I have always loved well-executed kids' games and hated games that pander to kids to make a quick buck. This is neither - it is a very mediocre and forgettable little budget game that isn't something I would recommend for any child or adult.

Beatdown is a choppy, shallow and tedious experience, despite a few cool features being thrown into the mix.

Unless you're a huge Fantastic Four nut I would recommend you play a different beat 'em up game, as this one is feels absolutely ancient and offers nothing new that we haven't seen before and many things we shouldn't see anymore.

Fans of the series will appreciate the fan service and authenticity, while Battlefront fans will enjoy the stopgap that Conquest provides until Battlefront III is finally released. For everyone else, the buggy gameplay, mixed presentation and repetitive action will be more than enough to turn your attention towards greener pastures, especially given the huge array of triple-A classics you still need to catch up on from last year's glut of winter releases.

Juiced: Eliminator should be fun to play, but it isn't. Maybe it's the fact that you can't corner without crashing, maybe it's the fact you can't bang your car more than twice without causing serious damage and thus rendering your car useless, maybe it's the fact that once you are overtaken you will never ever catch up again, or maybe, just maybe, it's the fact that if you lose more than three races in career mode, you might as well just restart.

Whether you find any pleasure in Tao's Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal will depend on your tolerance of the controls and the slow-paced dungeon crawling. This isn't a spectacular game from any standpoint, but it will connect with some gamers as a charming pleasure.

Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle seems to be generally lacking in polish, leaving a rather unprofessional and rushed out for Halloween feel.

The pictures will likely be too off-putting for this to be enjoyable for fans of Sudoku, and considering it actually makes the game a little trickier to play, I question how suitable this is for children.

The disappointing weaponry visuals are complemented with equally hum-drum sound effects. The assault rifle sputters rather than chattering away and sounds more like a rapid-fire spud gun than a machine of death.

Be it the basic, largely pointless Story Mode or the by the numbers Multiplayer Mode, Battle of the Bands never ceases to feel like a missed opportunity and a huge disappointment.

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

It's not even the best Pac-Man clone but it is a well put together title that does offer some measure of amusement.

This is a rehash of every good idea ever done in FPS but done little better than average.

Boing! Docomodake DS is the developer's attempt at emulating the gameplay of LocoRoco on the DS but it fails in the most crucial areas - level design, length and aesthetics - all of which LocoRoco excelled at.

Unless you're a huge Fantastic Four nut I would recommend you play a different beat 'em up game, as this one is feels absolutely ancient and offers nothing new that we haven't seen before and many things we shouldn't see anymore.

The character system seems deep and appealing, but is really fairly limited and what is there is undermined by the lack of true freedom in the game. Combat is a dreadfully boring experience that takes place in real-time in an ill-realized 'ring of death'. As for the rest of the game, the less said the better.

But kids used to load times for the GBA or DS will quickly become frustrated with the constant loading in this game, as I discovered with my 8 and 9 year old sons.

Lots of people will buy this because it is the Family Guy game. Lots of people will be disappointed. Some won't be, but these are the people who bought the Knight Rider game and then went out and bought the sequel. Don't be one of those people.

I can't see many people playing this again after the initial play-through either, unless they really enjoy getting every last piece of clothing and food.

Fairytale Fights isn't a terrible game, it's just a repetitious one made all the more maddening thanks to huge list of missed opportunities.

While this party pack might only have 40 items, many of which you can download, at the end of the day, when all your Sims are together surrounded by Christmassy deco - well, that's all that matters. Merry Christmas everybody!

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.

The only thing keeping Naruto: Path of the Ninja from being completely forgettable - the developers have done a very good job of infusing the spirit of the anime series into every aspect of the game.

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

On the one hand it's an enjoyable enough low rent action arcade game that looks great, and on the other its reliance on old and outdated ideas often remind you what you don't miss about the games of eras past.

For the casual gamer this is a mess with very few redeemable features beyond a few fantastic stories - throw in poor graphics, weak voice work and a longevity that will barely cover a weekend and you're left with a title that could have been so much better.

Seasoned gamers will find very little of interest here, regardless of how massive a Harry Potter fan you are (personally I love the books and the films).

It could have been much better if there was more freedom to the art of cooking, a more challenging single player structure and - most importantly - responsive and involving controls that actually give you the feeling of slicing, dicing, mincing and everything else.