It may be linear and occasionally repetitive, but the spectacular set pieces will surely rock your world as hard as any Hong Kong classic.

Roadkill's impression of Grand Theft Auto is almost as cringeworthy. Most of the ingredients that made Rockstar's crime 'em up so successful are here but, like your dad's Pound Shop Ali G, it lacks the special something that made GTA so amazing.

There's a difference between paying homage to and simply recycling old material, something this game fails to appreciate. The graphics might be up there with the forthcoming "Resident Evil 4," but the gameplay owes a huge debt to the first Resident Evil game. [PSW]

The four Narnia kids all have skills which complement one another, and they can be upgraded by exchanging the many tokens that can be found around the levels.

A familiar class-based, objective-based multiplayer shooter that is immensely rewarding when played online with others.

Bland environments and dull gameplay leave Rainbow Six 3 feeling disappointingly empty. If the AI was more realistic and there was some texture in the worlds this would have been much better.

Picross e2 is another example why Picross is such an addictive series. While it's not the outstanding highlight of this 18 year-old series, it remains a brilliant budget option for those curious about its cult following.

Blinx 2 is on par with the original, but the fact is that there are better alternatives out there that don't muddy the platform fun with complicated game mechanics and dull level design. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

'Lightweight' probably best describes Suikoden Tactics - it's not without a fair bit of excitement and some clever moments, but it's not particularly memorable either, and it certainly won't make strategy lovers break into a sweat. [PSW]

You'd also have thought there'd be a fair share of humour in there, what with a Goblin's lack of social etiquette but it's a poker-faced affair, with your troops acting more like honourable Knights of the Round Table than dirty, thieving, man-flesh eating gits. Damn shame.

It creates a warm feeling that doesn't provide belly-laughs, but at least fixes you up with a permanent half-grin. [PC Zone]

Juiced has come a long way since the fall of Acclaim. It's still a huge undertaking, full of masses of depth, but it now plays and looks a damn sight better too. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

The whole game feels a bit slow at times. There are moments when the action chugs along slower than a milk float, particularly when you're being chased by the police.

It's almost as if Midway has run out of retro games to repackage, apart from some crappy old driving titles it found in the back of a filing cabinet that weren't good enough to make the first two Treasures titles.

The Cave's built from the same bedrock as Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle, after all, and the trademark Double Fine humour is here in abundance. If some repetition is the price to be paid for hours of clever conundrums and charming gags, it's a deal well worth striking; a few lumps of coal in a goldmine of entertainment.

Although Sam looks cool while monkey swinging and rolling from cover to cover, grabbing guards by the neck and knocking them unconscious, the whole thing feels a bit like a technical demonstration, rather than entertainment.

More like an FPS than a racer, The Run lacks the performance and depth of Gran Turismo and Forza, but delivers on insane speeds and nail-biting arcade thrills.

The driving itself is seriously good fun and that really is the most important thing. This is a great game made even greater by its protracted stay in the developer's waiting room.

With a bit more thought put into the story and increased variety in each level, this could have been as good a retro game as Neo Contra. But sadly, even when priced at just 20 it's a risky purchase. [PSW]

Text can't be skipped, which may be fine for a dramatic piece of dialogue, but is eminently frustrating when you're having to wait for your character to lengthily tell you that you can't do something for the umpteenthmillionth time.

It's just a pity about the lacklustre responsiveness of the characters, as that downfall makes this a decent game as opposed to a good one. Hopefully Shrek will triumph in the next, inevitable tie-in. [PSW]

Tasks as simple as wandering around are frustrated by the controls reversing as the camera angle jumps, while during the frequent combat bits you'll spend more time fighting with the clunking movement mechanism than with the denizens of Silent Hill.

