Serving up a reheated portion of old school retro gaming might satisfy a few hardy souls, but it's hard to see its appeal extending much beyond that. If stupendously hardcore shooters that require the skills of other worldly beings are your thing, then the chances are you'll be in some sort of perverted masochistic heaven. [JPN Import]

Where Shellshock succeeds is when it resolutely refuses to pull punches in its general content, and when it hits the spot it's briefly thrilling. But for those occasional flourishes it's simply weighed down by being an average shooter, albeit one that's boosted by contentious context and some well-realised attempts at atmosphere building.

Sly 2 will make you smile your face off, and you can't ask for much more than that from a sequel that's far bigger and just as entertaining as the original, and still leaves you wanting more.

You can just about forgive a game you enjoy for being short. When it's a game you just endure... well, the urge to staple it to the back of a group of hobbits heading southeastward is increasingly attractive.

Maybe it's just the pent-up shock talking, but this short, fearsomely sharp episode in my life has left me with many images and sensations that I wouldn't part with, even if I'd probably rather have taken the last campaign on again instead, given the choice between the two.

For those of us who understand that while true non-linear storytelling is never going to happen, personalising a linear narrative in meaningful ways according to your own inclinations is far from inconsequential, then it's another significant step into the future.

With only split screen to service your multiplayer needs, all you're left with is a solid, unspectacular single-player campaign that frustrates more than it entertains.

The inescapable truth for Konami is that it has not just failed to better itself, but has gone backwards to the extent that it's no longer our favourite horror series ("Project Zero 2" ["Fatal Frame 2"] claims that throne for now). [JPN Import]

Veteran trainers, on the other hand, need to ask themselves if they want more of the same… again.

Veteran trainers, on the other hand, need to ask themselves if they want more of the same… again.

It's the weakest of the series by a long way, and an ill-judged attempt to drag a narrative driven adventure game into the realms of sub hackandslash by removing much of the actual thinking and forcing the player to engage in less than challenging puzzles while foisting repetitive and unengaging combat upon them.

As it stands, it's the offline arcade racing game to end them all, with an online implementation that falls frustratingly short of expectations.

But this game is just too slow, bottom line, and lacks the finesse and style required to elevate a street racer above the ranks of just plain average.

Empire mode becomes repetitive too quickly, and doesn't provide either the strategic depth in the "board" sections or the real thrill, bluster and mania of "Dynasty Warriors 3" (elephants!) in the combat sections to keep you truly interested.

Star Ocean isn't a game that everyone will instantly like, thanks to the real-time battle system which is likely to divide opinions significantly, but it's a game which has moments of absolute genius, wrapped up in a solid, competent but not particularly remarkable whole.

Nippon Ichi has crafted yet another stunning game with Phantom Brave - accessible, flexible, and as deep as the player wants it to be.

It is, as we tried to tell the blonde at the bar, universally appealing - because it's easy on the eye, taxes the brain just enough, and keeps you entertained no matter who you are. Blooming brilliant.

A startlingly inventive and engaging game, which dares to be different - and does it with style.

If you're the kind of gamer that enjoys immersive, atmospheric graphics and a surreal world to explore, then you might well find the patience to plough through Ghosthunter's many faults.

Ultimately, Madden is a sensational game in the literal sense, delivering unparalleled replayability for those with open minds.

For Rainbow Six 3 fans, Black Arrow may be a repeat prescription, but it's just what the doctor ordered.

The thrill of Doom III is simply that id has not only created something genuinely stand-out impressive on a technical level, but has gone on to create a beautifully unpretentious game that feels at home with itself in that it's not trying to be something it isn't. [Single-Player review only]

The melee combat feels laboured, the boss fights repetitive and contrived, while the timed sequences largely frustrate to the point of desperate exasperation.

It's not thunderously bad, but it is offensively plain, and there are some really daft design decisions lurking among the ridges of this DVD.

Not quite "Project Zero" in space, that's for sure. It does begin as an initially promising ghost train ride, but given its short nature - about twelve generous hours or so if you get hopelessly stuck like me because you didn't talk to that damn woman - it's a shame it lapses into average fetch-quest territory all too quickly.

For us, it's an enjoyable hackandslash with a thoughtful combat system, some nice integration of RPG elements, and a story that kept us interested once it stopped trying to confuse us by failing to clarify who or what anything was or had to do with anything.

Catwoman becomes beyond sloppy. Ultra-sloppy, if you will. Like the Houston 500, right men?

Even its cleverest ideas are generally just amalgamations of things we've seen before - like a puzzle where you have to replicate a five-tone tune by touching five symbols on the ground in the right order. It fails to take advantage of so many breaks - the technology, the voice actors at its disposal, the potential for the synchronicity of the two worlds, the use of four characters in designing dungeons.