A failed experiment.

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.

It’s a mystery how two such very different games manage to share so many things in common. In away it’s almost a relief that Maximum Impact 2 is so poor, as it allows XI to bask in its own glory, an example of how the 2D fighting genre isn’t dead and hopefully an opportunity for younger gamers to appreciate the concept of gameplay being greater than eye-candy.

AvP is a classic example of a production-line movie cash-in.

After quarter of a century he's still fat, still round, and still bouncing on the ground. And still the greatest.

Perseus Mandate offers undeniable value for money. If you love first person shooters, you should really check it out.

Call of Duty 4 is stunning. It has some of the best set pieces I have ever seen and gunplay that’s only rivaled by Crysis. A wealth of multiplayer options and an amusing arcade mode make this an almost flawless package.

For a fun party game - even one aimed at kids, who let's face it are just witless dwarves who'd be impressed by a cardboard box if it had a picture of a monkey on a skateboard on it - Viva Piñata is horribly oversimplistic, repetitive and just plain lacking in oomph.

Paradise City does a lot of things well (the RPG systems are well put together, as are most of the RTS elements), but it never once dares to do something fresh. When it fouls up, it’s something blatant that shouldn’t have happened.

Painkiller Overdose is definitely for fans of the series. Frantic blasting action might not suit everyone but you can't really knock it until you've tried it.

Overall the differences between the two versions are slight and other than the inclusion of achievement points - usually rewarded for the successful completion of each level, as well as the completion of time trials and the collection of scattered artefacts – it’s literally the same game in a higher resolution with a few tagged on graphical effects.

This is a below average, clunky game that I'm knocking an extra few bonus points off of for the sheer stupidity and laziness of the near-bordering-on-racial-profiling plot.

The game’s style and presentation stays fresh throughout. Hard to fault, as we said. One of the finest games of 2007.

This game is so flawed, so monotonous and deathly, deathly dull that I'm struggling to think of any reason whatsoever to waste your time and money on it.

All in all then, it's almost there, but not quite: a good game, a good edition to the genre and a sound purchase - especially for driving game fans, but not an essential one quite yet.

There’s little about PGR4 that can be complained about and other than a few niggling qualms with regards to the aggressive driver AI, and of course the issues that surround the bikes, every element of the game comes together to create an absolutely astounding package.

The premise for basing a game on one of the stupidest and, at times, funny tv shows of the last few years might seem very sound, but this has missed it's target utterly and I think this is an enormous shame and an opportunity lost.

I expected no less than greatness from World in Conflict. Sierra doesn't do dud games and Massive Entertainment has really lived up to its name. Play this game, and know firsthand what games can be: no longer an emulation of brilliance, but brilliance to be emulated.

A few nifty weapon ideas alone do not a good game make, and Koei would have been well advised to send this ham-fisted, yawnsome bum-up of a racer back for a bit more turbo charging.

There is technically nothing wrong with Galactic Assault, it just lacks so much that it quickly becomes frustrating.

Though it boasts a whole host of different modes in both the single and multiplayer game, as well as a variety of extras, including the ability to watch the two previously released music videos as many times as is necessary, in general it all feels far too much like it’s been thrown together in an attempt to squeeze the final drop of milk from the long dead and buried Crazy Frog cash cow.

All in all then, if you love the premise, you'll love the game - assuming you have the stamina to have a fair whack at it. If you don't like what the game represents, you'll be wondering why you've bought what appears to be a stuttering interactive cartoon and probably be put off RPGs for life.

Overall, Tiger Woods 08 is a very enjoyable game that's brought (slightly) low by a few niggles and the fact that if you already own one of the previous T. Woods games, then you're not really going to find that much more for you here other than a few play refinements and tweaks.

Overall, MP3 is an out and out stunner. The game is epic in scale, drenched in quality and care, and some sequences - such as the initial freefall fight against Ridley - are inspired.

If ever there was an example of how a first person shooter should be made, then this is truly it.

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.

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

Solid from the ground up and very worthy of your attention; it takes the key elements of the genre and polishes them until they gleam, whilst adding a few new and well-realised ideas to the mix, all the while ensuring your attention is held with its excellent storywork.

At its worst, Scarface is a clumsy, angst ridden and self indulgent idea with a game tacked on as an afterthought. At it’s best, it is tired, clichéd and derivative.

SpaceForce: Rogue Universe has plenty of potential, but unless the long wait times between action sequences are addressed (along with the other problems I’ve mentioned above), the game is doomed to mediocrity, forever wandering among the stars.

Kazook is nothing but a host of buzzwords and heavily stereotyped characters mashed clumsily together with unoriginal games that quickly plummet into a repetitive tedium.

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."

UFO isn’t perfect, but it does breathe enough life into a genre that hasn’t seen enough action recently. You could do a lot worse.

