A fun, if not exactly classic, future-racer, riddled with shortcuts and offering plenty to do. Pales in comparison to "F-Zero X," though.

Although it's not an astonishing leap forward, Freedom Force vs the Third Reich does boast better graphics, better AI and better multiplayer than its predecessor, making it a winner all round. [PC Gamer UK]

Forget the 'this isn't what Xbox was made for' cynics. Gear is fast and exciting and we love the 2D approach. Sadly though, there's no real originality to keep you coming back for more. [Xbox World]

From the opening scene to the final, cataclysmic end, KOTOR 2 sucks you in, chews you up, and spits you out the other end. Despite being a parallel to the original, this is a is a superb sequel if ever we saw one. [GamesMaster]

As good a Mario adventure as you could hope for, and a cracking RPG in its own right. [GamesMaster]

Namco runs its formula dry with an expansive campaign, but the action keeps the soul burning. [GamesMaster]

Despite the wonderful new physics system, it feels like this is a game out of step with what's happening in action games. It still suffers from odd AI: enemies are hyperaware of your presence, turning on a dime as you enter their sensitive ranges. [PC Gamer UK]

It's like a digital version of Royston Vasey: the same things happening week by week, a set of unnerving neighbours - but you really will never leave. [GamesMaster]

A romp to remember and a multiplayer taste to acquire and savour.

The closest anyone's got to nailing the mainstream music game concept. If it was just 20 quid, we'd tell everyone to get it. [PSM2]

An obscure Zelda game that's demanding on your pockets - but it's one of the finest multiplayer games ever. [NGC]

The only thing that really got on our nerves was the rubbish dialogue. There are times when it's pretty appalling and it does kind of spoil the magic a little - likewise, the plot can be pretty cliched and RPG veterans will find it tiresome in places. [NGC]

Simply the best golfing simulation available right now.

The most pulsating, nut-chafing, wind-in-the-hair experiences that can be prised from a game console. [GamesMaster]

It's a completely immersive game, and despite our few niggles with enemies that stay rooted to the spot and missions that don't vary hugely, we're still going back for more. [GamesMaster]

A fine home conversion; it's a beautiful, if shallow and short-lived, arcade racer.

Hugely immersive, frenetic, intelligent carnage but it's not a big single-player experience. Warhammer finally has a great videogame... For those who aren't interested in tin soldiers - you'd be nuts to miss the finest sci-fi RTS to hit the PC since "Total Annihilation." [PC Gamer UK]

It is the best adventure game for years, it has a sly, well-plotted purpose and it points the way to the 3D adventures of the future. Don't fear the monkeys: embrace them.

A technical marvel. It moves so fast, and so smoothly, that you'd be forgiven for forgetting that you're playing it on a handheld console.

It won't be for everyone - but the melee combat brings something fresh to the genre and the online games are absolutely cracking. [Xbox World]

It's: Huge, heavy on hitting and quite gorgeous. It's not: A standard MMOG, a life-hoover or run of the mill. [PC Gamer UK]

This is a game that rewards care and attention by making you part of a brutally efficient machine. Other games give you a crusade, but SWAT 4 gives you the job itself - only without the hazard pay or sudden bullets to the face. [PC Gamer UK]

A brash, brilliant arcade game with real substance. It'll blow you away with its unrelenting pace and aggression. [GamesMaster]

Amanda De Cadenet -- remember her? -- once said in an interview that she'd rather have five minutes of filth than half an hour of arduous bump 'n' grind and, at last, we understand what she meant.

Hopefully, upcoming sequels will further tweak an already solid concept into a great game.

Looks stunning. The polygon count has been upped from the coin-op version, and the characters are as lifelike as you could want.

It's sumptuously, head-swimmingly, plum-clutchingly lovely to look at. No, really, it's gorgeous. [Import]

Besides the abundance of car wrecking weapons, the most entertaining aspect of Rumble Racing is that the vehicles, including the trucks, can do mid-air tricks. Every time you perform a barrel roll or misty flip its impossible not to raise a cheeky smile.

