Where it counts, 2K9 is hard to fault. [Dec 2008, p.121]

Measured against the rest of EA's high quality pro sports line-up, NBA 09 looks and plays a distinctly amateur game of B-Ball. [Oct 2008, p.103]

A solid tribute act, then, but the handling of the series is too timid to be truly great. [Dec 2008, p.120]

This is a perfect update, with glittering HD and savage speeds. [Nov 2008, p.112]

Great stuff for masochists who think progress ended with 8-bit gaming - not so much if you're looking to have fun. [Dec 2008, p.121]

Great value at a penny under five quid. [Dec 2008, p.121]

It hasn't quite got the gung-ho brilliance of "COD" or the set-piece pop of "MOH," but a few hours in you'll be happy to have Brothers on your side. [Nov 2008, p.110]

It takes a while for things to get stale though, and until then this is a surprisingly strong new entrant to the off-road scene. [Nov 2008, p.117]

Buzz's transition to next-gen is further proof that Sony continues to "get" social gaming brilliantly. [July 2008, p.107]

Given the dodgy quality of Batman games in recent years, this may be the best one ever. [Dec 2008, p.121]

Recommended for the popular and TV-less. [Oct 2008, p.103]

By any reasonable criteria, this is a bag of balls. [Jan 2009, p.102]

If there were no other racers on PS3, or indeed on the planet, buying this would still be a mistake, but with the likes of Dirt already out there, and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift on the horizon, spending money on Baja would be nothing short of madness. [Dec 2008, p.113]

One of the most bizarre failings, however, has to be a bafflingly imprecise lock-on system. [Nov 2008, p.114]

It's not even technically impressive. [Jan 2009, p.103]

Only its lack of depth prevents Impact from troubling the top tier of wrestling games. [Nov 2008, p.104]

There's a ton of depth here - line changes and create-a-play customisations are just the start - but the main thing is that it plays fast and fluid [Oct 2008, p.104]

Yakuza is really where Sega took much-mourned Dreamcast classic "Shenmue." [Nov 2008, p.108]

Everywhere that 2K9 is good, "NHL 09" is excellent. [Nov 2008, p.111]

A shallow package that you might buy as a PSN download: there's fun here, but only the sort of amount you'd pay two pints'-worth of money for. [Oct 2008, p.102]

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

It's not brilliant, and it's not terrible. Instead, it hovers in a murky region between the two. [Oct 2008, p.90]

The puzzles are simple but require the exact kind of precise control this doesn't provide. [June 2008, p.106]

Excruciatingly sterile turn-based combat. [Sept 2007, p.116]

In enhancing net features, it's forgotten those who want to swing solo. [Oct 2008, p.95]

PS3's essential RPG. [May 2009, p.98]

It's a serious, focused and for the most part excellent sime that's more dynamic than "Gran Tursimo Prologue." [Aug 2008, p.96]

For those who loved the last game, it's a brilliant treat; a chance for one last blast while we wait for a full-blown sequel. For newcomers it's an inexpensive way to discover what they've been missing out on. [Oct 2008, p.88]

American football mixes brain and brawn like no other sport, and it's something Madden 09 reflects beautifully. [Oct 2008, p.96]

A suffocating ooze of obtuse controls and repetitive button bashing. [Sept 2008, p.104]

Eden might be an acquired taste, but with its one-of-a-kind controls, creative art style and cracking multiplayer, it's definitely worth the hard work...and the 4.99 BP asking price. [Oct 2008, p.94]

It builds into a complex battle of patience and wills. [Sept 2008, p.90]

It's genuinely unsettling. [Aug 2008, p.94]

Satisfying. [Aug 2008, p.104]

Don't be fooled by the cute elephants - this is puzzling at its most brutal. [Sept 2008, p.98]

Unique, rewarding, and brilliantly conceived both on and off the pitch. [Christmas 2008, p.119]

There's something hugely satisfying about playing Civilization: Revolution. It feels clever, but it's actually about as educational as reading the ingredients off a box of Cheerios and pretending you've got a PhD in chemistry. [July 2008, p.102]

Shambles. [Aug 2008, p.104]

A pleasant, if somewhat hairy, surprise. [Sept 2008, p.104]

There's no personality here, no verve or wit or energy. [Aug 2008, p.104]

Frustrating. [Sept 2008, p.104]

Dull puzzles. [Sept 2008, p.96]

An original game with a wicked sense of humour. [July 2008, p.106]

Personality, guns and destruction are Bad Company's strongest cards and it plays them hard. [Aug 2008, p.98]

Why would anyone make a game with not one but two sets of crippled controls? [Aug 2008, p.102]

Worst of all, it never feels even vaguely scary. [Aug 2008, p.102]

Fugly ships chugging along even fuglier tracks. [Aug 2008, p.104]

For once, it's a brilliant update of a genuine classic. [Sept 2008, p.104]

Bad news if you're after something brand new, but great if you're happy with their winning mix of firepower and smart laughs. [Aug 2008, p.102]

