The Beatles were fascinated by the number nine. 09/09/09 is no coincidence. So it's only fitting that the game gets...

Oboromuramasa is shallow, rather simple and relatively short-lived, but nonetheless wonderful in its way. As a piece of visual videogame art it's at the very peak of the medium's achievements, along with Okami and Odin Sphere, and it's crafted with such obvious, loving care and attention to detail that it's impossible not to like. If only its combat were as precise and considered as the faultless presentation, this might be an enduring love rather than a fleeting but indisputably beautiful affair. [JPN Import]

What we've ended up with is a game loaded with promise that sells itself short in the execution. There's no doubt it'll entertain the kids, but it won't challenge them.

Taken as a rousing aerial shooter, it's easy to recommend - and sadly rather too easy to complete. There's a ton of content, at least, and it's all presented in a whiz-bang style that draws you in with heart-pounding action without belittling the history behind the explosions. It's just a shame that for such a venerable simulator series, it's the more serious game modes where Birds of Prey feels most compromised by its hardware.

Taken as a rousing aerial shooter, it's easy to recommend - and sadly rather too easy to complete. There's a ton of content, at least, and it's all presented in a whiz-bang style that draws you in with heart-pounding action without belittling the history behind the explosions. It's just a shame that for such a venerable simulator series, it's the more serious game modes where Birds of Prey feels most compromised by its hardware.

Adding GRID's flashback feature allows the game to hit that sweet spot of accessibility without blunting its appeal, and allied to a plethora of consistently entertaining race disciplines and locations, it's an absorbing and technically accomplished experience from start to finish.

Disgaea 2 is a deep and flexible game and should it get its hooks in you will lose your mind to it. That fact alone begs the question: why reinvent?

It's the gaming equivalent of walking from your bedroom to the kitchen, opening a cupboard and eating a sneaky between-meals biscuit. It's totally unnecessary and not entirely satisfying. But it does taste quite nice.

If you already own SoulCalibur IV and aren't interested in a portable version then Broken Destiny is hard to recommend, because you're essentially buying the same game. But much like Link in the Gamecube version of SoulCalibur II, the inclusion of Kratos will be hard for fighter fans to pass up.

There's just nothing wrong with Guitar Hero 5: no horrible new art direction or gimmicky new features (3's guitar battles still haven't quite been forgiven), no backwards moves, no ill-advised changes to a winning formula.

Technically rough (it doesn't run smoothly, in terms of graphics or lag) with lumpy character progression, shallow combat, a narrow world and thinly-stretched - albeit entertaining - content, Champions Online is off to a scrappy and threadbare start. As it stands, it's hard to recommend. But it's not hard to like - for the customisation, and for offering a genuinely different flavour in MMOs: a bit of poppy, disposable bubblegum in a world of nutritious gruel.

Watchmen Part 2 therefore manages the rather impressive feat of actually being a worse game than its bone-headed predecessor.

Even after two years, this is still my favourite Harvest Moon game in the whole world ever. Whether you're a fan or a newcomer, Magical Melody is captivating, mixing the best aspects of every game that came before to create the biggest, most involving, most addictive and most challenging entry in this loveliest and most unique of series.

It's clear from the thoughtful setting and the commitment to Buddhist myth and ritual underpinning the plot that genuine effort has gone into the game, but that doesn't show in the final product. Perhaps fittingly for a game based around scaling a peak, playing Cursed Mountain is more a matter of endurance than anything, despite its worthy intentions.

Fans of the caped crusader really shouldn't hesitate - this isn't just the best grown-up Batman game, it's the best superhero game, bar none.

Dissidia certainly isn't without its faults. The rate of descent once airborne is too slow, and the combat fundamentals occasionally feel jerky compared to more traditional and refined fighters. But these minor criticisms aside, it's a very accomplished fighter that's worth your time - whether you're a fighter nut or Final Fantasy fan.

Section 8 is capable of scintillating multiplayer drama, and it is impeccably solid throughout. I've had some maginficent tooth-and-nail matches, which is all I can really ask for. For all the offbeat design decisions and mechanistic foibles, I've been enjoying the hell out of it.

An atrocious MMO wedded to a fleetingly enjoyable multiplayer shooter. Had Vogster just focused on the latter component, it might have had something worthwhile.

Laid end-to-end, you're looking at maybe as much as 100 hours of top-quality entertainment in Metroid Prime Trilogy. Although it's hardly been spoken of as a high-priority release by Nintendo, this could well be the finest single product it has released for the Wii. For all its quirks, Metroid Prime remains a landmark action series, and as such, owning it ought to be mandatory.

Professor Layton and Pandora's Box is superbly charming (aside from its creepy moments), and Layton's constant reprimanding of Luke for not being gentlemanly enough is hilarious.

It might not represent classic Monkey Island in every respect, but there's enough going for it to warrant an instant purchase if you have the slightest hankering for some more from Guybrush and company.

It's a game that will delight gamers old enough to recognise the classics it celebrates, while captivating those oblivious to its inspirations.

With only genre basics in its bag of tricks, and hobbled at every turn by clumsy implementation, in a gaming landscape that already offers Battlefield 1943 and Call of Duty: World at War's Nazi Zombies mode, Wolfenstein's bargain basement charms are of limited appeal.

With only genre basics in its bag of tricks, and hobbled at every turn by clumsy implementation, in a gaming landscape that already offers Battlefield 1943 and Call of Duty: World at War's Nazi Zombies mode, Wolfenstein's bargain basement charms are of limited appeal.

EA should take a page out of FIFA's book here: focus on the game. Every iteration - pre-alpha onwards - sit down and play a full game, 15-minute quarters. If it feels 'right', then you're on the right path.

EA should take a page out of FIFA's book here: focus on the game. Every iteration - pre-alpha onwards - sit down and play a full game, 15-minute quarters. If it feels 'right', then you're on the right path.

By refining the elements which made it fun, granting you all the toys and stripping away almost all of the laborious tasks, Volition has served up something more in line with what we expected in the first place. If your appetite for destruction remains unsated, it's well worth diving in - just don't expect anything too revolutionary.

It's wonderfully designed, justifies the price, and may end up being the best thing on Xbox Live Arcade all year. If you're in any doubt, there's even a trial version. Thud.