Very much a conventional RTS, Halo Wars doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the genre – except for the massive appeal of the Halo universe, which it blends in impressively well. However, with a comfortable control system, the game is easy for allcomers to pick up and play, while the savage challenges laid down by the higher difficulties should keep the hardened RTS fan just as happy. Either way, it’s a hugely impressive indication that there’s a lot more to the Halo franchise than Master Chief.

Squanders its potential with poor level design, repetitive gameplay and no Live content. [Issue #2]

The world is far greater in scope than it first appears and with skate lines that span the entire map, purists will be tearing it up for months just trying to plan the perfect combo.

Relatively small game world does it no favours. [Issue #15]

Some gameplay problems, but its charm and replayability helps to overcome them. [Issue #15]

A rough diamond, only a few strides behind the best games on the PS3 and 360, Saints Row 2 is a bit like the kid with the best trainers who still hasn’t learned to tie their laces. It’s all over the place, and frequently opts to cram more in where it should be refining what it already has, but overall you’d have to be a complete snob to not get a kick out of playing through it. And to play through everything on offer would take a very long time indeed.

Combat is largely optional, as is fitting an assassination game. But then so is actual assassination. It’s as entertaining as having a balcony with a beautiful view, hence the score.

As fun as it is to play alone against the AI or with strangers, nothing can beat you and three mates sitting around playing UNO all night. [Issue #16, p.78]

Stylish, simple and elegant. A budget price and a compulsive social ethic make this one of the most surprising and desirable games of the season.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles is a solid and hugely enjoyable racing game but almost every inch of it covers ground we’ve seen several times already. There’s not a lot more to it than a checklist of gameplay and features we’ve seen in the series before or in the likes of Burnout, Juiced and Need for Speed. We haven’t had a street racing game for a while, though, so we’ve no problem recommending this to anyone look for those ‘high-octane/adrenaline fuelled’ clichés. Just don’t expect a new benchmark to be set for its successors to follow.

The gameplay is tight, the AI of the 360-controlled opponents is excellent. [Issue #3]

Crippled by an unforgivably bad story, terrible implementation and atrocious AI. [Issue #2]

It's flawed in several ways that may annoy and frustrate a newcomer, but seasoned wrestling gamers will find everything they love about SmackDown and a whole lot more. [Issue 18, p.79]

No matter what your skill level, you’ll receive constant gratification from the mainstay slice ‘n’ dice gameplay on offer here, but then you’d have to be a fool to not notice how ‘unfun’ its boss encounters really are. Add a camera system that doesn’t even make geometry translucent when it’s in the foreground and you’ve got a beautiful arcade experience that’s marred by some obvious but not insurmountable flaws.

If you want something more than that, you might find that this is a little shallow and over too quickly, but if you are looking for nothing more than some dogfighting craziness, this could just be a match made in the clouds.

Bully is an absolute joy and the perfect warm up to Grand Theft Auto IV. In fact, compared to some entries in the GTA series, we’d have to say Bully’s story is more engaging and, overall, it’s got a charming sense of fun that’s often missing in the car-jacking, prozzie-shagging world of San Andreas or Liberty City.

There may not be a huge market for Madden over here, but when the sport is made this easy to pick up and play, just about anybody will be able to jump straight in and get their money’s worth.

The first-person mêlée combat is just downright exceptional as is Condemned 2’s often overwhelmingly grotesque atmosphere.

There's not been a huge gameplay jump snice we last saw NBA Street, but it's certainly wearing far fancier clothes. [Issue 24, p.65]

It'll be hard to enjoy last year's game with this on store shelves. [Issue 17, p.72]

If Crystal Dynamics had built the 360 version from scratch, complete with excellent graphics, huge awe-inspiring environments, varied enemies and better cut-scenes, we’d have fallen in love with Lara all over again.

While not a flat-out classic, there's so much to admire. [Issue #2]

Some of the best graphics video gaming has ever seen. [Issue #11]

Additional features, from on and offline co-op to the new playable characters and revamped classic levels give it a wide appeal, meaning every type of gamer should at least give it a go.

A triumph. While there are one or two minor niggles, Virtua Tennis 3 is a superb arcade game, a quite brilliant recreation of the sport, and a title so addictive that you'll need a calendar, rather than a watch, to measure how long you'll be playing it for. [Issue #23, p.66]

Good fun and original. [Issue #16, p.77]

Okay, so it’s basically just a streamlined version of FIFA 08 with new trimmings but look beyond this and there’s a world of ball-kicking goodness to be enjoyed. Its decidedly stunted nature makes it a far more appealing choice for the multiplayer gamer but even so, it’s still one of the better footy games of this generation.

Solid but uninspired. [Issue #2]