PGR4 wrings the best yet out of an already scintillating arcade racing game. As a swansong for Activision-bound Bizarre Creations, it's more than we could have wished for, and a daunting prospect for whichever developer Microsoft asks to follow it.

A thoroughly unnecessary isometric brawler that ranks alongside Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean as being one of the worst uses of a high profile license we've seen this year.

Having Gary Oldman and Frodo do voiceovers doesn't make up for the fact this game looks and plays like something made five years ago.

Simply one of the DS' best.

Ninjabread Man lasted half an hour. HALF AN HOUR. Three levels down and I was booted straight back to the main menu without fanfare. I thought I'd pressed the Quit button by mistake... Half an hour and one hundred percent done.

The absolutely tiny amount of adventure content, and the fact that the puzzles simply won't be any challenge to a child of reading age, makes it impossible to give this game a particularly good score.

Even with regular shopping trips ArmA veterans will chew through RF in a couple of longish evenings.

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 game yet in one of the best FPS franchises of the era. Better than either of its predecessors, Halo 3 still can't quite escape the category of flawed masterpiece - but this time around, the flaws are so minor that even the most churlish of reviewers would be hard pressed to mark the game down.

It's a small improvement over the last Settlers, and therefore a game that many devotees will be rooting for, but there's no getting away from the fact that judged against its peers, or even its own ancestors, this is an average offering in terms of depth, challenge and longevity, and blighted by fussy technical snags to boot.

It marries the Wii's control system with good old-fashioned puzzle-platforming; its scope isn't exactly broad, and not everyone will love the controls, but any fan of this endangered genre will find something to like in its reflex-testing level geometry or amusing puzzles, if not its gaudy looks.

For a game so rich in character and brimming with originality, there's simply not enough strength or depth here to compete with the likes of Disgaea or Makai Kingdom.

For all its exterior charm, Park Patrol is a game built largely on repetition and slow steps.

Punishingly difficult but ultimately rewarding, games of Skate's caliber are a rare breed and as far as first attempts go, it's been years since we saw one this accomplished. Just... sick, man.

No other RTS provokes the feeling that you're inventing rather than enduring to defeat your foe to this extent. It's complicated and exhausting with it, and while that's exactly what an established COH player will want, I fear it ever so slightly undermines the achievements the original game made in making historical wargames appeal to a mass audience again.

The problem underlining it all is that the games are way too easy.

You can't really fault it for value, because, for GBP 1.99, the few hours of brilliant entertainment you get here are well worth it. A big, warming, chain reaction of delight that you'll want to revisit again and again.

The core process of gathering up pellets and delivering them to the goal simply isn't as fun as it should be. For a game built upon this crucial cornerstone, no matter how many ideas are added on top of it, the whole construction remains unstable and, soon enough, un-enjoyable.

If Sony could offer more tracks per release it'd be worth the money, but as it stands it feels a little overpriced for the existing fans who'd be more than justified in feeling a little brassed-off with the idea of spending more on what is essentially the same game as last time with new tunes.

There is nothing to set this apart from every other mediocre first-person shooter you've ever played, and nothing to make it worth recommending.

At once accessible and complex, kid-friendly and adult-pleasing, and full of personality, MySims is an excellent and original idea that's well-suited to the console, even if it won't be an essential purchase for everybody.

It isn't broken and it isn't soulless, but it is pretty shallow. It's cute and passably entertaining, but there's nothing here that compels you to return to the game, and it's quite clearly aimed towards the younger end of the market. MySims DS is EA's family-friendly take on an existing idea; the Wii version is the one that innovates.

There are some real gems to be had here - just not enough.

All in all, a bit of a must-have.

It's an instantly appealing refinement of smart ideas, served up with gorgeous production values and back-to-basics strategic muscle. It's intelligently structured, so you can lose yourself for hours or indulge in a quick twenty minute skirmish, while the multiplayer mode is an absolute monster if you're willing to submit to its co-operative style.

As a conversion of an acclaimed handheld game, Dark Mirror is a touch sloppy. It doesn't feel like much effort has been made to optimise the game for the PS2, either in looks or gameplay, and the omission of online play and crispy-fried taser fun will only annoy fans expecting a full conversion. And yet...I still kind of like it.

It's just a shame that compared to the innovative excellence of Koei's other battlefield titles like Bladestorm or Gundam Musou, or even just Samurai Warriors 2, Warriors Orochi falls a little short.

These are dross of the highest order. Rip offs at budget price.