So while it’s hard to fault the efficiency of Visceral’s final product – all carping aside, the controversial license has at least been handled with a certain care given that this is a videogame and not an academic study – Dante’s Inferno is too familiar, too regressive and too content to do the necessary minimum to recommend wholeheartedly

If anything Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll is the simplest in the series if played with a Wii Remote and possibly the most difficult if using the Board, for all the wrong reasons.

The pros of Hotel Giant 2 are outweighed by some of its cons, most notably the repetitive and non-engaging nature of the gameplay.

Everything about the game – plots, combat, progression, characters – comes together in a tidy, satisfying package.

Whether or not you'll warm to it depends largely on if you enjoy the game's maniacal atmosphere: if you are, or ever were, a slightly juvenile adolescent male with a penchant for videogames and movies – and I think that covers most of us – there's a very good chance it'll go down a treat.

On one hand, MAG is an ambitious experiment that has delivered on many of its promises – it genuinely offers lag-free 256 player online battles with a huge potential for team work. On the other hand, it is a game that struggles to find a sense of purpose beyond this, or a real sense of identity.

Dark Void poses something of a dilemma. On one hand, it is an extremely enjoyable, quirky and lovingly crafted B-movie adventure delivered by a developer with obvious ambition. On the other hand, however, it has a number of fairly significant rough edges with elements that don’t stack up quite as well when compared to other titles in the action adventure genre.

If Croteam had added in some extra content or thrown in The Second Encounter it would be an essential purchase, but instead it ends up as something I’d only recommend if you’ve got cash to spare.

While it’s not pushing the boat and the game’s selling point of a ‘moral choices’ system isn’t half as deep as it wishes it was, it’s still an enjoyable 8-hour romp that improves upon the original in every department

While Darksiders is an undeniably confident package, it’s a shame the developers have fallen back on a succession of barely disguised facsimiles from proven classics to fill in the mechanics of their game.

The action is fun, fast and varied and makes for an enjoyable romp fans of the genre would be foolish to pass up.

As a self-contained music game then, Guitar Hero: Van Halen really isn’t substantial or appealing enough to warrant extended play.

It’s rather difficult to fault the game on any conceivable level, but one minor criticism is that the game-length-to-game-price ratio is a bit uneven.

If you’re looking to kill a few hours with a mate, then this would do the job; if you want any more than that, steer clear.

In some ways we can’t help but think that Ubisoft Montreal would have been wise to be less ambitious (was the support for 3D TVs – which are currently as rare as hens-teeth – really justified?) and deliver a more linear experience that simply gave you a chance to relive your favourite bits from the movie.

It’s a flawed work of art, but a work of art nonetheless.

Building on what came before it technically and thematically, Left 4 Dead 2 proves itself a thrilling multiplayer experience fans would be foolish to pass up. The sequel may have arrived just a year after the first but the wealth of content and overall refinement means you wouldn’t know to play it.

Deathly dull and completely without purpose, it’s an alien piece of software that appears to have crash-landed in from another, entirely more forgiving era.

As it stands, Griptonite offer fun, but disposable thrills which amount to a title tough to recommend outside of series completists. On the other hand, if Ezio the Hedgehog speed-running and stealth are what you need, this might yet become a worthwhile discovery.

Undoubtedly there will be those that question the games raison d’etre – was it really worth Sony investing in the title just to put Sackboy in your pocket? Does another portable version of a Playstation 3 title do anything to bolster the PSPs somewhat malnourished library? For our money, the answer to both these questions is a resounding ‘yes’.

Despite some obvious talent on the part of Griptonite Games, Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines smacks a little too much of an unloved, unwanted by-product birthed from the success of the franchise.

Children will garner some enjoyment from the cute mascots and simple gameplay but the game fails utterly and completely in its attempts at being a practical brainteaser.

The characters exude life and soul despite the game’s clunky animations and less than stellar voice acting – that’s the power of Bioware’s effective writing. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the environments: all the rote forests, castles and dungeons tend to blur into a single indistinguishable mess. It’s also too bloody hard in places, with a wonky difficulty curve comparable to a diagonal line drawn by a Parkinson’s sufferer sitting on a moving bus.

Fans of the series will no doubt relish the opportunity to spend some more time with the duo, and even those not so enamoured with them will still find something to enjoy – that is if they are able to put up with its shortcomings.

