recreating familiar sideshow attractions. [Christmas 2011, p.109]

Despite this the core grind of American Fugitive fails to both tap into the random chaos of classic GTA and the thrill that should come from being a convict on the run seeking answers. It’s a game that sadly can’t outrun the spectre of its own inspiration. [Issue#163, p.86]

A hugely compelling adaptation. [May 2013, p.109]

No innovation, no fun, no thanks. [May 2010, p.113]

At least there's four-player multiplayer to alleviate the hollow AI racing. There's an even bigger spanner in the spokes than dim-witted drivers: it looks perplexingly terrible. The tarmac's shine and rubbering still pleases, but tracks themselves are super-low detail.

It's fast, smooth and pretty. [July 2009, p.93]

It just feels like it was made by children. And not in a cute way. [June 2016, p.94]

Fast, truly accessible missions and slower, more strategic battles for sim nuts, plus online arena play. [July 2007, p.113]

It's basically an 8-bit knock-off of Wipeout, without all the fun destructive bits like mines or rockets. [June 2010, p.113]

I can't imagine that many people will want to read their games these days. [Dec 2011, p.103]

It certainly won't get you in fighting shape. [Sept 2011, p.110]

If you nailed the original game's single-player, there's not nearly enough in Plus to warrant a second purchase. [Apr 2008, p.109]

It's not entirely awful. Scaling buildings with your previously mentioned rocket feet gives proceedings an enjoyable verticality. Smashing houses, tanks and 'copters is also empowering like breaking fine china with a giant smashy mallet. But with the most annoying AI this side of Johnny 5 and one-note combat, ACV is repetitive robot rubbish.

A bit inconsistent. [Apr 2012, p.115]

It's double-handed fun while it lasts. [Apr 2017, p.90]

Play time is kept to a minimum, with most of the development effort put into designing reams of menus for you to navigate...ensuring that you never start to have actual fun. [Issue#51, p.118]

It's a minor tragedy that there are so many false starts within. [June 2016, p.87]

Some of these problems to dissolve a little in online multiplayer, with 18 players going head-to-head as different species. [Apr 2010, p.98]

It's much better with friends. [July 2009, p.97]

Moments of horror glimmer among the frustration. [Dec 2011, p.108]

Clumsy menus and the endless randomness quickly ensure the adventure is lost in space. [March 2016, p.88]

Mostly enjoyable game that prolongs things by forcing you to revisit levels; levels that aren't compelling enough to withstand repeated visits. [Issue#151, p.88]

The first half hour of this stat-heavy RPG is as incomprehensible as Mission: Impossible in Turkish. [June 2011, p.111]

Solid, chunky fun with chainswords. [Oct 2011, p.115]

Combat is gory, but the mechanics are weak. [May 2008, p.104]

Yawn. [Nov 2011, p.115]

The shooting is fun, and there's some chuckle-worthy writing but once you realise you're doing the same things over and over again, it falls flat. [Oct 2017, p.95]

The real issue is there’s no sense of tension. You’re trapped in an abandoned mansion hidden in the woods, surrounded by ‘dark science’, at the beck and call of a mysterious imprisoned being, yet at no point do you feel threatened. Torn? More like slightly frayed. [Issue#155, p.78]

A competent if slightly unremarkable tactics game. [Issue#158, p.86]

If you see it in the bargain bin or have sired offspring in the last 15 years, this isn't the worst use of your moolah. [May 2011, p.118]

A solid bedrock for PS4 iterations, if lacking long-term appeal. [Sept 2015, p.87]

Sherlock's inconsistencies eventually exhaust you. [Dec 2012, p.115]

There's no question that the content on offer here is stronger than a Nigel De Jong reducer. [June 2012, p.114]

Sadly the world has moved on, and so have our gaming tastes. [Mar 2007, p.120]

There’s a lot to enjoy here if you need a Monkey Ball itch scratched, but Rock Of Ages 3 is a mixed, scrappy ball of ideas that never quite lands. [Issue#179, p.76]

