If it was actually a budget game, rather than just feeling like one, it would be more strongly recommended. [July 2011, p.100]

A rock-solid combat system is held back by the extremely poor story mode and limited offline options. Not a disaster, but Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite still squanders its immense potential. [Nov 2017, p.86]

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.

The real problem, however, is that these are not the kind of games that should be remade in hi-def. With titles such as Shadow Of The Colossus or Metal Gear Solid 3, it figures: these are unique experiences that no game since has been able to recreate, outdo or even capture the spirit of. Devil May Cry was lauded at the time, but the games simply aren't classics in that same bracket.

The turn-based combat is Gust at its best, and watching skills evolving into stronger versions, rather than characters learning new moves and making old ones irrelevant, is a nice way to show the characters growing in strength that feels right out of the anime. Mechanically it’s punching above its weight and is more magically charged than some bigger JRPGs, but it’s let down outside combat by stiff animations that feel a generation old, actions rarely feeling like they match up in conversations. Plus, multiple tedious side-quests to level up your guild bottleneck story progression. We love the characters and combat, and it feels like a beloved PS3 game we missed out on, but in 2020 the magic wanes. [Issue#179, p.76]

The likes of Spider-Man and Just Cause are many knots ahead of this one. Even when you upgrade to get more skills, everything feels oddly stiff. Movement lacks momentum, and fights are either trivial or annoying as you’re peppered with gunfire. World Seeker is an entertaining take on an anime open world game, but this ship’s a fixer-upper. [Issue#161, p.83]

Mindless fun. [Christmas 2010]

It is, very much, a game of two halves. The production values are low – like kicking a three-legged kitten low – but the combat system is a crazy, unique joy. If someone, er, liberally 'borrowed' it in a title with a triple-A budget we could be looking at something really special.

Right now we're in a mid-season lull. [June 2015, p.94]

ProStreet bursts onto the stage dropping frames like a drunken juggler. [Christmas 2007, p.90]

There's much more exciting elevator action you could be having. [Nov 2011, p.117]

A game so retro it feels like the illegitimate offspring of early Castlevania and Final Fantasy titles. [June 2011, p.109]

A poor, watered-down substitute that even the most devoted space junkie can afford to skip. [June 2011, p.110]

Clunky loading times. [July 2011, p.105]

A game that forgets its key strengths, builds on its weaknesses and throws in a novelty first-person mode that you'll play for ten minutes. [Feb 2008, p.88]

To be fair, SBK-08 feels built down to a [stringent] price rather than unloved or uninspired. [Oct 2008, p.105]

A functional dancer, with no signs of its subject's genius. [June 2011, p.110]

It only takes a few matches to feel like you've seen it all. [Nov 2017, p.92]

Likeable at times, but the lack of variety will have you reaching for the bottle long before the end. [Feb 2010, p.115]

The alluring design of the world and excellent soundtrack undoubtedly elevate matters. [Jan 2013, p.113]

An innovative PS VR shooter that too often puts the political message ahead of the fun. It's destined to become a cult classic, but not an essential experience. [May 2018, p.90]

There are promising ideas here but it's too messy overall for anything to really shine through. [Christmas 2007, p.100]

Sker Hotel is a beautifully realised survival horror location to get lost in for an afternoon– it’s just a shame about the monstrous staff. [Issue#179, p.81]

File this alongside Early Grey and Eastenders: things that some people apparently enjoy, but for reasons entirely beyond me. [Jan 2013, p.113]

Possibly the most disappointing aspect of Shadows is that we know these developers could have made this awesome. [Aug 2011, p.102]

Not as inventive as Wes Anderson’s films, as bizarre as Twin Peaks, nor as quirky as Double Fine, Trüberbrook is merely a casual, occasionally surprising, but always gorgeous adventure. [Issue#161, p.90]

Open world Spyro though? Maybe next time. [Jan 2009, p.97]

It's all pleasingly brightly coloured. [June 2011, p.111]