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]

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

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

Accomplished, beautiful and more than just a kid's game. Recommended. [Jan 2009, p.66]

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

A sublime pack for Resi veterans with great replay value. Essential. [May 2010, p.120]

[Jan 2009, p.69]

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

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.

The best new puzzle game since 2005's Lumines and one of the best puzzle 'toys' on Xbox 360. [Apr 2010, p.121]

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.

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

If you'd had enough of ogling at "Calibur 4," cop a feel of SC Arcade. It's still a handful. [Oct 2008, p.100]

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

Even pros will struggle to outsmart the caddy, but every other change is for the better. [June 2011, p.99]

A ridiculously generous standalone game, bursting with unique content. [Nov 2010, p.116]

A masterful blend of genres, but with many ideas of its own. Worth the low, low asking price. [Oct 2010, p.120]

The same great Dead Rising, issues included, with some teeny-tiny nips and tucks.

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

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

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]

A technically impressive and deeply detailed fantasy adventure, but one lacking in vision. [May 2011, p.102]

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]

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

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]

Still a great game - but a game treading water for years now. [Sept 2010, p.100]

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

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

Blue Dragon definitely has the pedigree and quality to appeal to RPG gamers, however long they've been putting the hours in over the years, with enough peculiar touches to keep the old hands engrossed, even if it won't be the best they've ever had.

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

Shows diminishing returns for the solo gamer. [Dec 2011, p.102]

Looks like the future, plays like the past. Imperfect - but you get your money's worth.

Like this month's "Red Faction," it is an experience proud of its inherently silly gamey-ness; doing for human limbs what Guerrilla does for architecture. Short on frustration, big on satisfaction.

Essential for committed fans, but a few curious omissions make Arcade Edition an incomplete update. [Sept 2011, p.110]

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

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

More of a biking "Project Gotham" than "Forza 2" - which is no bad thing. Thrilling. [Nov 2007, p.82]

Tighter, playable and surprisingly deep, only the stilted visuals and ability to explain its intricacies prevent it from becoming the XBW favorite again. [Dec 2011, p.106]

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]

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

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

A smart (occasionally too smart) new take on strategy, teeming with ideas and features.

A harmonious blend of light, sound and vibration that even "Space Giraffe" can only dream of. [Christmas 2007, p.98]

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

A revolution. The controls alone render the competition obsolete. [Aug 2008, p.82]

The best game to carry the name since '95, but more than that - it's the best straight racing game you'll find on this console and indeed one of the best pure racers you'll have played in years...Every second is a second you'll spend on the edge of your seat. Thrilling. [Nov 2007, p.74]

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

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

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

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

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

Mind-fryingly difficult but extremely well designed score attack game. [Christmas 2011, p.101]

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.

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

Despite the game's undoubted scope for replayability, it is decidedly low on play time. But in the cold light of day, we're not too bothered with all that - because Stranglehold offers something so raw and so hyper-energetic that the next game you play after it will feel positively tired and lethargic in comparison. Woo hoo.

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

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

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

Endwar is a lesson to all, then. You can make a strategy game work on a console; you just have to speed it up, dumb it down, and somehow keep it smart.

A brilliantly atmospheric shooter with forgivably imperfect gunplay. Stick with it.

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

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

An impressive FPS from the masters of scares. A great start to 2009. [Mar 2009, p.70]

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

A multi-directional adventure that plays almost as good as it looks. [Nov 2011, p.110]

Even with its faults, PES 2008 is still unquestionably a better game than its predecessors. It may be lacking in a couple of areas (hell, they needed to justify making next year's PES 2009 after all...), but PES 2008 remains far more than a yearly update; it's the first true next gen iteration of Xbox World's most played game. [Dec 2007, p.64]

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]

Regains the silliness lost in Indy, and tightens up the formula neatly.

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

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.

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

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

It is, essentially, more of the same...But even having finished the main game multiple times, we can't get enough of this world - if you're the same, just dive in. [Dec 2011]

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

A decent shooter with smart time powers and enough atmos to hook you for the duration. [Oct 2010, p.101]

You may love it, you may hate it, but for those with the skill and dedication, it's a shooter like no other. [Feb 2008, p.72]

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

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

Ancient and antiquated - not worth playing in spite of the admirable update. [June 2009, p.95]

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

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

Call it a failed experiment, but a worthy try. [Jan 2008, p.94]

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

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.

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

The sheer number and variety of scenarios will keep you busy and engrossed for plenty of hours, and the numerous multiplayer options will, hopefully, make for a near-lifetime on the ocean waves.

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]

A stunning adventure for gaming's first lady...which is still far more flawed than it should be. [Jan 2009, p.60]

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

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