So despite a slight lick of paint, especially in the newer areas, AC2 still sports one of the ugliest interfaces in MMO history and has game options that are insultingly simplistic. [PC Zone]

The presentation, as mentioned, is superb - just check out the way if you pause the game, the screen will flick to a newspaper article detailing your current level and predicament. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

A competent and rewarding game worthy of a couple of days blasting. [PC Zone]

While not a universally terrible effort, the tense stand-offs and tight urban combat is let down by the weak interface and poor consistency in your squad's AI.

The biggest disappointment in this otherwise fairly enjoyable shooter is the lack of content once you've finally grasped the formula. There are only nine similar-looking maps to choose from, with more expected down the line via downloadable content.

If Floo Powder, Dementors and Fizzing Whizbees mean anything to you, get this game as soon as you can. But be warned, the simplicity of it might mean a part exchange within a few days.

And what is it with the cut-scenes? They've roped in all the voices from the film, so why can't they make sure that the figures look better? It's a mystery even Spidey can't solve.

Sabre Squadron's main claim to fame is its new multiplayer options, which allow you and some friends to play any of the nine new levels co-operatively. With the team AI problems eradicated, these levels become far more calculated and precise affairs (so long as your team-mates work together of course).

The equivalent of the summer's biggest Oscar-winning blockbuster, it's breathtaking, and destined to become an adventure classic. Totally unmissable.

An unoriginal and slightly dull survival horror in the Resident Evil mould, the brilliant X-Files atmosphere and 20 price tag will save it for fans of the show.

Forts is probably not for everyone, but those of us with hearts as squishy as the loveable mud-chewers themselves will be in seventh heaven. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

To be fair, Capcom is pitching Haunting Ground as 'psychological' horror rather than a straight-ahead survival horror, but that's hardly compensation when the supposedly terrifying lead baddie looks more like 'Sloth' from The Goonies after a bad makeover. [PSW]

Ultimately though, this is a shallow console experience, especially when compared to the likes of Max Payne 2, and really has no business being on the PC in the first place. [PC Zone]

A hugely enjoyable, polished action-adventure with buckets and buckets of OTT gore. If you thought "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines" too cerebral, its slasher B-movie blood relative could HAVE MORE BITE.

Game-starved Xbox owners raved about Top Spin a couple of years back, but don't let that fool you into thinking this is anything special. [PSW]

Tycoon City: New York may be big and colourful, but under its ostentatious, shiny surface and character-driven tasks, it's ultimately just another by-the-numbers tycoon game. [PC Zone]

It's uncharacteristically short for an RPG, but those Mega Man action junkies have short attention spans.

It's all pretty simple. Crash collects Wumpa fruit, Spyro collects crystals, and they both jump over lots of spikes.

If you can make friends with the twitchy handling in this arcade-sim crossbreed, then you're in for a good drive.

Okay, so there's two-minutes worth of multiplayer chuckles in "Badlands" and "Super Off-Road," and "Hydro Racer" is marginally better than the terrible "Stun Runner," but that's it. [PSW]

A sprawling adventure that offers plenty, but delivers it in a strangely disjointed format that makes it less than the sum of its many parts. [PSW]

Expertly produced with enough sheen in all the right places to make it worth your while, but still flawed enough to be a bit disappointing.

It's ironic that a game featuring a jawless, semi-putrid swash-buckling skeleton is essentially the re-animated gaming carcass of a 1999 PSone title.

The biggest disappointment in this otherwise fairly enjoyable shooter is the lack of content once you've finally grasped the formula. There are only nine similar-looking maps to choose from, with more expected down the line via downloadable content.

Final Fantasy XI is an acquired taste, and one that was built for playing on the sofa rather than on the PC. It's a pity that Square couldn't have served up something more ambitious for our first online RPG, but at least it means we get an RPG that's had three years of being knocked into shape. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

There's no doubt that as a casual tennis game, this is loads of fun. But if you're looking for the depth, simulation and total shot control, you might be left fuming that your little sister could beat you with random crazy shots. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Regeneration is little more than a by-the-numbers beat 'em up with a bit of gore and some dispiritingly unfunny dialogue. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Business as usual for the Kinect Sports franchise. Season 2 packs fun new features but anyone who wasn't won over by the original will have little reason to love this.

