Enjoyable, but perhaps another instance of the 'reviewer's trance'. That's the mildly hypnotic effect that seems to take over when games aren't dull enough to be boring but aren't exciting enough to cause any kind of, erm, arousal.

Lunar Knights is a plain idea wrapped in an ornate cloak; peek underneath and its fleshy action adventure innards look a little bony. Crucially, without the sunlight gimmick it's lost the ability to truly stand out from the crowd.

There are flaws, then, as there are with all these PS2 releases, but it's a promising enough start, and if this is a path SNK continues to walk we'll be there to meet it at the other end with cracked knuckles next time around.

The further you go, the more hazards await, and the more colourful your language gets. One day they'll be forced to put blood pressure warnings on these things.

An essential upgrade to Fallout 3 that any committed fan will want to grab immediately. If you've held out buying any DLC for the game so far, we'd advise you start with this before getting the others, because the process of acquiring new perks and skills will enrich the game no end.

A simple videogame built from a slew of diverse but relentlessly derivative building blocks.

At my most charitable I felt like I was playing an experimental mod of a game I really love. All the time you're thinking 'well done chaps, nice work', but at the same time wanting to get back to the game you love.

If you fancy the idea of action-oriented "Deus Ex" then a rental is completely essential as you'll easily romp through it inside two evenings.

This particular package has much better presentation than the last one, with all games sorted into chronological order (a small but valuable point), and various useful options that make the experience far better than most retro collections. Nice one, Taito.

No amount of lavish technical polish and drama-filled cut scenes can disguise how it feels to play, and the fact that at its core, the combat doesn't quite cut it. Put simply, it feels like it's trying too hard to be different for the sake of it, and throws all manner of good, well-established ideas out to its detriment. Instead of being a spectacular refinement of what's gone before, Heavenly Sword is a reinvention that doesn't quite pay-off.

Dead Space 3 is a contradiction. Gorgeous but scruffy; tightly packed yet stretched too thin; often frustrating, frequently thrilling and bursting at the seams with stuff, not all of which fits comfortably inside the boundaries the series has set for itself. It's certainly not a great game, except perhaps as a poster child for the kitchen-sink development mentality of a console generation in its twilight months.

The PSP version may not have the zip of the others, and you certainly wouldn't choose it over and above them, but Tomb Raider: Legend is a good game, and if you can put up with the initial awkwardness you'll find it was worth the wait.

With 60 wry and crafty levels awaiting, his quizzical eyebrow would have been working overtime. Instead, we're happy to settle for the grunting anonymity of Hamilton and invent a few one-liners of our own to fill in the blanks.

The true strength of Heroes of Ruin is in the pleasing flexibility of the online experience - and it's a model Nintendo itself could learn a few things from.

Ultimately as pointless as it is lovable.

The gameplay variation is there for all to see, and when it hits the mark it - believe it or not - is every bit as enjoyable as the very best the genre has to offer, with some true high points to look back on.

Gentle, sweet, calming and very, very slight. It does what it sets out to do with perfect efficiency, targeting the brain's fragile cuteness receptors with merciless precision. It is a game constructed of gentle routine punctuated by organic, unexpected moments, never demanding much from you in return for its simple, innocent pleasures. It's exactly what you expect, then – but that's certainly no bad thing.

After spending several days exclusively on Close Quarters matches, I dipped into a Rush match on Kharg Island and in the first five minutes shot down a helicopter with a rocket launcher, crashing it into an enemy jet for a spectacular double kill. That is why I play Battlefield.

Sleeping Dogs certainly doesn't deserve to take all the blame for this situation, and Rockstar has some serious game-raising of its own to do with GTA5. But when a game is so clearly intent on being a follower of trends rather than setting them, it's hard to feel much passion for Sleeping Dogs' vanilla retread of established ideas. When compared to his open-world peers, Wei Shen's stoic promise to do "what I always do" ultimately feels more like an apology for low ambition than a rallying cry.

I did not get nearly as far into this game as I would want to for a review. I simply couldn't. I tried for long enough. Yet I am completely unwilling to say this a bad thing - I'm certain this is a brilliant thing for the right person. Which is why I hope I've brought you to a place where you can make that decision for yourself.

It's not perfect, perhaps, and the whole thing feels pretty slight, but The Secret of the Unicorn's clever and deeply charming - a Tintin game for everybody, and not just the super-fans.

With more room for Chuckle Brothers impersonators than Nolan North when it comes to the voice work, When Vikings Attack is weird and personable and surprisingly hard to dislike. Cushty!

