But if it's so splendid, what's wrong with it? The main problem is that V:TBM is completely ridden with bugs. From minor things (graphic glitches) to mid-range stuff (regular frame-rate problems) to absolutely shocking ones (bugs that stops your progress, crash-bugs), it's infested. [GamesMaster]

Its cartoon visuals, stealth elements and engrossing atmosphere make for a surprisingly different approach to a genre that generally consists of simplistic button bashers. [PSM2]

More ambitious than a junior MP, but buggier than a swarm of locusts. So long, gringo! [GamesMaster]

This no-nonsense beat-'em-up based adventure will be fairly meaningless to non-believers but it's a tasty treat for Buffy fans. [PSM2]

Bigger and, in many ways, better than previous GPs, but the lack of real depth may leave enthusiasts reaching for the (Riding) spirits. [PSM2]

And once you become Van Wilder, life can becomes easier as you can influence people to help you with homework, leaving you more time to get on with life/earning/relationships.

But you want brutal, in-your-face intensity from on-line gaming and that's exactly what Twisted Metal is all about.

Technique will always get you further than random button mashing. [GamesMaster]

Fantastic short-term shooting jollies with superb atmosphere, but the size of the thing makes it difficult to recommend. [GamesMaster]

We've happily sat for ages playing around on Arcade mode and vamping our ship up to obscene speeds but, when the chips are down in the League and the autopilot flies you straight into a series of mines, it's all you can do not to chew off your own face.

Beneath the flash, the sampled voices, orchestral score, magnificent landscapes and monstrous animation lies a mess of inexplicable design decisions, bizarre mechanics, Fisher Price strategy and a strange disregard for Tolkien's story... It doesn't love the source material as much as you or I. And that's the biggest frustration of all. [PC Gamer UK]

A Lord of the Rings clone that's a bit like an ice sculpture: solid and pretty, but doesn't last long. [GamesMaster]

A decent slash-'em-up but it'll disappoint Onimusha diehards thanks to a lack of the puzzles, plot and shopping for presents that made Onimusha 2 so brilliant. [JPN Import; PSM2]

It's an improvement on the original but still far from offering you the time of your life. [GamesMaster]

The encouraging thing about IG's niggles is that they're patchable. In a few months players should be positioning troops with confidence and dispensing orders on a far more regular basis. Without these improvements, however, IG will remain annoying and silly. [PC Gamer UK]

Wear your morals round your ankles and keep your mind in the gutter, otherwise this crude comedy is shooting blank. [GamesMaster]

For 20 quid it's something close to retro heaven. Go on, play it without prejudice. [Xbox World 360]

A decently solid shooter that's good for a few hours fun. Shame they couldn't include the original as a bonus, though. [GamesMaster]

A tiny bit simple and way too similar to the PS2 version, but still good US footie fun. [PSM2]

An entertaining day, and a day in which you'll learn the full story of The Hobbit. But still, just a day. It needed to be much longer, and much far more difficult. [Advance]

Not really The Sims, more like an RPG with chores. Entertaining nevertheless. [GamesMaster]

Compared to the all-powerful "SmackDown!" it gets pummelled into the canvas in terms of variety of moves and subtlety. (Relatively speaking, or course. Neither are exactly delicate games). [GamesMaster]

Wear your morals round your ankles and keep your mind in the gutter, otherwise this crude comedy is shooting blank. [GamesMaster]

A space war that's heavy on cliché, with a side order of weird aliens. Earth 2160 is an accomplished but dull RTS sequel. [PC Gamer UK]

A perfectly competent game, but it falls notably short of the original brilliance. [PSM2]

It's not terrible, by any means. It's just that, considering the degree of expectation surrounding it and the power of Xbox itself (Halo, anyone?), it should - and could - have offered so much more. [GamesMaster]

Wear your morals round your ankles and keep your mind in the gutter, otherwise this crude comedy is shooting blank. [GamesMaster]

Slightly improved but lacks the rugged spark of the original. Not a bad game but inoffensively reasonable to the point of disappering completely. [PSM2]