As a confectionery item, Sid Meiers Pirates lasts about as long as a packet of Cadbury buttons or an Easter egg in the hands of a 10 year old. Like too much chocolate, you might get sick of it after a while, but you’ll come back to it sooner or later.

What this game lacks is substance. The missions, the plot and so on are as easily thrown together as they are to complete. The quick bursts of fun to be had here are indeed intense, and are partially flanked by excellent graphics, but there’s no longevity in a paper-thin premise. Arcade gaming yes, just not in the maddeningly addictive sense.

The good is the über detailed physics accurate star systems, the bad is the interface and the ugly isn't visible because this is a good-looking game hampered by really small text.

If this had come out 3 years back it would have been a top-scoring revelation, but that’s its main problem – it just feels like an older, less refined, game. There are some sound ideas in here, but simply not enough polish to really rate it.

Yet for all its minor flaws, Infernal fills a gap that has been filled on consoles by games like "Resident Evil" and "Gears of War."

I think the real problem here is not that anything is bad per se, but that it really has all been seen before.

There is something captivating about The Guild 2 that makes you put up with the bugs, the bad animations and the memory leaks.

It has a fine mixture of humorous moments, special effects and seemingly random solutions that are sure to make it a cult classic. All you need to get through it is a few old episodes of MacGyver, a spare mouse and a Nancy Drew mystery novel.

Has a great shelf life offering plenty of single player modes as well as an excellent multiplayer, so much like a round of golf this is one game that is likely to last for hours at a time.

The ability to completely control the terrain may not appeal to everyone, but you have to admit it’s a great idea. Together with the nanomorphing, Perimeter has enough innovation to turn heads and sell copies.

The additional bells and whistles of FlatOut 2 suggest enough difference to legitimise its existence, but ultimately there is nothing substantially new here.

A welcome surprise, a combination of strategy and combat in a genre that is typified by hack and slash.

You’ll need a very forgiving attitude to begin playing Sword of the New World, because it still needs quite a bit of work.

I like this game. It’s solid RTS and the graphics are fresher than ever. Aside from the odd typo, misnamed texture (did the testers get to the dwarf caves?) and sprite collision, it’s all top quality stuff.

It isn’t 2001 anymore and what once seemed fresh is now starting to whiff a bit; the play mechanics are beginning to creak with age and consequently you may ultimately find yourself more irritated than terrified.

If you stick with it, though, and you don't mind your games on the slow but strategic side, you should find a fun and inventive title hiding under all the faults.

If you loved H&D 2 but are wondering if there’s any point buying this – the co-op feature makes this well worth the purchase and will see you take up your addiction once again.

Short, cute, enjoyable games created with simplicity in mind and offset by a few bugs and an ultimately empty feeling. As it is you will find much to like here, just don’t expect it to last.

The real selling point of the latest LOW release is that it is obvious it was developed by wrestling fans for wrestling fans, Acclaim has even gone so far as to get Kevin Kelly to write commentaries for the official website.

The graphics are superb and has audio to match but is let down by dodgy path finding and to a lesser extent the humorous voice acting. As it stands it is a competent if somewhat flawed RTS in a very competitive genre.

For 99% of the game, each and every puzzle feels absolutely wonderfully worked, giving you the right amount of pleasure, for just the right amount of thought and work required. But this concentration on the puzzle aspect has only served to the detriment of the storyline, which is alarmingly simplistic and lacking on that depth that the likes of Still Life and Fahrenheit have in abundance.

Gothic 3 is a game that punches above its weight. To a certain degree it holds out well against competing RPG games but with so many bugs and lingering issues, it would be wise to hold off for a while until the dust settles.

Like its predecessor, X2 is still lacking in cohesion. Its scope has vastly improved and this is a very immersive title, but it doesn’t invite you in. You have to work for its love and get past its many ugly points – just how can you willingly subject a player to those cut scenes?

A victim of its own ambition, and one that can probably be finished during a rental – we can only hope the inevitable sequel provides more substance.

With nineteen missions on offer and an Xbox Live feature that there is enough here to keep you going until Bungie's latest effort comes onto the marketplace.

Solid. It’s neither here nor there, it’s not trying to do anything radical over the original Kohan and it doesn’t mess up any of the advances it does make. An overall well-realised RTS.

A welcome break from the many killing spree FPS titles available, it will make you wonder why Valve bothered with a crowbar when they could have used an umbrella.

A lovely idea. There's a lot of fun to be had, but the game itself seems poorly executed, and the package provides little in the way of incentives to keep you playing.