Nevertheless, the sum of these parts makes this a fun place and all the raw materials provided to put together your own unique adventure are imaginative and enjoyable - all you can really ask for in a sandbox.

But really it all comes back to the fact that Yoshi's Island was doing almost everything for the first time, and Artoon is cribbing from the same notes.

Inevitably, the lack of meat on the bones is Dragon Sword's major failing, coupled with the fact that the combat descends into repetitive scribbling after a short while, lacking the kind of long-term depth that makes the game's parent offerings so revered.

Despite the number of maps on offer, 1200 Microsoft Points (£10.20 / €14.40) is too high a price for what has become, sadly, a niche title.

The inconsistent quality of Pacific Rift's tracks and vehicles ultimately gets the better of it

Endearingly odd.

If you're not thoroughly sick of the sight of Tower Defence games, then Guns 'n' Glory will come as a pleasant surprise, and its presence on the Android, in particular, is very welcome indeed.

A solid and visually impressive shooter, it never manages to feel essential - and clearly exists mostly because all first-party franchises are obliged to put in an appearance on a new console - but even as a relatively minor entry in its own series, it still sets a new benchmark for portable shooters.

The graphics are great but come at a high cost, the new weapons and items are amusing but encourage random kills, and the maps are stunning but far too big for the number of people playing the game at the moment.

Despite their relative strength, the disparate halves of White Knight Chronicles fail to gel in meaningful ways.

When we finished "DMC3," we wondered what Capcom would do with new hardware. The answer is not an awful lot. The visuals are better, the combat's more accessible, the upgrade system's pleasingly flexible, but in practically every other sense Capcom has passed up the opportunity to do something new and exciting.

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.

If you're the sort who, when presented with a river, like to crouch and examine the eddies, this may be for you. If you just want to know what's downstream... well, less so.

The big issue, for us, is that Mario Golf hasn't really grown much since its time on the N64 - and when you consider the sorts of things that other golf games are doing at the moment, that's much less forgivable than it is in the case of some of Nintendo's genre-leading franchises.

Cold Winter felt at times like a dark TimeSplitters, almost GoldenEye-esque in feel and certainly deserves much credit for delivering an accomplished alternative that hits the mark enough to warrant a recommendation to those that hunger for a decent PS2 shooter.

If you liked the original, and poured endless hours into it, then you should definitely get this one: there are just about enough tweaks and changes to make it feel different enough to justify a purchase - especially the chance to play a mate online.

Its back-to-basics approach strips away much of the pointless frippery of the modern JRPG without stripping out the satisfaction of playing them. The DS isn't short of absorbing RPGs, but 4 Heroes of Light is a worthwhile addition, particularly for anyone with fond memories of simpler, happier times for Japanese role-playing.

You won't find a game on PS3 right now that will work you harder than Active 2 – but I want to see EA Canada working up more of a sweat next time.

Easy to sum up: Game isn't finished.

First Strike, then, is a well-balanced collection of different styles of map, its highlights undoubtedly favouring those who tend to play away from Free For All and Team Death Match.

A simple music game. But, for someone who grew up with these myths wallpapering their imagination, it is a complex vehicle for emotion. Final Fantasy may be a loose, somewhat obnoxious umbrella term for a collection of games of mixed message and quality, but Theatrhythm succeeds in touching upon some true magic within its bounds.

Quest for Booty is a solid, funny little platform game with good camerawork and controls so long established that their pristine execution scarcely warrants mention, but it feels so much like a regular Ratchet & Clank game that it's jarring to discover it ends so quickly, leaving us to damn it over and over again with faint praise.

Short-lived, it seems a very wasted opportunity to not take advantage of the full capabilities of the DS and cram in far more levels, and have them as teasing unlockables to reward successful play.

Setting my disappointment over its distance from the original Prince of Persia design aside, The Sands of Time on the Game Boy Advance is a rather accomplished and quite extensive platform-puzzler, with some fabulous level design and genuinely considered presentation.

A short run-time and some middling levels used to pad out each of Nightopia's dream environments probably did the most to wear down my goodwill toward it, but there was nothing fatally dispiriting about the experience and ultimately it has more to fuel the player's affection than not, like skyscrapers bursting into balloons.

DarkStar One is undoubtedly a bit of a throwback. It's not the all-singing, all-dancing AAA space combat title which could still make a lot of console owners' days, but it does go an awfully long way to proving that a game of that calibre is eminently possible on consoles, as well as providing an entertaining diversion.

The novelty of typing the phrases 'male crime sim' and 'flowers to womans', although hilarious in the first few stages, starts to fade a little without that ancient Sega charm. You realise that you're just retreading the slightly toothless plot of a game that you didn't ever feel nostalgic about. The bromancing leads start to get tiresome. And then you need a gin and tonic.

It is a pity, for it is a would-be 'great' game, and on the Xbox would be reasonably scored as such. But, on a PC, the complexity of the default controls and the horrors of the PC keyboard for this kind of thing force the mark down to a mere 'very good'.