Derivative but fun and the EyeToy support is a great bonus. Won't win over Harry-haters but fans will be willy, er, wand-waving into the wee small hours.

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.

What's so captivating is FSW's constant assault on your senses - whether shaken by explosions or hanging on live-or-die decisions, you are always in the thick of it.

Are we too battle-hardened to sense the full impact of Vin's Xbox debut? More likely the game isn't packing quite the dynamite as its potential suggested.

Limited and uninspiring, Spartan won't satisfy anyone with an inkling of the quality of other games on the market.

The story is great, the tension is real and if you like copious adrenal activity then you won't go too far wrong.

The developer has actually managed to make the original Pac-Man games worse than they were 20-odd years ago. Jerky animations, a Pac-Man that's not even round and... Oh, I give up. Lucky it's only a tenner or we would have been really piqued.

The game mechanics might seem simple but the freedom and depth is astonishing - a dark and engrossing return for the Godfather of Stealth.

Although Future Tactics doesn't quite have the humour or breadth of "Worms," and the multiplayer game isn't as all-encompassing as it should be, the campaign mode is quite endearing (even if the voice talent is god-awful), and the Trumpton visuals are sweet, if somewhat last-gen.

But playing Euro 2004 is a strangely seductive experience, even for hardcore PES fans like us. It's all so official, so slick, so sparkly, and so stylishly smooth while still playing some decent footie that we'll even forgive it for not being PES. Vive 2004!

Playing Euro 2004 is a strangely seductive experience, even for hardcore PES fans like us. It's all so official, so slick, so sparkly, and so stylishly smooth while still playing some decent footie that we'll even forgive it for not being PES. Vive 2004!

But playing Euro 2004 is a strangely seductive experience, even for hardcore PES fans like us. It's all so official, so slick, so sparkly, and so stylishly smooth while still playing some decent footie that we'll even forgive it for not being PES. Vive 2004!

Red Dead's venomous cocktail of sassy action, swish visuals and sharp scenarios make it a fresh and ballsy alternative to most other third-person console blasters currently roaming the paddock.

This is the second best pool game for your PC. If you must have one, get "Pool Paradise" instead.

It's certainly not the greatest platform adventure ever, but it's imbued with the same charming humour as the film, with all manner of sight gags that tip a knowing wink to fans of the movie.

What makes the campaigns such a joy are the masses of scenarios they contain - some 130 in all. Practically every individual territory now has its own associated mission, giving each game a unique flavour.

The way I see it, the only reason you might want to carry on playing is because you've already invested so much time in getting to where you are - which sounds like a lot of hard work to me. [PC Zone]

Gritty movie atmosphere and clever storyline fail to outshine the unforgiving gameplay. It's got some great ideas but could've been so much better.

Manhunt isn't an essential game - it has a pernickety camera, repetitive gameplay and often-frustrating real-time combat. Yet, it also has a unique atmosphere, tense moments and stylish, visceral videotaped kill cut-scenes - if you can stomach the violence. Now, where's that cheese wire?

The crowning glory is a co-operative multiplayer game that's every bit as thrilling as the GBA's "Four Swords." It's hardcore, but accessible.

Make no mistake: this is the big one, in every sense. No less than 15 different disciplines are melded together via an extensive career path, each brimming with Codemasters' trademark high production values and attention to detail.

Painkiller abounds with sublime touches, such as the boxes full of postcards that flutter down around you when shot and the fireworks that send multi-coloured sparks whizzing in all directions. I've said it once, and I'll say it again - there's nothing wrong at all with violent videogames. Disagree, and I'll send you to hell with a wooden stake through your eye socket.

A game where you have to kill a seriously stupid amount of vicious creatures, who lack the brains to do much other than charge straight at you. It's an absolute apocalypse and in terms of body count makes "TimeSplitters 2" look like Songs of Praise.

Despite boasting a wholesome choice of 16 lead characters as well as spells, melee weapons and guns, in reality the combat element of the game is weak.

If there were a decent multiplayer mode it would perhaps be more worthwhile, but sadly there isn't even a shit one. And since the AI opponent spouts the same dialogue over and over, the whole game gets tiresome very quickly. [PC Zone]

FN2004's brilliant analog stick punching system gives boxing its own genre - this is much more than just a beat 'em up with big red gloves and silly shorts on.

FN2004's brilliant analog stick punching system gives boxing its own genre - this is much more than just a beat 'em up with big red gloves and silly shorts on.

Once upon a time there was a boy called Colin who liked cars. He liked them so much that when he grew up he drove them at high speed under strict competition conditions. Perhaps driven by rage at his unfortunate choice of name, he drove so fast that he was crowned Champion of the World.