Two truly great games that are both landmarks in gaming history. We'll be feeling the influences of their achievements for years to come.

The fact it is an excellent action horror game is secondary to the fact that it's simply a brilliant game. It's so well crafted, so brilliantly realised and so sublimely toned that anyone who enjoys good quality gaming will be both impressed and entertained.

The finest example yet of the survival horror genre.

Forza is probably the most complete racing package available for any machine in any era.

I haven't had this much fun playing a racer in a long time. Heck, my flatmate and I enjoyed it so much we went off and bought a new Xbox rather than be separated from the game when it came to time to return the box I'd borrowed to review this game on. It's that good.

A fantastic title. If you can forgive the linearity (after all, this is a GBA shooter/platformer) and the slight blips in difficulty, you'll be in for a real treat. You must own this game, after all, it's not very often Samus makes trips out these days.

The GameCube may still not be the biggest and baddest console on the block, but someone at Nintendo must have been a very good boy to deserve this.

One thing is undoubtedly beyond question - Burnout 3 is THE most intense 4-wheel experience known to man.

It's technically accomplished, wonderfully diverse and ridiculously fun. It's the sort of game that you want to quit work or dump the girlfriend to play.

This title is a very rare breed - an arcade update of a treasured original that not only dignifies its memory but actually improves upon the formula.

And amidst a rash of horrendously tedious stealth games, it really is a lot more fun to go somersaulting over a couple of incoming missiles, land among the enemy, pull off an outrageous dance move to mock/destroy everything around you, then to leap back and cartwheel off into cover again.

The worst aspect though is the story telling, it is watered down to such an extent that I half expected it to start teaching me my a-b-c's.

Offering a perfectly balanced and finely tuned experience that proves both addictive and immersive. A very complete and attractive package, overall, and one that everyone will enjoy.

The quality of the characters, story and writing is the biggest draw as far as I was concerned and is certainly the game's greatest strength. The characters are full of quirks, idiosyncrasies and flaws, making them seem like realistic individuals rather than the tool of a games designer.

Those who found the original SC frustrating, finicky and tedious will still find as much to annoy in this latest addition to the series, but for sheer quality of craftsmanship and for being the most evolved example of the genre, it's hard to fault Ubisoft's latest opus.

The Traffic Checking and trackside shortcuts gives Revenge a little more of a complex feel to the high speed simplistic madness of the series so far.

At no point in Black's development did the game ever indicate it would become anything more than what it is: a high-powered homage to the FPS genre in its simplest and most undiluted form.

It becomes a perfectly credible control system that's not necessarily superior but definitely the equal of conventional controls, at least when utilised in this specific instance. It's something you'll never have seen before and will possibly never see again - and it's all the more fun for it.

Team Ninja have built upon what was already a solid and addictive foundation with an online integration which makes DoA:U the most complete fighting game package on any platform. [Score with Xbox Live]

A great game but it just lacks that killer instinct.

Cemented in the hall of sporting classics alongside titles like "Pro Evolution Soccer" and "Tiger Woods," Fight Night is a true modern classic.

They have concentrated on distilling the best action they can out of Tolkein's, (or should that now be Jackson's) masterpiece and presenting it in a well executed package. Lord of the Ring fans could surely want for nothing more this Christmas.

Far Cry Instincts offers something new to the FPS genre with its feral abilities and expertly-crafted open level design. Combined with the map editor and creative multiplayer modes it comes highly recommended.

They have concentrated on distilling the best action they can out of Tolkein's, (or should that now be Jackson's) masterpiece and presenting it in a well executed package. Lord of the Ring fans could surely want for nothing more this Christmas.

Its more of a single player experience than it is for multiples of people, and in that sense it works nearly perfectly. Car handling is simple, the frame rate is speedy, but more than anything Coast 2 Coast is fantastic fun to play - a quality that many a game bogged down with FMVs and unnecessary complications neglects.

My biggest criticism of NG is the placement of the save points, especially before bosses.

If there's one complaint it's the precision necessary to succeed in completing some of the championships.

While the experience is short-lived, the seven or so hours of gameplay you get from it are truly amazing and for once, I can say a film-to-game conversion has successfully been achieved.