There is a deep and rewarding combat system in place likely to please fans and newcomers alike but the series is fraying at the edges due to technical limitations both online and off.

There is a wealth of content growling under the proverbial hood, but the game comes perilously close to lacking any real enthusiasm to show us exactly what it is that makes it so special.

Insomniac have a gift – the ability to forge games of such a high quality – and to ask them to stop would be a crime against gaming humanity.

Minor technical quibbles aside, it’s all at once charming, engaging, innovative, interesting and humorous and perfectly pitched at its target audience (namely kids and adults with kids!), not to mention reasonably priced.

Unfortunately tedium occurs sooner than it should as a lack of diversity and online play cut your attention short.

Decent by yourself, fantastic with friends.

FIFA 10 is a game that’ll make you run around your living room, shirt pulled over your face screaming in unbridled delight. It’s a game that’ll make you fall in love and obsess over its every detail. It’s a game that’ll make you smash your pad in anger, swear like a sailor and curse the day you bought it.

Unfortunately, Way of the Samurai 3 left us bored, uninspired and desperate to play something or, rather, anything else. The game fails to live up to even the most basic standard of quality, offering an archaic play style that falls short of even the most charmless of current-gen titles.

Altogether more successful than other recent Xbox 360 forays into the lifestyle gamer territory (You’re In The Movies anyone?), Lips excels because it feels like there is a clear vision underpinning the franchise, one that has gone from the first idea to the final design with a cohesion lacking in the actual tracklisting.

Brutal Legend has clearly been a labour of love for Double Fine Productions, and this is reflected in the degree of ambition demonstrated on nearly every level. Unfortunately, like the LOVE and HATE tattoos emblazoned on the knuckles of many a Hell’s Angel, with one you must have the other, and Brutal Legend is no exception.

Left me wishing I had enough time and luxury to jump straight back in and take the entire journey again. It's destined to enter the annals of gaming's classics in years to come.

To see WayForward’s lovely creation as a mere respite from the messy business of warfare and killstreaks is almost an insult to what they’ve achieved here. A Boy and His Blob deserves to be in everyone’s Wii collection, whatever their age.

It’s being billed as a niche title, but there’s enough joy within Half-Minute Hero to make the game an entertaining experience for anyone.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a challenge. It will challenge your perceptions of today’s shooters, challenge your ingrained behaviour but also challenge your patience.

Once it sinks its claws in, you'll find it nigh on impossible to escape until the Kingdom of Boletaria is free from the horror of The Old One. In short then – Demon's Souls is a modern classic.

The iconic series has always been first and foremost about the driving, and Polyphony Digital has managed to encapsulate that perfectly. It’s just a shame that some of the more endearing bells and whistles have had to be removed.

Q-Games' quirky tower defence title is as competent as it is colourful, and the heap of additional content supplied in the PSP version makes it worthy of the deluxe title. Issues with frustration and repetition aside, the quick and accessible nature of the gameplay makes it a vital addition to the PSP's catalogue.

A must for all Dead Space fans, then, but what it lacks in scares and scale it makes up for in visceral heart-pounding action.

That Big BIg Studios have managed to squeeze an experience previously only available on the Playstation 3 into your pocket is a genuine marvel – Motorstorm: Arctic Edge is feature rich, beautifully polished, graphically ambitious and, above all else, retains the oil, smoke and tears that fans know and love.

It is, in many ways, a very meek and understated game…but under its mild-mannered exterior lies an engaging, diverting and enjoyable title that, for the price, offers a heap of entertainment.

It turns out that EA, first with FIFA and now with Need For Speed, had the answer to beat the cynics all along: simply make a good game.

The Beatles: Rock Band raises the bar to such a nosebleed-inducing height that we also wonder where the genre is going to take us to next. The rate of acceleration is phenomenal.

With the arcade racing innovation of Split/Second and Blur just around the corner, and the simulation behemoths of Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5 occupying the other end of the scale, DiRT 2 – with its ultimately well-judged balance between substance and style – is perfectly placed to occupy the niche that exists between both racing camps.

Section 8 isn’t very good. It’s bland, generic, lacking in original ideas, poorly executed in nearly every department and you’ll probably grow bored of it within the few essential hours it takes to complete the awful single player campaign.

So, SingStar Queen does exactly what it says on the tin. And with SingStar’s recently released wireless microphones, there’s never been a better time to unleash our inner Freddie Mercury.

