As good as PES can be, and the moments of magic are arguably better than those on FIFA, it has fallen so far behind the competition in so many aspects that it's difficult to make a serious comparison. I know I've come across as a FIFA fanboy here, and PES 2013 isn't without its merits, but if you can only play one soccer game this year, I'd go with the former rather than the latter.

Overall, while I found This War of Mine to be an intriguing and novel game, I didn’t really enjoy it. It is downbeat and somber to a fault, especially if things start deteriorating and you have to watch your civilians get ground down into nothing.

The game is pretty slow-paced and outside of the few mentioned action sequences, is almost devoid of any visceral attributes that seem so inherent with flesh-eating dinosaurs.

It’s just that, while I liked Bad Mojo well enough, I didn’t care that much about it, and so the bonus DVD didn’t do all that much for me.

Despite a plethora of flaws, SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 remains a capable, if underachieving, wrestling game.

A little boring. There are only two towns and two dungeons in the game, there is absolutely no story to drive things along (when I got to the end boss, I didn’t even realize who it was), and the quests are a joke.

A damned scary game, and it's one of the better survival horror titles out there because of that. It's good to see its designers taking risks and experimenting with the formula. This time, however, it's kind of a misfire. It's by no means a failure, but it's not a success, either.

The thing that ultimately forces me to give it a low rating is how damnably short it is – the game ending just as you are starting to get involved in the plot.

Its graphics wouldn’t have been "awe-inspiring" 15 years ago let alone now.

Both fascinating and addictive to play, and yet has so many rough edges that you might not want to play it at all.

A damned scary game, and it's one of the better survival horror titles out there because of that. It's good to see its designers taking risks and experimenting with the formula. This time, however, it's kind of a misfire. It's by no means a failure, but it's not a success, either.

Unfortunately, if you don’t often host gaming sessions with your buddies, you won’t get the same satisfaction competing against AI bots, especially with the lack of a reward system.

But it’s hard to recommend this port with a straight face due to its severely makeshift presentation. Nevertheless, it is a fun game thanks to the satisfying gameplay and excellent story. If all you’ve got is a PS2, then consider this your consolation prize.

The combination of frustrating mission mechanics and limited replay value leads me to strongly suggest renting Destroy All Humans before buying, if at all, regardless of your love for bad sci-fi.

Despite a plethora of flaws, SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 remains a capable, if underachieving, wrestling game.

Both Top Spin 4 and Virtua Tennis 4 are good games that have a lot to offer tennis fans. Part of me wishes there could be an amalgamation of the two, but as it stands I'll end with this: Top Spin 4 is a better game overall, but Virtua Tennis 4 would definitely be more fun to play for the casual fan. It's almost as if it's striving not to be taken seriously, what with the over-the-top mini-games and fancy dress events. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Absolutely not. Depending on what sort of experience you want, the choice is really up to you.

Both Top Spin 4 and Virtua Tennis 4 are good games that have a lot to offer tennis fans. Part of me wishes there could be an amalgamation of the two, but as it stands I'll end with this: Top Spin 4 is a better game overall, but Virtua Tennis 4 would definitely be more fun to play for the casual fan. It's almost as if it's striving not to be taken seriously, what with the over-the-top mini-games and fancy dress events. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Absolutely not. Depending on what sort of experience you want, the choice is really up to you.

I liken Blade of Darkness to a popcorn flick. Check your brain at the door, this one’s all about the special effects and boisterous fighting scenes.

Beyond the graphics, Enclave isn’t particularly anything special. The plotline is such a shallow hash that you don’t end up feeling anything for the characters, which are unlikely to evoke the sort of empathy (or major motion pictures) of, say, Lara Croft.

It's a pleasant enough adventure, and it'll take you somewhere around 20 hours to complete it, which makes it a nice value, but the writing is a little lazy, and the game isn't as funny as you might expect, and so it's nowhere near being in the ballpark of the Monkey Island games, which is where it wants to be.

Squinch your eyes shut during the movies and click blindly through the dialog segments as quickly as possible, learn to micromanage combat at a high rate of speed, and there is a game mixed in there that is both unique and enjoyable.

The huge number of fatal and annoying bugs is unfortunate, because Crimson Skies would be a very good game without them.

While it suffers from some crippling camera problems at times, has text that is difficult to read without an HDTV, and has quite possibly the most nonsensical plot I’ve ever encountered in a game, Wartech Sekno no Ronde is an incredibly fun game despite its problems.

The combination of frustrating mission mechanics and limited replay value leads me to strongly suggest renting Destroy All Humans before buying, if at all, regardless of your love for bad sci-fi.

Her voice and 3D model may be missing but the spirit of adventure is definitely something not forgotten here.

The balance in the game is a little off (I lost count of the number of times I had to load before I finally beat the end boss), and things are a little bit sloppy (I don’t think one sentence of the spoken dialogue actually matches the subtitles).

It’s a little short and a little easy, but the puzzles are well laid out and they make sense, and the interface makes it easy to navigate your way through the game.

Of course, you’ll miss out on a lot of the wonderful visuals and spot-on gameplay elements if you go the PS2 route, but if that’s your only option then take comfort in the fact that Mafia’s excellent storyline, which is arguably its best quality, hasn’t suffered a bit in the transition.