What Battlestations Pacific delivers is something that is all too rare these days. This is a game that's fun and action-packed without treating the customer like a fool. The blend of realism and arcade fun is beautifully balanced - think of this as the warfare equivalent of Project Gotham Racing.

Ultimately, the game provides plenty of enjoyment, and sits very happily on the 360, slotting itself in as a console game well. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a bit of mindless destruction, and a justification to empathise with the ‘other side’?

When you begin to fear the tedium of yet another awkward, uncoordinated fight sequence more than the unspeakable evils themselves you know something’s not quite right.

If you can get past the technical glitches, or somehow manage to avoid them, then Sims 2 Nightlife is a fine addition to the growing Sims 2 franchise.

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

There's plenty to like about Max and the Magic Marker, such as challenging puzzles, novel ideas and great gameplay mechanics. But the emphasis on creativity won't appeal to everyone - especially those who remember when this was all just fields, pipes and clinky gold rings.

If you can find yourself falling in love with the slightly twitchy handling, and look past the few failings involved with the enemy AI especially on later levels, then this could just work it’s way gaining a large portion of your Christmas gaming time.

If the thought of using noxious farts to temporarily disable mad mid-western farmers at Knobb Cheese Farm (where the password to get in is cornhole) has you laughing uncontrollably, then Stubbs the Zombie will keep you entertained from beginning to end (assuming your tendency to drool doesn't short out your controller).

There’s a lot to like about The Godfather and enough neat little touches to make it one to look out for (side missions, unlockables, character progression and the fighting style spring immediately to mind). Unfortunately though, there’s not quite enough polish in some areas to make it an essential purchase.

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.

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.

The game looks and sounds delightful, and is every bit as good as you expect.

A reasonable sports simulation that’s fun for fans and non fans alike. It’s a real pity they couldn’t have done more with the 360 version though, as apart from a slight bump in the graphics department and a couple of new moves it’s pretty much identical to the Xbox and PS2 versions.

Overlord as a game has so much potential and I really hope they get another crack at it with a third installment, but they've certainly not done themselves many favours by playing it so safe with the sequel and not pushing enough boundaries.

Would your parties be better with a quiz show to add to your Karaoke marathon? If so, Buzz: The Mega Quiz is the one for you.

A very well designed game despite the so-so battle system. It runs smoothly on most systems and is seemingly bug-free.

Clear Sky has a lot of potential - as does the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise - and is a worthwhile game to add to your collection because of its fair price but until the insane amount of gremlins is addressed in a patch it will always be a failure in the eyes of the fans.

I really did enjoy the experience, as unchallenging as it felt (whether because the puzzles rarely required timing threatening death beyond falling, because the enemies even have visible health bars or due to the friendly checkpoint system) but felt that it was too quick to get through to justify a full £40 purchase.

If you liked the world of the original, buy it, you’ll get a kick out of everything, but if you’ve not even played the first one, then buy The Longest Journey and see what Dreamfall should have been; like its predecessor, focussed on the puzzles.

It fluctuates in both difficulty and quality, never quite realising the potential of such a ghastly setting.

Perhaps a little more variety with the fighting, less of the annoying ‘trapping the player in a glowing circle until he has killed all enemies’ gameplay elements and more opportunity for clever exterminations like pushing enemies off ledges with telekinesis would have worked better, but it still remains a good game.

The basic problem with B&W2 is that once again you're micromanaging a world for people who are too lazy and stupid to be able to do the simplest of tasks, such as build a house or find someone to mate with, for themselves. It's a real shame.

The game completely failed to charm me and it lacks an addictive hook. A valiant but ultimately doomed effort to break the dominance of the old firm, FIFA Manager 10 is set for mid table obscurity.

Should you buy it? Only if you’re willing to buy another 8 more somewhere down the line.

Five years is a long time for things to essentially stay the same, no matter how enjoyable they may have been in the first place.

Fairly shallow as racing games go but provides upwards of 40 hours of single player action and a never ending supply of online entertainment.

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.

At the very least, it allows you to drive a truck through your enemies, jump into the air as a robot and come down fighting again. It must be said that this will be enough for a lot of people.