A furious and intense shooter that just won't let up - even when it probably should. [Issue#98, p.95]

Undisputedly dazzling - but there's an overly familiar vibe. Deserved to be better than this. [Sept 2010, p.94]

It plays a lightning-fast, ultra-competitive game, and the statistics are unbeatable in their completeness. [Oct 2007, p.96]

Needlessly goofy presentation hurts a game which works well with friends and on a controller. [Sept 2010, p.121]

A huge game for a tidy price. [Oct 2009, p.104]

An essential for any 2D fighting fan, even with the fairly bare-boned Neo Geo port. [Dec 2008, p.103]

Not pretty, but smart as a whip, and constantly quick and accessible. [Christmas 2008, p.74]

Revolutionary battle and overworld systems held back by repetitive dungeons and toughness. [May 2010, p.74]

The best tower game ever. [Dec 2009, p.104]

Simpler and faster than "Catan." [Aug 2007, p.92]

Your grin will be as wide as the maw's. Get it. [Apr 2009, p.104]

Top game. [Mar 2008, p.94]

A drab but accomplished simulator, and one that will be relished online.

One of the prettiest games you'll ever see and the best air combat going. [Christmas 2007, p.81]

Another twin-stick shooter, but with a fun twist. [Jan 2008, p.94]

Play it until the scoring system clicks and it'll have you forever. At 400 points, it's a bargain. [Nov 2007, p.96]

Still good, still unbalanced like a fat bloke on a see-saw, and Remy is still a crap Guile replacement. [Dec 2011, p.111]

Like the last girl in the pub after closing time - it looks ropey but it's dead dirty. [Feb 2008, p.80]

Tough competition will improve your game, but won't convert anyone not already chess crazy. [Mar 2008, p.94]

Looks generic, but hides happy complexity. [July 2011, p.118]

A 2D fighter with a 3D combo system; The Dishwasher is a huge chunk of game for a small price. [Apr 2009, p.102]

Incredi-potential half realised and half squandered. The makings of a future Must Have are there.

An absurdly bombastic beat-'em-up that's built for rock-hard stick-ninjas and casuals only. [Apr 2011, p.91]

Exactly what you'd want from a modern Metroid - pretty, well-paced, and as grey as a squirrel. [Nov 2009, p.104]

A rollicking online racer, but the marriage of fantasy and reality doesn't sit comfortably. [Aug 2010, p.100]

Not what you wanted but better than you'd hoped. [Nov 2010, p.118]

The closest to Mario we'll ever get, and instantly the best classic platform game on the Xbox 360. [Feb 2009, p.103]

Don't expect it to last longer than a good book. [Nov 2010, p.121]

Excellent value standalone game - best played by Dead Rising fans (new and old) in co-op. [Apr 2011, p.121]

It's another sound update but just lacking the fluidity and polish to mark it as one of the great sports sims. [Christmas 2011, p.103]

One of the best board games of recent decades, translated perfectly to Live. [Aug 2007, p.91]

A lengthy campaign which stands the test of time. [Christmas 2011, p.108]

The best shooter ever...simply isn't. But it's still bloody brilliant fun, even if it's beyond the skills of most gamers. [Christmas 2011, p.111]

The best Dragon Age expansion to date, and well worth the admission price - for a change. Plus, the end-game loot is a decent bonus.

A game for the forgiving gamer, TDU2 is a hundred hours' worth of clumsy brilliance. [May 2011, p.88]

As big and as deep as any RPG you'd want to dive into. The price is fully justified. [June 2009, p.96]

Still feels totally fresh and original even after fifteen years, and even in this basic form. [Christmas 2009, p.119]

A gently challenging head-scratcher with lovely presentation and a worthwhile story to tell. [May 2011, p.121]

It's fundamentally the same game, fourth time round at least, but it has enough new content to warrant a return to Fortune City. The best of Dead Rising.

Lacking genuine belly laughs but excess ingenuity stacks the books in this one's favour. [May 2011, p.121]

The first full-fat Sims experience on consoles. [Jan 2011, p.78]

Very solid, if slightly unspectacular. [Jan 2011, p.81]

Too arcadey to match "Links," but still plays a cracking round of golf. [Nov 2007, p.81]

A stripped-down game that gets it right and makes it look easy. [Oct 2007, p.94]

As a remake it holds up better than any other shooter from the same era. [Feb 2012, p.90]

Riotously good value for the money. [Jan 2011, p.112]

With a bit more refinemente this could have been superb. Instead, it's very good. [Sept 2007, p.68]

A big chunk of new game and a chance to play as one of Mafia's best characters. [Jan 2011, p.113]

A splendid slice of silliness. [Jan 2010, p.121]

Needed to feel more brutal, but still a very accessible fighter made by fans of the sport. [Issue#98, p.86]

To fans? The biggest Potter playground they've ever seen. To everyone else? A riot. [Sept 2010, p.103]

A solid, thrilling but aimless racer, given firm direction thanks to the genius of Autolog.

