Utterly essential.

The most epic, cinematic real-time 3D battles ever seen.

We laughed, we gaped, we cried, screamed, and on a few occasions, came dangerously close to wetting ourselves.

Playing Resident Evil 4 is like reading an utterly compelling horror novel. This is the finest GameCube game for ages, and survival horror's most glorious moment so far.

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

Not only a masterpiece, it's the finest game currently available for the PS2. Buy it now, but don't make any plans for a couple months at least.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Proves that a good game concept can be revived in style... a true, compulsive classic.

Proves that a good game concept can be revived in style... a true, compulsive classic.

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.

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.

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

If you’re into war games, but not usually an FPS player, you should definitely give Call of Duty a shot - you’ll be gobsmacked. If you are into FPSs and you liked Allied Assault, you’ll have exactly the same reaction.

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.

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.

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.

There are so many tweaks and nuances that make an already great game damn near perfect - and each of them is worth a mention.

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

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.

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.

Far Cry is tough, surprising and constantly engaging – creating an action game that is full of memorable moments.

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

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.

Utterly addictive stuff... this is a Nintendo product that can be embraced by those who don't worship at the shrine of Mario.