It's so obviously a lot of good games. And we're feeling a degree of magic. But in the end Feel the Magic isn't quite enough to sate us.

But as a lively, funny, polished and varied genre title that will slap a smile on the face of the most jaded cynic, Kinect Sports does its job admirably.

Gentle, sweet, calming and very, very slight. It does what it sets out to do with perfect efficiency, targeting the brain's fragile cuteness receptors with merciless precision. It is a game constructed of gentle routine punctuated by organic, unexpected moments, never demanding much from you in return for its simple, innocent pleasures. It's exactly what you expect, then – but that's certainly no bad thing.

It's a great game in so many respects, and we're overflowing with admiration that Revolution stuck to its purity of vision about what an adventure game can and should be about in the mid noughties. But when you're sat in front of the monitor filled with rage because of some utterly obscure puzzle, you'll have to question whether consistently busting a player's balls in so many ways is the right approach these days.

There's simply too much that is vaguely explained, and too much aimless wandering looking for the next vital objective, and that can't help but drag down the score for a game that, as last time, comes close to being something genuinely special.

It's a straightforward game, then. The capacity for expression and technique is limited to the exacting rhythms of blocking.

There's huge satisfaction to be had from building your zoo, observing the animals and watching all the graphs go up. It's just a shame that over time, as the novelties wear off, the lack of depth makes it hard to keep coming back.

Having your drawings come to life is just wonderful, and when you choose to do something inventive and imaginative, you'll have a fantastic time. If only the level design forced this kind of innovation on the player, it would have been even better.

As far as reasonable-budget party-based RPGs go, it's detailed enough to fill the months until we see whether Dragon Age is going to live up to BioWare's legacy.

Gentle, sweet, calming and very, very slight. It does what it sets out to do with perfect efficiency, targeting the brain's fragile cuteness receptors with merciless precision. It is a game constructed of gentle routine punctuated by organic, unexpected moments, never demanding much from you in return for its simple, innocent pleasures. It's exactly what you expect, then – but that's certainly no bad thing.

Probably the only thing to say to people who feel cheated or ripped off by this tiered content set-up is that they simply shouldn't buy into Lumines Live until the range of downloadable content is broad enough to justify the cumulative cost - if indeed that happens - unless they have a powerful urge right now to play Lumines again on a big screen.

There's something gripping about the constant surge of beast-slaughter, and who am I to deny such primal urges?

Between the strangely absent humour and the ill-advised diversions into generic shoot-em-up territory, Rochard squanders enough of its potential to hold it back from something truly greatness. The tragedy is that this greatness can still be glimpsed, resulting in a game that invites passionate defence but never quite earns it.

Creating your own army, and then constantly improving it with the spoils of skirmishes against live foes, is what will keep players coming back for more. With a more streamlined control system, and some tidier graphics, Battle March could be one of the best console strategy games. As it stands, it's strictly for the hardcore.

A fairly meaningless but devilishly addictive platform game that isn't afraid of, ulp, hatching a few new ideas amongst the rank and file and giving you options.

Despite the pretence of gaming structure, let's call The Polynomial what it is: an invitation to sit around in self-medicated bliss.

For a while, Papa Sangre is a wonderful novelty. Unfortunately, the further you get, the more trial-and-error annoyance starts to put a crimp on your enjoyment.

Braveheart is completely mindless yet absorbing, repetitive hack-and-slash fun. Looks great, won't change the world, simple as the Beckhams, but what the hell: absolutely no buyer's remorse – guaranteed!

Midnight Club 3 may have more cars, more customisation options, new special moves, look better and sport an enhanced online component this time around, but the lack of a tangible challenge and carelessly implemented progression system rips the soul out of what was an immensely promising series.

As a product of a unique moment in the medium's technological evolution, Resident Evil HD is a fascinating place to revisit. But for many contemporary visitors it will be an unpleasant stay, not because the game's inhabitants are unusually hostile, or because its idiosyncrasies are unfashionable, but because its formative designs have simply been bettered.

It's only really the brevity and ease of Boing! Docomodake that prevents it from scoring more highly.

And like a lost relic of our now-mythical past, it's a love affair with all things spiteful.

A step in the right direction. The first Backbreaker struggled with the central mechanics (although a post-release patch worked wonders). The second game only really struggles with the over-optimistic pricing... Next time out, then, we should be in for something special.

If you're from the crowd that remembers it the first time around, you'll get the chance to revisit an artful and wonderfully atmospheric gaming oddity filled with sudden deaths and clever set-pieces. If you're new to it, you're probably in for an hour or so of intrigued confusion, followed by a quick trip to a FAQ.