It's almost completely joyless. [Oct 2009, p.116]

An interesting mash-up of ideas from various space exploration games, from ship building to alien battling, in a single spacefaring package that never quite gels. [Issue#159, p.93]

Another below-par racer that makes turning left every five seconds exactly as exhilarating as it sounds. [Sept 2008, p.103]

Even seasoned fans of the genre will find little that stands out in the overall presentation. [May 2018, p.79]

A PS VR game with all the bells and whistles of a full-fat racer, but at no point did I feel the need to shake or blow on what it has to offer. [Dec 2017, p.87]

A cheap and cheerful arcade shooter. [Sept 2009, p.112]

If you're into a bit of hardcore Spanking, you'll love this. [Oct 2011, p.104]

If Martyr was the Warhammer game you’ve been waiting for, it’s likely to disappoint. [Issue#154, p.80]

This adventure balances its challenge and gameplay variety well against its short length. Ultimately it’s not as layered as indie darling Hollow Knight but it’s a worthwhile play while you wait for Silksong.[Issue#177, p.156]

The captivating narrative is enough to see past the flaws. Hankies at the ready; this is a true tear-jerker. [Dec 2017, p.93]

Even the core combat pales after a bit, because it lacks the exacting precision of Gaiden. [Apr 2009, p.93]

Visceral chose to stay so close to what's gone before. [May 2011, p.112]

A shallow yet occasionally thrilling sandbox that doubles down on explosively stupid antics. The campaign is too grindy for its own good, and Rico's looks are fading, but this B-tier open world can still charm. [Issue#158, p.78]

More problematic is that neither game feels as accomplished as the genre's best. SFIV is deeper and more technical, and there's more fun to be had in MVC3's frantic tag action. But there are worse ways to spend £25, even if the whole thing would actually be more valuable without the movie – the poisonous, horse-leg doner of the bunch.

It’s rarely original, occasionally frustrating, and often clumsy in execution, but when it clicks there’s a meditative vein to Stranded Deep’s grind that will make time spent indoors sunnier. [Issue#176, p.74]

Note to Sony: next time, just make us a game where we can chuckle at our distended faces. It's funnier. [Dec 2007, p.113]

It's never demanding. [Christmas 2010]

Deliciously destructive. [Feb 2011, p.114]

We'd be happier of the frame rate didn't stutter like a cartoon pig on busier corners. [Christmas 2008, p.115]

While making a tricky headshot is always satisfying, the environments, enemies, tasks, and plot simply don’t grab your attention in the way they need to. It doesn’t help that the dull enemy dialogue, where present, has a tendency to loop if you linger nearby. AI is greatly improved from the last game, but there are still line-of-sight issues. Ultimately, the experience doesn’t have the tension of Sniper Elite, nor the ingeniousness or replayability of Hitman. Sadly, SGWC misses its mark. [Issue@#171, p.92]

The game is also lazily linear at times. [Christmas 2008, p.94]

There's little to criticize. [Christmas 2010]

This is a big game. Sadly, it's not all of the highest quality. Sometimes less is more. [March 2018, p.94]

Hot damn, are those cartoon dinos adorable. [July 2016, p.91]

The interactivity is erratic, but it's got enough personality to justify the purchase if you have kids. [Christmas 2011, p.111]

There's just no lasting appeal. [Apr 2007, p.97]

Fiddly controls. [Mar 2010, p.111]

Good ideas are undermined by overuse and a lack of tension, but Blair Witch does leave you thinking ‘What if?’ and demands to be replayed . [Issue#171, p.97]

There's just an awkward charm in its klutziness, but Alpha Protocol is a tough one to love. [July 2010, p.112]

The end result remains a clunky curio that only diehards are likely to endure. [Sept 2014, p.110]

There's no reason to choose it over the tabletop version. [Jan 2011, p.121]