The graphics are shocking, the sound does little to add to the experience, the storyline is mediocre and the controls are unfriendly.

In summary, I just can't recommend this because it has virtually no purpose and is horribly tedious - it says a lot that Sam Fox Strip Poker on the ZX Spectrum from 1986 actually had more of a point to playing it, even if that point was just to see an awful, monochrome drawing of a pair of oversized norks.

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.

I'd suggest you treat The Red Star like you would a dead dog full of lovely cream cakes: ignore the stench of old mank and dig right in to the deliciousness!

The RTS genre is already full to the brim with WWII clones and Frontline is nothing spectacularly different from anything we haven’t already seen.

A curio for fans with money to burn only, I think.

The only real problem with this expansion is finding the time to play it.

Praise is due to the developers who have come up with a novel idea; however it would appear that they forgot to add a sense of rhythm.

Aura 2 is terrible and I have no sympathy for it – Telltale Games have shown us with Sam & Max that you can still produce funny, clever, well designed and playable adventure games on a very low budget.

What needs to be taken into consideration with Chili Con Carnage is that despite its lack of substance, and tendency to milk the ridiculous for all it's worth, it's the kind of game that can be turned on for a quick burst of action and then thrown aside until the next time it takes your fancy, something which a lot of PSP games have failed to do, and something that encompasses the whole concept of handheld gaming.

An Average game, with a capital A. it has lots of things that are nice about it and some that are not great. In places it plays ok, in others not. It seems entirely right that the game has been set in ancient mythical China as the concept of Ying and Yang appears to be in full flow here.

If you've ever felt that Mario needed more guns, explosives, and the ability to drive up to a villain in a sports car, then get out and throw the sports car at the villain's head, or that GTA would be vastly improved if the lead character was an indestructible mute on a pogo stick, then this is the game for you. It's just lacking a certain meatiness that (and here's that name again) the GTA games have in spades, even if they don't have quite the same level of originality that's been shown here.

Given how fast and exciting jet fighters are by their very nature, it takes a real effort (or in this case, lack of one) to make a game about them as pedestrian as this. Modified Air Combat Heroes? Mediocre Aeroplane Crap Hour, more like.

Its main downfall is the fact that Ghost Rider boasts very little originality whatsoever.

Naturally, nothing can currently compete with the current industry leaders, but with a little time and a lot of bug spray, Vanguard will surely rise far enough through the ranks to challenge the titans for their crowns.

A title that by nature seems much better suited to the PC - on the Xbox it never really endears enough for players to persevere and get past the initial awkwardness, and the strategy control schemes are just a bit too long-winded and cack-handed to pull off well on a joypad.

It hasn’t moved from its niche within the RTS genre, but without compromising a single pixel of depth Paradox has managed to simplify and streamline the experience. Possibly Paradox’s finest title yet, certainly the most pleasing.

Most games are labours of love that many people have obviously spent a lot of time on. Patriots, however, feels like it was made in an afternoon by three bored computer science students. Please avoid this.

This game is unlike anything you'll have ever played before. From the sharp dialogue to the memorable graphics, this is a refreshing challenge for the weary adventure genre.

It’s the type of game that’s near impossible to put down once it’s been started and greatly encourages replay through the notoriety scoring system.

Predictably simple, brilliant, and delightful.

Despite the genuinely lovely mood created by the mid 1930s settings, haunting soundtrack and clever use of lighting, even the train full of believable – if not slightly stereotyped – personalities can’t make up for the lack of care gone into the unrewarding finish of Murder on the Orient Express.

Perseverance is the key, but a lot of people might walk away from it before they master the more demanding elements. This is a shame, as there's a cracking think-first-shoot-later game waiting to be discovered, but the (sometimes overly) cerebral nature of things coupled with that crushing toughness will doubtless be too much for some.

Is it better than "Wind Waker"? Yes – much better. Is it better than "Ocarina of Time"? That’s one that might need some retrospective analysis in a couple of years to figure out, but it's certainly going to be a close call.

Our advice is this - snap up this underrated little racer, because you won't regret it. It might not offer a billion options and a trillion tracks, but for the time it lasts you'll be playing with a ruddy great big grin on your face.

This is an absolutely diabolical game, a bloated, leaden, enjoyment-free shambles which Sonic Team should be ashamed to have their name on and you should under no circumstances part with any money for. The only way it could have been any worse is if a representative from Sega had put an actual dead hedgehog in every box.

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.

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.

Even if you don’t intend to switch from playing some other MMO, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of a seven day stint in Faydwer.

The Xbox 360 finally has the format-exclusive AAA title it's been hankering after since day one.

There aren't many other games that come close to the furious firefights and genuine sense of battle invoked by some of the set-pieces that crop up here, and short of sticking a colander on your head, digging a trench in your back garden and then getting a mate to shout in German while shooting at you, this is about as close as you'll get to the real thing.