Whether you're playing on your own, online or with a friend it's liable to offer even more hours of fun than that poster of that lady tennis player scratching her arse - though possibly not the Kylie remake.

If you're a huge fan of the mobile game, by all means pay the extra, but everyone else should be mindful of the competition before slapping their money down.

It doesn't have any depth to speak of, but it's unique (for the moment) and has a genuine sense of humour, a quality few games can boast. It's an apt launch title, lacking in polish but rich in character and laughs.

I can't say what their future holds as I'm not much of an economist (nor am I really a magpie). But I can say I've had many, many hours of fun in a game that still has much more to show me and which all of us, right now, can play for nothing at all. We're being spoiled.

In an era when most publishers are content to churn out games you can complete on autopilot, it's quite refreshing to be presented with an FPS that hands your arse back to you on a plate.

It's in the multiplayer that Ring of Fates excels, and we have no problem with recommending it thoroughly to anyone who fancies some co-op action RPG fun with their friends.

It's a competent, workable game that draws inspiration from the right places, but which is rarely anything more than a cover version of the greats.

For those burnt out on WOW's content, WildStar is easy to endorse. Immediately familiar to anyone who's visited Azeroth and with enough new twists on the tried-and-tested theme park formula, Carbine's game is so overflowing with stuff to do that it's certainly justified in asking for a subscription - even if less people seem prepared to sign up to one.

There is, however, just enough range between its difficulties to appease both ends of the spectrum: those who want an unflinching recreation of island-based warfare, and those who want a manageable, mostly enjoyable military videogame. But its mild shortcomings ensure that, until Codemasters can fill its framework with a little more imagination and purpose, neither group will come away fanatical about the effort.

Getting to levels four and five, reaching 30,000 points in a co-op game and managing to deliver 15 frogs to the other side of the river on one life are tricky tasks that'll keep you going for a bit, but otherwise Frogger will probably take you less than an evening to exhaust.

Still, if you fancy a means of enjoying the unhinged insanity of user-created microgames on the big screen, Showcase is a worthy purchase.

It's competent, it's fun, it's certainly good - but unless the PS2 to PSP transfer stuff tugs your whistle, it's not easy to justify the upgrade.

The character himself simply feels more at home in this shorter, punchier, less laboured and self-regarding form. Freed from the weight of expectation that accompanies a full retail release in this genre, the experience - while lacking the set-piece spectacle and spookiness of the original - is less forced and more comfortably pitched.

A bit of a boost for exhausted gameplay, and a stack of new content for those people wanted to send more crawling, floating, bleeping Star Wars things to their death. That's going to be more than enough for the thousands who were thrilled by the original, but for the rest of the world this is simply another commercial footnote.

A simple yet robustly entertaining kid-friendly racer that switches from accessible fun to gruelling grind in the blink of an eye right before the end.

An action title that relies on keeping the player immersed and focused on the game as much as possible. But if you're asked to spend literally 20 per cent of your playing time staring at a loading screen, then that sense of excitement and immersion quickly ebbs away.

It is truly a game about humans' desire to write.

Stuck awkwardly between action game and top-down strategy, Cold War is an affectionate and exhilarating blast in the short term - but much like the cheap action figures it pay loving homage to, it can't survive more than a few days of intense play.

As an interesting and well-thought -through study of the struggles of an everyday life, Kudos is well conceived and a welcome alternative take on life-simulation.

The new campaign's a solid enough addition, if a brief one.

This isn't SmackDown! vs. Raw. It's last year's SmackDown! with a few mini-games, an updated (and therefore poorer) rota and embarrassingly duff online play.

It's absolutely fantastic to see something like this given a worldwide release on PS2 and GameCube in such a risk-averse climate, and Capcom deserves kudos for giving the game its support.

Although it gets a lot right with a well-structured fighting system – which has a solid mix of subsystems to master – it doesn't have the same level of hardcore appeal as the current champion.

If you can handle the deep sense of self-loathing that comes from protracted Bop It sessions, then go right ahead. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Damn you Fair Play Labs and your time-thieving ways.

Battle Fantasia certainly isn't going to have anyone cancelling their pre-order for Street Fighter IV; it's not even in the same league as Capcom's superlative re-envisioning. But if you've room in your life for more than one 2D fighter, then Battle Fantasia is a polished if slightly standard gem worthy of any would-be fighter's time.

