This dazzling, determinedly populist experience was not made according to the standards other games are made by, and when judged – or even just described – by those standards, it might seem slender to the point of frailty. [Christmas 2005, p.101]

Mario 64 DS is a magnificent execution of entirely the wrong content. Happily, despite its age, that content is so robust and remarkable that the result is still surprising, spectacular and, yes, downright Super. [Jan 2005, p.78]

The presentation is as characterful as you would expect from London Studio, it's welcoming to newcomers to the EyeToy, or even to gaming in general, and the navigation system has been much improved, responding snappily to your commands.

With a superior control system and a raft of incisive upgrades, this year's update is a connoisseur of the boxing arts. [Apr 2005, p.103]

It certainly lacks the variety and sense of progress that great platform games can offer. But then it was never supposed to be a great platform game. It was supposed to be, and is, a great DS game. [Apr 2005, p.102]

It may be formulaic, but that formula is still one of invention, surprise and excellence. [Jan 2005, p.87; JPN Import]

Racers has an appealing lack of pretension that suggests it has nothing to prove other than that Ridge Racer is a delight to play. And it is, with no call for caveat – for a handheld, for a 'remake', for a launch title. It's simply one of the best pure arcade racers to date. [JPN Import; Feb 2005, p.68]

There's not much that can be said about Shadow Of The Colossus. Not because there aren't pages to be written about the designs of the colossi, the wisdom of some of the puzzles involved in defeating them, or the deliberately ambiguous implications of the story, but because this is a game with so little content that to discuss specifics would be to tarnish an experience that needs to be approached with as few preconceptions as possible. [Christmas 2005, p.98]

Minor lapses in cohesion and polish drop Lumines short of the absolute completeness of "Rez," but it expands upon its concepts in ways even Mizuguchi followers couldn't have expected. It's a block puzzle that celebrates the joy of light and sound – to the question of whether the PSP can encourage new experiences, it's a resounding 'yes'.

Mercury exhibits a perfect hierarchy of challenge and reward... The pain becomes the pleasure because, in spite of the extraordinary degree of trial and error (practically requiring a degree in the subject), there's never any moment that feels broken or exploitative. [June 2005, p.91]

To call this style over substance would be grossly inaccurate. The substance is all there – weighty, deep and stretching off 90 hours into the distance. But, unmistakable, it is substance from another time. [Jan 2005, p.78]

There's no question that Wipeout Pure is a very fine Wipeout game and, thanks to its lively, dynamic soundscape and its distinct, exhilarating handling, it deserves three out of three just as much as a score out of ten.

This is an incredible achievement, the closest a simulator has come to entertainment; the nearest videogaming has come to the real experience of driving. Forget play. Just drive. [March 2005, p.84]

Ultimately, Makai Kingdom feels more about brutal stat farming than true tactics… Makai Kingdom's key strategy isn't so much tactics as just sheer weight of numbers, of accumulation and refinement of properties. [Oct 2005, p.86]

The surprise that Meteos brings is the satisfaction of its physics. There's real weight in the way an underpowered meteor chunk sinks down to earth, and a sense of dynamic propulsion as you flick together a cluster of gravity-defying rockets. [May 2005, p.91]

Race Driver 3 understands that a processional win from pole is less fulfilling than a hard-fought, championship-saving fifth place from the back of the grid. And though it can't exactly engineer those situations, it does everything in its power to make them more likely and leave them unpunished. [Mar 2006, p.87]

Race Driver 3 understands that a processional win from pole is less fulfilling than a hard-fought, championship-saving fifth place from the back of the grid. And though it can't exactly engineer those situations, it does everything in its power to make them more likely and leave them unpunished. [Mar 2006, p.87]

You need a decent stick (or a god among pads) to facilitate the split-second Just Impacts, Ukemis and sidesteps that consistent victory demands. This, more than the abundant content is the game's defining improvement - one to snap you out of the sleepwalk by which most Namco fighters are conquered in singleplayer. [Christmas 2005, p.103]

It takes more than caffeine, luck and a nosebleed to truly become master of these streets, and this is Revenge's greatest achievement over its predecessor. The eight locations, split as usual into varied circuits, are arcade racing dreams given form. [Nov 2005, p.98]

Some may argue over what the series should have become, but what's important is that it has made that tough decision for itself, and established a rock solid foundation for inevitable, now justified successors. [May 2006, p.86]

Some may argue over what the series should have become, but what's important is that it has made that tough decision for itself, and established a rock solid foundation for inevitable, now justified successors. [May 2006, p.86]

This stands as software that will give back to the user as much as they are willing to put in. Without goals, with nothing there to 'win', Electroplankton is its own reward. [June 2005, p.93]

Brimming with self-assuredness both in its characterisations and its functionality, and measures its pace and progression with an ever more aggressively beautiful interface and environment design, capturing even more galactic and universal scale than the original. [Sept 2005, p.88]

While most shooters handle the genre's design tradition like fragile cargo, careful to ensure that its arrangement of pieces doesn't fall into disarray, Prey cranks it like a Rubik's cube, cocking its world delightfully askew. [Sept 2006, p.76]

Feeling the buzz of Genji's countering system is the key to enjoying it, making the eastern promise of demanding play feel attainable, if less exotic for those already well-versed in mastering such endeavours. [Sept 2005, p.92]

It's utterly relentless in its provision of new activities and distractions to the point that it's hard not to become absorbed, a feeling backed up by the fact that most plot missions introduce a new location or interior environment to revisit and explore. [Dec 2006, p.80]

It's difficult to shake the sensation that Killer 7 is an important production, as paving for future creative leeway if nothing else. But its likely love/hate status is testament to just how adamant it has attempted to be in its flair for extraordinary presentation. [Aug 2005, p.84]

Big Huge Games has dressed the RTS in its finest coat-tails, sent it on the most captivating of journeys and transformed its communication skills. There's no question it has become a creature with broader horizons and more refined taste, but there's also no question it's still a familiar figure. [June 2006, p.84]