Limited multiplayer options, the paucity of single-player goals and the determinedly difficult nature of the game will discourage more casual gamers looking for a quick alternative sports fix.

Quidditch World Cup's strengths take a little while to unlock, but if you're a fan you should get your money's worth.

Quidditch World Cup's strengths take a little while to unlock, but if you're a fan you should get your money's worth.

As utterly addictive as any of the earlier titles, you'll gladly pay for the privilege of being left with red-raw thumbs and rigid, claw-like hands.

This game plods, frustrates and bores in equal measure - stick a stake in it.

Hidden & Dangerous 2's real strength lies in its multi-layered approach. With Lone Wolf and Carnage modes for action addicts, and team control for the more thoughtful player, its depth and emphasis on stealth means that it's yet another quirky classic.

There's more than enough variety in the weapons and scenarios to make sure you'll be absorbed for the full 10 or so hours it'll take you to complete.

The soothing, calming effect of casually boarding down a mountainside cannot be overstated - the stressed of this world should get this game on prescription.

It is a refreshing change to play a game that makes you sit up and take notice, makes you really think about every move, and punishes you if you make a false step.

While Commandos 3 is still a strong concept, and most definitely a super-looking game, it's only suitable for the most patient veterans of the series.

Naughty Dog's expansion of Jak and Daxter's world to include different forms of gameplay has been seamless, and should open up their adventures to those who find the very concept of platform games anathema.

My only gripe with Max Payne 2 would be value for money - it's a short game. Nevertheless it's slick, well made and you'll rarely have time to catch your breath from start to finish.

Full of intense action and with just enough of a tactical dimension to make it special enough to earn a place in most gamers' collections.

The most interesting feature in Vietiful Joe is the ability to control the speed of the action.

It has a lot going for it if you're really into golf, want to play new courses and fancy getting caught up in the whole 'being there' feeling that Game Face, the preponderance of pro shop kit, career sponsorship and online play.

A very polished and enjoyable product, and anyone with a passable interest in The Simpsons will appreciate the attention lavished on Hit & Run's details.

An impressively large and deep strategy-RPG... Not for the faint hearted, but a pocket masterpiece nonetheless.

While it might not be the true land of milk and strategic honey, Heaven & Hell is a reasonable enough entry in a fairly small pantheon.

Fans might feel a little short-changed at how, well, familiar most of the gameplay is to the Dreamcast version, but that doesn't take away too much from the fact that you can now play one of the best fighting games ever put out there without having to resort to digging out Sega's defunct games platform on eBay.

Improvements to sound and visuals are excellent... [but] genuine shocks don't come often enough.

A cross between "Motocross Madness" and the "SSX" series... if you’ve ever dreamed of doing 50 miles an hour down a shingle track or jumping an impossible 250-foot chasm on a push-bike, then this is for you.

Things have definitely moved along since launch... It's still quite a daunting place for a newbie though.

One of the most instantly likeable games you're apt to play this year, with bags of charm, but there's also real substance, as well as many, many bizarre extras to keep you coming back for more.

The original Advance Wars was a great game and it will enhance your enjoyment of this sequel when you eventually buy it. And you will. It's that addictive.

Fans of action titles are almost certainly also big fans of The Matrix, and will be disconcerted by such a pallid tie-in.

The Wind Waker more than lives up to the Zelda series' legendary heritage... an essential purchase for anyone with a GameCube and a pair of hands.

Because of its similarities with the older games you’ll often feel like you’re simply going through the motions, completing it as a labor of love rather than an exciting new challenge.

A 3D platforming game set over a multitude of levels, there are lots of nifty ideas at work here... enjoyably offbeat and unexpectedly impressive.

The main thrust of the gameplay is thoroughly mesmerizing, and there's a bundle of replay value here too. Despite glitches, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven is ace.

FPS fans with a hankering for the often imitated, never bettered feel of "GoldenEye" will find plenty here to luxuriate in, but if you want to shoot people without having to resort to caution you may find this a grind.

At times The Getaway is spectacularly cinematic in the best way imaginable, ie in game, rather than through cut-scenes... you can see why people are going to enjoy The Getaway.

Ultimately this isn't quite polished, inspired, or exciting enough to appear in the top echelon of Xbox titles. Mech-fans are unlikely to be disappointed, however.

Anyone thinking of "getting a life" would be well advised to do so in the real world rather than this one. There's nothing wrong with the execution - it's the concept that's so dispiriting.

Dramatic, hilarious and impenetrable by turn, it's a cold heart that won't be warmed by this one, but hardcore fight fans may find themselves irritated.

The need to command troops might not suit everyone, or the slower, more measured approach to combat. But if you want a unique war game for your console, Ghost Recon is your only choice.

Die hard Metroid fans will find little cause for complaint here, while gamers who are new to Samus' charms will surely be impressed.

Sony should bring out a shockproof casing for the PS2 after this release, 'cause every PS2 owner will want to boot their machine in loathing frustration having seen Metroid on the Cube.

The need to command troops might not suit everyone, or the slower, more measured approach to combat. But if you want a unique war game for your console, Ghost Recon is your only choice.

Funny, unpredictable and astoundingly lacking in moral virtue, Vice City is way, way out there; you'll cherish every outrageous moment.

Driving through such locations would be a joy in itself if only you felt some sense of response from the cars. As it is, the sensation of driving goes largely unchanged with terrain.

Destruction can be a beautiful thing; Burnout 2 does life endangering with more verve, elan and panache than you'll find anywhere else right now.

Not the brightest tool in the shed, but if it’s top multiplayer action you’re after it’s sharp as hell.

Playing a friend is ace while the computer is frighteningly tricky. A goddamn crackerjack humdinger of a game.

Captures the epic corniness of classic old-style comic books without ever scrimping on the gameplay.

While "GoldenEye" was the videogaming equivalent of "Citizen Kane," Agent is just another dumb Hollywood blockbuster.

Why don't they make games like this for home consoles anymore? More fun than a small, spiky mammal with blue skin and a number of dysfunctional woodland friends has any right to be.

An optimized version of previous games, despite clunky dialogue, this is a solid continuation of the series with better graphics, seamless melds between action and cut scenes, and a rockin' story.

From the look and feel of the game to its balanced learning curve and careful pacing, every aspect of Halo has been polished to perfection.

This game still compares favorably with more modern efforts such as Volition's "Red Faction."

Dialogue isn't great, but then, when has RPG dialogue ever been great? The story is good enough to keep you playing, there's lots to see and do - it's a good 'un. If you're an RPG fan then Golden Sun will rock your elf-obsessed world.

Cutting edge in every department and packing a considerable challenge, if you own a PlayStation 2 you simply have to own Devil May Cry.

In terms of sheer depth and pure gameplay, there really is nothing else on the GBA to touch Advance Wars.