It's mostly rubbish; the focus is on combat, and the combat's tied to a camera that flops around like, well, a brain in a jar. [Dec 2007, p.114]

The constant pressure of combat, fuelled by rapid five-second respawns, keeps the action ripping along at a formidable pace. [Oct 2007, p.94]

Addictive. [Oct 2007, p.113]

Unfortunately, Wild Arms 5 lets itself down by using the tiresomely repetitive structure of "visit dungeon, fight boss, return to village, proceed to next dungeon." [Apr 2008, p.112]

90% of the game consists of twatting robots all the livelong day, and it takes just half an hour for these parts to grow dull. Perhaps naively, we expected a bit more from the motherland's best selling PS3 game. [JPN Import; June 2007, p.112]

It's far from groundbreaking, but it is a simple golf sim with impressive longevitiy, and that makes it the best golfer around. [Nov 2007, p.94]

The only real letdown is that you're not really under any serious pressure - the threat of imminent death is an illusion. The spectacle is there: huge explosions, last-minute rescues and desperate stand-offs against impossible odds. But the enemy AI lacks aggression. [Sept 2007, p.100]

It's idiosyncratic, heart-warming funky and one of the most refreshing RPGs to appear on PS2. [Mar 2008, p.102]

For a series that was consistently outstanding for so long, being merely 'good' simply isn't good enough. [Nov 2007, p.108]

The PSP version benefits from a more reliable targeting system than the superb PS2 version. [Aug 2007, p.106]

Once you've got the hang of it, it's gently addictive in the same way as eating a massive bag of jelly babies. [Feb 2008, p.98]

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]

Avoid this like you would a back street endoscopy. [July 2007, p.114]

Trouble is, whichever character you pick, the game ends up largely the same. [Nov 2007, p.112]

The unavoidable truth is that this tracklist simply isn't as strong as those in the previous games. [Oct 2007, p.106]

Poorly thought out and ultimately frustrating. [Oct 2007, p.108]

A slow-burner that rewards dedication. [Oct 2007, p.100]

Despite complicated combat, it's an addictive alternative to "Final Fantasy." [Dec 2007, p.114]

Despite the uber-cute looks, Everybody's Tennis isn't a game that wants to hold your hand, and that only adds to its considerable charm. [May 2007, p.119]

There's a sense of satisfaction to slogging through each challenge in normal mode, but with only six levels to beat even this proves to be a hollow victory. [Aug 2007, p.109]

For all its easy-going accessibility, it doesn't play anything like a realistic game of rugby, so those looking for authenticity should kick this one into touch. [Sept 2007, p.106]

With deeper options, this would have been an essential. [Oct 2007, p.100]

Placing your shots feels random. [July 2007, p.109]

This is punishingly, mercilessly, remorselessly ferocious. You will never, ever finish it. Until you learn to block. [July 2007, p.98]

Pretty little explosions and detailed alien foes make this a visual treat, and the frantic action is always absorbing. [July 2007, p.107]

A user-friendly blend of big-fisted action and strategic thinking. [Aug 2007, p.110]

This, however, shamefully for a PS3 game, has all the grace of Honda's Asimo trying to climb a spiral staircase. [Sept 2007, p.104]

The gameplay is too unforgiving for FF to be a timeless classic. [Dec 2007, p.108]

Most of the time this feels like a clutter of poorly executed ideas held together with little more than good intentions. [Aug 2007, p.96]

A top-notch sandbox adventure and also one of the finest movie tie-ins in years. [Aug 2007, p.100]

If you're fully under Potter's spell, though, a few dodgy viewpoints won't ruin the magic. [Sept 2007, p.116]

Some scenarios really capture the perverse freedoms of navigating an abandoned city. [July 2007, p.106]

Swapping pairs of blocks is unwieldy. [Sept 2007, p.116]

Binge on it and you'll be done before your thinking walnut's sizzling, as there simply aren't enough different mini-games to satisfy in the long-term. [Sept 2007, p.107]

