A bit pricey for a game so close to "Bejeweled," but the RPG element genuinely adds to the package. [Christmas 2007, p.98]

A superb technical showcase, but the engine will be put to bolder use in time. [June 2011, p.85]

Some amazing moments, some truly abysmal. Saints Row is wildly imaginative but the lack of technical polish and the weak combat mar the creativity. [Feb 2012, p.100]

A great game and one of only a few platformers on Xbox; keep a spare pad handy though. [Apr 2008, p.96]

Individually this game should be superb and if you’ve never played a previous version this should be your first point of call. However, taken as part of a continuous series, this is a fairly pointless offering as it offers very little in terms of innovation.

Fun enough, but not the facelift we were hoping for. Plus, online totally carries it. [Sept 2008, p.70]

It's the definitive version of SPF, but still one for the experts or those with lots of time to spare. [Nov 2007, p.96]

Too hard to be fun, too mean not to frustrate, but challenging enough to be rewarding. [Christmas 2008, p.92]

Not quite the number of the beast - but from Schafer it's a minor disappointment. [Christmas 2009, p.94]

The grind-heavy mechanics may be for online obsessives, but solo players shouldn't bother. [Dec 2008, p.103]

It's good, but not good enough - proving the loudest car on the grid is rarely the healthiest. [July 2010, p.88]

It's certainly a good game, but we want to wage war against Sawyer from Lost, not our 360 controller.

Too much streamlining has blunted FFXIII's hooks. This isn't epic, it's arduous. [May 2010, p.67]

A timeless classic, but one we've played to death before. Still, 400 points isn't bad value. [Dec 2007, p.96]

The infrastructure is definitely in place for a corker of a kickabout but the important thing - that intangible soul - is still frustratingly missing.

Promises much but proves to be a limited, lacklustre take on the RTS. [Apr 2009, p.77]

It's a game of two halves, but the good half carries the bad. [Dec 2011, p.103]

Okay if you're looking for feature-filled b-ball - but EA do it better. [Jan 2008, p.78]

Vision of the future, relic of the past - after such a long wait, Rage turns out to be both a triumph and a tragedy. In 2011, this just doesn't cut it. [Christmas 2011, p.104]

Lacks the appeal of a "Hexic" or a "Lumines," but a surprisingly solid puzzler nonetheless. [Apr 2008, p.96]

Newcomers are likely to get more out of this new trilogy's opening than veterans, who know much better. [Feb 2009, p.74]

A so-so game on an engine so old it's literally powered by steam. [Christmas 2009, p.92]

It's a bridge between loon-o-shooters and interactive modern FPS'. That's it, though. [Christmas 2008, p.60]

Starts off crap, gets a bit better, ends up disappointing. It's a rollercoaser, for sure - but no Diddy Kong Racing. [Aug 2010, p.121]

Another tortuously brutal NES-styled slice of gaming masochism for the hardest of the hardcore. [July 2010, p.121]

A prototype for others to follow, but the concept doesn't support an entire game. [Jan 2009, p.72]

A fan-pleasing extension of canon, but not the game it should have been. [Sept 2009, p.90]

The series' next gen debut plays it safe, but will doubtless charm the pants off fans. [Aug 2009, p.80]

It would score higher if it was a quid. [Dec 2011, p.112]

A nostalgia-fest which hasn't aged well - but it will still bring a massive smile to the faces of old blokes. [June 2010, p.118]

A great game - obviously - but it's lacking in features already in the original Xbox port. [May 2009, p.104]

A decent puzzler with a theme so sickly sweet you'll spit out your teeth in disgust. And why not? [Sept 2008, p.97]

Platform shooters don't get much better, but the plop filter and slowdown problems let it down. [Mar 2008, p.94]

Its lethargic pace could put many off, but the mix of strategy and resource management is hard to fault. [Feb 2009, p.104]

One of the most inventive puzzle games on 360, ported from the PC with little love and attention. [Jan 2008, p.92]

The most bare-bones port imagineable. [Oct 2007, p.96]

A slick port of still-great gameplay and distinctive visuals. [Feb 2012, p.111]

Gleefully naff fun, bristling with good ideas, but it never feels like a 360 game. [Jan 2009, p.71]

It's a sprinkling of glitter rather than an overhaul. [Feb 2012, p.109]

Top quality grinworthy action only slightly marred by haste. Not just for the kids. [May 2011, p.90]

The best Transformers game for ages - but it's still a one-dimensional shooter, lacking guile.

THE side-scrolling shooter, now possible to complete. [Apr 2009, p.103]

A defiantly old school shooter that bleeds imagination, but feels stuck in the past. [Sept 2011, p.81]

Good skins, though. [Feb 2010, p.87]

Effects-laden baseball that's a bit of a solo slog but a big hit with two players. [Oct 2009, p.93]

An obscene, atmospheric and silly adventure, marred by a lot of lackustre combat. [Aug 2008, p.98]

One of the best kids games on 360 but, unusually for Pixar, with little grown-up appeal. [Oct 2010, p.99]

The scrolling fighter may be dead, but this is the genre's finest relic. Get involved. [Dec 2007, p.96]

Just don't bother playing alone. [Christmas 2008, p.94]

Stiff controls and samey puzzles hamper what is otherwise a fun, enjoyable romp.

