At its most fluent, you feel like you're piloting the track itself, not just the craft, such is the sweet feeling when you master the sinuous pinches and folds of courses. [Dec 2007, p.110]

Not fussy like GT or exhaustively varied like Grid, just simple, metal-crunching competition that delivers tons of reckless fun. [Dec 2008, p.96]

For strategy buffs, Legends of War is complex, visually polished, and unyieldingly hardcore. [Spring 2011, p.116]

It looks lovely and the frantic combat is delightfully nuanced. [Oct 2015, p.89]

Feels solid and assured. [Christmas 2009, p.119]

It could do with a little more polish, but Mordor is still one of this year's better surprises. [Dec 2014, p.88]

The sequel improves on almost everything about the first game. [Apr 2011, p.113]

In a game bursting with invention, Tearaway’s head-jumping kills feel uninspired and unsatisfying, and a predictable array of foes does little to alleviate that. Good job combat’s something of a rare occurrence, then. All Vita’s unique control aspects are exploited brilliantly within another beguiling Media Molecule universe.

It's a strong season that manages to tell a gripping story and offers plenty of dangling threads to keep you invested. [Aug 2017, p.86]

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]

Another strong entry in a series that's keeping itself relevant. While familiarity is creeping into multiplayer, Zombies and the campaign are the best they've been in years. [Christmas 2016, p.79]

Pretty offensive, truly disgusting, and in utterly terrible taste. Making it one of the best excuses you've ever had to buy a Move controller. [Christmas 2011, p.94]

An involving story. [June 2011, p.103]

This is a very dark story, but it's told with colourful verve and a keen wit. [June 2014, p.85]

An impressive PS5 upgrade that makes excellent use of the DualSense. This does a rally good job of letting you feel the road as well as see it. [Issue#184, p.92]

It's not perfect but there's no other PS VR game with this level of depth and detail. Even if you think you've seen it all before, you've definitely never see it like this. [Jan 2018, p.96]

While it’s never a stretch to find yourself in a twist, Phogs! makes getting out of these predicaments a joy thanks to imaginative puzzles and level design. [Issue#184, p.93]

Tether the plethora of modes here together and you get a Power Rangers-style mega-force that 's much more than the sum of its parts, and only the overly familiar template and a lack of soul keep it from nabbing a higher score. Although it's technically brilliant, running at a constant 60fps, it lacks the esoteric charm, ideas and personality to rank as a true classic.

More of the same but the familiar formula is polished to an impressive degree, featuring some of the reboot series’ most majestic environments and its best puzzles. [Issue#154, p.82]

From Jump to Eruption, the note placement is a joy to belt out. [Apr 2010, p.113]

A slick, good-looking package. [Dec 2012, p.104]

The theatre of destruction around your ship will leave you in awe. [June 2014, p.90]

A limited game, but an unforgettable VR experience. [Aug 2017, p.88]

A slow, soaring game with real heart, set in an often stunning realised setting. [Oct 2015, p.91]

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

With beautifully designed environments, the game looks and sounds fantastic – and there are some genuinely lovely added extras. It's a treat to play a movie tie-in that's truly worthy of its source material, and Years 5-7 is calling you right now.

It's an enjoyable and surreal experience. Smart dialogue and pointed cultural comment make this no different from its Oddworld predecessors, and a very welcome addition to PSN.

Obsidian has taken the dehydrated sands of apocalyptic Nevada and made them feel like a theme park of blood, blackjack, and Brahmin. [Issue#51, p.96]

Some dated ideas are masked by the visual makeover, but WipEout still plays and looks like nothing else. If you have the patience, The Omega Collection will reel you back in. [Aug 2017, p.91]

Well-designed and beautifully animated. [Apr 2011, p.118]

More technically stable than previous episodes. [June 2014, p.92]

It makes you feel more of a baller than wearing shades indoors. [Dec 2012, p.110]

Persona 2 isn't for everyone. The esoteric style and ageing looks will see off many a curious gamer, but persevere through the niggles and you'll uncover a stylish, incredibly written, charismatic experience.

