Eidos should be commended on breaking out of the current fad for very similar and rather dull shooters and providing console owners with something so different. Battlestations Midway reminds me a lot of the kind of games we used to get from Microprose and that's a compliment indeed.

With the new tutorials and the improved interface, the game is very inviting for new people to the genre, but the complexity, possibilities and atmosphere is preserved and expanded.

It is a fantastic yarn beginning to end, with a satisfactory noir ending that leaves just enough unresolved stuff to allow a possible sequel.

The Burning Crusade is a must-have, both for ongoing players of World of Warcraft but also the players who got bored at level 60 and stopped playing.

A solid third person shooter, the control system could be a bit better, and the multiplayer is decidedly lacking, but it makes up for it in other areas. It is quite possibly one of the best looking games out there, production values all round are high, and the gameplay itself is a lot of fun, despite the flaws, but the short length of the game means the fun is quite short lived.

The sound, animation, story and enemy AI are all lacking to some extent. This causes the game to be a lot less fun than it should be. The lack of story means that you're running around without a purpose and the lack of enemy AI really make this a rather flat feeling title.

Though it may not be the best example of whip-cracking fun in Castle Dracula, it’s got a damn sight more in its favour than a great many other games out there at the moment.

Portable Ops is a difficult game for both newbies and experienced players, but the way in which the whole aura of MGS has been transferred to a portable platform impresses to no extent.

A puzzle game with a simple concept, but woven in a way that ensures its more than often, pretty darn addictive and challenging. It suffers from some dreary missions and generally repetitive nature, but overall, Remix is a pretty decent little puzzler worth checking out.

The extra 6 months in development could have been used to make the controls actually controllable.

A gripping, and challenging, single player mode should eat up a good ten to twelve hours, and the wealth of multiplayer options should keep you going for a lot longer.

The visual swagger of Red Steel is that of a been there, done that affair.

The game's sound effort is nothing short of impressive, with a particularly thumping, epic soundtrack playing throughout.

If you’re looking for a serious racer this isn’t for you, but if you just want some quick arcade style action this could be right up your street.

It’s simple, addictive, compelling and innovative all rolled into one.

The game looks good, but is let down by a poor camera control system and the music is simply woeful.

The only question is whether or not you like the sound of the track list, so take a gander, and maybe join me in a never-ending quest to collect noise pollution charges.

It presents a good learning curve for those unaccustomed to the Wiimote, and stays true to the tried-and-tested Monkey Ball formula.

The fairly patchy Wii functionality isn't enough to critically damage Marvel Ultimate Alliance but it's certainly something many developers will have to work on. It should make the inevitable sequel something to look forward to.

There’s no easy way to put this, but Sonic the Hedgehog is quite possibly the worst Sonic game ever.

It is a great game, and I am inches away from giving it a higher score than I am doing, but with the potential the Playstation 3 has, I don’t think we should set the bar too high too fast, despite my full recommendation of the game.

A good game without the substance to make it a great one.

There are minor problems, such as lackluster cut scenes that fail to live up to the opening cinematic and a loot collection system that sometimes forces you to choose between holding the line and making a quick dash for cash, but if you're prepared to overlook these then the game should make a worthy addition to your collection.

The best PC strategy game I've played for ages, since Rome: Total War in fact. Even if you aren't entirely happy about the period covered, it being something of a retread, there's so many new features and depth in this release to make any comparison with the first Medieval: Total War rather pointless.

A pleasure to experience from start to finish. It’s thorough, pretty, sometimes challenging and downright fun to play.

One disappointment is that no new classes have been introduced, and there's no denying that the scales are probably tipped slightly in favour of newcomers and/or those looking to start a fresh alt, but it's also undeniably a well rounded and substantial package that deserves a look from anyone even remotely curious about the game.

To hear a paper deer making sounds was one of the highlights in my gaming world for a long, long time. This should tell you something about this game, which is entirely in a league of its own.

The scope for large online battles and some great fun action in the single-player mode make this a worthwhile purchase. Fans of "Call of Duty 2" will really have a lot of fun with it. But Call of Duty 3 could have and should have, been better than this.

The single-player is decent, but relies on its co-op functionality to pull you out of its twitchy gameplay troubles. If you can get around that, Combined Assault is worth sticking your head out in the firing line for.

While there are no songs that give the same sense of glory that More Than A Feeling had in the first game, it offers plenty of fun for the non-musician and musician alike and is one of the better party games available for PlayStation 2.

If you've a love for games such as Civilization and Settlers then this is one PC game you can't do without. While not as high-profile as those titles it should not be missed.

There are a large number of secret missions for Espers, weapons and general loot, which should keep a completionist playing for a good number of hours, but I can’t help but feel like for all of its production values, depth, and size, Final Fantasy XII tries too hard to reinvent itself, missing those aspects that brought a swarm of fans to the series from FFVII.