Alternately frantic, considered and hilarious; utterly gorgeous throughout and outstandingly innovative. Absolutely essential.

[Games Radar Rating = Direct Hit] AvP2 isn't a revolutionary game, but a collection of previously-seen elements, all put together seamlessly and balanced so well that it emerges as a rather beautiful Frankenstein's Monster.

For all its faults [camera, linear progress], this is one of the most vividly imagined, sprawling and openly heart-warming games on PS2. [PSM2]

Obsession can easily set in with certain challenges. You might be able to see how you could earn the required amount of Kudos, but actually doing it is another matter. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

A glimpse at the future of RPGs. A stunningly realised vision of everything that's good about story-driven swords and sorcer. [GamesMaster]

Along with "Star Ocean," "Kingdom Hearts" and "Dark Chronicle," this is one of the few RPGs that dares to throw away the Final Fantasy blueprint, with great results. [PSM2]

Mindbogglingly huge and engaging, this is one of the great space games of all time... A classic. [PC Gamer UK]

Don't let the fact that it's an update put you off. Easy to pick up and impossible to put down, this is a classic RPG. [NGC]

If only the machine's best game actually showed off the possibilities of the touch screen rather than highlighting its lack of an analogue stick. [NGC Pocket]

With the series' clever design and sense of humor fully restored, The Two Thrones is a stellar return to form for Prince of Persia.

A gloriously realised futuristic Gauntlet-style playground where you can chat, trade, cooperate and do battle. Pure magic. [NGC]

As good a turn-based strategy game as you could hope to expect, with a cracking story. [GamesMaster]

Unfriendly, unwieldy and expensive - but put the time in and you'll be rewarded with the most extraordinary online RPG. [GamesMaster]

And it has marvellously crap fighting, which should please you louts out there. Punch him! Hit him in the face! We demand blood!

An immensely satisfying racing sim designed for hardcore racing fans.

Monstrously tough and definitely not for part-timers. Ikaruga is demanding but ultimately rewarding. [GamesMaster]

A tremendous achievement. Genuinely exciting and immersive but not without its faults. A hack-'n'-slash treat, if slightly repetitive. [PSM2]

Too short, too complicated and too clever - but an absolute classic. If only they'd taken the time to fix the pacing and give us some new bits. [GamesMaster]

With solidly rebuilt controls only a little marred by a still-fussy camera, LEGO Star Wars II is even better than last years prequel trilogy-based offering. And, as the first LEGO Star Wars was an amazingly entertaining homage to Lucas's genius, this sequel stands atop the original's shoulders as the pinnacle of LEGO Star Wars fun.

If you're expecting a new GTA from the people who made it, you'll be sorely disappointed but The Warriors nonetheless provides an entertaining and very playable tale bearing the usual high production values and intense violence we've always lovingly associated with Rockstar. [Xbox World 360]

But if you fancy a deep, serious game that represents a huge challenge - and aren't adverse to constantly studying a map and positioning your men before seeing any action - then this war hero is in a league of its own. [Xbox World]

You don't buy any MMORPG lightly, least of all this one. It imperiously demands massive chunks of your time, patience and dedication but the rewards are commensurately high. The fierce sense of satisfaction as your fame grows and coffers swell is hard to match. [PC Gamer UK]

A lovely piece of storytelling with top-notch visuals and sounds, Alice enthrals aesthetically but doesn't quite satisfy gameplay-wise.

Arcade racing taken to the extreme with bags of variety, modes and upgrades. If only you could explore more of the town... [GamesMaster]

Winter Assault is an excellent add-on for an excellent game. While not enough to demand an immediate return to Dawn of War for those sated of its charms, devoted Imperial followers will enlist for this particular crusade. [PC Gamer UK]

Somewhere between the solid first few hours and the game's thrilling conclusion, Silent Hill 3 transforms from a humdrum sequel into a knuckle-searing digital nightmare. [PSM2]

A sublime evolution of a serious sports simulation that doesn't make life easy to start with but rewards you with depth, blood and belts. [Playstation 2 Max]

Yes, it's a little tougher to learn the nuances than in years past, but the final verdict is in - and it's a golden goal.

