It's the sign of a great sports game when you can't think of anything you'd want to change in the next version. It doesn't need another version...This is brilliant, whichever way you spin it.

The Collective appears to have over-egged the pudding a little, putting far too much needless emphasis on repetitive and increasingly tedious action elements to the detriment of the already unpolished adventuring.

There's nothing wrong with using a brand name to sell you game, unless that game happens to be among the most uninspired beat 'em ups released in several years. If you remember Activision's "Minority Report" game, then this is about as good as that.

And I've done this sort of thing before hundreds of times across thousands of days in what feels like a dozen Mario games. I still love it.

I need to stress that even when it abstractly fails - like the campaign mode - it falls comfortably above the vast majority of its peers. When it excels it excels in the same way as an aged whiskey or a finely made leather sofa does: it exudes quality and craftsmanship. Rise of Legends is an extremely-good-to-great game. Give it time and you'll love it.

It's a bland taste to a cultured palette. But it's fun, too, and self-aware.

Rated next to proper, real life combat platform games like Jak & Daxter and Sly Raccoon it's evidently a pale shadow of what else is out there, but next to other kids' games it's a massive improvement over what we've seen this year.

Maybe it's just because we're remembering that the best games aren't the best because they've got the biggest polygon counts, or the most multiple paths through levels, or the largest number of murderable prostitutes - they're the best because they're the most fun to play, and that's what counts.

And tackling the huge amount of diverse RPG quests, picking up and evaluating items, advancing your character's skills to match your tactics is a thoroughly engrossing mix. SpellForce 2 is that rare beast - a thoroughly well executed hybrid game.

So drink some Tequila at the bar and have a think about whether a slow-paced tactical squad RTS set in the Wild West is really for you.

Think of it as an educational family-oriented version of Deer Hunter in which the rifle has been replaced by a camera.

There's still some basic things it lacks, most obviously a decent in-game auction house for trading items, and a better teaming system for locating people interested in grouping, but it does keep a count on how long you've been playing and after a long session pops up a "You've been playing for four hours. Take a break".

This is a fresh-feeling game, full of drama, atmosphere and surprises. If you like your tactics titles realistic and don't mind having your Manassas whipped by a bayonet-sharp AI now and again, it's likely to be the best £20 you spend this year.

By simply making sure that absolutely everything in the game is designed to remove the usual restrictions on fun, Sumo's created something that practically transcends rivals like PGR3 and Burnout before you even done anything.

By simply making sure that absolutely everything in the game is designed to remove the usual restrictions on fun, Sumo's created something that practically transcends rivals like PGR3 and Burnout before you even done anything.

Furiously frustrating. The game pitch works wonderfully in the realm of theory but in practice its problems undermine most of the flashes of brilliance.

But while Arc has obviously attempted a Super Smash Bros-style game within the Guilty Gear universe, the end result is something truly horrendous.

In The Azoth of Destiny, these smaller cogs have been removed in favour of a more cumbersome larger gimmick and, as a result, grinding the sequel through its revolutions is tiresome and often unrewarding work.

There's simply nothing here that leaps out as being interesting, innovative, original or inspired. It's solid, entertaining, and for anyone with an interest in arcade flight combat, will while away quite a few hours some damp weekend - after which time it will be consigned to the corner of your games shelf and forgotten within a matter of weeks.

A refreshing return to the past, and for that reason it's slightly too generic to recommend strongly. It's only ever just pretty enough, and there's seldom anything really breathtaking.

Some aspects are incredibly polished and fun, but others are terrifically broken, and while there's a real sense that it could have earned a lot more than a five, overall it doesn't.

By simply making sure that absolutely everything in the game is designed to remove the usual restrictions on fun, Sumo's created something that practically transcends rivals like PGR3 and Burnout before you even done anything.

Luckily for EA, the crucial single-player element really does have a lot going for it, and for once it's possible to consider World Cup as more than simple by-the-numbers cash-in effort.

After playing the three levels of this, all the beans in Tesco wouldn't make me play it again. There's not room in this sandbox for two. Or one for that matter. Goodbye gods, hello atheism.

This brilliant physics-based puzzle game has the power to turn even the most ardent science hater into a budding Brunel, Eiffel, or Dyson. However addicted you are to slaughter or strategising AR will seduce you, I guarantee it.

