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

Overall, it offers absolutely nothing new compared to the console version (save for a few extra issues making it slightly inferior), and it is highly unlikely it could serve as means to garner any new fans.

Everything on offer here – from picking locks to becoming a vampire via setting off Indiana Jones-style traps in a dungeon whilst nicking treasure – is an absolute joy brilliantly realised.

This is an awesome game, with a huge, huge scope; to its credit, it pulls everything off without a hitch.

Trimming the unnecessary features and focusing on a very specific style of gameplay, it appears to be aimed at a slightly more sophisticated audience than GTA - the oft mentioned "we know what we want" crowd.

Overall this game can’t really decide whether it’s strategy or arcade and consequently doesn’t really work as either, being too generic and limited as a fighting game and with not enough depth to be a really good turn-based strategy game.

Though it's not that hard to get entangled in an addiction to experience gain (and, at the level 10 "endgame", start participating in endless strings of loot runs), the quest supply is embarrassingly finite, the world is far from immersive, and as soon as the addiction is broken, Stormreach becomes instantly forgettable.

A very pretty title, one of style over substance. It doesn’t even try particularly hard to have substance; the objectives are there to provide some vague structure.

Others, and I include myself in this group, will love it for being new, unique, different, and just a wholly enjoyable experience that offers something original every time you come back to it.

My thumbs haven’t gotten this good a workout in a long time and I haven’t even mentioned the cutscenes because they’re just too creamily good to describe.

Cyanide (the developer) has won an environmental award for recycling but I’m not sure if this is a good thing. Given time, Sudden Death is a game you’ll grow to like but the initial learning curve and interface issues might throw a lot of people off before the game can demonstrate its unique charms.

This is one of those great but flawed games; if you’re up for the challenge then tackle it head on, you will be rewarded.

Couple the ropey gameplay to the lousy load times, endless splash screens, mediocre graphics, repetitive nature of the sometimes awful levels (parts of the Vegas-esque one look like you’re driving through a giant lower intestine) and game mechanics straight out of 1996, and I’m afraid we have a real turkey here.

Earth 2160 uses every trick in the strategy book to great effect. If you can think of a feature, it’s probably there. We can expect a sequel because of the way the last campaign ends, but I won’t spoil it for you.

But sadly, with the advent with more realism comes the responsibility of not indulging in the arcade-style fantasy that made games like this so memorable in the past.

You get the feeling that the programmers enjoyed making it, enjoy gaming themselves, and just “get” what makes a game good.

In an age of increasing style over substance and companies trying to extract cash from gamers left, right and centre for new "services", it’s truly heartening to see a game done absolutely right, and the setup around it also done absolutely right. Great stuff, Nintendo.

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.

An utter disgrace. It’s tedious, blatantly made on a zero budget with zero effort, and consequently is about as much fun as spending a day transcribing random pages from the phone book.

Trials of Obi-Wan doesn’t lay out any new framework for player cooperation, competition or any kind of interaction apart from grouping to kill a tougher opponent, and it fails at bringing real immersion in the Star Wars universe to a game where this feeling is already very scarce.

Sound rocks. Literally. Whereas City of Heroes had an inspirational wide reaching soundtrack, City of Villains sounds like a rock festival with a few heavy metal bands. You’ll like it, and if you don’t give it a while. Then you’ll like it.

The new interface may throw a few of the more institutionalised players off the scent, but it won’t be long before they settle down for another few years.

A fantastic achievement. This is full-on, full-size GTA running on a handheld. Something most of us would probably have thought impossible back when "GTA III" originally came out.

It makes a welcome change from all the overcooked WWII games that just won’t stop coming out of the factories, although disappointingly enough, I didn’t catch a single whiff of Napalm. Probably not a good idea in the city. Probably.

It’s not failing to reach dizzying heights of sophistication or refinement; it’s just going straight for the jugular and makes no excuses for doing that – so it can’t really be criticized for not being sophisticated or refined as a result.

All in all, Age of Empires 3 is a top-notch game. Not too hard on the specs either, it’ll let you away with 256mb of ram and a 1.4ghz processor (ugly but perfectly playable).

The true colossus here is the game itself – it just raises the bar for everything that follows to a stratospheric level.

Cross Rally Championship 2005 aims high and falls short, and whilst that's more admirable than simply creating a mediocre game for a quick buck, it's still not enough to garner our endorsement.

While the stealth mechanic is implemented fairly well, and enemy AI at least stands up to initial tests, there’s just far too little excitement throughout the entire course of play.

It won’t start a second coming. What it does is showcase what the DS is capable of for this genre, and does it very well indeed. It’s also a very fun, if short-lived, experience and a very satisfying one. Just don’t be disappointed when you finish it in less than six hours.

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.