This is a must-have title on PSP. World Tour shows how to combine sporting simulation with easy arcade style and accessibility. The Roger Federer of tennis games. [PSM2]

A pleasant surprise - but it's still disappointing the game doesn't contain options for the future, when Sony introduce a modem and take the PS2 online.

It has lived up to the hype and that's no mean feat when you consider that it's been billed as GTA War. Only the lack of total freedom and iffy handling hold it back. [PSM2]

The characters actually have... well... character. We know their history, their allegiances, their grudges, and even the colour of their panties in certain circumstances.

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

Whichever version you choose, though, the action is top-notch awesome. With the series' clever design and sense of humor fully restored, The Two Thrones is a stellar return to form forPrince of Persia .

The game play is absolutely superb, with well-balanced armies and some simply brilliant new units including a new building system more akin to the WarCraft series that allows for a more efficient unit production system.

Put simply, if you have Live this is a highly recommended purchase, if you don't then it isn't.

The last great racer on Xbox. Unless the mere sight of a car makes you physically sick, we'd call this a must-buy title. [Xbox World 360]

Sega GT seems to frustrate more than entertain after some time, like GT2 did before it for gamers that played the original.

What MC3 lacks in grace and polish it more than makes up for with its raw power and sheen of cool.

DMC3 is truly hardcore and seriously challenging but partly at the expense of being playable and fun. [GamesMaster]

An enjoyably brainless, highly destructive romp. It doesn't offer anything new but it does do everything well. [PSM2]

There are so many modes, multi-player games and features that could easily have you seeing less and less daylight as time goes on.

Still the daddy in the action-strategy stakes but getting a little long in the tooth. Won't win new converts but it gets the job done. [GamesMaster]

Oops-where-did-the-weekend-go addictive. Buy it, and resign yourself to some five-hours gaps in your memory you may have difficulty explaining to the police at a later date. [PC Format]

If you're looking for a simulation, this ain't it. But then, that's hardly the point.

Some of the most imaginative levels ever. [GamesMaster Magazine, #109]

A sound and stylish - if slightly predictable - shooter. [PC Gamer UK]

With solidly rebuilt controls only a little marred by a still-fussy camera, LEGO Star Wars II is even better than last years prequel trilogy-based offering. And, as the first LEGO Star Wars was an amazingly entertaining homage to Lucas's genius, this sequel stands atop the original's shoulders as the pinnacle of LEGO Star Wars fun.

Midway has delivered psychic splendour with great effect. Like a master hypnotist, Psi-Ops commands your attention and won't let go. [PSM2]

Battlefield Vietnam loses out for just one reason, and that reason is that it never feels like a genuine sequel. The quantum leap isn't quantum; evolution has not created a new phenotype. It's simply not different enough or inventive enough. [PC Gamer UK]

Play it loud, on a big-assed TV, until you've mastered every character, your girlfriend's left you and the bank has repossessed the goldfish.

Fans will love it, newcomers will be entertained, but those yearning for something mind-blowing or wholly original will be disappointed. [Xbox World]

Even with sub-epic myths to draw upon, Factor 5 have put together a well-conceived and thoroughly enjoyable game.

A gorgeous, character-packed curio that combines strategy and arcade action with great aplomb. An essential purchase for nostalgics. [PC Gamer UK]

It's excellent, and if you're a wrestling die-hard, you'll want to get it. But if you're not, we can't honestly say that this is different enough to last year's outing - which itself was hardly radically different to the previous year's - to be a must-have. [PSM2]

Everything or Nothing is dripping with Bondiness. It's accessible and youngster-friendly. Unfortunately it's a little bit more like the popcorn than the movie. [PSM2]