A bit of a missed opportunity. If it hadn't tried to be so cutesy and cartoon-like it would have been more gripping. It's by no means a bad game and it is quite endearing and strangely addictive in its own way, but with so many truly great console games coming out at the moment, this seems a little out of place.

A second rate clone of "Devil May Cry" and if you're looking for that you'd be better off with "Devil May Cry 2."

For those who crave realism, I suggest waiting for the much-hyped "Rome: Total War," a game that if only half as good as promised will redefine the RTS scene.

A first class title. At points it becomes boring and many fans of the series won't see enough continuity to keep them happy, but it's got plenty of depth and style.

There is a huge single player career to play through with a tremendous variety of locations and courses, the graphics are so good that no description could do them justice and the handling is perfect, making for a supremely enjoyable gaming experience.

There is a surprisingly fun multiplayer mode for up to four players to shoot it out or have a duel.

It's a very exciting and fun single player experience and great in multiplayer if you've got some buddies willing to play. If only they'd put it on Live…

The matches are either too long or too short and the questions are too serious to be cool.

I think some more innovative and radical changes are needed if a fourth in the series is to materialise.

Despite the intelligent control system, the on-court offensive action rapidly deteriorates into a quick pass, followed by charging the hoop to make the same basket shot/dunk over and over.

Offers no new concepts, no realism and is highly repetitive, yet what it does it does so well. It provides the perfect environment for a quick blast about, either on your own against endless hordes of colourful monsters, or with friends.

The gameplay is the most open-ended I've ever seen and you have such freedom to try different things that the replay value is really there.

Hits the target despite not moving the concept on much.

If you like stealth oriented games that require more thought and patience than machine-gun mouse clicking, Manhunt is a strong contender for your games collection. If good-natured heroes and strong morals are important to you however, you'd probably be better off renting "The Silence of the Lambs" from the video store.

Shining Soul II suffers from a very flawed combat system, leaving it open to RPG veterans only.

An incredibly addictive and surprisingly fun FPS that concentrates more on mindless button bashing than in tactics, exploration or anything else than many modern shooters now live by.

It provides the perfect environment for a quick blast about, either on your own against endless hordes of colourful monsters, or with a friend.

It's a very authentic reproduction of the TV show that fans will love, but a few flaws in the combat system, stealth continuity and frequent gameplay breaks prevent it from reaching its potential.

If you're sick of the slow and sometimes boring pace of Mario Party then you'll absolutely love this, as it makes a great multiplayer game for you and your buddies, just as long as you're quick enough for it.

Lush environments, fluid player animations and smooth frame rates combine to make one of the prettiest titles of recent years.

A must have title - no exceptions and no buts. This game features in my all time top ten and has the depth and nuance of play to keep anyone enthralled for some time.

Far too linear for the average gamer, who will also be put off by the sometimes simplistic puzzles and lack of any real sense of adventure.

Outbreak maintains the lavish horror atmosphere that we've all come to expect and is definitely worth a look, if nothing else, just so see what could be shambling towards us in the near future.

It may not be the most challenging strategy game to date but it's certainly one of the more enjoyable and the amount of detail in the graphics, settings and battle units make for a convincing and complete setting.

A sturdy title for those who know and love their third person kill-fests. Those seeking anything of a cerebral nature should go elsewhere and many may find the harsh difficulty and heavy repetition something of a turn off.

The visuals are stunning, the history is accurate and the dialogue is good.

Although clearly a budget game, it is packed to the gills with quality, features and, more importantly, style.

If you are in the mood for battle and fancy rallying against the might of Rome or Carthage then you could do a lot worse than this challenging effort.

The sheer size of the game and the time it will take to play through should keep the average player occupied for months and it moves with a steady pace that should keep most players interested.

Whilst not presenting massive depth, should keep most gamers happy with something different until the next bout of heavily licensed footy games hit the shelves.

Very much like the Resi gun games, it's a disappointment.

In fact, all the graphics are dire. Every board consists of the same layout and there's not much effort injected in the classic mode board at all.

The wide open environments and free ranging gameplay provide a thrilling experience and make up for the at times patchy AI and lack of story.

It's oozing with every bit the quality of the original but is more refined, with even more attention to detail, more streamlined gameplay and more missions.

It's not something you play, it's more something you journey through. There's nothing here that'll keep the mainstream masses entertained; this is one of those game for those who like adventures to progress without the troublesome orcs and goblins to kill or the daunting levelling up of statistics.

It's good fun and a harmless game, even with the inclusion of monsters, capturing the spirit of Scooby as effectively as Mystery Inc. capture villains.

