If the game ran as smoothly and perfectly as I am sure it was intended to then it would have been superb, worthy of an eight or nine.

The PS2 version is cheap and cheerful, it's a lot easier to control than the PSP version and for those people who loved Vice City and want an excuse to go back, well, Stories is your reason.

As an expansion pack it fulfils the role beautifully, bringing in features and elements that were sorely lacking from the original in terms of character management.

With a huge 36 characters to choose from and 15+ levels to duel upon, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection features more than enough for fighting game enthusiasts.

I enjoyed 300: March to Glory because of its relative simplicity.

Even though it doesn't attempt to evolve the series any further, Dance Dance Revolution Universe is a fantastic game with more visual pizzazz and replay value than any DDR before it.

It's most definitely a niche game though, so the casual player will probably only play it a few times before the monotony of doing the same thing over and over sinks in.

The best pure racing simulation I've ever played - F1 is to Burnout what Microsoft Flight Simulator is to Ace Combat.

If you're the type to blow through a game once, pass judgment on it and trade it for store credit a day later, you're not going to get your money's worth here.

Players with infinite patience and the strength of will to complete the game will be well rewarded, but those expecting the same level of intuitiveness and accessibility as other Wii or SSX games will be more than a little frustrated.

Fishing, kissing, catching fireflies at night, building snowmen, wishing down the well and socialising around a campfire singing songs when the sun is setting is the back to basics gameplay that we were after this time around.

Given that "Samurai Warriors 3" is inevitable, it would be nice to think that the series could develop into something better but, since Koei have refused to even have their hair ruffled by the winds of change, this is about as likely as, well, discovering time travel. There are worse things than Samurai Warriors 2: Empires out there to spend your cold-and-hard on, like chemical weapons or a ticket to watch David Blunkett: the Musical, but truth be told, it would be hard to find as big a waste of money as this on the Xbox 360.

Nothing more than another sub-standard oriental warrior battle game with one or two barely life-saving features.

A fine real-time strategy game that fans of the genre should gain plenty of enjoyment from, despite adding little that's new to the genre, other than an original alternate history scenario that makes for some distinct and memorable units to command.

An expansion for the fans - it does little new, actually, it does nothing new, sticking to the traditions of expansion pack history.

It's a tribute to the developers that, despite its rock hard nature, ageing graphics and sound, all of the games in Metal Slug Anthology have been so carefully and lovingly created that you always want to go on to see what's coming next, because you know it's going to be big, packing more weapons than a Mafia family Christmas and it's probably going to kill you.

It's essential for all fans of the original and those of you who missed Metoes the first time again should not make the same mistake again!

Virtua Fighter 5 is exceptional. It's just a shame that with a few extra modes (Sega, please get an online mode running for the 360 version!) this could have been a masterpiece of pure gaming gold.

While the mini-games aren't great and there are still a few niggles when it comes to trial and error gameplay at times, there is finally a real reason to be optimistic for the future of Sega's mascot for the first time in a long time.

Crackdown gives an absolutely exhilarating first impression, but in only an hour or two you'll have seen basically everything the game has to offer and from there on out the complete lack of structure and variety leaves the entire game feeling somewhat pointless.

NBA Street: Homecourt isn't quite the show stopper I thought it would be, but it's hardly a disappointment either.

I'll give Trioncube mucho credit for its originality and quirkiness, but on a handheld with so many great puzzle games already available, the shallow gameplay and limited challenge are tough to accept with any overwhelming enthusiasm.

Supreme Commander is a colossal giant on the strategy gaming scene; there are few games that have managed to provide war on a scale such as that witnessed here.

I can only recommend M.A.C.H.: Modified Air Combat Heroes to racing enthusiasts with a love of science fiction who have already played Wipeout Pure to death.

A reasonable game that shows off every weakness of the DS and every technical deficiency - the under-powered graphics, the limited audio, the lack of full analog controls and the impact of the screen size on the ability to use the bottom screen for precise controls. But the gameplay is also just plain fun.

As a no-frills action RPG, this game knows what it is and does what it does exceptionally well in all areas - and I for one couldn't be any more ecstatic over how it turned out.

When you think of retro gaming, this is a title that comes to mind for a lot of people - and apparently with good reason.

The imagination present in the levels is striking and the game is crammed with charming details, from the likeable characters and the exceptionally pretty cut scenes that bookend the gameplay to the satisfying swing of Ratchet's ratchet and the atmospheric music.