With an inconsistent learning curve and an often frustrating level of difficulty, first time players may well find themselves in at the deep end.

RoboBlitz had the danger of being a tech demo but with a solid puzzle game behind it developer Naked Sky Entertainment has crafted a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Probably the closest thing you'll get on the 360 to "Halo 3" until, well, "Halo 3" itself. If only it wasn’t quite so FPS-by-numbers, it’d be a classic in it’s own right.

There are elements of this game that no one other than testers should have to sit through, and the fact that it has been released in this state is a great shame.

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.

Everything about Dark Messiah oozes quality and there are multitudes of ways around every obstacle.

The concept feels fresh and the idea of using formations of tiny robots to solve puzzles is in some ways inspiring. It’s such a shame that the game's potential was never fully realised and that the overall experience should be spoiled by silly camera problems.

Sadly, a lack of originality alongside somewhat flawed computer opponents, not to mention an almost non-existent soundtrack, leaves LA Duel still trying to catch up to the leaders.

What this game lacks in manners it makes up for in depth, what it makes up for in depth it almost gets taken away from in the AI’s incompetence. Almost. As is, Space Empires V is terrifying in its scope and utterly absorbing if you can get through the maze-like issues it comes with.

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

It’s a tried and tested formula with a slightly sinister twist, set to a familiar yet refreshingly different backdrop. Its characters boast a true individuality and the story is an involving – if not a touch slow to begin with – affair, that is let down only by an imbalance in gameplay and minor camera issues.

It has a fantastic score, an excellent cast and some genuinely good ideas, but its inability to find balance between narration and game, along with poor execution, means that this is one purple headed monster you won’t want to be playing with.

Nothing new for fans of the series and nothing that appeals to gamers, a game that had room for so much potential, sadly falls short in reality.

It’s a mystery how two such very different games manage to share so many things in common. In away it’s almost a relief that Maximum Impact 2 is so poor, as it allows XI to bask in its own glory, an example of how the 2D fighting genre isn’t dead and hopefully an opportunity for younger gamers to appreciate the concept of gameplay being greater than eye-candy.

Aside from a few minor flaws in gameplay mechanics and AI, which Ubisoft is rectifying, Faces of War is a fresh take on an old classic.

It's the game that's finally got me using the PSP again, as opposed to just my DS. Unlike so many PSP ports and rehashes, it's perfectly suited to the system and perfectly suited to handheld gaming.

We've got a complete duffer dressed up in some genuinely half-decent bling.

It's the best copy out there. High praise, but damning with it; like the kid from the rich neighbourhood with the gold chains and stupid trainers who thinks he can rap, it might look the part but it's just not the real deal.

All in all, I absolutely loved this game. It's not without its flaws - the levelling up is, initially, a pain as Frank simply starts out too weak to be any use, but the size of the mall and the amount to do means that you will actually want to replay things until you get it right.

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

We're not in movie licence disaster territory here by any means, but things could have been a lot better and definitely should have been a wee bit longer.

All the zingy features in the world can't disguise the simple clear room, move on level construction that forms the majority of the game, and I can't help but think that Prey was designed by a big committee who were never really quite sure what they wanted to do.

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.

Even though Wings over Europe has a lot of stiff competition from other games, I can’t seem to get the odd ‘leaning at 90 degrees’ sensation out of my head. There’s always a new trick or manoeuvre to attempt in a different mission in a different plane. Maybe someday I’ll figure out how to drop bombs.

I could go on and on about the other dreadful aspects of this game - the fact that there is virtually zero replay value because once you've solved the puzzles they never change, or the stupid setup that has speech subtitles appearing OVER parts of the screen you need to see to perform actions at some points - but I really can't be bothered.

Seriously, stop reading this dripping review and just go out and play this game.

Issues of graphics aside, Wild Earth: Africa’s strengths lie in the way it manages to convey information in a friendly and intelligent manner, while still holding onto a solid (if very unremarkable) gameplay system.

Of course if you’ve gotten all the bonuses, all the skills for all six character classes and a fancy looking set of fissure armour, then Factions is the stand-alone expansion for you! You get a whole new campaign to play, a lot of new skills to find and a cracking good story to play through, not to mention a case that retains its newness for months. Marvellous.

The gameplay is built on a system that will initially frustrate those used to more immediate rewards, but players willing to stick it out can easily become engrossed in the mechanics at work. It’s a lumbering, slow beast of a title that won’t ever invite you in and if you’re up for a real challenge, it will give you one. It is also, as said above, the finest title based on the American Civil War yet seen.

It's nice to see a revamp of a true classic that's been handled so well though.

You need this game. Trust me on this; it'll be one of the best adventure games you can get.

You need this game. Trust me on this; it’ll be one of the best adventure games you can get.

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.

Arguably the finest HOI game to date, as an expansion pack it’s probably best left to the hardcore fans and genre fanatics.