It's the multiplayer mode that ultimately makes this well worth your pennies.

As a multi-player game, though, it has the potential to be unique; a user-definable game more like traditional role-playing than anything any platform has ever seen.

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

Deduct 60 points if you live in an igloo but if not, Boktai 2 is better than the original. [GamesMaster]

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

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

For a Microsoft-published game Crimson Skies is refreshingly politically incorrect, with blatantly sexist mid-battle quips from the dashing protagonist.

Brilliant, brilliant and brilliant. Everything the last game was plus everything you ever wanted. [PSM2]

This is not quite a classic RTS, but a brave attempt by Westwood to consolidate their strategy finesse - and it's in 3D, to boot.

Frighteningly entertaining and remarkable in multiplayer. [JPN Import; NGC]

[Games Radar Rating = Hit] Although it isn't as revolutionary as GoldenEye once was, the deft changes of pace mean it's undoubtedly the most Bond-like game ever. It might not leave you shaken, but it's certainly stirring.

A confident, playable, arcade shooter that almost does justice to a fantastic licence. Too short and fiddly to be a classic. [GamesMaster]

A curious and addictive title, occasionally it can seem too difficult to amass the points necessary to defeat the bosses in the game, but the fact that you will always be ready to give it another go is testament to its quality as a launch title.

For all its undoubted good looks, proper names and neat tricks, the best footy game on PS2 is actually the humble PSone's ISS Pro Evolution.

Although it can get repetitive and lacks variety, this is incredibly deep and a welcome return for Final Fantasy to a Ninty console. [GamesMaster]

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

When you turn to the on-ride camera mode, and the car starts down the big slides...well, I genuinely feel a tug of induced artificial vertigo. A construction game that gets you in the guts. That's rare. This is a golden ticket. Get in line. [PC Gamer UK, Dec 2004, p.111]

Once you've got used to the way things work, thanks to the comprehensive training mode, you'll find the combat is far more satisfying than anything other more commercial RPGs have to offer.

Looks a bit rubbish at first, but scratch the surface and you'll find one of the strongest and most rewarding Xbox games yet. [GamesMaster]

It can easily become a minor obsession - the kind of game that you can constantly dip back into to have a quick fiddle before you leave it for a while.

Being part of a battle on such massive scale has never been as convincingly portrayed before.

An improvement over the original, then. But with still only two areas to choose from and no multi-player mode (an obvious way to improve on the first game that should have been included), it does have a problem with its lifespan.

Impressive? Definitely. It's very heavy on the Japanese text though, so only hardcore import fans should bother with it right now. By the time it sees a proper UK release in March though, expect to be blown away. [JPN Import]

The main problem we have with it is that, despite having a variety of levels and level-styles, the basic format of each world can start to feel a touch repetitive by the time you reach the third or fourth world. [NGC]

Armored Core 2 may not be to everyone's tastes, but if you can get your head round it, the seamless integration of strategy and action provides a deep and enthralling experience.

Simply the best golfing simulation available right now.

Bigger and better than it's esteemed forebear, but not terribly different.

Excellent, albeit lacking in revolutionary intent -- but c'mon, how many games really differ in that respect?