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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It might not be a slam dunk, but NBA 2K5 is as sweet as the swish of any three pointer.

Though there’s supremely little that the developers have brought to the genre in Ankh, merely having the guts to present to us something in a genre that’s seen as ‘boring’ by the vast majority, means that we have to heap praise upon Ankh’s talented developers. But the way that everything has been put together outweighs the lack of originality in the gameplay and pushes Ankh towards classic status.