It's not a great fighting game, but its wide array of characters, scenarios, and unlockable junk could be just the thing for less critical fans.

A gorgeous, big, weighty, important event-game that makes good on most of its grandiose promises. Easily in the top two first-person shooters for PS2 alongside "TimeSplitters 2." [PSM2]

Half the games aren't really up to much these days but they still provide the quick-fix gaming that the GBA is designed for. [NGC]

Whichever version you play, Cars is a likable little racing adventure. The gameplay is nothing outstanding, but it's fun enough while it lasts, and overall it looks pretty slick.

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.

It's good stuff, even if tactics tend to be beyond all but the most talented of players at the kind of speed the game reaches. And because it's so fast, the touch screen in pointless. [NGC Pocket]

The prayer-answering adventure game, this is a jaunt the term 'cracking' was invented for. [Xbox World]

Carefully crafted, big and sprawling and, more to the point, fun and exciting, GTA2 retains the best qualities of its predecessors, and its new gang warfare element improves upon and expands upon the original idea, giving the gameplay a little more depth.

Once you get around the surface misgivings you'll find a punchy, one-time thrill ride of a game. With multiplayer added it's indispensable. [Xbox World]

Nobody makes lightgun shooters quite like Sega. But while this would have you happily pumping in the pound coins at the arcade, it doesn't have the longevity to make it an essential home purchase.

A sequel that delivers more, but not quite enough.

Technically speaking, Lost in Blue is a very annoying, and often clumsy, but the emotions it often invokes - the feelings of hardship, reward and companionship - are, at times, second to none, making it very much worth the laborious effort. [NGC Pocket]

An unholy level of difficulty squelches the fun, and bullets will frequently find your grunts unless they're behind the most fortress-like of cover.

Redundant or not, it's also worth pointing out that the whole game only takes ten hours - tops - to finish, and honestly, that's just long enough before the tedium begins to set in.

This Sega classic just needs to change its routine. [XGamer]

What is really impressive about Sudden Strike is that it creates a more realistic battlefield than other RTS games without bogging everything down in statistics.

Cut away all the unnecessary flab and there's a decent game in here somewhere, but in terms of gameplay, Deep Fighter is more than 20,000 leagues below par than 20,000 Leagues Below the Sea.

While Parallel Lines is a decent offering, it feels very much like a watered-down Grand Theft Auto, with a more linear storyline and fewer random fun things to do outside of missions.

As a short game, there's little to moan about. It's basically all silly arm positions, freakish leg moves and improbable jumps. In a good way. And as Valve is publishing it, it can even be delivered to your PC painlessly. [PC Gamer UK]

The sparse menus aren't up to Nintendo's usual standard and the game is lacking in an abundance of minigames, but with a storming collection of songs covered and fun and challenging gameplay, Donkey Konga 2 is perhaps the best party game ever. [NGC Pocket]

A great entry point for newcomers to the series and 3D is welcome, but definitely not a game you should feel too bad about missing out on. [Xbox World]

The bottom line is that NBA Live 07 is a pretty darned good hoops sim - once you adjust the wonky default sliders. Without it, the shooting doesn't give an inch, no matter how well you time your release.

Kids will probably have a blast with this, but anyone else will find it brain cell-destroyingly tedious. But we'd like more games with Zebras please. Zebras are ace. [PSM2]

Top presentation is let down by technical problems and poor map design. They ported the graphics but struggled to fit the gameplay in. [Xbox World]

Listen: Insane works. It works because it's multiplayer, it works because it's simple, and it works because it's fun. You'd do well to remember that, but you won't, because you're so desperate to replay the cliched gaming you've already experienced on your thousand-pound calculator. Stupid. All the best...

It's a hit. But only by a pixellated margin.

As technically astounding as it is inept, Path of Neo is one of the most stylish and empowering games on PS2. Not a game to respect, but one to guiltily enjoy. [PSM2]

Chances are that NFL Head Coach won't cure your football jones unless heavy-duty statistical simulators are up your alley.