A groundbreaking title and surely a genre-creating one at that. It takes the immersion and realism of first person games to new levels and weaves the action into one of the best science fiction storylines yet seen in a game, with plenty of big twists before the end.

The sound lets the side down a bit; it seems to have as much variety as the tracks you race around. Also, the lack of realism can jar at times, as well as the radical changes in gameplay from one transmission to the other. That said, I defy anyone to pick this title up and not have some fun with it.

The level design never really interests either; this is perhaps one of the most linear games I've ever played.

Deals with the horror genre brilliantly and will give anyone who wants it a darn good fright.

The constant optimism of the characters, the bright and breezy sounds and sights and the constant urge to retry a battle over and over with different chips makes it one to come back to many times.

Behind all the gloss and polish lurks the shadow of a game that shows little novelty in today's already swamped third person action adventure market.

There is nothing here that hasn't been done before in some form or another, but no other game has mixed so many fine ingredients together in such a stylish and well-designed fashion.

It represents the cartoon remarkably well and with excellent authenticity. However, behind all the gloss and polish lurks the shadow of a game that shows little novelty in today's already swamped third person action adventure market.

Decidedly average title which doesn’t really try to reach beyond that. Everything about it feels, not rushed or not completed, just poorly designed, almost as though it’s been designed for the budget range.

They haven't attempted to evolve the genre too much further, but the amount of polish, style and thought that has gone into the gameplay design and dynamics really shines through and this is a classily executed game that borrows from the elite of the modern industry and does everything with real panache.

Champions of Norrath melds action and adventure with RPG and although it's not a huge departure from previously, it's definitely worth a stab, or more specifically, a crushing overhead hammer blow.

It's as if the producers stopped halfway through making it, decided to give it a different spin and forgot to bolster the audio department in the process.

At the heart of this pretty below average game lies potential that could have made a largely enjoyable business management title.

Huge fans of the sport will either really love the idea of football on the street with no rules but plenty of depth, or they'll hate the funny arcade style of the game with over-the-top moves and gamebreakers.

A charming game with a riveting plot and, most of all, a fun and challenging engine at heart.

Control issues, far too many pointless fall-to-your-death moments and a general lack of purpose or incentive to explore make the fun fleeting and the frustration lasting.

As an FPS it's fun for a while with some entertaining quirks here and there but not enough to keep you interested all the way through.

If you can get by the issues caused by the limitations of the GBA, Need For Speed: Underground offers a solid racing experience for any GBA owner and features more replayability than its direct competition, thanks to the highly customisable cars and varied races.

It's a fantastic shooter, there's no doubt about it, but for anyone who's sampled both of Max's outings on the home consoles there's little of interest left in this medley of the morose.

One of the best graphical aspects is the biggest new game feature - that of being able to move out of your current house at any time or visit a number of different locations.

Fans of the series will lap it up whilst those that find The Sims to be boring and pointless will not be in any way swayed.

A gaming masterpiece, blending together light combat, stealth, platform action, puzzle solving and racing to form a compelling gameplay mix, tied together with a terrific story and wrapped up in gorgeous visuals and audio.

All aspects of the gameplay have been done so much better in other film tie-ins, there aren't any hidden levels to explore or extra options to encourage you to play outside of the main game mode and you really can't be bothered to write down the passwords they give you in place of any decent save game function.

Words can't really describe how unbearable 2000's graphics are. They are blocky, unpolished and the colours used for the characters are pretty appalling.

The frustrating and sluggish gameplay is only marred further by some completely uninspiring visuals.

Beyond Good & Evil is a gaming masterpiece, blending together light combat, stealth, platform action, puzzle solving and racing to form a compelling gameplay mix, tied together with a terrific story and wrapped up in gorgeous visuals and audio.

The fact that there are two characters may warrant another play-through for some, but the lack of much difference between the two will probably not be worth it for most.

Although the lack of online play prevents Avalanche from being a major player, the actual gameplay and experience is so good I'd be tempted to say it's better than both "Amped" and "SSX."

The three areas, while containing approximately ten levels each, aren't particularly taxing and while a child may find them quite tricky no adults will be left scratching their heads for long.

Like a weak and very old dinosaur that's been resurrected only to find that after years of evolution, it's still the weakest leak in the chain, forever destined to be outdone by stronger and sturdier counterparts.

A bit of a mishmash, not made any better by the ease of which you can wade through the myriad foes, or the rather drab and dreary (although perhaps intentionally so) graphics.

