"Pro Evo" is still the better game, and will last you longer, but FIFA is arguably the sweeter experience in the short term. FIFA’s presentation, style and gameplay are all great, but "Pro Evolution Soccer 2" gives the hardcore footy fan the chance to really live out their footy fantasies.

Let's not beat about the bush and get straight to the obvious: Simpsons Skateboarding is diabolical... a cash-in in the purest sense of the term.

Rather like Half-Life’s "Blue Shift" expansion, Spearhead is over in barely three hours... It’s only because Spearhead chimes in at 20 quid or thereabouts that we don’t rip it apart – as it is, it’s rather like buying a DVD of your favourite war flick.

It does its job reasonably well, but blandness abounds, and the whole thing just looks like it's been rushed out to fulfil a contractual obligation, rather than a labour of love.

Where it scores above other games is simply the emotions it inspires.

In many ways this game is superior to "Morrowind"; although it doesn't have the initial appeal offered by that title's graphical splendour, it has a lot more depth and far less time is spent walking from place to place aimlessly.

A fantastic port - and unquestionably best on Xbox - but it suffers in part thanks to last century's tech and in part because pathetic team killing gits thrive in the current Live community.

A beautiful, addictive, mechanised feast of destruction, ideally suited to online gamers both new and old.

We're hugely disappointed in this utterly botched effort by Sega. What should have been the revival of a classic franchise has been turned into a poor rip-off of a Capcom title that wasn't even the dog's bollocks in the first place.

Perhaps the best thing about Serious Sam though is just how pristine it is. It’s a very, very polished game.

This title is a vastly preferable alternative to a myriad Sonic Advances in the style of Nintendo's Mario rehashes.

If you’re open-minded enough to kill low-poly Axis troops and don’t mind being led by the nose, then don’t let a clutch of angry graphics whores dissuade you: this is top fun.

It’s addictive, tells a good, amusing yarn, looks spectacular and is challenging without ever being annoying.

The combat in Phantom Crash is mostly excellent.

There is a magnificent amount of stuff to do.

It uses outdated visuals with no changes, cobbles together levels which the GBA can handle in order to avoid problems, uses a lazy password system which is totally unwieldy, and continues to rely on a ten-year-old gameplay dynamic.

"Warcraft III" is very innovative and has production values higher than just about any game ever released on the PC, while Age of Mythology is simply a worthy successor to an excellent series.

The best PS2 wrestler there is, largely thanks to Yuke’s success in mimicking the cheese that oozes from every pore of the WWE.

Every bit as good as we thought it would be – if not better... But don’t expect to be constantly surprised, for much of Vice City is a retread of old ground, and if you didn’t like the last one, then Vice City probably won’t change your mind.

Ultimately, your perseverance with the sluggish pacing can be rewarding, but Shenmue 2 consistently proves itself an ageing game with ageing looks. It should never have happened like this.

Admittedly better value for money than the rather uninspired "version 2" Dreamcast release, but for a game which has seen as much development as this to suffer from fundamental flaws and dodgy design decisions in so many areas is bizarre.

It’s just a shame that for all the initial graphical beauty, complexity and diversity of The Clone Wars, it really boils down to a simple, flawed, over-stretched game design.

It's the shortest game ever, and that's not acceptable for a full price release. And no matter how 'pumped' we feel after playing it, it's a minigame. It should be a tenner - not forty quid. [Rating at £10 = 80]

It simply can't compete with the genius of its many competitors, particularly the Sony first party efforts of late.

A tough one to score then, but still unquestionably excellent.

It’s doesn’t have the adrenaline fuelled action of the original, nor any neat new ideas to make it feel like a progression.

Anybody who remembers the good old days of Contra should steer clear of Shattered Soldier, unless you have some sort of sadistic urge to lay waste to your senses and pollute your fond recollections of this once proud series.

It’s fun while it lasts, but requires relatively little skill – just an iron will and determination to progress through 16 lavish, on rails, scripted levels.