A veritable master class of all-round game development. From a sensational single-player experience that never takes any short-cuts and maintains its story's mythological credibility right to the end to the co-operative online play to the robust, balanced, and just plain fun multiplayer modes, this is a package of content that more than earns its $60 price tag... [It's] this season's biggest PS3 victory. [Nov 2009, p.42]

Arkham City should be celebrated as a shining achievement for the action-adventure genre for its masterful execution. [Holiday 2011, p.70]

It's too early yet to declare a new era or direction in gaming, but LittleBigPlanet feels like the birth of a revolution; like through sharing our collective creativity we'll somehow become better, stronger, closer to each other. [Holiday 2008, p.56]

It's a fantastic epic adventure and a title that belongs in every gamer's library. [Aug 2010, p.80]

Instead, much like Bioshock 2, the single-player portion can't quite recapture the magic of the original, but there is no denying Portal 2 is a brilliant and satisfying game in its own right. [June 2011, p.72]

Modern Warfare is everything you'd want from a sequel. [Jan 2010, p.72]

With CoD4, developer Infinity Ward throws you into real-world situations, but places the focus on fictional bad guys. [Holiday 2007, p.70]

A remarkable achievement, a triumph of gameplay and narrative that everyone should choose to play. [Nov 2008, p.70]

Mass Effect 2 has touched a place in our hearts few other games have. Despite the abundance of science fiction-themed games availble today, none has rivaled the depth of a classic sci-fi book the way this does. [Feb 2010, p.76]

By striking a balance between fresh and familiar, and by delivering the best aspects of Street Fighters past, Street Fighter IV is easily one of this console generation's best fighting games. [Feb 2009, p.66]

If you come to the game with no prior MGS knowledge, you'll still uncover one of the most absorbing stories ever told. [July 2008, p.38]

If ever a game was more about the journey than the destination, it's Mass Effect 3. And what a journey it is. [May 2012, p.71]

Skyrim is a gorgeous production that truly does justice to the words "roleplaying game." It doesn't just tell us a story, it gives us the chance to tell a story of our own. At its best, that's what an interactive art form should be all about. [Jan 2011, p.73]

God of War III is beautiful. It's bloody. It's brilliant. But it's not perfect. [Apr 2010, p.44]

Viewed strictly as a videogame, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception represents the height of technical achievement--the state-of-the-art, if you will--for the interactive console experience. [Holiday 2011, p.49]

These powerful new attacks – along with some much needed tweaks to a few regular and super moves – add a massive amount of strategic nuance and mix up a lot of the match-ups. You also get a streamlined multiplayer lobby (where you can spectate or play solo while waiting), saveable replays and the return of bonus stages (i.e. belting barrels and cars). For its price, Super Street Fighter IV features a lion’s share of new content. Grease up and grab it today. [May 2010, p.72]

It's worth every penny; the fun you'll have with friends--and even alone--is truly priceless. [Jan 2008, p.78]

Journey's short length and limited replayability make it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend. It is, however, a tour de force of brilliant visuals and music, as well as a joy to play through and explore. It's absolutely worth experiencing at least once. [Apr 2012, p.78]

Both games are certifiable classics, and the HD visuals amplify all of the emotion Team Ico tenderly weaved into them. [Nov 2011, p.80]

This is retro homage done right. [Feb 2011, p.87]

You'd best get ready to rock. [Holiday 2008, p.70]

Buying the game is buying into its potential. Its prefabricated campaign is fun enough - especially with four players - but experimenting with its Create mode is hugely addictive, and imaginative players will find themselves sucked in for hours on end. [Feb 2010, p.78]

Rock Band's greatest achievement may be that it's not just another Rock Band game; it's an ambitious step forward for the genre. [Dec 2010, p.80]

Fundamentally, soccer fans can rejoice, but more impressively, even casual sports fans will appreciate a perfectly conceived, wonderfully executed sports sim. [Dec 2009, p.79]

The sequel has arguably changed for the better in just about every conceivable way...Assassin's Creed II truly offers an experience like no other, one that mixes history and brutality to sheer perfection. And it's absolutely massive. [Holiday 2009, p.38]

A seriously engrossing game that really, truly blends shooters and RPGs to brilliant effect. [Nov 2012, p.75]

If you're a fan of the God of War universe, of action-adventure titles, or of the PSP, you must pick up Chains of Olympus. [Apr 2008, p.68]

That commitment is made palatable by the quality oozing out of every feature, every visual detail, every pitch, and every hit in The Show--the best baseball game currently available. [Jun 2010, p.74]