The similarities between it and the first Killzone are tenuous at best, but each and every change is a welcome one when a game as polished as this gets released.

It feels like a gaming time capsule, reminding you of how things used to be. Power Stone deserves to be played again, so this is still recommended. Once it loads up, at least.

Many of the set-pieces are utterly predictable (the mini-battlemech you meet coming up on a lift platform thing, for example, or the snipers in the distant windows on a rooftop), and the AI seems distinctly switched off for these moments.

A lazy effort. Xbox Live play is poorly implemented and those seeking online racing are better off trying the PC version.

Essentially, Need for Speed: Carbon is Need for Speed: Most Wanted in the dark, but with a more expensive price tag.

A lazy effort.

Vice City Stories is an amazing game, and one I would wholeheartedly recommend, (a lot of work has gone into it, despite the fact that the city has undergone few changes from the original) but I hope that for the upcoming (if you can wait a year) "GTA IV" we see enough of a change to refresh the genre and franchise, because the games are great, but starting to seem quite samey.

It's rare to see a game with so much polish pull it off in gameplay terms too, but FIFA 07 really is a fantastic piece of work.

A lazy effort. Xbox Live play is poorly implemented and those seeking online racing are better off trying the PC version.

Coming from an adventure game fan, I found it a very fulfilling addition to my collection, and from a relatively unknown German game developer (Fusionsphere Systems) I can offer only congratulations to them for a decent brain testing continuation of the genre.

It serves as the perfect introduction to the franchise or indeed MMORPG games in general, as the quest system is exceptionally easy to follow, while the presentation and visuals are top notch.

There’s just nothing there to recommend, beyond a reasonably decent plot. Best thing I can suggest, then, is to find a detailed guide somewhere online and read the story there – you’ll have more fun and won’t waste time and money on the game.

When I previewed the game in September it oozed potential greatness, but somewhere along the line Arkane and Ubisoft have lost their way and we're left with what I can only deem as half a game.

The quick play arcade nature of its core selection of titles is perfectly suited to a handheld. As it currently stands it’s the best of this type of compilation on the market for the PSP and should provide many hours of classic gaming enjoyment.

Yet another poor incarnation of a movie (which didn’t do that great anyway) which doesn’t accomplish anything other than giving the player consistent headaches throughout. Blame it on its poor level design, repetitive gameplay, constant bugs or whatever you like, as there are ample pickings.

A more focused game than the GTA series and you're more likely to plough ahead and actually get somewhere with the story. Those of you who found the scale of San Andreas a little bewildering and ultimately off-putting will find a challenge here more to your liking.

With a good ten hours plus of single player game, even on the easiest difficulty, and the multiple endings the choice system provides adding to that, and a great co-op and multiplayer game on top this should provide you with plenty of enjoyment doe your money and keep you sneaking around for a long time to come.

While the formula is solid, I think it was a missed opportunity for Pandemic to just churn out practically the same game. However, if you're looking for a no-brainer with big guns and lots of explosions, it rarely gets as fun as this.

Simply put, EA has genuinely raised the bar in the world of golfing games and Tiger Woods 07 will become the benchmark game that all others will be compared to for some time to come.

The real bonus for this version of the sim comes from pilot immersion. The focus on high quality 3D cockpits instead of 2D panels combined with some excellent new default aircraft with convincing flight dynamics makes for a wonderfully engaging experience. [Deluxe Edition]

It gets annoying at the end and it isn't a long game by any stretch of the imagination but it works well.

Legend of Spyro is a game that you just want to love for its admirably lovable story line, but as a gamer, you feel compiled to surrender to the obvious – it’s strictly average as an overall package.

The control method is an interesting take on the usual styles, and helps make things challenging, like real golf.

A step in the right direction. It's just plagued with mistakes that make it an uneven ride of missed chances. What makes it all the more galling is that it's presented so beautifully and uses the touch-screen in enjoyable ways.

Given the cliché of terrible movie tie ins, I was most impressed with Scarface on that basis alone, but it does become easier to recommend the game when you consider that Scarface: The World Is Yours would be worth a play through even without Tony Montana.

The actual depth available for the player is amazing with a large number of missions, mini-games and mission types (including free-roam), but unlike Grand Theft Auto, they aren’t seamlessly integrated into the world, rather a big list of activities for you to choose from the menu, which seems to be a step back in my eyes.

After finishing playing it for this review I promise I'll never play this game again and that speaks volumes, sadly.

This is no mere cash-in update to appease gamers with little knowledge of what makes a decent game.

The game is resplendent with in-jokes from the series, and a ridiculous amount of content from the series is present in some form. The trick is to see past the occasional frustration, and simplistic gameplay.

Some mildly entertaining but ultimately vacuous fluff.

