There's no standout reason to upgrade from previous editions. But if you're new to backside-blistering fun on four wheels, Fury 3 is worth a blast. [PSW]

Adding some of Modern Warfare's gritty realism gives the Ace Combat series a shot in the arm, while its arcade accessibility and enjoyability remains intact.

It's a classic case of being sucked in by a license; an average shooter resting heavily on the shoulders of an acclaimed movie license. It's not all bad, just don't expect it to be as good as you're probably expecting it to be.

The beauty of NFL Street 2 is its immediacy. Although numerous offence (running, passing and trick) and defence plays can be employed, its anarchic nature ensures it is extremely fast-paced and easy to pick up. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

The perfect rental title. Brilliantly playable, beautifully detailed and choking with charisma, it's also linear, too easy and a shallower than a midget's beret.

It's the polar opposite of all that dialogue-based soul-searching and Jedi hocus-pocus, but boy oh boy, is it good. And there's not a single lightsaber in sight. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

If you're short of games to play on your shiny new PS3, RR7 is a solid choice. But be warned RR fans - you'll have seen almost all of this before on PSP and 360.

One of the first squad-based racing games we've played, but the novelty soon wears off. The dull tracks are matched by grainy and blocky graphics, with overly sensitive steering too. [PSW]

More funny than any free game has a right to be, but it's free for a reason. There's basically just one play mode and you need four people to make it worthwhile. If only you didn't have to suffer R: Racing to get it.

No other console WWII game has ever produced such a technically stunning or emotionally involving experience. Big Red One has been polished to perfection. [PSW]

EA's new graphics engine makes a difference too. Things are noticeably sharper and more free-flowing, meaning that the frenetic on-court movement of players doesn't get lost inside your PS2.

Perhaps the biggest new feature for this year's ice hockey outing is the inclusion of Live compatibility...This essentially adds months to NHL 2005's appeal, and will turn the already feverishly loved title into a true competitive tussle.

The game draws on the rich material inspired by Lovecraft's twisted world, and actually recreates its creeping, claustrophobic horror surprisingly well. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

More than anything else, it puts up a great fight. More immediate than its predecessors and certainly easier to get to grips with, SCV still retains the special flavour of the series - the weapons make its fights fast and deadly, the kind of battle where one slip ends everything. The mix of tension and frantic violence is more potent than ever. It never really went away, but Soul Calibur V feels like a comeback.

Feels like a far less weighty package than the original. The graphics are still beautiful compared to most competing games, and Etherlords II retains the title of best-looking turn-based combat game on the market. This might be enough for some, but if you liked the strategic elements from the first game, Etherlords II may well prove to be a big disappointment.

Still in second place - but the best PES in a long time. Fans will feel like an old friend has finally returned.

A massive technical achievement of real spectacle with heart-pounding fun at the core, but we can't help feeling that racing has taken a back seat.

The mighty "God of War" is a little more deserving of your action cash if you've only got the funds to buy one game where you run around killing stuff. But Shaolin Monks is a very close second-best in the heaving action sector, thanks to its good looks, decent play and a gory, blood-soaked style that's well in keeping with the Mortal Kombat legacy of pain. [PSW]

Sonic Generations hits its target well - with the genuinely bruising qualification that it can frequently be difficult to look at.

Overall however, we're rather taken with Nexus. Its mixture of tactics, mouse-control and combat-orientated gameplay is suitably different from both "Homeworld" and traditional space-combat games like Freespace, delivering something unique and yet familiar enough to appeal to fans of either game. [PC Zone]

You still won't bother with the walking bits, but with two-player cooperative Classic levels, online play and a smart new version of LA to open up and tear apart, this is a return to form for the Hawkster. [PSW]

It's damn fast, damn detailed, and with the added newbiefriendly Extreme Mode, it should ensure the bike game market is cornered for another year. It's doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it is does make it go round very, very fast. [PC Zone]

Should have been more inventive, more memorable and more important. After we were spoiled by the beautiful Epic Yarn last year, Adventure highlights the dangers of appealing to a very vocal minority.

It's just a shame EA insist on using a blurring effect when you boost. The graphics are already blurry enough to make it tough to see where the track ahead is taking you. The last thing you need when rocketing along at some silly speed over 100mph, is an effect that looks like someone's smeared Vaseline on your windscreen.

A technically impressive adventure that sticks to the tried and trusted traditional FF formula.

Regardless of the decent handling, there's no escaping one of MTX's most annoying flaws: heaps of the objectives are startlingly samey.

So with the main new feature [First Touch] largely redundant, you're simply left with yet another sluggish, indistinguishable FIFA game. It's also tactically perverse, with defenders lurking on the edge of the box, and forwards showing little inclination to push up.

The gaming equivalent of buying a massive bag of crisps only to find that half the packet is filled with fresh air. There's still plenty to enjoy, but not nearly as much as there should be and you end up feeling a bit cheated.