Tries to cram WAY too many styles in, but multiplayer is tops.

The camera, a hybrid of both fixed perspectives and occasional manual control, frequently fails to focus on an enemy when you’re locked-on and attempting to attack, leaving you vulnerable to unseen counter moves.

So while it’s a nice nostalgia trip and makes for an interesting twist on the Meier formula, it’s people who have either never played Civlization IV before (we’ve been told they do exist) or those who have played it to death and want a bit of a change who will get the most out of this title.

Unfortunately the final experience feels exclusively created for folk stuck in a confined area with a lot of spare time on their hands and few other recreational options. Like, say, in prison.

It breaks our Rare-loving hearts to type it, but Banjo Kazooie is a game that is best rented and demoed extensively first, rather than bought on an impulse.

Exudes a certain endearing charm that makes it quite a playable game.

Fabby low-pressure gaming for kids or any lovers of all things bright.

Everything that's wrong comes down to a lack of polish, and a poor choice in multiplayer game management.

The platforming and combat are both pretty straightforward; the game’s main challenge is its puzzles, of which there are plenty.

If you desperately want to know what being an unstoppable kick arse fighting machine is like then X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the Big Mac for which you have hungered. Sure it may not have the class and flavour of a $50 steak, but it tastes f..king awesome when you’re drunk.

A fun, cheeky, crash-tastic ride to the finish line.

RACE Pro may not have the content to hit the market like a wrecking ball but it has focused its resources on excelling on the road and adding variety.

It’s one of those out-of-nowhere games that really does get cooler and cooler the more you play it. It’s so much fun in fact, that if you told us to pick a fun activity for the afternoon and our only choices were between: chucking a Dark Sector disc into the PS3 for a play, or chucking a metal Frisbee at our annoying neighbour’s greenhouse – we’d almost certainly choose both.

It's neither a good depiction of the real thing, or fun.

A surprisingly charming game – more charming than initially expected. It features a reasonable cast of characters that represent both franchises and is choc-a-block with impressive moves and exhausting combos. It might not have the depth and content to win the respect of fans of other franchises, but unfussy brawlers will get a kick out of taking it for a rumble.

All the pieces are there, it’s just missing that magic spark that turns a good game into a great one.

Another problem is with the measly amount of game modes on offer.

Beyond that annoying [grip] inconvenience, On Tour is a surprisingly decent package - however it has to be said that the sound quality from the DS speakers is a bit weak (it gets better with headphones, though), and to complete Expert Mode you need to be Slash crossbred with Jesus.

The brilliant thing about these finishing animations is that they take advantage of the environment you’re in. These aren’t repetitive, pre-cooked animations. If you’re near a chair, Bourne might slam his enemy into it.

An above-average dungeon crawler.

Magical Melody is a decent game and if you have the time to invest in it your affections toward it will grow.

Another year, another fair-to-average open-world Spider-Man action game.

We really wanted to like Infinite Undiscovery, but it was too much of a case of been there, done that (or more the case of been there, done that, and done it better). It has some cool concepts, yet they never really felt fully hashed out.

All the important elements are there and it will provide hours of good, hardworking fun, but it’s hard not to lament the unrealised potential that could have been unleashed had those elements been fitted together into a more complete and coherent whole.

Another year, another fair-to-average open-world Spider-Man action game.

If you can lose yourself in Steel Panthers style strategy games on the PC, Panzer Tactics DS could be for you. If Civ makes your head spin, then give it a miss.

A passionless racing cocktail that’ll fail to start your engine.

Repetition is the biggest flaw in the game, but it doesn’t ruin the experience, by any means. As mentioned earlier the graphics are a lot crisper, the gunplay is a lot tighter, and the managerial side of the game isn’t without the odd moment of satisfaction. The Godfather ii is a decent enough sequel of a decent enough game, diehard fans of the movie should hit it up, to everyone else: this is an offer you can refuse, if you’d like to.

This game is versatile, and has tons of activities — it’s probably price-competitive with those huge jumbo books of crosswords you can buy down at the Newsagent. But it doesn’t have the same soul, and it denies you such simple pleasures as ignoring the rules completely and entering rude words in all the boxes.

If wading knee deep in the dead to get at a piece of armour that’s 5% better than what you’re currently wearing isn’t the kind of adventuring that excites you, then you’re in trouble, because Too Human is exactly this type of game. Kill, loot, compare, equip, repeat.

There are a lot of creative ideas, and the look, as a whole, is dead sexy, but a bit more spit and polish and a tad more life in the non-combat areas could have really helped put this on the map.

Harvest Moon’s open-ended goals and non-violent gameplay were always well ahead of their time, but the problem has always been one of repetitiveness.

It’s not for everyone, and it’s certainly not Game of the Year material, but if you do pick it up and manage to overlook its flaws, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Aside from a story mode and some amusing unlockable minigames the only discernable difference between Space Oddity and the Worms games of ten years ago are the Wiimote controls.