Even hardened FF fans can't escape the fact that this is little more than a solid, functional port of a four year old game. As potentially enjoyable as it is (if you put the hours in), and as much content as there is in this all-encompassing release (if you really put the hours in), things have moved on considerably in the MMO scene in the intervening years.

The addition of more traditional 'gamey' elements is a complete failure, and Dreamfall lacks the crossover appeal found in something like Fahrenheit, with its self-contained story.

There are only a very small percentage of gamers that would be interested in this game to begin with but with its varying play styles and loaded cast of great characters, Neowave is actually a great little fighter and a brilliant introduction to the King Of Fighters series for those that have never sampled its delights.

Whether it works or not, you'll have fun playing it; lots of fun; and that, more than anything, is why you should buy it.

Combines the vehicular glee of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors with the ultraviolence of Rambo or Carmeggedon. What lets it down is ugliness, its hunger for power (and the corresponding technical issues), and the knowledge that this would be much better and more coherent as a purely single-player game.

The critical requirements of a Monster Rancher title, that monster-raising be streamlined and rewarding, and the RPG sections be challenging and playable, are miserably out of reach for Monster Rancher EVO, with almost every part of the title a confusing, tedious mess that should make the average player ill with boredom.

As with "Out From Boneville," The Great Cow Race is an entertaining enough diversion, but one that doesn't provide much in the way of lasting thrills.

It's fairly obvious that Legend game wasn't designed for the 360, but even against the best action adventures of recent times (like "God of War" or the "Prince of Persia" trilogy) it falls some way short of matching the standard we've become accustomed to in recent years - both on a gameplay and on a technical level.

Its single-player campaign is elevated from mediocrity with the inventive Hot Swapping feature, while twenty-four players, armed to the teeth and unforgiving in their violence, is what Xbox Live was made for.

Perhaps more importantly is the inexplicable disappearance of dead bodies. Literally five seconds after they've flopped heavily to the ground, apparently not man enough to withstand a nail-filled 2-by-4 in the cranium, they - *ping* - vanish.

You'll probably feel that Odama doesn't quite work. But there's such love in it, so much needless, thankless extra toil and detail, like using the Ninten bell as an excuse to remind us of the etymology of a very familiar name, that at the very least a few more radars deserve to be tuned to Saito's movements in future.

Verdict for Churchills? If you already own HoI2 then think long and hard before coughing-up for Doomsday's jumble of minor enhancements and questionable alterations.

There have been several crucial moments that made me laugh out loud, and others that made me feel a sense of cerebral accomplishment - feelings that are all-too rare when playing an FPS.

The result is a game that doesn't really offer motorbike enthusiasts the same attention to detail that petrolheaded car nuts get out of GT, and takes hours and hours for the rest of us to warm to.

If you've always hankered after a handheld version of one of the best puzzlers there's ever been, then this is a serviceable port that does the job, but just be aware that you'll probably want to skip over the new modes very quickly.

Just don't expect quality, consistency, coherence, or any kind of worthy challenge to the head muscle, or the trigger finger.

Top Spin 2 is a fine tennis title and a game you'll have a lot of fun with off or online, but one that does little to justify its price tag, and is little more than a high def update of the original.

This truly is a game wallowing in the mire of generic, insipid, uninspiring platformers, and unable to see any easy way out. Whenever there is an opportunity for it to do something interesting or different, it disappoints by not doing it and returning to predictable form.

It's pretty simple, very linear and slightly lazy in places but there can be no denying that it still manages to earn a place among the most beautiful and exciting adventures of recent years for gamers of all ages.

But right from the word go it takes a backward step by trying too hard to (ulp) be authentic and realistic, introducing some shonky control elements that never quite work and almost completely overlooking the fun aspect that was there in spades last time around.

Doubly annoying is the fact that you actually have to play through the entire Instincts campaign before you can even unlock the Evolution levels, so any existing fans might be better off buying the standalone Far Cry Instincts Evolution on Xbox and swallow the minor technical step down.

An average entry-level action RPG. If you're a heavy user of wizards and orcs, you'll have probably played something very similar only last week.

