Played in the right spirit Doom II is still a cracking action game. This XBLA re-release, at 800 points, represents good value for money.

On the whole however, it's hard to resist the basic level of fun that Blur's overall design attributes bring about.

On the whole however, it’s hard to resist the basic level of fun that Blur’s overall design attributes bring about.

If you've already been won over by last year's instalment though, THQ and Yukes have delivered a solid sequel that serves a strong warning to any would-be competitors – two rounds are down and they have no intention of giving up the fight.

If you’ve already been won over by last year’s instalment though, THQ and Yukes have delivered a solid sequel that serves a strong warning to any would-be competitors – two rounds are down and they have no intention of giving up the fight.

If sociable gaming is your thing, then prepare to put the pedal to the metal for a quirky experience that encourages a creative hand and patient mind. Everyone else should take it for a test drive first.

Games Distillery should be applauded for creating a well balanced, slickly presented shooter that, while it may do little to break down genre barriers, is occasionally inspired, always solid and consistently entertaining.

Despite its flaws, it has class in abundance, which fans of any type of genre will surely appreciate.

For all its achievements in aesthetics and game structure, perhaps the most significant feature of Red Dead Redemption is the way Rockstar has invested the experience with such a sense of nostalgia and poignancy, by stripping the open-world back to an era in which the telephone is the height of technology, an era which, in all its naivety, doesn't yet realise how fast the tide of progression and modernity will be.

For all its achievements in aesthetics and game structure, perhaps the most significant feature of Red Dead Redemption is the way Rockstar has invested the experience with such a sense of nostalgia and poignancy, by stripping the open-world back to an era in which the telephone is the height of technology, an era which, in all its naivety, doesn’t yet realise how fast the tide of progression and modernity will be.

When you finally take the key out of the ignition, step out of your hotrod and observe all the carnage that Split Second has wrought, the overriding impression is that this is one slick game.

When you finally take the key out of the ignition, step out of your hotrod and observe all the carnage that Split Second has wrought, the overriding impression is that this is one slick game.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is in many ways a very unassuming title; it slinked onto the scene with relatively little fanfare and has had few expectations placed on it by gaming fans, many of whom will likely dismiss it as 'just another Prince of Persia' or (at worst) a shoddy movie tie-in.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is in many ways a very unassuming title; it slinked onto the scene with relatively little fanfare and has had few expectations placed on it by gaming fans, many of whom will likely dismiss it as 'just another Prince of Persia' or (at worst) a shoddy movie tie-in.

Lost Planet 2 is an ambitious and enthusiastic title that is sadly lacking in focus, with a single player experience that falls some way short of the competition and a multiplayer campaign that is diminished by unconvincing AI opponents.

While it won’t be to everyone’s taste, for those with whom it does click, there’s every chance it will become something of a defining experience and the source of many nightmares to come – rousing stuff indeed, and for 1200 MS points it really shouldn’t be missed.

Super Street Fighter IV is a celebration of the Street Fighter series that adds a final, glossy lick of paint to the already sublimely polished original and, while it is unlikely to woo new fans, those already hopelessly addicted to Had?ken’s and Tatsumaki-Senp? Kyaku’s will be in their absolute element.

That said, should you have a penchant for beating your personal score and an extra 240 points to spare, then this Indie outing may well be worth a look. Everyone else can (probably) leave the princess with the monsters.

For those with fond memories of whittling time and money away in the arcades, Final Fight Double Impact is well worth a look.

Splinter Cell Conviction may still demand patient planning but when a well-conceived scenario pays off and the air fills with the cries of frightened soldiers, the sense of empowerment becomes palpable – indeed outright addictive.

Tied in with the absorbing and unique practice of continually upgrading your ship by collecting enhancements (after all, there can’t be many Breakout-clones which afford the paddle their own inventory screen?!) and AlphaBounce is an excellent advertisment for what can be done with ancient concepts given a fresh aesthetic (or: how creating a surface impression of depth can hide innate repetition).

It’s artistically weak, lacking in substance, and as a result is somewhat cut adrift from the rest of the battling pack.

Though it has a fair few flaws, Just Cause 2 remains a high octane love letter to anyone who delights in exploration and destruction.

It’s by no means a bad game, in parts it’s still devastatingly delightful and for 800MSP you could do far worse, but if you haven’t been on board before just don’t expect any fireworks.

Frustrating, taxing – Metro 2033 is also a curiously compelling refuge from the mundane.

But for now there're very few games that can match God of War 3's cinematic sensibility, its dynamics, its carnage.

And this is a shame; Fragile Dreams has the potential to be a classic survival horror, but instead its merely a slightly flawed, quirky, original and triumphantly Japanese addition to the genre.

Relic’s current RTS formula has almost become a subgenre of its own, and with Chaos Rising they effortlessly prove themselves masters of their domain.