A distillation and purification of an already dangerously potent liquor. Only its closeness to its parent prevents greater recommendation.

You'll actually want to play by yourself to unlock a slew of easter eggs. [XGamer Magazine]

And because much of the content streams directly from the servers, it is also endlessly flexible, completely modular and ripe for future developments. It's going to be one of the most important games of this year and years to come. [PC Gamer UK]

The most important action game yet made for the PC. Well worth the long wait.

Superior to the Xbox version in every way... Massively enjoyable yet enormously painful, Splinter Cell is a serious game whose brilliant realism should shake up a few complacent gamers. [PS2 MAX]

It can run a little slow and it's not without its niggles, but Football Manager 2006 is still the best for football and definitely this season's best footie sim. [PC Gamer UK]

Our one big reservation is that if you strip away the tacked-on extras, even the most dedicated fan will find it hard to tell the difference between Tiger Woods 2004 and "Tiger Woods 2003." [NGC]

While SA2 offers a wealth of gameplay styles, the freshness and depth which made Sonic Adventure so remarkable has hardly been improved upon.

Riddick is a brutally nasty game. From the opening neck-crack of the tutorial to the blood-soaked minigun shootout of the finale, if it's bordering on the pornographically violent, chances are it's included somewhere here. Rarely have we seen violence so shamelessly glamourised. [XboxGamer]

A truly relentless wrestling game that will smack your head into several metal posts before grabbing your feet, twirling you around and launching you several furlongs over empty space.

It's as thrilling a drive as it's has ever been and just unlocking the decent motors will take you days of play - then you'll never tire of trying to shave seconds from your lap times. GT4 occupies the same place in our hearts today as "GT3" did in 2001. [PSM2]

It might look old-fashioned, but Advance Wars 2 is incredibly satisfying, pleasingly intelligent and never less than tremendous fun, even when it gets horribly hard. [GamesMaster]

Galvanized by the well-implemented trust management system, Splinter Cell: Double Agent proves to be another great game in this venerable series. By delving further into the character of Sam Fisher, Ubisoft manages to keep the series vital, much to our delight.

Flawed, frustrating and contrived, but as an experience it's one of the most emotionally engaging games in existence.

Almost impossible to fault. Its bizarre split personality of serious golf-sim vs crazy-in-the-face 'attitood' is the only half-slug in a perfect sporting sandwich. [PSM2]

It's tricky. Plunge in with the right attitude though and this will keep you happy for months.

More action-packed than the original was.

Realistic missions and tactics plus a superb squad system make this a must-take tour of duty.

Gung-ho and trigger happy, Frontline is horrifically good war-mongering fun. [GamesMaster Magazine]

It's safe to say that UFC is bloody hard, in all senses of the word.

A return to form for one of PlayStation's elder statesmen - glorious visuals and tight fighting make this essential. It'll be Tekken over your life in no time. [PSM]

I swear, for the first five hours FEAR was on its way to a "Half-Life" sized score. The favourable comparisons were many and various: the thoughtful and dangerously accurate guards, the beautifully designed levels... but FEAR never upped the ante. It stayed almost exactly the same from start to finish. [PC Gamer UK]

One of the most brilliantly twisted and charming adventures of recent years, featuring gameplay that's on the verge of going stale.

Tribes 2 could have been the ultimate on-line game that stood for years, but its slightly uninspired weaponry, occasionally bland level design and a control method that needs a whole world of tweaking, leave it open to much (if only slight) criticism.

With solo modes consisting of time trials, endurance tests or battles against virtual players, and wickedly competitive multiplayer games, Meteos is the most compellingly perfect puzzler we've played in years. [NGC Pocket]

The repetitive training mode and fiddly defence let it down a little but, if being the main protagonist in a civilised man's most uncivilised sport rocks your world, look no further: this is a supreme sequel. [Xbox World]

A challenging single-player, stupidly addictive multiplayer and a whopping great lifespan. [NGC]

It's still the best original platformer on GBA, mind. Stitch that Mario! Waaaaaaa! [GamesMaster Magazine]