Guns of the Patriots is almost intimidating in the consistent quality of its ideas, invention, and execution...Even by the series' stratospheric standards, MGS4 is a remarkable high point. [June 2008]

The slower pace might frustrate those used to COD4's adrenaline-soaked battles or Warhawk's arcadey clashes, but it's still a thrill. As a Metal Gear game it works beautifully, capturing the series' essence perfectly. [July 2008, p.108]

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

Damn, it looks good. [Sept 2008, p.104]

The Hulk is ugly, outdated, and from the look of some sections, maybe even unfinished. [Sept 2008, p.100]

Three-player online means co-operative carnage and the chance to torture yourself with high-score whoring leader boards. [Aug 2008, p.104]

This low-rent top-down alien blaster doesn't even seem to be trying. [Jan 2009, p.104]

A forgettable experience. [Aug 2008, p.100]

GRID's jostling pack racing and slithery, varied events are almost entirely pure driving pleasure. And that's what it's all about. [June 2008, p.98]

It's a fine example of how licensed games should be done. [Sept 2008, p.96]

There's also a vast amount of replay value in the secrets. [July 2008, p.98]

Delightful but requiring a deft touch to master, this really is golf for everybody. [Aug 2008, p.104]

Territory Wars isn't fundamentally broken, it's just not much fun. [July 2008, p.94]

No amount of sharp gunplay can redeem Haze's cilched script and patchy execution. [July 2008, p.90]

Unless you're the sort of misanthrope who never invites people over to your place, new Singstar is essential to the PS3 experience. [Oct 2007, p.90]

Things look very good for "FIFA 09." [May 2008, p.106]

With little point in tactical withdrawal, all the missions starts to feel the same. [Nov 2008, p.119]

A lazy wasteful mess. [June 2008, p.103]

An oddity that provides richness and balance to the softwre library. [June 2008, p.96]

GTA IV is richer, deeper and more involving than its predecessors. By the time the story threads start to tie up, the mission trees shake out, you're totally invested in the characters and their world. I'm actually jealous of everyone about to experience it for the first time. The greatest testament to GTA IV's brilliance is that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since putting the pad down. [May 2008, p.88]

A minor multiplayer triumph. [July 2008, p.103]

The game's relentlessly narrow focus frustrates as much as the repetitious grind of the racing. [May 2008, p.98]

A rag-doll requiem of destruction, so gratuitous that it defies moral probity. Like all the best shock and awe titles, the vice is polished so sweetly you'll barely notice you've gone to hell. [Apr 2008, p.105]

It does, on occasion, achieve brilliance. [May 2008, p.110]

It's still spooky and largely enjoyable but it you're going to play it, do so alone. [Oct 2007, p.109]

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

The story is charming and enjoyable. [June 2008, p.105]

This is the first proper horror experience on PS3 and it's a truly terrifying one. Whether it's a set-piece scare or a random hobo jumping out at you, it genuinely can make you jump out of your seat. [Mar 2008, p.90]

No changes to the basic formula. [Oct 2007, p.101]

Games don't get much more friendly than this. [JPN Import; Nov 2007, p.100]

A great novelty knockabout, dwarfed by a near-flawless game you should already own. [May 2008, p.108]

We say stick wtih Sony's smash hit. [June 2008, p.106]

If, like us, you found the first game a bit sticky and imprecise to play, you can rest easier with this sequel - this is a crisper experience. [Apr 2008, p.110]

Robojam's sole aim is to provide wholesome good times for the under-10s. And it does just that. [July 2007, p.111]

There is no other game on PS3 that you're guaranteed to still be playing this obsessively this time next year. [Nov 2007, p.84]

The core gameplay is so well-balanced. [Mar 2008, p.103]

Deserves an award for its ability to reduce four supposedly mature adults to giddy yelps. [Christmas 2007, p.112]

As ever, the platforming pair shine especially brightly durding combat. [May 2008, p.115]

You never feel dangerous, and no amount of mangled urban concrete can make up for fundamentally hobbled weapons. [Apr 2008, p.98]

On PSP, it's just not possible to get lost in the moment. [July 2008, p.100]

Massively replayable. [Apr 2008, p.92]

Players look like real men rather than EA-style waxwork models. [June 2008, p.94]

More of a snak than a satisfying meal. [June 2008, p.106]

The guns are useless. [May 2008, p.112]

It's homework dressed up as fun. [Apr 2008, p.96]

If the songs, utterly charming design and frenzied drumming don't win you over, if the strategy leaves you cold and the battles don't crack a smile, you might want to check that your heart is still beating out <I>its</I> rhythm. [Mar 2008, p.114]

This is Capcom in fine and original fettle, with a gut-punch of a shooter that's guaranteed to thaw out your wintry fingers. [Mar 2008, p.104]

Play it looking for depth and you'll come away feeling cheated; play it for points and you'll relish memorising the location of every last high-scoring kill zone, passing the pad between clammy-handed mates as you become unstoppable kill-crazed machines. But in a good way. [Feb 2008, p.92]

The game taught us that Japan lost the war thanks to shattered AI and terrible clipping. [May 2008, p.111]