The Sydney Morning Herald's Scores

  • Games
Select another publication »
For 862 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 31% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 65% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 3.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Shadow of the Colossus
Lowest review score: 20 Seven Samurai 20XX
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 403 out of 862
  2. Mixed: 401 out of 862
  3. Negative: 58 out of 862
862 game reviews
view
per page
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Justice League Heroes
    The arcade-style fist fights can get a little repetitive but DC Comic fans should get a thrill out of teaming up their favourite characters.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
    Serviceable entertainment for kids, but you'll have more fun watching the DVD.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
    The highlight is a brief but thrilling broomstick chase against a fire-breathing dragon. An underwater interlude is less successful, although it provides variety.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Justice League Heroes
    The arcade-style fist fights can get a little repetitive but DC Comic fans should get a thrill out of teaming up their favourite characters.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan
    It would have been good to see the game's accessibility for beginners complemented by combination moves for more skilled players.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan
    It would have been good to see the game's accessibility for beginners complemented by combination moves for more skilled players.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Juiced
    Juiced is instantly approachable but has depth.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Terminator 3: The Redemption
    The levels are so big and detailed that it's a wonder they don't bring your console to a crashing halt.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The Rub Rabbits!
    It is inventive, creative and strangely compelling, but the more difficult tasks can be frustrating and its lasting appeal is limited.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Star Fox: Assault
    Controls are sloppy, environments are bland and blasting alien bugs becomes dull. Even a futuristic tank cannot enliven the ground-based missions, particularly as the vehicle is clumsy to manoeuvre.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
    Serviceable entertainment for kids, but you'll have more fun watching the DVD.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Shark Tale
    Children should have a whale of a time with this approachable and enjoyable adventure, which offers a tasty smorgasbord of game styles served in bite-sized chunks.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Just Cause
    Sloppy vehicle handling, some bugs in the design of the missions and the endless travel means it doesn't hit the same high notes as GTA and others, but the mindless action is still good dumb fun.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Area 51 (2005)
    Lacking any innovation, the best this game offers has already been done.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Punisher
    Dark, violent and derivative, but nowhere near as flawed as the movie.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mega Man Battle Network 4 Blue Moon
    A great Megaman introduction for beginners. But owners of its forerunners will struggle to find enough new features to warrant upgrading.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Close Combat: First to Fight
    Despite its frustrating flaws, there is still an authentic and challenging military games experience to be had.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    SpongeBob Squarepants: The Yellow Avenger
    But youngsters will need help completing some tasks as it's not always clear what to do next. Boss battles can also be demanding, requiring both button bashing and touch-screen scribbling.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    UFO: Aftershock
    A pale imitation of an age-old PC classic that tries to innovate but fails to grasp what was great about the original.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Marvel's Avengers
    Attempting to provide both satisfying big-budget narrative adventures and an online squad-based loot-grinding platform, Marvel's Avengers is an extremely impressive effort that falls short on long-term incentives (at least so far), but nails the campaign.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
    While ploughing through the dungeons becomes repetitive, following your character's evolution and steady growth in skills becomes addictive.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tony Hawk's Project 8
    There are more trick-based challenges than ever, but aside from the new slow-motion control, Tony Hawk is skating through the same old territory.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Haunting Ground
    Obstacles prove satisfying to overcome, but enduring a lengthy Benny Hill-style pursuit is frustrating. Patience is required.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    CivCity: Rome
    Mission objectives lack imagination, and after constructing several cities the game can feel repetitive and formulaic.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
    Playing Travis Strikes Again is an experience I'm glad I had, even if I wouldn't recommend it as a fun game. As a biting reflection of the ridiculousness of hardcore video game fans it's less successful than previous games, and its smaller scale makes the still-repetitive fighting even more dull. But the weirdness remains, and the Kafkaesque story of the Death Drive console paired with Suda51's signature takes on Japanese and American culture — plus the frequently enjoyable mish-mash of retro aesthetics — makes for a satisfyingly eccentric game unlike many others.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
    Aussie expertise has produced the best Spyro game in many years, but the action gets repetitive and some old fans might be dismayed by the emphasis on combat.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Full Auto 2: Battlelines
    It's a gas tank full of frustration that could leave you fuming, but Full Auto 2's explosive graphics help to keep it on track.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Blood Will Tell
    The action can get a little clumsy due to that bane of third-person games, an uncooperative camera. Despite this the gripping storyline should keep players battling all the way to the finale.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Cooking Mama
    A lot of fun but unlikely to satisfy your gaming appetite.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Star Wars Battlefront II
    There's no escaping the awful loot boxes and ham-fisted progression system here. The much-anticipated single-player mode has its moments but it's not as strong as expected, leaving the online play to serve as the core of the experience. Though there are some smart tweaks and changes that could have potentially improved the game over Battlefront 2015, funnelling all your upgrades and levelling through random boxes massively misses the mark. The production values are sky high and in the moment it can be amazing, but Battlefront II's economy keeps me from wanting to jump back in.
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »