The whole look and feel of the game suggests that most of the budget was splurged on the licence alone, leaving very little left in the kitty for production values or a solitary new idea. [PSM2]

Perhaps the most stinging criticism we could hurl at Ridge Racer DS is that it makes Need for Speed Underground 2 look half-decent - and that is just plain wrong. [GamesMaster]

Too dull to make much of a splash. All you really do is run through the levels again and again, without feeling any sense of achievement when you unlock something new or win a race. [Playstation Max]

Not a terrible game as such - it tries to be entertaining - but it's a repetitive and technically poor use of a license. [NGC]

The levels are barren, boring and repetitive, and the character animation is poor. [GamesMaster Magazine]

A run of the mill platformer that does nothing we haven't seen a thousand times before. It also makes little effort to take advantage of DS's unique interface.

Put simply in automotive terms, this latest NFS is (naturally) a Porsche where "GT2" is a McLaren F1 - more fun, better looking and ultimately every driver's fantasy.

Graphics are heavily influenced by "The Sims" but with fewer animations, while the repetitive gameplay makes playing the missions unlikely despite bosoms. The exposed pixels do not make up for a simplistic and tedious game - invest in the real thing instead. [GamesMaster]

A shoddily stitched together beat-'em-up which is appealing for minutes. Quite frankly we'd rather have our backyard occupied by the Groundforce team. [PSM2]

Inevitably, you have to compare this to "Final Fantasy VIII." While Septerra Core has a reasonable story behind it, it just doesn't match up in any other way. So, if you only want to buy one RPG then "FFVIII" has to be the number one choice. Sadly, Septerra Core is rather disappointing.

Slow, tiresome and, fundamentally, a bit broken. [PC Gamer UK]

We like guns, we like city envirnments, and we like laughable drugs and violence references. AND we like arresting people. But we don't like Narc. No. Sorry. [PSM2]

A game that will appeal to easily-impressed foetuses, but alienate the rest of us by being incredibly simple and simply unfulfilling. [PSM2]

Batman Begins feels more like work than fun. Look at Spider-Man 2 to see how superhero games should be done. [NGC]

Even for kids, Over the Hedge is absurdly frustrating with its busted camera and indoctrinating logo-storm.

TreyArch has excelled itself, not just failing to get [the camera] right, but setting mind-blowing new standards in incomprehensibility. [Edge]

To its credit, WarPath does contain some of the cheesiest weapon and vehicle names this side of an '80's Dolph Lundgren flick-we're guessing this is the only game where you'll arm yourself with the Tyrant, Judge, Violator or Wolverine before driving off in your Maverick, Hornet or Razorback.

With such a drastic difference in features and entertainment value between Stewie and the rest of his kin, one wonders why he didn't just get his own game. As it stands, you'll have to play through some pretty irritating nonsense just to get to the good stuff, and it's just not worth the effort.

Even for kids, Over the Hedge is absurdly frustrating with its busted camera and indoctrinating logo-storm.

The actors (not from the film cast) sound utterly bored throughout their lengthy speeches; the only thing that trumps the highly questionable French accents is a guy who actually says "woof woof" on behalf of a virtual dog.

The new isometric view makes even the simplest of tasks extremely annoying, judging jumps is painfully tricky, Rayman has strangely forgotten how to swim and combat is, frankly, a mess. [NGC Pocket]

If you're a fan with your heart set on a dragging video game (in whatever sense of the word), you'll probably find enough to keep yourself amused for a short time, even as you hope for something a whole of lot better in the future.

The Great Escape is saved by a few good set-pieces and the licence, but it's hard not to feel hard done by. Those willing to endure yet another stealth game could find their morale ebbing away by the end of this. [Edge]

Totally devoid of fun for any age. Non-existent level design and about three ideas repeated endlessly. Steer clear. [NGC]

If you love the idea of playing an interactive commercial for Ford Motors and own both an Xbox and a PS2, then go with the PS2 version. The graphics are about the same and the slightly longer load time on the PS2 will give you a much needed break from this monotonous racer.

It's virtually identical to the mono-screened GBA version and, given that the SP is a significantly smaller and cheaper machine, The Urbz' DS incarnation is all but redundant. [NGC Pocket]

You know the drill: games based on movies tend to bite.

If you have 127 friends who also hunger for 2D fighters trapped in a 3D world, perhaps you can all play Neowave together. You won't have to worry about the rest of us interfering.