The puzzles are plentiful and challenging, but the dull looks and worthy brain-training angle make this a dull slog. [Oct 2007, p.113]

Controls-wise, the game is near-identical to "X-Men Legends." [Aug 2007, p.108]

No classic, but Go! Puzzle gives you plenty of puzzle for minimum outlay. [June 2007, p.101]

There's sadly no imagination here. [Sept 2007, p.108]

The most original idea on the PSP since "Locoroco." [July 2007, p.115]

Outdated and in need of a serious overhaul. [Sept 2007, p.111]

The only fight this game is winning is the one for worst beat-em-up on PSP. [Aug 2007, p.114]

All the depth of a "Saved by the Bell" special, but just as secretly satisfying. [June 2008, p.106]

It's as exciting as waiting on people in real life; which is to say, not very. [May 2007, p.114]

Smartly multi-layered plot. [Apr 2008, p.112]

For a game that should be stacked to the crow's nest with exhilarating swordfights, having such a weak versus mode is an insult. [Aug 2007, p.104]

You'll only come over all outraged and teary when Edinburgh Castle goes 'boom'. [Sept 2007, p.116]

Those with even a passing interest in baseball needed hesitate, though. This is manna from heaven. Import now. [Sept 2007, p.110]

This is a gentle, heartwearming experience that perfectly suits the PSP format. Blissful. [June 2007, p.102]

Rather than doing anything very clever, it just nicks some of the best lines from the films, reminds you of the bits you liked, and carries on quietly being an incredibly average platform scrapper. [Sept 2007, p.117]

It's unbelievable fun with four people in the same room, and likely to become one of teh most popular network games. [July 2007, p.104]

This was sort of acceptable a couple of years ago, but with PSP now capable of tossing around gigantic, detailed cities, it looks a bit old-fashioned. [July 2007, p.108]

The anti-Hawk. It lacks excitement, it's shy of thrills, and it really isn't worth bothering with at all. [Sept 2007, p.108]

The web slinging...now feels mundane thanks to a randomised upgrade system and the stupidly unpredictable camera. [Aug 2007, p.107]

The only decent fights and objectives that are there follow the main storyline like a stalker - everything else is just busywork filler. [July 2007, p.112]

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Wizard. Now toddle back to your castle and don't bother us again. [Oct 2007, p.113]

The 40 levels are deliberately built to be played in fast bursts against the clock for the kudos of scoring high on the online scoreboard, but none are challenging or interesting enough to keep you going back. [May 2007, p.103]

It's nowhere near sexy enough...Heetseeker just doesn't have the quality to deliver on its premise. [May 2007, p.111]

Tak[es] a simple idea - roll a cube over and around 3D platforms towards an exit - and mak[es] it impossibly complicated. [Apr 2007, p.118]

The challenge drops out of the game entirely. [Apr 2008, p.112]

F.E.A.R.'s slo-mo gunplay is worth experiencing, but the whole game hangs on a single gimmick - and ultimately it isn't quite enough. [May 2007, p.86]

The warfare is as dull as the characters. [June 2007, p.101]

Dodgy ball-physics misery. [July 2007, p.114]

The combat system is leaden. [Aug 2007, p.114]

MKII gives a fascinating insight into how far fighting games have come in the last decade and a half. [Sept 2007, p.114]

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]

The problem with this version is that its target audience is so narrow. [May 2007, p.121]

Parachutes fail, chopper pilots die, warheads count down to detonation. All of this makes me wonder, is Sam's heart still in stealth? [June 2007, p.106]

For 2D shooter nostalgists this is close to essential, but for everyone else it's just a comprehensive curio. [Aug 2007, p.114]

That no significant improvements have been made in five years is surely the final proof that Medal of Honor's PlayStation campaign has lost its way. [May 2007, p.92]

It can't quite live up the the standard set by its more playable big brother. [May 2007, p.108]

