It's an enormous game and works brilliantly, allowing you to earn points to customise your character and unlock all the courses. SSX Tricky makes the perfect companion to Xbox's other, far more serious, snowboarding game, Amped.

The two-player experience is utterly brilliant, but it's all the cool detail, the mysterious plot, and tight gameplay that make Halo feel so involving and unique.

Unsuitable however, is the camera angle used to fight bossman 'Ganryu'. It looks great to watch, but to control your character from the back is immensely frustrating, especially when the boss character is cheaper than a tupenny whore.

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.

The atmosphere of the castle is added to both by the superb sound and pacing of the game. The mellow speed of the game means that while there is the odd moment of button-hammering terror, most often you have time to sit back and rubberneck at the environments around you.

Better handling, more races and brain-melting visuals make it the showpiece title PlayStation 2's been waiting for.

Leave "Ultima Online" for a couple of months say, and you could be looking at the biggest download since Pamela Anderson's home-video was leaked on to the Internet. [PC Zone]

Despite its lack of innovation, Septerra Core proves to be perfectly playable, and at times even quite enjoyable. [PC Zone]

There's not much new in terms of gameplay, but the 3D accelerated views, rapid scrolling and distinct lack of lag make it spectacular to look at and wonderfully smooth to play. [PC Zone]

There's no easy way to say this, but the game that adventure fans have patiently been waiting for has proved to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year so far, at least as far as this reviewer is concerned.

Fog, rain and lightning effects not only look nice, but also affect how you play - especially when you try your first grenade attack in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Simply put, Blood II is more of the same: more guns and more enemies. Although it's not quite as pant-browning as we would've hoped, it's a stunning achievement considering the time Monolith have had to put it together. [PC Zone]

Metalgear is distinctive in that the game is woven around the story, rather than the opposite way around.

If there is any justice in the world Shogo will be looked back on as one of the best 3D games of its time. Personally speaking, apart from "Half-Life", Shogo is the best game I've played this year.

Incredibly addictive. Unlike "Spec Ops," however, Rainbow Six is a game that, thanks to its replayability, makes it something you'll keep going back to time and time again. [PC Zone]

One good aspect for people who tend to get stuck on these detective game (and I mean myself here) is 'artificial intuition', ie help. When you seem to have hit a wall, this swirling symbol will suggest areas to concentrate on in that location - and the more you use it, the less subtle the hints get! It's a good way of offering a helping hand without spoonfeeding players.

The graphics are gorgeous, with a loving amount of detail, but the perspective and colouring may give them a dated, 16-bit feel.

Polish is the key word in fact, when describing Broken Sword II. The one area that Revolution shine brighter than any other software star is in the look and style of the game. Graphically, this title is very impressive.

Although the game is hands-on, all your troops display a remarkable level of intelligence and can generally be relied upon to act on their own in a discerning manner. No more straying into the wilderness, taking on enemy divisions single-handed or walking backwards into a swamp.

It's refreshing to find a game that's so strong in single-player mode - not that I've got anything against multi-play, you understand, it's just that a lot of software publishers are using the strength of their multi-player mode as an excuse for the weakness of their games in single-player mode. Age Of Empires, needless to say, triumphs in both departments. With the exception of "XCOM 3," this is the best game I've played in a year and a half. [PC Zone]

Once you get to grips with the controls and get into a close fight it can get very exciting, and finishing an opponent with a perfectly-timed parry and counterattack is really satisfying. Unfortunately, most people won't want to spend the time it takes to get into Bushido Blade.

Flying through a city at night has to be the graphical pinnacle of the game and squeezing between two buildings while flying at a high speed is also a great thrill, especially if you can survive it!

By far the most extraordinary feature of Blood has to be its sound effects. They are nothing short of incredible. 'Manamax and spear books,' the cultists shriek, alongside something not dissimilar to the word 'bollocks'. The zombies endlessly crow about 'Brainssssss'. Set a fanatic on fire and he screams like a girl: 'It burns! Oh god it burns,' before melting into a heap of steaming entrails accompanied by the appropriate popping and sizzling effects.

Describing the stages in Turok as mere 'levels' doesn't really do them justice - it took us almost two hours to find everything in the first one alone, and they get bigger!

The second major problem is the wildly fluctuating difficulty levels. Some missions will be easily completed in one try; others will require days upon days of unsuccessful attempts. Not that the challenge is insurmountable, but it seems somewhat misguided for Activision not to have included difficulty levels - or at least some options to make the game easier.

It may be lacking the coins of the original, and the courses aren't as inspired, but it plays like a demon, and that's the important part, right?

It's awesome to look at, a treat to play and as original a racer as youire ever going to see, and the two-player mode gives the game a totally fresh level of challenge. You'll take to it like a duck to water.

The best part of Pilotwings 64 is exploring the four islands. You'll not believe just how huge the islands really are and, because certain elements are hidden at first, it'll take you months to see everything.