If you can tolerate the predictable levels, bad AI, targeting nonsense and the general sea of mediocrity that persists throughout then you might discover a flicker of entertainment.

There's a hellish amount of "...", even by J-RPG standards, and many sentences don't quite make sense - it's either a poorly written game, a crap translation to English or, probably, both.

Another hour that just offers the bare minimum of gaming, another shrug of disappointment.

It's short, shallow and repetitive, and where humour might elevate the experience, the pointless and clunky motion controls drag it down again.

Ultimately, Cake Mania is too expensive, too slow and too limited to excel in this overcrowded field.

The intricate layering of tasks and guard puzzles merely proves frustrating, and with the lack of anything beyond the game's eight lengthy single-player levels, which you probably won't feel much like completing, it's a game that looks good in theory but falls flat in execution.

There is some value in The Legend of Korra, both as a game and as a tribute to the cartoon on which it's based, but it falls far short of its potential on both counts. Perhaps the third-person combat theatrics for which the studio is known are not replicable on a small budget.

Since the saber-play is occasionally exciting, and that those of you who desperately want something that reminds you of the film might be prepared to put up with this in spite of its flaws. Me? I thought this was crap.

If you're a fan of online multiplayer slaughter, then it's a safe bet that you've already got plenty of games that do the same thing as War World, and do it a lot better.

Super Contra might appeal to the extreme hardcore retro apologists out there with oceanic reserves of patience and superhuman skills. It's certainly a challenge, and if that sounds like you, go for it. But if you're a mere mortal and squeal when the going gets tough, then the chances are you'll agree that the sequel is just too damn bloody minded by design to warrant much attention 19 years on.

Okabu's first impression is dazzling because it gets the audio and visual design absolutely right, but it has neither the depth nor imagination to sustain this. And when the simple act of playing isn't fun, you're just going through the motions.

The thrill of taking control of the family in action is soon soured by some nasty control and camera glitches, but youngsters who can't get enough of seeing Mrs Incredible stretch herself around won't really care about the finer points of directional play.

A brain teaser that borrows the aesthetics of PS1 horror, The Tartarus Key's repetition sadly dulls the impact of its spooks.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown's technical issues, both online and in performance terms, do a disservice to a novel, detailed game world.

But the chief difficulty is simply sustaining your interest. It's boring and easy, and it takes too long.

Wise WW2 strategy gamers will stick with "Company of Heroes" and "Faces of War" for the moment.

If you're a die-hard adventure apologist with a CSI fixation then step right up, but the rest of you can put your curiosity to one side - especially at its current stupidly high price point.

The best reason to buy Hydrophobia Prophecy - not for entertainment, but as a kind of digital tourism. You're paying for a look at everything the developers achieved over Hydrophobia's exceptionally long development, and to see what this game might have been.

Lair, sadly, is a classic example of the apocryphal polished turd. Strip away the HD bluster and the game beneath is little more than a basic PS2 shooter with a makeover.

Later levels tend to get merely more irritating rather than more enjoyable, and the many fans of the Oddworld series would have been better served with handheld versions of "Abe's Oddysee" and "Abe's Exoddus," rather than this frankly overpriced, lame effort.

For all it brings to the table - space combat, Halo's shield, varied levels - not one single aspect is truly worthy of praise.

The titles that truly impress on bite-sized platforms are rarely those that try to ape "proper games", but the ones that turn hardware and storage restrictions into opportunities and innovations. Hero of Sparta isn't one of those games, and there are better Minis more deserving of your money.

What makes a good fighting game is a well-designed combat system offering at least some degree of challenge and long term reward, and that's missing in Bleach: Shattered Blade.

If you're one of those who has enjoyed the series on console, you'll enjoy it on DS. Otherwise, steer clear.

It's sort of enjoyable because swishing a sword and firing a gun and seeing off billions of stupid enemies without having to think about it too much can be fun. Not fun for long, though, and not the kind of fun it's worth spending 30 or 40 quid on.

Hardcore? Don't be fooled, chaps. Maybe, somewhere, deep within the bowels of the hardcore gamer there's a desire to play endless, sprawling, repetitive games which offer no motivation to continue, but really, if you're looking for a hardcore RPG status symbol, then pick up Breath of Fire II or Golden Sun - or buy Zelda, because that's a real-time RPG done right.

It's the biggest Mario Party game yet, but fails to find the fun at almost every step.

The comic book presentation is enthusiastically funny, the freeform action concept is commendable and the technology itself, when it works, is promising.