With such an accomplished and unique cinematic source, we really did deserve better.

A 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.

There's plenty of potential in the Officers franchise. Few games manage to capture WW2 this well at the tactical level. But a few problems with friendly AI and stability do drag the score down somewhat.

The final levels positively encourage you to achieve zen-like levels of concentration as you determinedly edge your way carefully through without losing a life because failure means having to play it all again and the rage meter bubbling over.

While it may be a fun little jaunt with the appearance of a clever strategy/action game, if you attempt to play it that way you soon find out that it is fundamentally broken. A lesson from history, one hopes.

It's a shame really as EA could have done a whole lot better. The control system could be a lot better, the animation could be better and the cut-scenes could be better.

A very amiable game. You really want to it to be better than it is, and with its flashes of brilliance it's easy to get deceived into thinking it's far more playable than initial appearances.

Unless you are a big fan of the original and you yearn for more mission based combat then you’d better off saving your money. There isn’t enough new content here to justify the price tag.

With age, tends to come more gaming aptitude, which will mean you’ll make quick work of Lemony Snicket’s and a yearning for a bit more of a challenge. By all means though, give it to your toddler and they’ll go wild.

The game is good fun if a little frustrating. Fans of the original might be a little miffed by the drastic shift in dynamic, but as long as you recognize that this isn't just a side-scrolling beat 'em up, you should be pleasantly surprised.

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

If you like a game that rewards teamwork and strategy as well as hair-trigger reactions and steady nerves, then SOCOM becomes immensely rewarding. Take the game seriously, learn quickly and bring a headset. This package will keep you entertained for a long while.

A story that took you into twisted, deranged, decrepit worlds that just yearned for some fantastic art direction and varied, interesting level design - you didn’t get any.

“Oddly not as compelling as it sounds” is an apt summary for it all, to be honest.

Okay, the gloves are off. I really dislike this game. The titular fury is so apparent after just one race.

The actual gameplay itself is pretty good and does reward skill unlike EA Sport's recent golfing output.

On the one hand it offers reasonably entertaining action and a good mix of strategy and battling, with some excellent music and a strangely compelling story mode to play through. On the flip side, dodgy AI and a feeling of being detached from the game at times can raise the question of whether you’re really having fun, or if you just think you are.

A big bonus is that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously.

It feels rushed, it looks dated and it’s filled with annoying glitches that should have been ironed out during play testing.

It has nothing new to offer an already crowded genre. Practically everything it does has been seen before, and the parts which haven't are too limited and clumsy to save the rest. The story is difficult to care about; the characters are generic and combat is repetitive and flaccid.

If you manage to at least enjoy killing hundreds of people in Drakengard’s world, you can enjoy killing thousands to make it to its end.

It isn’t perfect, and the repetitive nature of the combat really can grind at times, but if you liked Rare’s Kameo but thought it was let down for being too shallow and not enough platforming then you really shouldn’t be looking any further.

It might come as a surprise, but I would actually have preferred a direct conversion of FIFA 06 to this.

The most frustrating thing I found with it was an autosave that occurred just as I destroyed the engine on my plane right at the end of the first mission.

At the end of the day the experience, despite how crooked it can appear in parts, is absolutely entertaining. From a budget game, that’s about the best you can ask.

The overall impression is of a game which was created in pieces like a puzzle, and then put together by someone who didn’t quite have the full picture on the front of the box.

As much as this game would like you to believe it's suitable for all ages, I believe it's been made with kids in mind and at the same time, someone in the Quality Control department at Jowood has thought that low quality will be fine for said same children.

The Marathon fan base out there who played the game over 10 years ago will most likely be the only ones to get any real enjoyment out of this one.