The thing that upset me, though, was that by the time I got through most of it there was a real sense that these ideas - however basic - could have been applied so much more exotically and with so much more freedom than they have.

It’s a rare treat, and very appreciated. Kirby: Cursed Canvas comes from nowhere, but deserves to go everywhere. It’s another absolute proof of the validity of the DS as a unique gaming platform, and sets a new challenge bar for relaxing platform gaming.

There's no doubting Juiced is a quality game, but it veers off the racing line with a flawed progression system that starts off promisingly but penalises players too harshly and makes it a frustrating experience to claw your way back.

In an era when most publishers are content to churn out games you can complete on autopilot, it's quite refreshing to be presented with an FPS that hands your arse back to you on a plate.

Divisive though its hip-hop ideology may be, and under-furnished some areas may feel, it still edges close enough often enough to be worthy of one of our highest marks.

Put it like this: This is probably one of the most enjoyable piece of early-Beta code that I've ever played. You want to damn Atari for releasing it like this. However, you also want to hail them for spending money on something of Boiling Point's ambition rather than the safe option.

A dreadful game.

If you have zero tolerance for stuttering frame rates and occasional fumbled controls then don't go near Advent Rising. It's a good science-fiction action game that suffers from technical problems.

Metal Slug 4 is intense, immediate and fun in all the right ways, but it's disposable entertainment in every sense of the phrase. [Review of Metal Slug 4 only]

A charming, if flawed and anorexically shallow, kids' action game. Parents shouldn't feel bad about buying it. Kids won't feel bad playing it.

This is just as beguiling as the first Emblem; but while it's still true love, I'm getting to the stage where we nag each other, and get fed up with each other's little idiosyncrasies.

In many senses WarioWare Twisted is utterly unique, brilliantly implemented and full of surprises. As GBA purchases go, the recommendation comes no higher than this.

There's really something fundamentally wrong in a game where I start keeping a book beside the table to read while my armies trudge into battle.

Cold Winter felt at times like a dark TimeSplitters, almost GoldenEye-esque in feel and certainly deserves much credit for delivering an accomplished alternative that hits the mark enough to warrant a recommendation to those that hunger for a decent PS2 shooter.

It's the best game to emerge in the genre since "Project Zero II." Just bear in mind you'll almost certainly reflect on your time with the game with a few mixed feelings. It's so nearly brilliant it hurts.

By comparison, Donkey Konga 2's a bit too... (ah hell, why not?) humdrum.

Compared to its predecessor, it looks better, moves faster, throws you further and loves you more. The track design is more extraordinary than ever and full of flourishes that I can barely begin to emulate with my own creations, the new gameplay modes fit right in, and indeed Platform is arguably more addictive than anything in the first game all by itself.

There's a lot that Still Life does well, but in the same way adventure games were doing things well ten years ago. There is therefore no excuse for it to not manage other basic, fundamental elements when rehashing these decade-old ideas.

Since the saber-play is occasionally exciting, and that those of you who desperately want something that reminds you of the film might be prepared to put up with this in spite of its flaws. Me? I thought this was crap.

It simply doesn't really do anywhere near enough to unseat Polyphony's great monolith of a game. In some ways it's a whole lot more accessible (if you can be bothered to wade through the somewhat daunting layers of formulae that get you up the pecking order), but in others it lets itself down with appalling presentation, rank front end, awful music, and visuals which while perfectly serviceable won't have you gawping in awe if you saw it on a nearby demo pod.

With its bite-sized premise, hugely compelling one-more-go appeal and negligible loading times, Everybody's Golf is without question one of our favourite PSP titles.

A stunning simulator that true racing enthusiasts will be able to marvel at for months, but one that will be an incredibly daunting prospect for those of us just merely looking for racing entertainment. It truly goes off the scale in terms of difficulty if you've any intention whatsoever of playing it remotely seriously, and I've never come across anything quite this brutal.

It soon dawns that Pariah is your archetypal regular, by the numbers sci-fi shooter and doesn't appear to aspire to be anything more.

With Microsoft's typically brilliant online implantation underpinning everything, alongside its determination to break technical boundaries Forza Motorsport is a quite staggering achievement for a first attempt and is a must have for any driving game fan.

It just would be nice for Nintendo and Game Freak to supply the other demand next time: the demand of something actually more different, or at least palpably new, for our hard earned. Let the pitchfork laden debate begin.

A curious mix. Some undeniably strong and distinctive pieces of game design, tarnished by some elementary errors, such as the lack of a decent training program or real in-game help.

The array of character builds and focus on warring guilds makes it a dream for those who enjoy online rucks. The more off-line adventurer has a huge world and extensive plot to fight their way through.

A fun, solid RTS. But that's all. It fatally lacks a sense of creative vision other than just being a bit better than "Rise of Nations," with its step-forwards more half-steps.