Beyond Good & Evil is a gaming masterpiece, blending together light combat, stealth, platform action, puzzle solving and racing to form a compelling gameplay mix, tied together with a terrific story and wrapped up in gorgeous visuals and audio.

Imaginative graphics and superb sound, a sprawling adventure packed full of neat touches and cool weapons, great humour and an accomplished multiplayer; Glitch embodies what games are really all about - challenge, entertainment and fun.

Imaginative graphics and superb sound, a sprawling adventure packed full of neat touches and cool weapons, great humour and an accomplished multiplayer; Glitch embodies what games are really all about - challenge, entertainment and fun.

Imaginative graphics and superb sound, a sprawling adventure packed full of neat touches and cool weapons, great humour and an accomplished multiplayer; Glitch embodies what games are really all about - challenge, entertainment and fun.

At first I thought it was fairly menial and uninteresting, running around looking after crops, but you get drawn into the tactics behind making enough money to marry a lass and raise kids, while enjoying the great character of the title.

Superstar Saga is the perfect mix of turn-based combat, adventuring and platforming all in one.

The varied levels, the suspense and action, the tense gameplay and the nods to the classic coin-ops of yesteryear made this a surprise hit for the Gameboy Advance.

If games were Norse gods, this would be Odin. Get it now. Thank me later.

What it lacks in innovation it makes up for with a level of fun not seen in the majority of cloned track racers of recent times - and those Nitros are just too cool.

The best party title on the PS2 and has a superb likeness to The Muppet Show, making it a fine purchase for anyone with a thing for cuddly comedy.

For all the pros and cons of this type of game, Sim City 2000 has the stamp of quality. It is very well presented graphically although it doesn't have quite the feel of a bustling city the PC version has.

A gaming masterpiece, blending together light combat, stealth, platform action, puzzle solving and racing to form a compelling gameplay mix, tied together with a terrific story and wrapped up in gorgeous visuals and audio.

It just doesn't have that extra degree of enjoyable gameplay, innovation, audiovisual nuances and addictiveness to make it a serious contender in what is now a very saturated and cutthroat gaming genre.

A mildly diverting 'classic' 2D platformer (strikingly similar to the PSOne title Pandemonium) that will appeal to the younger audience but there is little to recommend this game for the more discerning adult gamer.

For the budget price, Blowout isn't a bad game, as it follows the rules of its genre very closely and, while offering little in the way of innovation, does at least feel like someone cared when they made it.

For the budget price, Blowout isn't a bad game, as it follows the rules of its genre very closely and, while offering little in the way of innovation, does at least feel like someone cared when they made it.

It doesn't revolutionise the series, but setting it in the Eighties was a stroke of pure genius and makes everything feel totally fresh.

Provides an excellent story-driven, but more linear, alternative to the likes of "Advance Wars," for the budding portable strategist.

Fans of the new TV series and even older fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will enjoy this title, provided they can ignore the skateboarding and other driving sections of the game.

Control, although not debilitating, ruins what could have been a very slick title and its similarity to Splinter Cell is brazen, even down to the tutorial, which is straight out of the Sam Fisher handbook.

For the budget price, Blowout isn't a bad game, as it follows the rules of its genre very closely and, while offering little in the way of innovation, does at least feel like someone cared when they made it.

I'm not a fan of the random spawn features, the shoddy AI or the boring map geometry but the overall atmosphere is very well done and as a horror fan I did have more than a little fun playing through Nosferatu.

Hardcore fans of any of the genres contained within Robin Hood: Defender Of The Crown will not be satisfied.

Despite the good points, playing Bandai's latest Digimon videogame incarnation disappoints on too many levels to be considered a must buy. The long-term replay value is quite limited, with the exception of the expensive two-player option.

Only a game that fanatical survival horror fans like myself will enjoy and be willing to persevere with, despite the flaws, just for the challenge of completing the game and finding out how it ends.

For the time being at least, my callous regard of film licenses remains justified. The cheap thrills on offer here are replicated with much more panache in titles such as "GTA: San Andreas" or "Driv3r." Steer clear.

In some places it hits the spot, with its superb fighting system and its clever idea of being able to travel to random worlds. However, the clever idea soon turns into a 'miss' when you find out that all the random worlds look the same!

More serious gamers and hardcore Tony Hawk's fans might want to look elsewhere but this is great as an introduction to extreme sports games and great fun for any Disney fan.

Appealing, entertaining and with high production values, Runaway: A Road Adventure is a successful game that you will not be able to resist.

With an involved and engaging RPG element, it sticks out above titles like "Final Fantasy Tactics" as being the best around.

It's an excellent tool for honing your skills with a range of enjoyable challenges for novice and master alike.