Has a forbidding atmosphere (beginning on a ship and moving to an oil rig), violent blood-letting and superb environmental effects. However, we've seen the same kind of lame puzzles (sodding keycards anyone?) and storylines a billion times before. [PC Zone]

It's not in the same league as the infamous plumber, and the partner/weapon gimmick isn't new (Whiplash - Issue 27, 8.1 - did it before), but it's a sturdy exercise in comic gaming. We'll even forgive the fact it's ginger. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

A classic slice of arcade action. While it's a crying shame the first and fourth games are absent, Return is still a brilliant Zapper title with plenty to offer.

The only ice hockey game worth giving a flying puck about.

SRS features an impressive amount of depth, but the lacklustre gameplay may put the handbrake on you ever really appreciating it. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

A spook-tacular recreation of the Ghostbusters world, let down by dodgy spook-snatching and no-mark characters.

It's a very good thing the combat is so enjoyable, because that's pretty much all there is. [PC Zone]

Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but this is quite convincingly the most comprehensive Dynasty Warriors yet. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

It's certainly a refreshing departure from the usual slew of first-person shooters and urban driving games. But it could have done with a more thoughtful conversion - stripped back from its PC roots and with a less headache-inducing camera, this could have been good.

The action is bewildering and frenetic, the challenge is minimal and the usual camera problems persist, but this is still an exuberantly entertaining game.

If you're enough of a fan to forgive its frustrating moments, Dark Motives' five cases will give you a few evenings' worth of semi-interactive intrigue, but not much more.

It's good. Clichéd nonsense, but good. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

The game we were expecting eight months ago, with bots so intelligent they make your average online player look like a baboon who's been dropped at birth. It's like playing CS in the good old days.

With a great system of matching symbols in order to chat and flirt and a world in which a different life can be dictated for your Sim each time you start a new game, The Sims 2 is great fun and game that'll last you ages.

Although the songs may be faithful to the film, the voice of Jack Skellington isn't, and as such it feels odd to try and relate to the skinless charlatan. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

All this violence is undeniably fun for a while and the visuals are decent, but after a couple of hours you'll have seen all there is to offer. [PC Zone]

Problem is, if you are serious about your ice hockey games Rivals' online capability is one of the few things to get excited about.

Part of the problem is that instead of playing to the original game's strengths, what the developer has devised is a lily-livered RTS that's a pale shade of the Kohan engine on which it's based. [PC Zone]

God knows what happened to LOTR3, but the usually dependable Impressions Games has lost the plot on this one. Even if you're a long-standing fan of the series - no, especially if you are one - avoid this like a bearded, Black Death-infected Saxon whore.

Exhilarating because you're tasked with turning the tide of the conflict by hacking through scores of enemies with an array of combos, projectile attacks (including bows and bombs) and some superb special Musou moves that first need to be powered up. Infuriating because the abysmal camera makes it virtually impossible to face the enemy for any prolonged period, meaning you're soon being flanked faster than a bitch on heat in an all-male dog sanctuary. [PC Zone]

The thing is, it could have been a great one if only the developer hadn't assumed we'd all like lots more mindless hacking and slashing at the expense of some of the joyful exploring and leaping. [PSW]

Firstly, there's no manual camera control, which wouldn't be an issue if the game automatically chose the best positions for combat. Except it never does, meaning enemies appear from nowhere to attack you because it's too close in, or you can't really see what you're doing because it's so far away. [PSW]

What really lets Ops down is a lack of finesse. There are very few nice touches and an almost total inability to interact with the environment.

A Hero's Tail is actually fairly hefty, with enormous levels to explore. Obviously a younger gamer's title, plenty of colourful visuals and the addition of so many replayable mini-games should keep the kiddies enthralled (and quiet) for hours at a time. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Unfortunately, the game is extremely linear. You get a task and go do it, then get another and go do that. Which would be fine if the huge levels weren't so boringly designed.