Regarding this catastrophic failure of infrastructure, a wearying, cynical malaise of ‘Eh, what can you do about it?’ pervades Rania’s early forays into the city and proves just a little too real for us. The game’s own answer to this question is ‘carry out individual acts of kindness’, as with each one Rania makes Nivalis a slightly less miserable place for at least one person she encounters on her rounds – and sometimes that’s enough. [Issue#182, p.156]

It just isn't any fun. [Apr 2011, p.114]

An interesting misfire. [July 2016, p.84]

A great platform-puzzler for kids. [Sept 2013, p.87]

As thin as the walkers you're outrunning and with some glaring flaws, this unnecessary spin-off is ill-suited to Telltale's strengths, only exacerbating its weaknesses. [July 2016, p.80]

Fight your way through the hideous mechanics and there's a fantastic narrative tucked away in there, a typically Suda-esque yarn that's equal parts compelling, unpredictable and offensive. [July 2016, p.91]

Ask yourself: how much do you care about fictional weaponry? [June 2009, p.95]

Zooming around highways, waterways, and skyways is a real blast, despite some wonky vehicle physics. And just soaring through the air is a soothing experience. [Issue#152, p.75]

This has the rare, old-fashioned appeal of being a real pad-passer. [Apr 2013, p.110]

It's never dull or ordinary. [March 2015, p.91]

One of the prettiest games we've seen so far on Playstation VR, but no amount of delicious dino looks can save this clunky, confusing quest. [Jan 2016, p.112]

Combat is totally hit and miss thanks to a crippling camera. [Apr 2008, p.112]

While SAOFB tries to shake up its formula, it does little to inject the game with a distinct identity. [Apr 2018, p.96]

The hot toddy of PSN games, if you will. [June 2013, p.107]

The visuals are mostly bright and clear, although the occasional piece of disappearing scenery and some issues with pop-up dampen the fun. [Oct 2007, p.97]

Unless you've got masochistic urges to indulge, you'd be wise to steer clear. [Apr 2010, p.113]

There's a Hollywood sheen spread over The Run that occasionally makes it sparkle, from the Frostbite 2 engine's environmental effects to the action-movie score. But peer beneath the gleaming veneer and you repeatedly encounter a stomach-lurchingly shallow experience – not unlike any movie you can name by the aforementioned Mr Bay, ironically.

Clever and charming. [May 2018, p.89]

Silent Hill fans will appreciate the atmosphere, but it's bogged down in old-fashioned gameplay that just doesn't cut it. Sadly, we grew up. Equally sadly, Silent Hill never did.

There's some serviceable twin-stick multiplayer shooting under the cowboy fancy dress, but sadly it's below some glaring technical problems, too. [Feb 2015, p.95]

As fugly as it is inventive, this is an addictive if unpolished treat. [June 2012, p.115]

Mixed up and odd, like a platypus in a petting zoo. [Spring 2011, p.116]

Has some almost crippling gameplay issues that'll have even casual rugby observers weeping into their Guinness. [Christmas 2011, p.97]

The vast depth of Head Coach is both its biggest strength and its Achilles' heel. [Dec 2008, p.122]

Solid fun, and enough to generate interest in the already-confirmed sequel, but little else. [Apr 2010, p.106]

Where the game really excels is in its beautiful, colourful graphics and the relaxing atmosphere they help to create. There is also a deep lore to discover as you travel across the archipelago, culminating in a seafaring experience that’s sure to make waves. [Issue#180, p.72]

Fated is well-meaning but hollow. [June 2017, p.92]

Purists may be put off by the lack of deep side-quests, but for everyone else this is a tongue in cheek adventure that offers something different from the usual RPG fare. [May 2007, p.114]

Loud, dumb and more than a little buggy, The Shadow of New Despair may be average in single-player, but it's a rich source of co-operative comedy. [Feb 2016, p.89]

There's simply no warmth here, just an unrelenting parade of death and loss and regret. With bad controls. [Christmas 2007, p.98]

Simple quests, a lack of tutorials, and little-to-no backstory makes Yonder feel unpolished, in direct contrast to its whimsically charming setting. [Sept 2017, p.84]