This is one for the collection, deftly using it’s emphasis on character to make it stand out from the crowd.

A well-executed and polished game marred by the fact it is so, so generic and (with the exception of the game save feature) everything is lifted from somewhere else. It’s also tough.

The story behind fable has to be one of the best I've ever come across. On more than one occasion, the plot took me completely by surprise.

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.

A slightly different flavour to this vintage perhaps - less appealing to some, more appealing to others. But still, unquestionably, the greatest.

The speed at which everything shifts and the level of detail is absolutely stunning. It could easily stand alongside its PS2 and Xbox counterparts without looking like the cut-down ‘diet’ version you might expect for a handheld and full credit to Criterion for pulling it off without making sacrifices in gameplay or longevity.

With so many other exciting games on the horizon, this series as a whole requires a serious overhaul before it truly falls into a pit of mediocrity, something that this latest versions misses by a few inches.

A completely mediocre title, its only saving grace being the sheer complexity of its innards.

The humour is immature and unfunny to anyone over the age of 13 (which negates the game's 15+ age rating). The tennis is frustrating and flawed, and simply not up to the standards of the best of the genre.

This game is a bit like an infomercial. Initially you’ll flick over instinctively, but given a chance, it will grab you and before you know it, you’ll be the proud owner of a manual food processor and a lateral thigh trainer. I’m glad I gave it enough time to settle in.

With its limited playtime and a superfluously slapped-on storyline serving only to hinder the gameplay, Colosseum can only be a hit amongst subligaculum enthusiasts, likely occupying a special place alongside such gems as Conan or He-man: Masters of the Universe.

Darwinia’s action can get repetitive, though no less addictive, and its AI issues can drag it down, but on the whole this is a refreshing game created with a pure love of gaming. Its unique interface and gameplay design set is apart from anything out there. The game’s appeal will no doubt be greatest with retro fans but its reach stretches to every gamer.

So to sum up – it looks like a homebrew net Yaroze demo, sounds worse than a knackered monophonic mobile phone with the Crazy Frog ring tone on it, moves with all the fluidity and beauty of a giraffe trying to control a pedalo and is so shatteringly tedious and yawn-inducing you could mistakenly think you’ve contracted narcolepsy while playing it.

I can't really be too harsh on Pirates as it does do exactly what it sets out to do; it's a huge game, looks pretty enough with it's mix of cartoon animation and overhead map-views, and it doesn't sound too bad either to boot.

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.

The game is still plagued by most amateurish of design blunders, being less than adequate in every aspect save for its "depth" (and even that is put to shame by most of the stat-based Nippon Ichi titles released in the past few years).

The worst part of this game is getting around the hospital. Think track and groove. To get from triage to trauma 1 means a long walk, and a pretty standard route every time – you'd think there'd be a quick skip feature, but it's not there.

Yet, for all its inventive environments and distracting gameplay attributes, the borderline nudity in Outlaw Volleyball Remixed, combined with an overabundance of ill-fitting arcade traits sullies the enjoyment well beyond reprieve.

It delivers racing thrills and the right amount of mental challenge, all wrapped up in a package that's inventive and - yes - easy on the eye.

Ultimately, ROTS is not out-and-out dreadful but it is offensively average.

It's a bit of a shame that a game such as this has a flaw so crippling as a lack of tracks.

Metal Heart: it’s like that funny looking pastry next to the apple Danish that looks delicious but I’m sure as hell not eating it!

It manages to balance player vs. player and co-operative modes far better than its competition, simply by having two types of character.

A great all-round package. Replayable, original, and overall, great fun.

Kult may shake up a few areas but doesn’t change the formula, it’s like using a slightly deeper shade of purple and nobody notices. There’s a good storyline in here and if you’re up for some RPG action, Kult should be on your mind. Just don’t expect anything new.

The programmers seem to have assumed incredibly hard and geologically slow pacing equals realism, yet have completely ignored any attempt at realism in other areas like e.g. being able to completely heal a marine who's been shot mutiple times with the contents of a bathroom medical cabinet (clearly, the brands of elastoplast and aspirin they have in Beirut are a lot more potent).

Though be warned – after playing, you'll be sorely tempted to pop off down the local toyshop and invest in some of the ever-popular plastic brick kits for yourself! Now where did I put that curved end bit.

It's simplicity is it's beauty, and it's a testament to Namco's skill that they've managed to make basic arcade racing so fun and so damn addictive. It doesn't do anything out of the ordinary, the AI isn't great (indeed, in places it's seriously poor) and there is no real selling point - apart from the overriding fact that it's pure, unadulterated arcade fun. [JPN Import]

The graphics are stunning, the sound is incredible - this is definitely Metal Gear, just with cards. Whatever you do, don't ignore the importance of this game to the early life of the Playstation Portable. [JPN Import]

Fast and frantic gameplay, unparalleled graphics and sound - this is the all out assault on the senses that Wipeout always should have been. Forget Fusion on the PS2, this is Wipeout gaming at its very best, a glorious gaming romp that really demonstrates the true power of the PSP console.