There’s little here to recommend, even for the most loyal of fans. Instead, don your best shell-suit, hook up your mum’s old telly to the SNES in the loft and play out your childhood battles with the original. It’s far better.

Little King’s Story is a game of stunning breadth, imagination and slickly implemented design, and filled with an envious degree of heart and soul.

Staggeringly beautiful and with a surprisingly gentle learning curve, Blazblue has much going for it, but its delayed release means it is unlikely to generate anywhere near the sales it arguably deserves.

Volition’s Geo-Mod 2.0 tech is leagues ahead of anything that we’ve seen previously, but you can’t help but think that Guerrilla is ultimately little more than a glorified tech demo.

EA has done a commendable job at listening to its community and giving them what they want by way of the included movie maker, style creator and integrated online store, crafting not only a well-rounded package that bests its predecessor in every area, but a game that is, much like its virtual stars, filled with charm and character.

Blue Omega certainly has the vision, but evidently lacks the talent to do it justice. Damnation indeed.

It’s a euphoric example of tight, well-constructed narrative and strong game design, and ultimately a title that won’t only be remembered as the best superhero game to date, but also as one of the PS3’s finest moments.

After a few days spent learning the complexities of UFC 2009 Undisputed, you have to applaud Yuke’s for their efforts.

Bash Party isn’t a huge leap from the previous game, but then it really didn’t need to be.

A flawed, yet incredibly enjoyable, history lesson.

It’s an interesting, and occasionally incredibly entertaining middle-ground, but one that ultimately requires a bucket load of patience.

But, whilst its flaws bring it down, the game always remains charming, consistently throwing friendly, lovable moments in your direction.

Despite the raising of the level cap, we find it difficult to recommend Broken Steel – its shockingly unimaginative lean towards near constant shooting is remarkably unlike what we’ve come to know and love about the game.

For retro game addicts, Lode Runner will be worth its weight in gold.

So despite its promise of fast cars and buxom blondes suggesting otherwise, OutRun Online Arcade isn’t quite the game our dreams are made of, but it’s damn near close.

It’s engaging, unique, humorous and hugely polished, and earns its place as one of the top original titles on PSN with ease.

As a package, Assault on Dark Athena stands on a par with Valve’s The Orange Box for value, albeit not quite in terms of quality.

Godfather II is a game that’s never quite sure of which audience it’s trying to please, instead choosing to go straight down the middle and culminate in an experience that is as unengaging as it is unsatisfying.

With Ninja Blade, From Software commits the cardinal sin of the action game developer; it allows the action to become boring.

If you’re a hardcore turn-based strategy fan, feel free to disregard this review and seek out the opinion of someone more schooled in the genre. But if, like me, you’re a novice in the genre and have been taken in by Elven Legacy’s promise of a gentle welcome, then keep well away. You’ll only end up getting hurt.

AYIM is a novel, fun and incredibly infuriating game that will pass the time, just don’t expect it to turn your world upside-down.

Still, the fact remains that spending some time on stage with a virtual-Metallica can be a hugely invigorating experience, and fans of the band, or heavy metal in general, will quickly find their hands forming that most recognisable of gestures - the devil horns.

Although simplistic on the surface, Burn Zombie Burn does have hidden depth that’ll keep players engaged.

Quite frankly, we’re as stunned as you are. Just take one look at that box, that exploitable genre, that celebrity-endorsed title; everything about Wheelman screams disaster, except the game itself.

Creative Assembly deserve a fair amount of praise for at least attempting something new (the whip select system could have worked well with a smaller Full Spectrum Warrior-type army) and for some of the neat ideas lurking beneath its derivative post-apocalyptic trappings – most notably the ability to command units on different levels, as opposed to a flat playing area. But unfortunately, Stormrise quickly degenerates into a war of attrition.

If you’re a fan of the WWE, or even better the original WWF, then you won’t be disappointed.

Whilst not the best instance of DLC we’ve ever seen, The Pitt serves as a faithful expansion and further raises hopes for the final instalment of the series, and for post-release content in general.

Bumblebees’ story is as full of broad, cheese-obsessed humour as the television specials, and while the majority of players will most likely complete the game within just a few hours, they’re certain to enjoy the journey while it lasts.

