You sense that this is going to be some people's game of the year. Hell, with the amount of actual game here, it's possible that could be in a purely literal sense: in that they won't bother playing anything else because this will happily occupy all the time you care to throw at it.

It's this basic lack of thrill or challenge which limits Tycoon City's appeal, at least to the gamer audience. It's entirely possible that Tycoon City will find an audience for the more casual player with its less stressful lifestyle, but that's the sort of design decision which gains sales not marks.

It lacks so much of what made its forebears great, and at times you look at it and wonder if they thought any of it through.

RF Online is like playing an endless game of slow-motion whack-a-rat, without the entertainment of the fairground surroundings.

For the most part, it's overly complicated, and dominated by things designed to stop it being fluid and exciting.

The 360 version of Fight Night Round 3 is by far the most impressive boxing title ever released, even if the gameplay differences between this and previous versions are fairly incremental.

Ultimately, there's no single aspect of the game that really demands your interest.

The most striking thing about SOE2 is its tragic pointlessness. As a sequel in a franchise that is almost entirely unloved, in a world where there are countless games which do any part of this game better, it's sad to think that a group of people developed it, because then we'd have to blame them for putting out such a diabolical piece of cack.

You can't fault the presentation and all important street vibe, but you can fault the feeble level design, fudged controls and lousy camera.

If nothing else, Age of Empires DS provides a title that will appeal to those Discovery Channel Dads who picked up the stylus for Brain Training, and proves that Nintendo's flip-top toy can supply grown-up depth as well as giddy frivolity.

It needed to kick your arse more, and give you something mechanical to lure you back, not just canned explosions. You'll enjoy playing it, but you're not actually being entertained.

Grandia III can be an enjoyable trip for the 30 to 40 hours it takes to complete, as each battle is a joy even in the most boring of dungeons.

Drakengard 2 just doesn't have the style or grace or education or expertise or power, to pull it off. Like The Flaming Lips trying their hands at Bohemian Rhapsody you really want the homage to work but, to be honest, it just doesn't.

While the companions may prove annoying at times, it's easy enough to resign yourself to their whining and manage the task in hand; for every platform blunder there are ten moments of huge satisfaction to look back on.

In a final note, which may just be where my head is at the moment, but there's something really disturbing sexual about the battering ram's swinging animation.

Rugby 06 finally offers the full range of Premiership, Celtic and Southern Hemisphere club teams, not to mention exhibition sides such as the Barbarians and New Zealand Maoris. That's, like, three times as many sides as "Rugby 2005."

It’s silly, strange and possibly psychotic, but it’s our silly, strange and possibly psychotic. You’ll criticise it, maybe even question its validity as a complete game, but you damned well won’t put it down before you’ve finished it. It’s marvellous.

The sheen that Alpha 3 gains by being thrown onto a handheld is just a fresh coat and it didn't take long for us to remember why we put down the hadokens after its original 1998 release.

Placed on a handheld, the gravitas of the shock scares is gone, and with unrealistic graphics and a cheese factor turned up to eleven, any feeling of genuine creepiness is lost. While it does keep all the flaws described here, the GameCube remake does at least offer beautiful graphics and some decent shocks.

I lean back in my chair and, in a moment of grim lucidity I realise: all of these games are already in a cardboard box in the shed.

It's possible you'll tire of Drill Dozer's slightly repetitive drill cycle, and there's less room for exploration and investigation than you'll find in something like Super Mario World, but given it's 15 years and about 48 million 2D platform games later, it's nice to find a developer who can still offer a fresh line of questioning - and a nice suit to wear while doing it.

Quite possibly, the best game I've played this year. While it's not for everyone, those who are willing to look past what they could consider childish graphics, and an obsession with housework that's nearly as strong as your mum's, will find a title with as much heart as there is fun wrapped up into a four-inch-tall bundle.

As brightly as it burns, it's an all-too-brief fix that doesn't leave you wanting more.

If it featured a character aimed at kids a few years older it would probably score higher, but a game that so woefully misunderstands its audience should only be purchased by those with precocious offspring or vast reserves of patience.

Beautiful music, cute visuals, and a peculiarly charming attitude make you want to like it. Recognising that it's aimed at younger players makes you want to forgive it. But it cannot be denied that this is a big ol' mess of nice ideas executed badly, with the most important ingredient completely missing.

When the offline experience is so rich, moaning about the fact that Simbin have capped multiplayer at sixteen is slightly uncharitable.

It's not big or boisterous, the characters don't squeak at you in comedy accents and you don't get to unlock Bowser or anything (at least I should hope not), and that's what high-end golf is often like: quietly dignified, a sport of concentration. The occasional lucky chip-in is satisfying, but the real pleasure comes from getting it right because you thought about it.

Sure, it's not going to win awards for its longevity, but its instant playability and rampantly addictive qualities make is damned near irresistible. A fitting update to an enduring classic.