One of the best fighting games ever, but it's a series that's been even better since. [Feb 2009, p.102]

Not big, but reasonably clever, and like so much else in life, best enjoyed with friends. [Sept 2011, p.94]

The single and multiplayer demos are both great examples of what this game can achieve when it gets things right. Sadly, they don't prepare you for the immensely frustrating, teeth-grinding periods of shooting-by-numbers and dreadful platforming that spoil an otherwise great idea.

Lacks the sheen of "FIFA 08," but plays it off the park. A good placebo for "PES." [June 2008, p.76]

A challenging city builder. Shame it doesn't like you ruling with an iron fist. [Jan 2010, p.87]

A more arcade-like play and much better than last year. Still a distant second to FIFA, though. [Dec 2010, p.85]

Unremarkable, but it's puerile charm makes it more than the sum of its (body) parts. [July 2011, p.87]

The gamiest music game to date by some distance, it'll probably put the 'casuals' off.

The chopper and bomber bits just end up getting in the way. [Christmas 2011, p.107]

Not totally slick but crammed full of ideas, and the best Western we've played. [Sept 2009, p.82]

If you want a game to show off your HDTV and impress your mates go and buy Gears. But if you want a sports game that's deep, rewarding and absorbing then World Snooker Championship 2007 sinks the pink.

Even the most hardened Brothers In Arms fanboys out there will more than likely get the feeling that this belated entry should have strived for so much more than this.

A disappointing 24/7 mode and huge repetition betray superb new mechanics. [Christmas 2007, p.70]

An energetic brawler with deceptive depth. [Feb 2012, p.107]

If Oblivion is the equivalent of a month-long trek across the Serengeti, then Sonata's like being chauffer-driven through Tuscany on a Sunday afternoon.

The best new fighting engine around, with a very sparse game wrapped round it.

Bland story mode meets sensational multiplayer. If you're not online, you can safely deduct 20%. [Issue#98, p.77]

A pleasant surprise and a pretty good introduction to the show. [Christmas 2007, p.80]

A slick and well-presented game that entertains without alienating hardcore bikers. [Christmas 2008, p.77]

Not the best on 360, but certainly not the worst. [Dec 2009, p.80]

Eventually great and undeniably epic, but it looks terrible and takes too long to begin. [Jan 2010, p.88]

But for all the glee of the slaughter, Viking is a game butting its head against the limits of its genre. There isn't great variety in the tasks or the bosses you face and a few more genuinely off-story quests would be nice.

One step forward, two steps back. Konami have shot for realism, but sacrificed the fun.

Hogwarts is the most alive environment TT ever created. [Feb 2012, p.106]

EA have created the football equivalent of "NBA Street" - and it's great. [Apr 2008, p.82]

More of the same, but with far less reason to exist. A bit like the last movie, really.

A step-forward for the series. [Christmas 2009, p.78]

A massive RPG, which could break the will of all but the most dedicated of fans.

There are too many classics here to pass up. [May 2009, p.78]

As blotchy as it is, it still remains as pure an arcade sports title as you can hope to find.

In some levels the single player experience feels butchered. So much so, we occasionally found ourselves switching on a second pad, moving the other character into position and then dropping out afterwards.

Good stuff, but you may well prefer the 2K alternative just across the page. [Christmas 2009, p.91]

As fan service this is top notch. It's only as a game that it leaves something to be desired.

Superbly well-realised and balanced shooter that delivers a cerebral high-score challenge. [Apr 2011, p.99]

Suffers from age-old Kinect problems, but more than makes up for it with a totally unique approach and a brilliant brand of freakiness.

Insanely linear and frustrating, but it absolutely nails the movie experience.

An RPG backbone adds a meaty sense of progression. [Feb 2012, p.110]

A terrific off-road experience in some areas. Shame it feels weak in others. [Apr 2010, p.101]

Gorgeous on the surface but less stellar on the inside, Bastion's appeal hinges largely on its dreamy visuals and those dulcet Nattator's tones. [Nov 2011, p.108]

An arcade triumph, betrayed a little by a slim choice of modes and match types. [June 2011, p.96]

Not the best Tekken, but the biggest. Still daft, still fun, still second rate.

Terrific entertainment for kids the right age. [Feb 2011, p.76]

The Force Unleashed is more of a highly impressive tech demo with a great narrative tagged on, with any actual game present inserted only as an afterthought.

Bonkers beyond belief, it's not the best in the series, but it's certainly good enough. [Apr 2008, p.74]

The best MotoGP for years, thanks to a great Career mode. Just a pity about the handling.

A solid attempt to do Diablo without Too Human's annoying consolifications.