The multiplayer stuff is so good that without it, the game simply wouldn't be as enjoyable. World Tour is immensely entertaining, but played solo it eventually becomes a slightly lonely, hollow experience. [Apr 2007, p.98]

Unlimited? Not quite. Expansive But Ultimately Shallow would be better, but that probably wouldn't fit on the box. [Mar 2007]

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

I've never encountered a game that so completely captivated my attention for this long. I've clocked 180 hours in total and I'm still playing. [May 2007, p.78]

It's ballsy, hugely moreish, and so consistently exciting that not even the inevitably repetitive nature of the gameplay can bring this jet down. [June 2007, p.100]

It's sensory overload at first, but immerse yourself in the sometimes clumsily designed levels and there are solid laughs underneath. [June 2007, p.110]

It's gently hypnotic stuff, but fight a dozen super-intelligent skeletons and you'll soon be yearning for the simple pleasures of "Lumines." [Mar 2007, p.111]

Next-gen? It's barely present-gen. The Godfather has no business calling itself a PS3 game. [May 2007, p.108]

UEFA plays almost identically to "FIFA 07," but it has fewer teams, which makes it impossible to recommend over its fuller-featured predecessor. Or indeed the mighty "Pro Evo 6." [May 2007, p.93]

A lightweight but enjoyable outing. Comparatively high praise in the world of PS2 movie tie-ins. [June 2007, p.109]

It's more of the same - and at almost double the length of the first game, that's quite a lot more of the same - but it's the same widescreen awesomeness that you loved the first time around. [May 2007, p.96]

The decision to stick with the series' standard FPS format on PSP, rather than a clever perspective switch in the style of "Killzone Liberation," is a major tactical error. [May 2007, p.107]

The one thing that's original about Rocky is the way you recover from a KO: steadying your boxer on his feed by wobbling the analogue nub left and right. Apart from that Rocky feels like a step back to thte clumsy old days of button hammering and counter-intuitive combos. [Mar 2007, p.110]

Ridiculous tricks and the gritty visuals impress, but Street's flashes of brilliance are undone by glaring flaws - such as the ball hitting an invisible wall at the sideline. [May 2007, p.112]

The wrestling element has been butchered. [May 2007, p.90]

It's a patchwork of old and new in which the passion only flickes. [May 2007, p.106]

The new modes are feeble, the missing modes are lamentable and the shift to sparse but always-deadly traffic is a backwards step. [June 2007, p.110]

Luckily, the standard of presentation on Stories is as high as it's ever been, from the first rate acting right down to the epoch-defining soundtrack. Try <I>not</I> grinning idiotically as you attempt to time a unique jump in a powder-blue convertible to the chorus of "Easy Lover."[Apr 2007, p.94]

In terms of gameplay, think of Dark Resurrection as "Tekken 5.5" - the basic combo-based fighting is pretty much identical in execution. [May 2007, p.102]

No frills? No thrills, more like. [June 2007, p.105]

Despite a few new skins and some extra tunes - sepia squares with fusion jazz, anyone? - this PS2 puzzler just doesn't have the mantrap bite of its smaller brother. [Mar 2007, p.121]

Or just implode at the superpower-draining load times. [Aug 2007, p.114]

Formula One is far from terrible, but it simply can't compete with the balls-out brilliance of "Motorstorm." [May 2007, p.88]

It's like a "Max Payne" knockoff designed by Robert Rodriguez in the middle of an all-night peyote-bender...It's a stupid, loud, relentless mix of guns and chuckles. [Mar 2007, p.118]

It's on to combat and back into the repetitive rut that the series has ploughed for the last decade. [May 2007, p.114]

Thankfully Sixaxis control can be turned off. [May 2007, p.113]

This is utterly unique. [May 2007, p.116]

All talk of complexity aside, VF is still brilliant. The new characters are excellent, the fighting's just different enough to force long-time players to tweak their styles and the new moves are a definite improvement. [Apr 2007, p.80]