A shameless imitation that nevertheless does a convincing job while trying to bring something new to the table. Bravo, you cheeky sods.

There's no multiplayer action and with a fairly short playing time, this is much more suited to a rental.

Admittedly, there are some people who enjoy hitting the same button all day long, but don't be surprised if after ten hours you're left with nothing more than thumb ache and a weird sense of regret. [PSW]

One of the most engrossing, realistic and downright challenging squad-based shooters on the Xbox, and if you've ever wanted to know what real war is like - but don't fancy running the risk of having your intestines shot out - it's by far your best, and safest, bet.

It's like people just can't bring themselves to accept the truth here: The Matrix: Path Of Neo is an irredeemable abortion of a game that Atari, Shiny, the Wachowski brothers and anyone even remotely associated with it should be ashamed for ever thinking about releasing in this form. [PC Zone]

The whole package is undermined by the same problems that afflicted our RoboJordan. It looks stunning and has all the moves, but if you're in the market for a long-term basketball experience you're better off with the old Xbox version. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

There's definitely fun to be had here. And you don't have to be a four-year-old gaming amateur to enjoy it.

The film's distinctive environments are employed to great effect - hills and ridges mean characters with different specialities come into their own when used properly, and the buildings and natural obstructions add to the game's surprising depth. [PSW]

There's a smattering of good ideas in Samurai Legend, but they're quickly crushed under the obesity of mindless combat and poor design. One to avoid. [PSW]

If you enjoy squandering time away on the original title, you're bound to find more joy and excitement from the additional animals and buildings included in this expansion.

A clumsy and lifeless last-gen action game.

Perhaps the biggest letdown is the driving levels featuring the Batmobile. These commit the worst act of plagiarism since Oasis began ripping off themselves from their third album onwards. [PSW]

As for the story, well this is the stuff Tom Clancy will be writing when he's a senile old loon in a home. In all, Splinter Cell on a budget. [PC Zone]

Sounds like a good idea in premise, then, except it's during these combat sections that the game emerges flatter than a blind hedgehog on a motorway. Limited fighting moves, weedy spells, monotonous pace - it could hardly be any less entertaining.

In truth, the puzzles are rather refreshing, not least because you have a gurgling baby to help you who eats literally anything.

Underground and underwhelming, it's a shame none of that Pixar magic rubbed off on this. [Official UK XBox Magazine]

It's infuriatingly slow-paced at times, but that's not to say it's dull. Imagine you're lying in a field on a summer's day - that's action-free too, but hardly dull. Suikoden 4 is much the same, it's more interested in curling you up on the sofa on a rainy Sunday afternoon than in BLOWING YOU AWAY with MASSIVE COMBOS and HUGE EXPLOSIONS. [PSW]

But if you don't have Live, World Poker Tour is little more than a glorified game of cards against the computer. It does put a lot of effort into catering for the single player, with a full career mode and several real-life players to challenge, but it won't take long for any half-decent player to figure out how to exploit the somewhat basic AI. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

But it's slow, it's sluggish, the controls are unresponsive and it's a real chore to play. That equals no fun.

It's a superb shooter with a great plot, innovative gameplay and some really brilliant moments that will surprise even the most seasoned of gamer. It's a decent length too, with a good 15 hours of play in the main mode. But some control issues and patchy inconsistencies (mainly in the physics and level design) pull it short of earning that juicy [90] score.

Its main problem lies in offering nothing that you haven't seen a thousand times before and falls short in just about every department.

At least the level design in this one is vaguely interesting at some points. As a competitor to the likes of Ratchet and Jak, though, Pac-Man is starting to look ten times his age. [PSW]

It's not all bad. Apart from the acting and character animation. Oh, and the interface. And the story. True, some of the puzzles do make a twisted kind of sense. But there's nothing gripping about it. Life's too short, basically.