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.

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

It’s good to look at, the humour in the script actually works, it’s fun to play for the most part and it will bring you back for more...but probably only if you’ve nothing much better to do.

Valve has done a sterling job of moving a flagship franchise over to a new engine. Whilst the gameplay guts come over correct and intact, (which may disappoint some), Counter-Strike: Source is an even more engrossing and captivating experience, capable of sapping hours of your time, and even the worst "1337 g33zers" abusing voice chat can't spoil the fun you'll have with it.

The graphics are beautiful and the interface easy to use. It’s humorous in a Benny Hill fashion and if your idea of a perfect afternoon is picking from twenty different flooring types then it’s definitely for you. All told, the perfect grown ups dolls house and yes, its got boobs.

Although the levels have been extremely well designed, and variety has been added, there's only so much variety that you can add to an arcade style air shooter and sometimes playing one mission feels very similar to the last, save for the difficulty and the added storyline.

I'll have to either return to watching paint dry or tuning in for Celebrity Big Brother…I think I'll opt for the paint, it's far more entertaining.

There are no elements that stand out as revolutionary, however it’s rare something goes wrong. It’s impossible not to enjoy this title but those looking for a new challenge should board another tank.

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

An addictive game, with superb gameplay, technically solid, and extremely accomplished. The icing on the cake is that every month, Nicely Crafted (the developers) release a new client. This adds new features - new ships, new play mechanics.

Could have been an excellent point and click adventure, instead it leaves a taste of unfinished development work in your mouth. Regardless, a mostly enjoyable romp and probably one of the best adventure games this year ' genre fans will love it.