It hangs together well enough, and more exists as an excuse to create the set-pieces which provide Dungeon Siege with its most memorable moments.

For the cheaper-than-usual price it's going for it's definitely well worth a look, but once again bear in mind that it's never going to be one of those games with the greatest of lifespans. Burns brightly, but briefly.

In other words, if this sort of thing matters to you, if you still can't bear to unplug your Dreamcast, and you do own "Virtua Fighter 4" and all the others and think they're brilliant, this is for you.

As much as n-Space tries to do things a little differently, and as fun as it is to walk around in bodies that don't belong to you, too much of the game plays it by the same old rules.

Considering Summit Strike is only pitched as a budget-priced expansion pack to last year's 'full-blown' version, Ubisoft has done an exceptional job of providing nigh-on top draw entertainment with literally no compromises.

For genre fans, the educated, the talented or the time-rich, Makai Kingdom represents a rich and deep pasture with almost limitless ways to play. It's clever, expansive, funny, well made and beautifully translated and, if you are committed enough, could be one of the best videogame investments you'll ever make.

Whether you're playing on your own, online or with a friend it's liable to offer even more hours of fun than that poster of that lady tennis player scratching her arse - though possibly not the Kylie remake.

While the simple structure makes it compulsive, it also leaves it unsophisticated.

But like a train journey with a friend, a few hours can be lots of fun, but then you've arrived at your destination, the conversations are put back in your bag, and the rest of your life is ready for the living.

Forget games with real-time physics. This is one has real-time metaphysics. It's this year's underground classic, this year's "Rez," this year's "Ico," this year's... well, this year's Darwinia. It's a game that justifies your sense of your brilliance and gaming' sense of brilliance.

The controls are awful, the camera is beyond appalling, the graphics are hideous, the environments are bare, the gameplay is unbearably repetitive and the whole thing is an utter chore to play.

An excellent package. Honestly, Flatout is a hairbreadth away from a 9, and legendary status.

Even if you loved the film, even if gullible children are tearfully begging you to buy them this game, even if there's been a nuclear holocaust and the only games to survive are this and "Army Men: Green Rogue"; please, just say No.

While it does have hidden depths, then, they're not much more than handfuls of sand scooped out of the bottom of a rock-pool. Fun though it undoubtedly is, it isn't very vicious or memorable. A bit like that Disneyworld ride, actually.

The controls are awful, the camera is beyond appalling, the graphics are hideous, the environments are bare, the gameplay is unbearably repetitive and the whole thing is an utter chore to play.

The controls are awful, the camera is beyond appalling, the graphics are hideous, the environments are bare, the gameplay is unbearably repetitive and the whole thing is an utter chore to play.

It's absolutely fantastic to see something like this given a worldwide release on PS2 and GameCube in such a risk-averse climate, and Capcom deserves kudos for giving the game its support.

It turns out that randomly scrubbing the screen with your stylus in moments of panic may inadvertently link things up and get you out of a tight spot. It's divided opinion of the game, with a lot of people holding off giving it top marks because they see scrubbing as a fundamental flaw.

This is a quintessentially Japanese videogame reminiscent of classic 16-bit titles such as Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger, albeit married to a Nippon Ichi-style fanaticism for detail and Pokemon's kleptomaniacal Gotta Catch ‘Em All mechanic.

If you're a die hard Splinter Cell fan, you might learn to live with the shonky control system and poor quality graphics. It's not as if the game is completely unplayable, after all. However, it's not varied or involving enough for our tastes, and the ratio of frustration to enjoyment is far too high.

But more importantly, you do get to 'be' the Fantastic 4 and experiment with some really rather excellent superpowers, and the game isn't so bad that a serious fan couldn't overlook its flaws.

But more importantly, you do get to 'be' the Fantastic 4 and experiment with some really rather excellent superpowers, and the game isn't so bad that a serious fan couldn't overlook its flaws.

Torturing yourself with frankly ridiculous load times isn't acceptable, nor is the choppy frame rate or the sound stutters. [U.S. version]

But more importantly, you do get to 'be' the Fantastic 4 and experiment with some really rather excellent superpowers, and the game isn't so bad that a serious fan couldn't overlook its flaws.

But more importantly, you do get to 'be' the Fantastic 4 and experiment with some really rather excellent superpowers, and the game isn't so bad that a serious fan couldn't overlook its flaws.

The already fairly hefty system demands can be stretched even further by some of the water refraction effects, requiring some option-fiddling to get a playable game.

Pandemic failed to make the core gameplay as compelling as it should have been and we're left reflecting on a game where no one play component really stands out as being good enough, and the missions just lack the spark that more solid core mechanics would have leant them.

On a server packed full of humans, with a decent commander and motivated, organised squads it plays like an absolute dream. So hurrah for that.