More a showcase for Vita's camera than a beat-'em-up. [Apr 2012, p.109]

Swims in shallow waters. [Apr 2012, p.108]

Plenty of tracks and motors, but fails the brand spectacularly on thrills. It's like Motorstorm as viewed by a seagull. [Apr 2012, p.108]

The fastest lumines ever. [Apr 2012, p.107]

Simple, limited, but executed well. A bright spark. [Apr 2012, p.107]

Solid, playable and enjoyable - but its world is just a bit too hackneyed to care about. [Apr 2012, p.107]

Hellacious. [Apr 2012, p.107]

Not perfect, but the best handheld game of football ever made. [Apr 2012, p.106]

Vita's controls give newfound oomph and the content system is compelling, but a lack of identity tempers things. [Apr 2012, p.105]

Genius design wrapped in gentle whimsy. [Apr 2012, p.105]

It's fast and it's beautiful - but mostly it's classic WipEout. [Apr 2012, p.104]

As a solo game, it's very repetitive. [Apr 2012, p.103]

This short, bloody roller-coaster really impresses. [Apr 2012, p.103]

Skills look and feel the business, and World Tour is compelling. [Apr 2012, p.102]

This is a strong Pong. [Apr 2012, p.101]

Simulates brutality so every blow feels heavy and real. [Apr 2012, p.100]

Despite the gargantuan scale, it's never less than incredible fun. [Apr 2012, p.96]

Let down by a lack of creative spark. [Apr 2012, p.95]

Shockingly light on gameplay, but eclipses competitors in scale, cinematics and design. [Apr 2012, p.95]

BD's narrative smarts and satisfying combat are let down by terrible AI and a lack of polish. [Apr 2012, p.94]

Awful bosses, poor story, and unimaginative level design bury sexy guns and good looks. [Apr 2012, p.92]

Keenly directed and liberatingly open, Journey is occasionally impenetrable - but that's the price of mystery. A short trip, but one to cherish. [Apr 2012, p.90]

An emotional and fitting end to the sci-fi epic, with improved tactical combat, a huge galaxy to explore, and choices that will test your morals to the limit. [Apr 2012, p.84]

A charming fantasy adventure bursting with soul. The platforming is 2D; everything else is deep and intuitive. [March 2012, p.113]

Amy has all the survival horror elements, but the execution is so poor that the result is a poisonous chimera. [March 2012, p.113]

A potentially interesting idea with inherent problems, which NeverDead completely fails to identify or acknowledge, let alone solve. [March 2012, p.112]

Amalur is a brisk action blast that just happens to last upwards of 50 hours. Not the best world ever built, but a fun place to spend a few weeks. [March 2012, p.110]

An intriguing time-hopping concept hamstrung by substandard combat and unrefined level replays. Good, but not good enough. [March 2012, p.102]

A far-from-terrible sports game that's accessible and fun for brief periods, but lacks the creative punch to warrant its place in Vita's launch line-up. [March 2012, p.93]

Not quite the game its big brother is, but it's not far behind. It straddles the fun/sim divide well with fast, fluid racing. [March 2012, p.92]

A complex-yet-accessible 2D fighter which will satisfy hardcore SF fans much more than Marvel vs. Capcom 3. [March 2012, p.92]

Feels like it's been hiding in the bushes for years, growing old as it waits to spring out on stealth fans. [March 2012, p.92]

An impressive port that will satisfy seasoned fighters, though it concedes to newbies in the worst way possible. [March 2012, p.92]

A shallow demo with minimal functionality outside Wi-Fi access, this just isn't an appealing offer. If the core game was a free download, things could be different. [March 2012, p.91]

Far better than the recent PSP and iOS versions, this is Katamari's most fun portable outing to date. More new stuff would have been nice, though. [March 2012, p.91]

Dip in and out, go deep and follow a career, knock about with friends online or in the same room - the Vita version has its sense of fun back. And that's just 'ace'. [March 2012, p.90]

Not quite up the standard of the PS3 games - but then what it is? It's still a triumphant early outing for Nathan Drake, and Vita's best launch title. [March 2012, p.88]

A stylish, violent shooter wrapped up in a touching plot and lovely graphic-novel visuals. Not perfect, but deeply satisfying to blast through. [March 2012, p.106]

A superb - and pleasantly cheap - HD update of a criminally ignored, highly-original old action platformer. [Feb 2012, p.107]

The odd-ball humour is as feisty as ever. [Feb 2012, p.107]

Despite its age, Metal Gear Solid HD still does bang-up stealth, and couples it with some of the maddest storytelling ever pressed to disc. Still essential. [Feb 2012, p.100]

Faster and more aggressive, SCV is what the series needed. Long term fans may bemoan the changes, but this is the perfect starting point for newcomers. [Feb 2012, p.94]

It's so basic and boring we're not sure why anyone would bother. [Jan 2012, p.109]

This is just as competent in its execution of a very niche idea as any other FF thus far. [Jan 2012, p.109]

It's not perfect, but this ingenious joy is original, surprising and charming. [Jan 2012, p.109]

It's all a bit cack. [Jan 2012, p.109]

Not the greatest lightgun game we've ever played, but an amusing and suitably impressive shrine to bad taste. [Jan 2012, p.103]

Back to Karkand's maps are tried-and-true classics, and BF3's tech brings plenty of thunder. It's a bit on the expensive side, however.

