The problem seems to be that everyone involved was aiming low, and it's not a game that ever speaks of large-scale effort or imagination; the graphics are recycled, the monkey voices are largely the same throughout, and the script is humourless, journeyman stuff that wouldn't make it onto CBeebies. There's no enthusiasm.

FlatOut 2 seems content to cement itself in the niche of Burnout's bratty redneck cousin, but it passes at least one basic quality test with flying colours: I couldn't help taking regular breaks during this review to creep back to the joypad for another go.

For those willing to tolerate a few boardgame-style abstractions, a little thumb-twiddling (sometimes turn calculations can take a minute or two) and the odd bit of bafflement (fundamentally simple, the game does have a few confusing elements like supply simulation), purchase options are pretty diverse.

You know what to do: if you want an arcade perfect, no frills port of Galaga then that's what you'll get, but you can probably get your fix by simply downloading the free trial. The lure of global leaderboards (and a succession of largely identical levels) in the full version adds something of a gloss for the retro obsessives, but that's about it.

Without question the finest portable beat-'em-up ever released. Not only that, it also represents the pinnacle of the series overall, which is an incredible feat for a handheld title.

In short, there's a lot of game here but none of it immediately demands you buy it, unless you just need a few new things to insert into Civ 4 to justify returning to it. In which case, hey - go do it. Civ 4's awesome.

We'd like to apologise to Sid Meier - this game, while not terrible, has sullied your good name and brand. Our only suggestion is to never let someone else make a game for you and to make sure the inevitable next game in the franchise explores a less familiar environ and period.

Even at 800 Microsoft points (so, six-quid-eighty), it offers a lot of value compared to some of its fellow test-subjects, and while it does occasionally frustrate or bore, the urge to keep going remains.

Yes, it's bland, pick up and play fun that's simple to get into, but if you did ever find yourself picking it up for five minutes you'd probably have already seen all there is to it in that time.

Valkyrie Profile Lenneth is exactly that - wholly distinct from the rest of the crowd, a niche within a niche, marvellously thought out and mostly brilliantly executed. If there were other comparably innovative and inventive Japanese RPGs to set this against, then its flaws might cause it to be judged more severely. But it stands alone, a rare original expression of Japanese role-playing individuality.

That's really Blade Dancer in a nutshell: a decent combat system and an interesting crafting mechanic, but in terms of the rest of the game, Hitmaker doesn't really cut it.

While the Budokai series may not have enjoyed the universal appeal of more traditional brawlers, it did at least give the games their own unique identity. In sacrificing that, Super Dragon Ball Z becomes just another paint-by-numbers 3D fighter, sitting alongside the likes of "Battle Arena Toshinden" and "Star Gladiator" in the ranks of the also-rans.

It's easy to pick up and play, has generally tip-top production values, has a moreish appeal and only a couple of bits where parents might have to help out the little ones. Sadly, grown-ups needn't feel like they're missing out, for as much as it contains most of the ingredients that should make it interesting to everyone, Monster House quickly becomes too repetitive and shallow to deliver on its early promise.

As an interesting and well-thought -through study of the struggles of an everyday life, Kudos is well conceived and a welcome alternative take on life-simulation.

Getting to levels four and five, reaching 30,000 points in a co-op game and managing to deliver 15 frogs to the other side of the river on one life are tricky tasks that'll keep you going for a bit, but otherwise Frogger will probably take you less than an evening to exhaust.

Chromehounds is really, really, really boring to play...Not one that I can imagine Xbox 360 players sticking with for more than a handful of hours tops, no matter how starved they are for new releases at the moment.

A game whose good intentions simply don't translate into wide-eyed entertainment. With uninspiring and basic deathmatch multiplayer options failing to rescue the package, it looks like it's going to be another long hot summer for FPS devotees.

Artful and warmly considered (even the menu options are caught up in it - the "Options" menu is the "Engine Room", and the "Quit" button reads "Abandon Ship"), it's a well-formed idea that will almost certainly grow as it builds up a head of Steam.

A bog-standard historical city-builder and we can like it, lump it, or - my recommended reaction - just ignore it.

Unfortunately, while the movie's version of piracy is a picturesque mixture of high-adventuring, quick-witted, swashbuckling derring-do, The Legend of Jack Sparrow is a weak mixture of low-brow, quick cash-in, button-bashing doggy-do.

It's a content-packed, well-produced handheld game - they can put that on the box if they want - but the racing's a bit boring, the load-delays are too regular and too long, it's very punishing when you start getting somewhere, and the lack of online options hurts it.

The antiquated visuals would be easier to stomach if hot Nineteenth Century prospects like Napoleonic Total War 2 (a visually stunning R:TW mod due within the next couple of weeks) and HistWar: Les Grognards (a promising hardcore 3D Napoleonic wargame with an autumn ETA) didn't exist.

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.

If you're in the market for a proper jet-fighter game, I'd recommend hunting down a proper PC simulation. I remember EF-2000 from about 1998 being about 1998 times better than this. And if you want an arcadey dogfighter, try "Crimson Skies" for Xbox 1 instead.

You'll hope developers like Amaze don't go within 100 miles of a movie license ever again, and pray that BVG has the good sense to try harder next time. Consider yourself warned.

It's a fab little game that's as unpretentious as they come and it's good to have it back - it's just a shame that the concept hasn't really moved on to any degree in the intervening years.

It's certainly not the ultimate handheld football game, but that's more through a selection of ambition than a lack of it - and that's why it makes an impression.

The more interesting large-scale fire fights and planning truck upgrades provide some reasons to stick with it, along with nostalgia for dear old Interstate 76. If only Targem had concentrated on lending the missions more of the depth I76's sported, the other faults would be far more forgivable.