Slip Rumble Roses XX inside a copy of SmackDown if you must buy it, just don't go expecting any innovations other than a big tickling stick, blushing faces, a gigantic Xbox Live porn archive and the wobbliest boobs yet seen in a video game.

Dynasty Warriors obsessives can be sure they're getting something as comfortingly familiar as the delicate aroma of their own dribble-infused pillow.

I've been utterly hypnotised by Harvest Moon: Magical Melody from the moment I laid my hands on it, even watching my girlfriend play it for hours on end (her time spent playing probably a tenfold increase on mine) and I still don't feel that we've even begun to scratch the surface.

There isn't the tiniest nugget of novelty here. If the big engagements had been engaging then that wouldn't necessarily have been a problem. Because the battles are bothersome, the unoriginality is as lethal as a cannonball to the cranium.

With genuinely appalling voicework setting the tone for development incompetence, it's compounded by a few dreadful levels, camera issues and the feeling that the whole project was ported onto the 360 as an afterthought.

There's simply no getting away from the fact that the irritating reshuffle of titles from the console edition has left a sizeable hole in the appeal of this compilation, and the presence of a few too many relics best left buried does little to compensate.

Astropop is a fun, but ultimately short-lived experience that's missing the X factor of the best puzzlers to drag you back for long.

My best memories of playing Worms with my friends were all about things backfiring hilariously, victory through blind luck, and big explosions, and the DS can't seem to show enough or process enough to deliver these things.

While there are giant leaps towards putting things right this is a game that seems to be grasping for what once was rather than setting its paths straight into a bright and engaging future.

Me & My Katamari doesn't move the series on at all - in fact, it sort of rolls it backwards a bit, what with the smaller levels, slightly shonky control system and limited multiplayer modes. Not to mention the fact that you're constantly having to play through environments you've already explored, which is just tiresome.

The camera never becomes comfortable and the graphical glitches are an embarrassment to the development team, the publisher and the player.

Slightly better than its predecessor, Metal Gear Acid 2 also sneaks a higher score, too.

A game that offers a decent amount of fun, with great combat, occasionally inspired set-pieces, but sub-par driving and a half-baked story mode with barely enough variety to fill a long evening.

A staggeringly ambitious game that successfully unites some of the best elements of RPG, adventure and action games and fuses them into a relentlessly immersive and intoxicating whole.

Not only is it quite cheap and full of play options, it offers something more than any previous Tetris game in its ten-player mode.

Not a life-changing experience (if you discount the coming years of physiotherapy on my arms) but it is an astoundingly competent first-person shooter. While the multiplayer mode is a flimsy experience unless you have friends you can rely on, the single-player mode offers a worthy adventure even for players who don't ever expect to take the game online.

With so many games promising the Earth and only serving up dirt, it's reassuring to know that good old-fashioned balls-out action, when produced with such care and skill, is still as reliable and thrilling as it should be.

While this is definitely a solid improvement on its dreadful predecessor, it needed to achieve a basic level of competence and build upon it, and it only does that to a very limited extent.

In short, Daxter is a highly polished game that, for once, really does set a new standard in terms of what we can expect from future PSP titles.

If you've never played MGS3 before it's a must-buy. That's what we've made our final judgement based on; while this may not be great value for someone who paid full price for the game previously, for collectors, online gaming fans or people who haven't played MGS3, this is absolutely the definitive version of one of the finest games on the PlayStation 2.

Instead, try teaching them to spell 'soulless merchandising opportunity' because this isn't a worthy companion piece at all.

What we can't get past is how ordinary the combat feels, the distinct lack of tension throughout, the constant repetition and one-track lack of variety. And as much as the multiplayer is better, you're still hamstrung by uninspired combat, not to mention the game's all-round lack of technical impressiveness.

Unless you're a seriously hardcore Midnight Club fan, the Remix isn't really worth buying if you've already got MC3.

Microsoft's Live Arcade offerings are generally well worth the asking price, but Feeding Frenzy, sadly, isn't one of them.

GRAW lets you down just when you start to believe in it, and the net result is that although it's still very good, it's simply not as polished or amazing as it should have been.

But with a core battle system that keeps you involved every step of the way and a suitably compelling narrative, there can be little doubt that Shadow Hearts: From The New World is a unique and compelling RPG.