It's true that Killzone 2 is filled with moments that can handily be described as inspiring awe. Each scene is incredibly well detailed, from the gaps in jerry-rigged cover points letting you sneak in a killing headshot to scarred and scratched textures, the planet feels entirely believable... Without a doubt Killzone fans, action and shooter fans of any stripe will instantly tag this sequel as a powerful contender for best game of 2009. [Feb 2009, p.38]

These were two of the PS2's greatest games, and they're just as compelling--and much better looking--on PS3. [Jan 2010, p.83]

Yes, this is the Batman you've been waiting for...It's a wonderful experience, beginning to end, never taking the easy or familiar route, and infusing each shift of the story with original ideas that cut no corners. [Oct 2009, p.70]

Beyond its highly polished gameplay, the sheer breadth and depth of what 2K12 offers will keep basketball fans happily playing for hundreds of hours. [Dec 2011, p.72]

With great visuals, fully featured commentary, and a depth of content that will absolutely keep FIFA fans engaged, this 2012 iteration will easily satisfy the crowd. [Dec 2011, p.73]

And that's the draw of the game: interacting with a living, breathing world that centers on you as the star. [Holiday 2008, p.60]

The new version of MLB: The Show is available. Play ball. [April 2011, p.86]

This is probably Atlus USA's best work yet, with a script full of lively, natural-sounding dialogue and a cast of talented actors who take that dialogue and run with it. [Feb 2009, p.72]

But combined with a lengthy and respectable single-player campaign, Brotherhood becomes a worthwhile Assassin's Creed 2.5. [Jan 2011, p.79]

Questionable controls aside, Chinatown Wars is a beautiful blend of the modern 3D games with the pick-up-and-play appeal of the '90s original. [Holiday 2009, p.70]

Despite these flaws, however, Okami is still one of our favorite games and more than worth a meager 20 bucks. [Holiday 2012, p.82]

Limbo is simply one of the most impressive titles that PSN has to offer, and at $15, it's an experience that no gamer should pass up. [Oct 2011, p.80]

The all-new Control Stick system highlights this year's gameplay improvements, allowing more precise ball handling through the Right-analog stick. [Dec 2012, p.82]

Atlus didn't rest on its laurels with this revival. [Sept 2010, p.84]

A relentlessly addictive, almost endlessly replayable experience. [Dec 2012, p.78]

A game best left to the most masochistic, hardcore game. [Dec 2009, p.80]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

The game looks and feels just that much more authentic without feeling like we're sitting through 90 minutes of Stoke City versus Wigan. [Dec 2010, p.85]

Despite its shortcomings, Revolution is still a superior games that's more robust and ambitious than the vast majority of modern shooters. [Oct 2011, p.77]

In many ways, L.A. Noire is similar to an AMC series...It's a slow build, but once hooked, we couldn't get enough of this provocative adventure, with its compelling characters and innovative gameplay. It's not perfect, but it's also unlike anything else on the PS3 right now. [July 2011, p.77]

First-person hand-to-hand combat feels a bit awkward, and the lack of boss battles means this method also feels a bit repetitive - especially if you're not the inventive type. [Dec 2012, p.75]

Though the new chapter is very good, it's also combat heavy and sports a moderately high difficulty level. [June 2008, p.74]

Graphics age and controls grow outdated, but genius never fades. [Jan 2012, p.85]

With meticulous polish, top-quality gameplay, and more than enough scream-like-a-little-girl moments, Space 2 surpasses the original in every capacity. Factor in its gruesome dismemberments and spectacular zero-G and there's truly nothing else like it. [Feb 2011, p.72]

Kojima's team did the best they could and it's more than good enough to call Peace Walker a genuine Metal Gear Solid 5. [Aug 2010, p.76]

For Playstation gamers who might not have played these game on other platforms, The Orange Box is the best value package available on the PS3. [Feb 2008, p.72]

It still doesn't feel quite like the real thing, but it's very close. [Dec 2010, p.85]

But our perseverance was rewarded with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, making Dark Souls one of the most engrossing RPG's we've ever played. [Dec 2011, p.76]

So the game may not be perfect but the Beatles' music pretty much is. [Nov 2009, p.72]

With NHL 2K sitting out this season, these details combine to make NHL 11 the best--and only--videogame on ice. [Nov 2010, p.83]

Excellent carnage, smartly implemented controls, and solid technical work all come together to create an experience that's fun and frightening. [Dec 2008, p.62]

In short, if you're a hockey nut and you're trying to decide which game to throw your hockey dollars at, look no further than NHL 09. [Nov 2008, p.86]

The "Be a Pro" career mode is incredibly enticing. [Nov 2009, p.80]

Ultimately, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a fairly standard adventure game at its core that goes from "great" to "good" by the time all's said and done. [Jan 2008, p.79]