My main gripe is that the single player game doesn't have the durability I would have hoped for, so if you don’t plan to go online then it’s not a game I’d recommend you pick up.

Perhaps it is only the desire to see more of the scope of the world (and hope for more variety) that keeps you going, but when you can count on your fingers the time it takes to finish the story missions, I wonder if my completist attitude will be enough to push me to claim the entire map as my own.

Without any identifiable storyline or single-player incentives, the various challenges on offer simply fail to motivate, and can become tiresome as a result.

It is one of the best sporting simulations ever made and is easily the best basketball game to hit a console.

Its inventive, thrilling and above all, quite possibly one of the most immersive game out there.

It makes it hard to justify paying extra for a game that can be bought cheaper on another console.

A fun, if simplistic battle game that is certainly well above average and worth giving it a spin if you find it at the right price.

It’s just a shame that the resource model aspect didn’t pan out quite as I’m sure the developer envisioned, while the handful of other little annoyances ensure that the gameplay never lives up to the excellent visuals.

There's at least one thing they haven't improved which they should have done though, and that's your team mates AI, I occasionally found my own team mates crashing in to me, an autosave wouldn't have hurt either, but they're just small niggles really.

It's not perfect, but for me it's the racing and driving game I've always dreamed of playing. Well done Eden.

If you hanker after some great fights with an equally good story to carry things along then you really can’t pick a better game and it’s one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played on the Playstation 2 this year.

With that first release having had such a limited audience, there’s no doubt that what is on offer here will seem fresh and innovative to some of those who pick up what is a decent and lengthy expansion.

If, like me, you’re vulnerable to anime/manga/JRPG cliché, then this game will be a guilty pleasure, but I’ll be surprised if you finish it.

While Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins often threatens to be obtuse and dated platformer, it’s hard not admire its impishly cunning design, charming presentation and strict old-school challenge.

The Challenge and party modes are the redeeming features, but they’re only the side dishes- and the main course will leave you with a particularly bad taste in your mouth.

The simple addition of a useful targeting systems opens up so much gameplay that felt tedious in "GTA."

If you don't own Madden and you're keen to get into the NFL games then this is the one to get.

Pac-Man Rally is fundamentally Mario Kart in a different guise. Usually such blatant rip-offs are recipe for disaster, but Rally is apparently the one exception where it manages to pull off a half decent attempt.

In spite of some minor ambiguity as concerns the control interface, it's a game that has a fairly shallow learning curve, yet promises much in the way of long term amusement for those who don’t like their 4X to be too taxing.

Those difficult extra missions unlocked one by one after finishing the main game are certainly going to keep me occupied at least until Final Fantasy XII appears in the UK.

It’s boring, dull and yet still somehow oddly compelling.

I found World Racing 2 a huge letdown having been looking forward to this sequel for so long. I expected it to be a step forward, not seem like a step back.

It was fun to play a space action game that used trading to get you into opportunities for a fight rather than study for a degree in advanced intergalactic economics.

At the end of the day you get a very good game here, albeit a bit on the short side at about 5 hours long.

A solid and enjoyable racing game, with some nice quirky features, but one that falls short of greatness by lacking something really special.

Unfortunately, the poor controls, cringe-worthy sound effects and a story that I'm not even sure would fight for the attention of a child make for a serious let down to anyone seeking a Marble Madness shadow with a narrative.

The real meat of the expansion though are the new scenarios which offer plenty of variety and interesting gameplay nuances. However they do tend to be rather tricky, even for experience players.

I'm actually having more fun online with this game than "GRAW" thanks to the even greater emphasis on team play, role types and big robot things exploding.

A flawed masterpiece.

The utter diversity in gameplay, the sometimes nail-biting tension coupled with the often laugh-out-loud deaths and kills are exactly what makes The Ship into a brilliant, if flawed game, and just the change in scenery that the FPS genre needed.

Something of a disappointment. One cannot fault EA for trying to bring an intelligent strategy game to the console yet at the same time the removal of the dynamic campaign shows that the publisher wasn't quite convinced the game would fly on the console.

The challenges and free create mode are more likely to be where experienced city builders will spend their time and I just don't think there's enough of that to keep them coming back.

The gameplay, graphics, multiplayer, sound and everything else are all okay.

Battle for Europe is a detailed and historically accurate look at the age of grand armies of Europe and the classic clash of Empires. While not offering anything particularly new or groundbreaking it succeeds in providing an entertaining and thoughtful strategy game for those tired of meaningless tank rushes.

It looks and plays fantastically well and recalls the days when flight sims were something fun and accessible as well as requiring intelligence.

Aside from the brief diversion of the multiplayer mode there’s little to enjoy here. Dead Man’s Chest is the very definition of a lazy licence - so routine, clunky and mechanical that it’s as soulless as a ghost pirate.