It’s still far from perfect – poor graphics, camera problems, AI all take their toll – but they took a bold step and it largely paid off.

It's a really short game that, in the end, feels like a horribly drawn-out tutorial chapter of a bigger, better title.

Certainly playable, but the majority of gamers will be turned off by the complexity that sucks the fun out of a game that otherwise promised a riotous experience.

Could have been brilliant, the plot makes it merely great.

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.

It sets out simply to make you laugh, and give you a fun time, and it achieves that aim completely. Our prescription is to go out and buy it now - it's another essential title for the DS.

Despite these crippling flaws, Racing Gears Advance has that rare quality of being addictive.

Accessible to newcomers and seasoned gamers alike.

Don’t bother buying this game, it's nothing you haven't seen before.

Some people may have minor issues with the control and camera aspects, but once you get past the first hour or so they'll find yourself being sucked in a game which is so consistently excellent that it's suitable to call it a masterpiece. Hands down, the best game in the Resident Evil series.

By far the most complete RTS you’ll ever find. It makes "Civilization" look like a playground. Not for the light hearted mind.

If you like your puzzlers and/or have a soft spot for Japanese/English curios, then you'll probably quite enjoy this. But as a full-price PSP game it does leave a bit to be desired.

It's surprisingly tactical and entertaining, but keep in mind you can't design your own plays, create an awe inspiring franchise or even win the Superbowl.

There are a few bugs (of the game engine kind) and it’s far from perfect (it’s very short and slightly repetitive), but to experience something completely different that hasn’t been tried before or since is always worth the asking price.

The game is riddled with silly and clumsy flaws and there are numerous holes in the gameplay that make this a distinctly average game in a genre with so many far better alternatives.

Yes it has its flaws and the lack of any real evolution from the original Champ Man series might disappoint some, but get past one or two minor flaws and this is as complete an experience as any other game from any other genre out there. A superb start to an exciting new adventure for SI.

The whole thing screams ‘generic Ridge Racer game X’, with its borrowed tracks, borrowed handling and overall lack of depth.

Technically, the game is not far removed from its predecessor but this is no bad thing really. Graphics are excellent, and the animation good – once you develop some serious lightsabre skills a six way fight is really something to behold.

The gaming family will refer to this game as a slightly deranged aunt who need only be humoured. It¡'s quite entertaining, no doubt about that and a bargain for what you get out of the box but you'd be better off spending your time looking for travel insurance or something similar.

Here’s a one word review – crap.

For each part of the game there is trade off: the concept works well but to MMORPG outsiders some of the things seem, well, epically pedantic.

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.

Even today it's an absolutely essential gaming experience.

The closest thing to perfection you'll play this year. You'd be a fool to miss out.

And by God, when I find whoever told Vivendi about Fight Club and convinced them to make a game out of it, I’ll run their scrotum through a cheese grater.

Tries to roll driving and role-play into a neat little package, but through ham-fisted design and execution the game's faults continually blot out any true sense of immersion within the game's atmosphere.

Challenging, engrossing and rewarding, and full of lovely little touches (the creature that causes your suit to crash and require a ctrl-alt-del style 'reboot' with the joypad is a particular highlight) that show the designers have put their all into this and polished everything until it shines.

Bungie have succeeded in creating a world of characters that are impossible to care about. It turns from "Star Wars" into "Battlefield Earth" far too quickly, and even John Travolta would pass up on this one...The dominating storyline robs from what should have been a fantastic title, the atmosphere gets bogged down with drawn out cutscenes and then ultimately peters out. [Offline review only - includes multiplayer]

A game that tries many things in a small space.

Some intuitive additions to the gameplay save this title from being decidedly average, but on the whole it feels like a missed opportunity much like the Angle/Puder affair.

The problem is the blatantly obvious lack of effort that went into this game.

The second you start playing this game you realise that the latest Rockstar title is about a hundred times more complex than its predecessors. Not only is there a load of new weapons, cars and a huge new environment available, but the gaming experience itself has completely evolved.

It's a stunning looking, fast-paced and enjoyable beat 'em up, but it lacks much of the depth and balance of its peers.

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.

The poor loading times make the player wish he was stuck in a jungle, at least then he would have a machete to take out his frustrations with.

It’s got everything the first Tribes game had with none of the lag. You heard me, no lag.

The graphics and sound are phenomenal as always, but the gameplay is still lacking that killer touch. The gimmicky selling point actually works for once this time, the pace and flow of the game is much faster and there are a number of other funky additions that go a long way on improving the general gameplay.