Until then it’s very much a case of damned if they do/damned if they don’t – to those whose obsessive desire for collection and completion has been hard-wired over the last thirteen years, the thrill of the search will likely never fade.

The cynic in me leads me to believe a combination of RPG and farming simulator will have little appeal to the fans of both genres, but Rune Factory: Frontier, like peanut butter and Marmite on toast, is an unlikely combination that works in ways better than I could have possibly imagined.

When put up against the competition PES feels outdated and crude, crumbling under the weight of expectation that each annual iteration brings. The additional modes may make it the best PES on the current crop of consoles, but the rigid animations, pathetic commentary system and shoddy online component all add up to a game that just hasn’t progressed since the PS2-era as much as it deserved to.

It may be hackneyed, past its sell-by date and a tad too over-reliant on its predecessor’s successes, but when RE5 remembers that it’s Resident Evil and not, say, Gears of War, it’s nothing less than sublime. But unfortunately for the most part, Resident Evil 5 seems to be suffering from a rather harrowing case of identity crisis.

Ultimately, Uprising’s existence is something of a mystery. Its single player campaigns (created due to the demands of Red Alert fans, according to EA) make for a diverting - though not particularly tactical - few hours, but the inability to play any of its new missions with a friend, or use any of its additional units in a multiplayer battle will severely limit its appeal.

Peggle is a rare, but clear example of a game that utilises a simple concept to create a limitlessly satisfying gameplay experience. There are no end of level bosses, ostentatious cut scenes or superfluous button layouts to memorise, Peggle is simply gameplay refined.

MadWorld may well be a highly nuanced comment on the role violence plays within our entertainment, as well as a gleeful two fingers to the Wii’s so-called casual audience.

Not only has the studio delivered a title that lives up to its predecessor’s colossal standards, but it’s achieved a new milestone for the console RTS, paving the way for the future of the genre on a platform previously thought lost.

Empire is distinct, challenging and immensely gratifying. Easily the finest example of the genre.

As a package Black Knight is competent: the frame rate is consistent while the visuals, taking their cue from Secret Rings, suggest that Sonic Team’s capability with squeezing results from the modest hardware is more successful than their understanding of how Sonic should feel as a game.

For all its many graces, Phantasy Star Portable is the latest in a series that’s still trying to ride on its claim of being the first online console RPG, clumsily forgetting the last nine years ever happened.

Countless lauded exclusives have spectacularly flopped since the PS3’s launch and the console’s market share is still less than glowing; there’s a sense that for history to repeat itself twice with another Killzone debacle, given the expectations, the jaw-dropping preview footage and the hordes of illiterate fanboys chomping at the bit, would have been catastrophic. Instead, the end result is nothing short of triumphant.

Ultimately, it’s a shame to see a game with such an intriguing concept go to ruin.

No Gravity: The Plague Of Mind is yet another PSN oddity, joining the ranks of Everyday Shooter, Flower, Noby Noby Boy, Flow etc. Like them, it’s a title that thrives on its idiosyncrasies, succeeding in ways that you probably weren’t expecting.

Blood on the Sand has been developed to plough straight down the middle and appeal to the largest possible demographic; it's a jack of all trades, and master of none. It's not as bad as his previous game, disastrously melodramatic movie attempt or second album. It is, however, entirely standard.

Another day, another game about the horrors of conflict. For the six of you that still care about wanting to trudge through a true Vietnam War setting, the choice is simple – you either play Shellshock 2, or sit through the four hour cut of Apocalypse Now whilst daubed in body paint and playing The Doors on the stereo. Here’s your last clue – it’s not the first suggestion.

In many ways Drakensang is a throwback, a swansong to the party-based RPGs of yesteryear, yet somehow it doesn’t feel dated.

It’s in desperate need of some more variation, but Dawn of War II is luscious, visceral and fast-paced.

RACE Pro is a racing game for racing fans and, to its credit, never tries to be anything else.

It's this blissful sense of nostalgia that makes Street Fighter IV the runaway success that it undoubtedly is. Street Fighter hasn't changed per se – at heart, it's still the very same game you played all those years ago - but it's been tweaked and enhanced to within an inch of perfection.

Hand of the Heavenly Bride is a solid, old-school adventure with the same problems and delights that any title from the period has. If you’re supporter of the series or just a sucker for this type of action, then you probably won’t be disappointed. But for the rest of you, HotHB does nothing that will change your stubborn opinions.