Really fun. [Christmas 2010]

A beautiful game that captures the essence of Alien and even expands its fiction. There are some cracks under the polish, but it gets more right than it gets wrong. [Dec 2014, p.91]

A confident reimagining of a reimagining. [Apr 2015, p.86]

Superb value. [July 2009, p.104]

A little threadbare and not as revolutionary as it appears, but poignant and breathtakingly realised. [Oct 2015, p.95]

An excellent and testing shooter. [June 2010, p.117]

That it's free on Plus is one of the year's best bargains. [Dec 2014, p.94]

This does so much right, in fact, that if the controls didn't make our thumbs sad that score would be higher – as it is, this fighter comes oh-so close to a flawless victory.

Postcard-worthy space tourism, best dipped in and out of in short spells to avoid mechanical frustrations. It's an otherworldly achievement of an insane scale, with tons of genuinely special moments to offer - but also an acquired taste. [Oct 2016, p.72]

Another classic with a Twilight twist. [Dec 2009, p.18]

Never revolutionary, but it's still a cheery, tipped-out toybox filled with jokes, puzzles and loving references to Peter Jackson's new film trilogy. [June 2014, p.92]

A shooter that drips its frenetic fervor directly into your eyeballs. [Aug 2017, p.92]

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

FF XIII-2's reliance on recycling locations and reluctance to indicate the next course of action hold it back from scoring as highly as XIII, despite its improvements – but its grand ideas, bigger monsters, and bigger still haircuts make it an adventure worth getting lost in time for. Lightning can strike twice after all.

It's heady stuff. It's head and shoulders above the competition. [Oct 2016, p.81]

Ultimately The Golf Club 2 may land in the rough more than the green, but it has enough about its controls and modes to take a swing at. [Aug 2017, p.93]

A sports game that will leave you constantly thrilled and fulfilled. [Nov 2009, p.122]

Some will bounce off it within the first half-hour; those prepared to persevere and adapt will find an astonishingly deep and rewarding game of almost limitless longevity. [Oct 2016, p.81]

A breath of fresh air, full of smart thinking and new ideas - and it looks incredible. [Aug 2015, p.91]

Gamers who hold speedrunning and time trial challenges close to their hearts will be in heaven here. [Oct 2016, p.81]

The impact of the visuals on Vita are impressive enough, but together with a solid control set and at least an attempt to include new features make this easy to recommend.

A mostly excellent sandbox that delights with its gorgeous world, breadth of activities, and stellar shootouts. It can be a bit grindy, mind.[June 2018, p.93]

An undoubtedly captivating experience that has some of the strongest art design on PlayStation 4. While not quite as groundbreaking as Journey, every single fan should give Abzu their time. [Oct 2016, p.82]

No need to splash the cash: here's a no-fuss, free party game collection for all ages, and with some style. Even the weaker games will be short-lived hits. [Christmas 2016, p.97]

It's rare to see a piece of DLC that's crafted with such care and attention to detail, and given that it's a standalone title, there's no reason why you shouldn't sink your teeth into it. [Christmas 2011, p.105]

This PS4 exclusive still merits Hall of Fame consideration, but with nothing truly original it will feel underwhelming to the hardcores. For casual players, it's a must-buy. [June 2018, p.89]

Though the fun eventually wore thin, finding the ultimate combo of score-smashing power-ups kept us hooked for hours. [Nov 2012, p.82]

An engrossing ecosystem. [Nov 2014, p.90]

Niggles with the art style and slightly sub-par storytelling mean this isn't a classic, but with a few minor tweaks there's no doubt it could have been. Roll on the sequel.

It's sense of adventure and sheer generosity of scale mean it's an essential purchase for fans of brick and beast alike. [Aug 2015, p.93]

Great looking and robust to handle, 2K18 authentically replicates the full WWE experience - right down to the occasional, entirely senseless, unhappy ending. [Christmas 2017, p.82]

Happily, I can report that it's all chaos in the best possible way. [May 2018, p.78]

I genuinely don't know what's going to happen next, but I can't wait to find out. [Aug 2015, p.94]

A focused and nuanced game that addresses the majority of Human Revolution's flaws without feeling like a retread. There's a real experimental thrill, but niggles with the story and engine weaken the experience. [Oct 2016, p.88]

Well worth a purchase for diehard fight fans. [Aug 2017, p.96]

