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

The feeling of progression and development is a great draw as well.

It’s brilliant, inspired and will easily secure their supremacy as the leader in the MMOPRG market.

The consistent humour of the game as well as the hours of gameplay that can be casually enjoyed cooperatively with friends makes Sacred 2 stand above the usual clone variety of fantasy RPG.

Digital Illusions has made revolutionary inroads on perspective and the relationship it shares with movement and combat, but simply couldn’t build the levels to allow it to unfold in a consistently engaging way. It deserves to be seen, played and experienced by any discerning gamer with an interest in the progression of the industry, but is unlikely to resonate with the majority of consumers.

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.

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.

Outside of the new “Be A Legend” mode, there’s very little reason here for existing PES owners to upgrade. "PES5" on PS2 is still the pinnacle of the series.

Call of Duty: World at War has had a lot of time spent on it, it takes full advantage of (and in some places improves upon) one of the best FPS engines there is, and its unflinching approach to the mature subject matter gives the immersion-factor a kick up the guts. Does all of this make Codwaw worthy of a purchase? Hell yes.

There’s a staggering array of moves to be done here, many of which you’ll apparently discover quite by accident while waggling sticks with a dim optimism.

This may seem like a dumbing-down, but if memory serves the ninjas in Naruto’s world never had to use seals to perform those feats in the first place. Authenticity wins the day.

Gears 2 is a lesson in masterful pacing; whether it’s lulling you into a false sense of security, dropping you into an inescapable situation, or blowing your hair back with a ‘speeder bike’ vehicle section. It’s a ripping good yarn that is continually one-upping itself by belting you upside the head with yet another over the top action sequence that eclipses the last awesome thing you just did.

Calling EndWar shallow would be unfair — streamlined would be a far better descriptor. Unit detail and animation is intricate, and stacks of research went into concocting the sleek weapon systems of 2020AD. Each skirmish is brutally acted out before your eyes, but these animations are the icing, not the cake. For you are not a soldier — you are a general. Once you get into the mindset of a commanding officer, EndWar takes on a life of its own.

The overall experience left us with a bad taste in our mouths and an almighty “WTF?” resonating from our lips. Sigh.

This is a niche product. It has an anime look, and a novel-like pace. Yet the biggest difference from your run-of-the-mill WWII shooter is that you have to think very carefully about what you are doing. The combat system is straightforward, yet merciless. You will make mistakes, and you will be forced to learn from them. But if you're into this sort of thing, you will get your rocks off — and that's what matters.

It succeeds because it doesn’t just try to throw more humans into the same old environments and gameplay. It offers a smart three class system that encourages savvy team-work, an experience meter that builds to enable special attacks and uses levels designed specifically for the mode to maximise the resulting gameplay. It also dynamically shifts the action to take into account the number and skill of players in each game, making for near endless replayability. It’s a hit, pure and simple.

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

If you can get past the shortcomings of the single-player experience and buy into the hammy humour, you’ll enjoy this game. But the cover says it all really; a sexy Russian commando in hotpants, flanked by a Big Daddy-rejected concept design on one side and an armoured bear on the other. If you’re going into this game expecting to take it seriously, you’re missing the point.

It looks amazing, its immersion factor is second to none, and the whole experience is like a good book; addictive and impossible to put down. Packed to the gills with the incredibly deep Fallout mythos, you can play through the twenty odd hours of main quest but come back to experience the 50+ hours of side quests dotted throughout this freaky, radiated reality.

The game makes many improvements over the original – it’s just hard to now recommend this title over the many superior racers that arrived in the wake of the first MotorStorm.

LittleBigPlanet is like a magic trick, and in that respect it feels less like a videogame than an incredible concept executed perfectly. LittleBigPlanet is like LEGO (the blocks, not the game), it’s like Monopoly, it’s timeless... it’s lightning in a bottle – and if Sony play their cards right it could well save the PS3, and propel the console into the stratosphere.

This is officially a must-have product.

The combat handles well, it’s visually stunning, the voice acting and musical score are brilliant, and the epic storyline doesn’t end before it begins (like the first game did). But the most appealing thing about it is that it delivers everything that Molyneux has promised, plus it is oozing with wit and charm - something sorely lacking from many games nowadays. At the end of the day, Fable II is a triumph and a must buy.

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

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

The combat feels haphazard, reckless. The voice acting is flat and emotionless. There is a shallower sense of progression, and far fewer opportunities to make meaningful choices. Granted, it is unfair to compare an action game and an RPG too closely. Yet with "Fallout 3" still fresh in our minds, so many of the design decisions in Far Cry 2 seemed off-balance.

The game is also a visual feast with striking environments, meticulous vehicle models, and adrenaline enhancing post-production effects. While its true the series hasn’t made a massive evolutionary leap forward in terms of gameplay, it still offers up plenty of unforgettable racing moments where you’ll get P.I.T. maneuvered by an opponent on the last corner but manage to desperately slipstream turbo your way back to win by the span of a diamond encrusted hood ornament. In other words; it’s got fun factor out the chrome-plated wazoo.

If Nintendo had either ponied up for some proper songs people would want to listen to or, preferably, found some way to allow you to make up your own tunes entirely, this could’ve been something even more special.