The heart of Universe at War is a beautifully crafted strategy game which could have been one of the best things in the genre in years. This just makes it even more tragic that it's let down by a passable but unimpressive graphics engine, utterly dull single-player and the disastrous decision to use the godawful Games for Windows Live Gold service for multiplayer.

The first couple of hours of the game are fantastic, as you're introduced to the universe, the ships, the stunning battles and the interesting gameplay, but for the average strategy fan, the realisation that the game is all about increasingly complex micro-management of your ships and crew is something of a let-down.

A flawed masterpiece. There's so much that's done well but so much which counters it to its doom - like the weapons. At about 15 in total there are simply too many, and they claw to convention like a headcrab.

A cheap, but rather lovely remake of the simple shooter that kicked off Rare's legacy. It's a wonderfully playable link to UK gaming's past, and well worth the 400 points Microsoft's charging for it, but way too repetitive to keep you amused for long.

Infinity Ward had a chance here to throw down the gauntlet for the next hardware generation, to set the new standard, to show that this hugely popular, much derided behemoth can dance to a different tune. It's chosen to play a Greatest Hits package instead.

NEVES isn't going to win any awards for originality, or even for presentation - great controls aside, it's all incredibly minimalistic.

I won't pretend that Joint Strike is the most thrilling shoot-'em-up to be revived and relaunched as a digital download, but it's a damn solid effort and if all classic arcade titles received this sort of careful updating before being shunted into our cyber-pipes the world would be a better place.

But those who can overlook Hunted's design shortfalls and occasionally tepid fantasy backdrop will extract a good few hours of fun slashing and exploring before something better comes along.

But if you have battled your way through "Warcraft II" and still lust for more real time swords and sorcery, then Warlords Battlecry will provide you with hours of quality entertainment.

When it's firing on all cylinders Manhunt is a disturbingly entertaining take on the stealth action genre with the trademark high quality Rockstar production that mask some of its shortcomings. But scratch beneath its grimy surface and it's blighted by serious AI issues, repetitive gameplay and frustrating combat.

For all its effortless charm, the game ultimately offers a window into an immersive world, fires up the imagination and then tells its young players to simply mimic the actions of others. That's enough to amuse kids, but it won't inspire them for long.

If you're just looking to punch someone in the face, Rocky Legends might just be the therapy you need.

Once you've scratched the surface and delved around beneath, that's when you'll realise that a game like PlanetSide needs constant development and a flow of new content to keep it fresh and interesting. And at the moment, that just isn't happening.

Hell, it's fun. But for a really short time.

A strategy smorgasbord rather than a focused expansion of any one area.

The game's watered-down nature is likely to appeal to those of a casual gaming disposition looking for a quick game on the commute to work - but if you're hoping to carry around the FM experience you know and love in your pocket, be prepared to be left feeling slightly underwhelmed.

Lilt Line feels like the finished article on Wii, and for those of you seeking purist pursuits to a backdrop of neighbour-troubling tunes, £3.50 is a small price to pay.

The most impressive feature of NHL 07 is the Skill Stick control, but it's not enough to save a game that is light on content and slack in other areas.

Punchy and immaculately produced, NBA Street Homecourt is a great jumping-on point for a simple, entertaining and really well-designed series.

So, what's the time? Oh it's time for good-expansion-but-not-good-enough-to-make-anyone-return-to-the-game-if-thoroughly-sick mark o'clock.

Though it does have a distressingly small number of modes, the core adventure mode can be as fun in quick bursts as "Zoo Keeper" or "Meteos," and the multiplayer features are fantastic, even if they'll sadly rarely be used.

It's certainly not about to reach out to anyone who doesn't like wargames, nor appeal to anyone who wants the broader scope of the Civilization series, but it does a perfectly good job as a tombola of fantasy combat nonsense, full of new and wonderful and silly surprises.

It's hard not to see the ways in which this could have been more ambitious, more innovative in the way it dusts off the past, but equally it's hard to blame Codemasters for simply giving Micro Machines fans exactly what they wanted, just how they remembered it.

It's not a perfect adaptation of the German game it's based on, since the map can sometimes get cluttered while the nuances of the game aren't always terribly well explained, but compared to the rather flaccid likes of Lost Cities this is one of those games that hides a devilishly addictive experience under a rather bland exterior.

Battlefield 2142 may be a glimpse of the future of games. I'm just not sure that I like it.

It's a good fit for the DS, the top screen showing your list and time, the bottom the interactive scene. But it's a shame it's rehashed PC backgrounds, and low-res images. I'd love to see more originality applied, but there's no denying this is idiotically absorbing.