The modern military FPS genre is as crowded as a mess hall at chow at chow time, but BC2 has managed to inject plenty of freshness into its firefights with an engaging single-player yarn and a host of defining online features. [Apr 2010, p.74]

Looks stunning, losing none of the visual splendor infused in its PS3 counterpart. [Apr 2012, p.59]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

If you're still wondering if BioShock 2 is better than the original as you enter the final level, by the time you beat it, you'll have no doubt. This is one of the best games you'll ever play. [Mar 2010, p.62]

As a complete package, Modern Warfare 3 takes the cake. [Jan 2012, p.67]

The smaller screen makes precision work tricky, but touch controls make it quicker. [Dec 2012, p.84]

It's very good, as we now expect. This year's installment just isn't a revolutionary leap. [Nov 2012, p.81]

The group co-op challenges alone are some of the most fun we've had playing online in years. [Feb 2008, p.76]

Like the powerhouse race thoroughbreds that populate it, GRID is an unrelenting ride that keeps rewarding you the harder you push it. [Aug 2008, p.64]

BlazBlue has the moves and goods to back it up. [Aug 2009, p.71]

At its heart, FIFA showcases all the highlights of its past lives, with a few interesting tweaks. [Holiday 2008, p.83]

Maybe Rally racing is truly at a crossroads in terms of its identity, but if it offers Dirt 3's abundance of varied driving experiences, there'll be great racing down whichever path is chosen. [July 2011, p.80]

A beautifully told, smartly paced, and relentlessly addictive shooter. [July 2012, p.70]

Like many games earning classic status, FNR4 generates repeated standout, jaw-dropping moments, and none of them are pre-scripted. [Aug 2009, p.64]

We're enjoying it immensely... It is a game like none other. [Mar 2010, p.66]

It's a complex, challenging game with a powerful story that pulls us through it, and the portable version adds more than enough new elements to make it worth playing through again and again. [March 2011, p.80]

Sitting somewhere between a sequel and a revamp, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift is unquestionably a great 2D fighter, but then so is the game it retools, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. [Oct 2010, p.80]

Thankfully, other than shortening events into quicker bursts, the only negative effects of Westernization are purely cosmetic...dude. [Nov 2009, p.82]

So often we see PSP ports that are missing features or don't control well, but Afternoon of Darkness is a shining example of what ports should be. [Holiday 2007, p.80]

The thinking-man's RPG is remarkable for many reasons, but its overbearing scale and variety are the parts that stand out from the get-go. [Jan 2010, p.76]

Origins returns Rayman to his 2D roots and is filled to the brim with gorgeous hand-drawn environments, blazing-fast platforming, and a huge variety of gameplay mechanics. [Holiday 2011, p.82]

Really, though, The Show is all about the modes. Road to the Show in particular is much less of a grind now. [May 2012, p.84]

Fortunately, the cooperative gameplay holds up superbly and adds tremendously to the value, and alongside the community features will ensure a long-lasting place in many PS3 shooter fans' repertoire. [Jan 2009, p.62]

This is an amazing technological feat, and anyone with a PSP, an imagination and a sense of fun should play it immediately. [Jan 2010, p.79]

You can have a very different gameplay experience depending on how you develop your character. [Feb 2010, p.68]

The game's charming story and characters are accompanied by fun, compelling gameplay mechanics in both time-tested and totally new styles. [Holiday 2009, p.64]

For now, all you need to know is this: UT3 is the killer, exclusive PS3 app we hoped it'd be, and if you're not playing it, you're missing out on some damned good times. [Feb 2008, p.82]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Hopefully sequels will enhance the career mode. [Apr 2012, p.80]

The story is a real hoot. [Dec 2008, p.78]

Here's what it comes down to: exactly how much do you love Metallica? [July 2009, p.78]

Patapon may indeed be a game so unusual that it's marching to its own beat, but Japan Studio did such a phenomenal job tying together the control, music and art direction that we recommend grooving right along with that wonderous, delightful beat. [Apr 2008, p.78]

Indeed, Sparta is not only a great PSP game but a great God of War game with an absolutely incredible ending. [Dec 2010, p.42]

Factor in the additional Be a GM, Be a Pro, and unlockable Be a Legend modes and the depth of NHL 12's experience is near unmatched. [Nov 2011, p.84]

Veterans will be pleased to know that Online is indeed an arcade-perfect port of the original Third Stike[itself the third iteration of SFIII], backed up by all new netcode that virtually eliminates lag. [Nov 2011, p.85]

Indie studio Hello Games' debut release hooked us from the get-go, and with good reason: It's one of the best original games to hit PSN. [Sept 2010, p.82]