After a couple of years in the wilderness for the series, this more thoughtful Hawk's is a welcome reboot. [May 2007, p.114]

A big, fully-fledged comeback from a classic PlayStation series. [Dec 2009, p.113]

Weirdly compelling. [Oct 2016, p.94]

An evolution of last year's game rather than an overhaul. [Christmas 2011, p.109]

As fresh today as when it first poked its head out of the soil. [Dec 2012, p.117]

If you like this style of dungeon exploration, then this is a fantastically made one you can play co-op that's essentially endless, and what's not to love about that? [June 2018, p.85]

A boiling pot of real time strategy, vehicle combat and third person shooting, designed for gruelling tugs of tactical war. If the space setting appeals and you like shooters with a cerebral bite, there's plenty to love. Just don't buy it for the solo campaign alone – the story is thinner than the lunar atmosphere and essentially an elaborate training tool.

Not quite a classic, then, but Call of Duty 3 can justifiably call itself the best shooter on PS3. Over to you, then "Killzone." [Apr 2007, p.90]

Despite its small-screen setting, Origins even manages a few genuine scares, mostlly thanks to the first-rate sound: this should only be played through headphones. [Christmas 2007, p.106]

The only thing missing from Rapture is the thrill of the new. [Mar 2010, p.104]

While not one of PS VR's deepest games, this is one of the system's most fun and physically demanding. [May 2018, p.79]

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]

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]

A ruthlessly challenging, rich expansion to the world we fell in love with complete with a touching backstory - if a bit sparse on the side-quest front. [Christmas 2017, p.91]

Its insistence on your covering the screen in fingerprints is occasionally frustrating, but otherwise this suggests a very bright future for the FPS genre on Vita.

For successfully melding the best of its recent ideas with the time-honoured core combat and introducing the best tutorial mode we've seen in fighters to date, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 brings renewed vigour to the fighter war. It's so much fun, we can almost look past its creepy girl-fascination, and can just about forgive it for occasionally confusing presentation.

Shocking, silly and brutal, BJ's comeback spins an enjoyable, if tonally confused, yarn. Despite its issues, this is still a rollicking thoughtfully driven shooter. [Christmas 2017, p.93]

A very enjoyable mix of activities set in one of the most elegant open worlds on PS4. Ghost Of Tsushima does nothing particularly new but it does it all to a high standard. [Issue#178, p.71]

A dark, cinematic single-player campaign lasting around ten hours coupled with a compelling multiplayer offering make this a worthy addition to the genre, even if it can't quite compete in the very top tier. But for legacy's sake, we hope that this time Max's retirement is permanent.

A great sports game. [Apr 2009, p.104]

The world is colourful, creative and wildly diverse – you’ll side scroll your way through castle dungeons, haunted forests and pirate ships to name just three – and is brought to life with Dahl-esque wit and flair by a hilarious cast of characters.

Attention to detail is one of the strongest points of this compelling RPG. [Feb 2014, p.94]

Gets the big moments right. [Sept 2014, p.105]

Enchanting. [May 2018, p.81]

Rockstar is the master of horror. [Christmas 2010]

Only a slight lack of polish lets things down. Although it's generally a pretty game, poor character models and clipping make the cast of genero-men look like beardy versions of Morph. For all the novels sold, Clancy's PS3 titles still can't tell a compelling story, either. Yet with such a brilliantly playful toolset and strong online features (including four-player campaign co-op and a compelling wave-based Guerrilla mode) this is the most impressive soldier since that blue American bloke with the indestructible shield.

A remaster rather than a new game - a Now That's What I Call Puzzling of classic skins and tracks - this is still one of PS4's premiere puzzlers. [Issue#152, p.93]

The most authentic sports game available on PS3 at present. [May 2007, p.112]

The visuals are an improvement on My Hero One’s Justice, but there’s still a lack of English dub, despite the series’ popularity. This is a game made for fans, and it’s clear Byking’s staff are fans themselves. Plus Ultra! [Issue#174, p.92]

Like a puzzle world mini-GTA 2 where failure can be as much fun as success, Mugsters is a shot in the arm of original thinking. All in all, a minor work of genius. [Issue#152, p.80]