Leaping from vehicle to vehicle like some sort of crazy offspring of Evil Kinevil and The Six Million Dollar Man is a lot of fun for a while. But then a combination of a horrible driving experience and some tedious difficulty spikes drain all the fun out of it, and you're left scowling about missed opportunities.

The combat's fluid, relatively deep and involving once it gets going, but it's also a wholly repetitive game that's been surpassed in so many meaningful ways that you can't simply be content with 'more of the same' anymore.

Traffic Checking might irk you to begin with, but as long as you've got the patience to get over the easy first half and play the game in the right spirit, there's tons of face wobbling fun to be had. Stick with it, go for the Perfect rankings and go online with it - it'll be worth every penny.

While the gameplay is incredibly repetitive, the Strategy Phase introduces some depth and direction to the battles, breaking things into manageable chunks suited to gaming on the move.

This is a flashy and technically sound beat-'em-up and its drawbacks are largely overshadowed by what is the strongest interpretation of the Dragon Ball Z anime in years.

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.

This is a game that makes our GBA a Super Nintendo: and one with a decent d-pad, battery life and scratch-free screen that doesn't need us to fiddle with firmware and dally with grey-hued legality to enjoy.

Jewel Quest is about planning ahead rather than reacting; the pace is deliberate rather than manic. It's Chess next to Zoo Keeper's Operation.

There's really nothing here that truly deserves great reward. But I had legions of fun. And, for this game at least, that counts for, oooh, pretty much everything.

Thanks to Criterion's otherworldly technical ability to pull off graphical effects that wouldn't look out of place on next gen machines and some truly inspired set-pieces, BLACK is the most progressive and exciting shooter to emerge on the console platforms for years.

Sure, there are flaws and the lack of any soloing capability, the occasional difficulty in finding groups, as well as the apparent slowness of levelling get irritating, but they're nothing in the face of what it does properly.

24: The Game isn't a bad game, but it isn't a new, interesting or exciting one either. It's one of those depressing tie-in games where the proposal came before the creativity - as, I suspect from the banality of all the interactive sequences, did the script.

Even for those people who hated the previous generations of the strategic break and enter, I suspect you'll come away loving this.

Anybody with an actual Sims fetish will love it to bits. Granted it can be fiddly and confusing to start with (why hide so much of the critical new stuff in the depths of the catalogue?), but once you're up and running there's a definite attraction to it.

Just consider the gorgeous and stunning packages of Resident Evil, Maximo, Devil May Cry or Killer 7. How are we supposed to accept this unpleasant lump of gristle in comparison?

Even after a week of playing it, the trick and combo system just feels like you're cheating the whole time - or being cheated - when what you really want is to feel the thrill of scoring glorious goals, not the smugness of humiliating opponents.

Super Princess Peach is not a truly remarkable title on the scale of Mario & Luigi, not only as it's not very funny, but its innovations in interface and design actually make it slightly less fun than it might be if you played it 'straight'.

Codemasters has really pulled out all the stops to make TOCA Race Driver 3 about as good as it could possibly be on Xbox. Simply, it's another excellent driving game that puts most of the competition to shame - not just because it's so utterly rammed with so much top-notch content, but that it does so to such a consistently high standard.

You sense that this is going to be some people's game of the year. Hell, with the amount of actual game here, it's possible that could be in a purely literal sense: in that they won't bother playing anything else because this will happily occupy all the time you care to throw at it.

It's this basic lack of thrill or challenge which limits Tycoon City's appeal, at least to the gamer audience. It's entirely possible that Tycoon City will find an audience for the more casual player with its less stressful lifestyle, but that's the sort of design decision which gains sales not marks.

It lacks so much of what made its forebears great, and at times you look at it and wonder if they thought any of it through.

RF Online is like playing an endless game of slow-motion whack-a-rat, without the entertainment of the fairground surroundings.

For the most part, it's overly complicated, and dominated by things designed to stop it being fluid and exciting.

The 360 version of Fight Night Round 3 is by far the most impressive boxing title ever released, even if the gameplay differences between this and previous versions are fairly incremental.

Ultimately, there's no single aspect of the game that really demands your interest.