It eventually becomes too much of a grind. [Dec 2011, p.101]

Dishing out this weak score is like putting an adorable puppy out of its misery. [Sept 2009, p.84]

Smarter, cheaper, longer and funnier, but the combat's just as dull and there's just as much of it. [Jan 2009, p.104]

Hugely, hugely frustrating but there is a good game hiding deep beneath.

Workmanlike design scuppers rock solid shooting. Not great FEAR, but not all awful. [Oct 2011, p.81]

A sad step back in the quest to get a deep RTS to work well on the Xbox 360. [June 2010, p.89]

A beautiful and brilliant game that needed a bit less punishment and lots more...funishment. [Apr 2011, p.120]

A very decent update of a game that's sadly years - no, generations - past its prime. [Jan 2011, p.81]

Finally a lag-free online shooter! A shame it comes at the expense of the Campaign.

We don't care what the film's like, this is one of the brightest kiddie romps ever. [Sept 2008, p.73]

Another great Rock Band outing - but half of Green Day's classic content is missing. Uh? [Sept 2010, p.101]

An entertaining expansion, but it needs to be gack to the drawing board. [Sept 2008, p.74]

Lego games are still charming but this is too bitty, and too familiar, for our tastes. [June 2011, p.103]

Forget the censored movies, this is the real Wolverine: gore, guts, blood and huge great sideburns.

Should've followed 3-on-3 NHL Arcade's XBLA lead. [Feb 2011, p.108]

A solid debut, though the package will be a little over reliant on the community for many. [Jan 2011, p.88]

Nothing wrong with a game of cards, but this one doesn't warrant the expense. [Feb 2008, p.84]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Of the three Naruto games on Xbox 360, this definitely gets the bronze. [Issue#98, p.89]

Inventive fun, just not the pure twitch shoot-'em-up that the name suggests. [Dec 2008, p.102]

A decent idea that falls short for a variety of eminently fixable reasons. [Feb 2010, p.80]

An enjoyable and solidly designed Nati-fragger, but one with a series of small niggles. [Nov 2007, p.82]

It's honest fun for a while. [Nov 2010, p.121]

Satisfyingly vacuous. [July 2011, p.102]

A slow burner which eventually grows into entertaining smaxploitation. [Christmas 2009, p.88]

Jim has aged gracefully but was never as good as everyone thought it was back in 1994. [Sept 2010, p.121]

A short, hard, occasionally clumsy niche game. [Aug 2009, p.104]

One for shoot-'em-up experts. [Dec 2010, p.98]

Richer than most kiddie Kinect options. [Feb 2012, p.107]

A solid romp, but Dante's Inferno fails to live up to its promise as EA's Next Big Thing. [Apr 2010, p.87]

A beautiful little game; just a shame that everything is so overly familiar.

A gimmicky Ace Combat homage made by people who think you might be stupid. [May 2009, p.72]

Marbling madness epitomised, but Rock of Ages' rough mechanics could have done with more smoothing. Top marks for sheer oddness, nonetheless.

Lacks the fine-tuning of the "Advance Wars" series, but at 800 points it's a passable clone. [May 2008, p.98]

The best Cars game yet, but it fails to dazzle on the tarmac. [Oct 2011, p.88]

Shabby around the edges - but that only adds to the charm of this daft playground. [Dec 2008, p.86]

Popcorn arcade action that's far more exciting to watch than it is to play. [July 2010, p.120]

Enjoyable and silly, but if you want a fighter to go the distance, wait for SFIV. [Jan 2009, p.86]

Marginally superior to the original but too many rough edges remain. [Nov 2007, p.85]

Like a reversed Lost Odyssey: loads of ideas, totally dump story. A chore. [July 2009, p.84]

The bold change of direction is to be applauded, but everything feels too bitty. [Jan 2008, p.70]

It's not terrible by any stretch but it is utterly forgettable and, even though its belated release comes at a time when most shooters have packed their bags and headed for the safety of 2010, simply doesn't pack near enough pizzazz to stand out from the throng. Fans of BJs everywhere wail as one as another once-proud franchise bites the dust.

With no improvements since MotoGP 09/10, GP 10/11's flaws show themselves even more. [May 2011, p.98]

Has little reason to exist beyond nostalgia. [July 2010, p.121]

Bond's Ops are crude, overlong slogs - padding, pure and simple. [Feb 2012, p.104]

Hexic 2 isn't quite as good as the original, but if you missed out on the first game, you can't go wrong with the sequel. [Nov 2007, p.96]

Brilliant in 2003, Call of Duty is an old man in a young man's world. [Christmas 2009, p.118]

Flawed in places, abysmal in others - but it's hard to hate it as much as you should. [May 2008, p.74]