Value for money, then, if not out of this world. [Christmas 2011, p.111]

It's far from groundbreaking no matter what way you look at it, but offers a solid premise with strong, Roswell UFO-themed graphical stylings. [Christmas 2011, p.111]

For a mini, this sure packs plenty. [Christmas 2011, p.111]

It's still surprisingly enjoyable. Pricey, though. [Christmas 2011, p.111]

The best Dragon Age expansion to date. [Christmas 2011, p.110]

This DLC is quite creative. [Christmas 2011, p.110]

It's free, but average. [Christmas 2011, p.110]

It'll give you an hour or two of laughs for the price of half a pint. [Christmas 2011, p.110]

An essential part of the Arkham City experience you'd be mad to miss. [Christmas 2011, p.110]

A mix of the great, good and plain bad, Generations is still giddy, fun and compelling. Pricey at 35 pounds, though. [Christmas 2011, p.107]

A polished, deep basketball sim that will amaze fans, while welcoming those curious about the sport. [Christmas 2011, p.107]

A pricey, dumbed-down follow-up. [Christmas 2011, p.107]

A real dog of a historical slasher. [Christmas 2011, p.107]

Boring environments, repetitive gameplay and poor combat mean this is considerably worse than its predecessor. [Christmas 2011, p.105]

A mixture of smart FPS combat and lame shooter cliches. [Christmas 2011, p.105]

A weak, aimless story and limited freedom to explore betray the fun, varied and creative combat in this beautiful post-apocalyptic wasteland. [Christmas 2011, p.104]

An abundance of recycled gameplay sours what is otherwise an entertaining, imaginative and memorable end to Ezio's story. [Christmas 2011, p.100]

The solo campaign is fun but bombastic to point of being bewildering, but the rest of the (gargantuan) package is typically life-consuming stuff. [Christmas 2011, p.96]

Ignore the risk and reward of the real thing. [Christmas 2011, p.95]

As awkward as "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan wrestling today, WWE 12 delivers but a fraction of the changes it needed. [Christmas 2011, p.95]

What should be a romp turns out to be a tedious affair. [Christmas 2011, p.94]

A phenomenal multiplayer FPS with a polished campaign and smart co-op. Looks and sounds great, but - next to the PC - exposes the limits of the PS3 hardware. [Christmas 2011, p.90]

It's the king of console role-players. [Christmas 2011, p.86]

Surprisingly relaxing. [Dec 2011, p.111]

This game is nuts - simplicity meets sadomasochism. [Dec 2011, p.111]

It's a clever retooling of a very overused concept, and lots of lovely fun. [Dec 2011, p.111]

Sticks to the familiar Zombies template, but there's a lot of good stuff here, including some hugely entertaining new weapons. [Dec 2011, p.110]

It's actually just one new game mode, with a few multiplayer skins and an XMB theme thrown in. [Dec 2011, p.110]

Great DLC for a great arcade shooter. [Dec 2011, p.110]

Really should have been included in the original game, but at least it's free to download. [Dec 2011, p.110]

A great new setting. [Dec 2011, p.110]

Everything about Supremacy MMA feels rushed. [Dec 2011, p.107]

A big let-down. [Dec 2011, p.107]

Can't compete with today's big-budget racers, but manages to offer almost throwback arcade fun and velocity. [Dec 2011, p.107]

Gorgeous visuals and excellent physics. [Dec 2011, p.107]

A rhythm action game that has little to do with rhythm. [Dec 2011, p.106]

A simple idea, but well-executed and lots of polish. [Dec 2011, p.105]

Feels great in co-op, but it's hit and miss when playing alone. [Dec 2011, p.105]

A brilliant cut-price remix of an already standout game. [Dec 2011, p.104]

Arguably less fluid and immediate than its rival FIFA 12, PES 2012's superior single-player game is nevertheless deep, challenging and often outright magical. [Dec 2011, p.102]

A bold, confident reworking of a winning formula - one that takes Batman to the next level with incredible tech, skill and imagination. [Dec 2011, p.98]

The lazy HD conversion is disappointing. [Dec 2011, p.97]

Genuinely exhilarating dogfights. [Dec 2011, p.97]

A bold and more random game, which still thrills like few others - but the increased realism makes for a chaotic, often taxing experience. [Dec 2011, p.96]

Utterly unforgiving... But stick it out and you'll see months of crushing lows and glorious highs. [Dec 2011, p.94]

Confident storytelling, astonishing visuals and obscenely ambitious setpieces make Uncharted 3 the best of the series and an absolute must-have. [Dec 2011, p.90]

A cheap car crash is still a car crash. [Nov 2011, p.111]

Not for everyone. [Nov 2011, p.111]

PSP missed the first iPhone port, but this is better. [Nov 2011, p.111]

Competent, if uninspired and pricey. [Nov 2011, p.110]