While it may not have the staying power of a New Super Mario Bros or creative juices flowing out of every orifice, it’s enough to put a big smile on most gamers’ faces.

We couldn’t really recommend purchasing Wheelman – not at full price anyway. For the sheer fact that it isn’t necessarily painful to play, you might want to chuck some cash in Wheelman’s general direction when it inevitably hits the bargain bins, but that, as they say, is your whack.

NFS of old was about hot cars, hot pursuits and miles and miles of open road, and Undercover make a semi-successful fist of recapturing some of this magic. Looks great, plays fine. There’s no getting around the fact, however, that Undercover is basically Most Wanted with a new lick of paint. Can somebody please green-light Hot Pursuit 3? Surely the open-world horse has been well-and-truly flogged?

This last mode is particularly inspired, allowing Net-connected gamers to head online, identify the biggest game of the week, and then go about rewriting/confirming history.

Best in multiplayer, it offers thrills, but lacks substance.

You get a lot of maths for your money in Maths Training. The randomised content across the dozens of different puzzle types should be enough to keep one busy (if not amused) for some time.

The tracklist is epic. It’d want to be, because it’s really the only thing the game has going for it.

Generic space marines fighting upon a generic future landscape will be tough to sell, terrain deformation or otherwise. The proof will be in the pudding, we guess – but we’ll be surprised if this moves the Earth.

Generic space marines fighting upon a generic future landscape will be tough to sell, terrain deformation or otherwise. The proof will be in the pudding, we guess – but we’ll be surprised if this moves the Earth.

Arkanoid was a sensation when first released in ’86, but its flaws are inescapable. Being a faithful adaptation of the original arcade experience, this hand-held version tempers nostalgia with frustration.

In the shadow of this missed opportunity, Impossible Mission is just a tease.

The more time you’ll spend with Shaun White, the more the lack of polish makes itself apparent.

A depressingly average Pokemon game that fails to rekindle the kleptomanic, ‘gotta-locate-and-subjugate-them-all’ antics that made the original titles so fun and addictive.

If you’re into arcade TC4, you’ll really dig this.

A game such as this is much like a big bag of mixed lollies. There’s yummy stuff like Freckles and Sherbies, but there will always be a big, yucky aniseed ball or three lurking in the bag to keep a nasty taste in your mouth.

Alone in the Dark clearly had the potential to be something nearer to a nine, or at the very least an eight, but it just didn’t turn out that way. It’s a curio though, and maybe worth picking up if it ever gets released at a more budget price.

After ruthlessly playing the game without mercy, we’d say that it’s a worthy addition to the franchise. However, we think that it’s a shame that you’re not given greater rewards for skillful stealth kills as opposed to stumbling into fights and mashing your way to victory.

Bar a few trivial issues, it’s a marvelously playable title.

While acceptable as a guilty pleasure or five-minute filler with a friend, we’re not quite sure what sector of the Star Wars fanbase Lightsaber Duels will appeal to. With none of the original characters or locations to help older fans overlook the game’s foibles, and a control system that might not suit Star Wars-loving younglings, it could end up missing the mark completely, which is a shame as with a little more attention this could have been a fan favourite.

Yes, it looks pretty, but without the competitive spirit and creativity of other party games, Party Animals gets old faster than a progeria sufferer. This one is sadly a bit of a party pooper.

The end result is a much paler, disappointing conversion that besmirches the good name of the series and sets the ‘Consoles can do Strategy games too’ campaign back a number of years.

Visuals are ugly and uninspired.

The real surprise was the final level against Underboss, where you chase him up an under construction building with crews of underlings coming out the woodwork, packing some nasty hand to hand weaponry, like wrenches, pipes, crowbars and baseball bats.

While die-hard Tolkienophiles will doubtless find something to go rabid over with Conquest, the average gamer may find themself slightly disappointed with this offering. It just feels too much like "Battlefront" with a new lick of paint, rather than a groundbreaking improvement of an aging formula. If you plan on going into Conquest with single player action on your mind, you may find the plot to be an afterthought, and the gameplay overly repetitive.

It’s not about mastering strings worth of combinations or sussing out whether your right hook does more damage than your left, it’s about goofy fun – plain and simple.

A physio-terrorist for your mind.

Indeed, Eat Lead is like Domino’s Pizza…satisfying in its initial moments, but after a while it sits in the pit of your stomach leaving you wondering what the hell ever possessed you to indulge in the first place.

A bit of a let down, really.

Loud and neon-soaked, it’s the quiet, subdued moments that truly capture the essence of WALL•E, a notion that is lost, for the most part, in this disappointing iteration.

Without the gore it’s got nothing more.

Innovation and frustration tango before your eyes.

Above all, there's the sense that every aspect of the game has been designed not to challenge, but to frustrate. Like the witch doctors who can summon rocks to fall from the sky and crush you, or the just-barely-visible bear traps scattered about.