There's no denying that Rule of Rose is extremely pretty, atmospheric and disturbing. Unfortunately, it fails on just about every other level. The gameplay is tedious, the scares are nonexistent and Jennifer is such a cringing, passive non-entity that you'll likely identify more with her malevolent (but strangely endearing) tormenters.

The innovation and surprise goes no further than the dwarves, trolls and magic. As much fun as those elements add to the shooter genre, they're simply not enough to compensate for the absence of everything else.

Ultimately, it’s a niche title that won’t bring any new fans to the cycling table - and doesn’t even try to.

The fact that Prizfighter doesn't break any new ground is forgivable, but botching the essential issue of hit detection is obviously a huge problem. Pugilistic devotees seeking the next fix will undoubtedly fight through the flaws, but frustration will likely be the knockout punch for the average gamer.

As unpredictable as it is rewarding, Pacific Drive can be brilliant, infuriating, and frustrating in equal measure. There's a great idea here but much of its potential is burned up by a tough mid-game learning curve, and unpredictably cruel dangers.

A decent little button masher. It also does a far better job in presenting a coherent story compared to its home console brethren - a small bone, sure, but to the delight of fans, and it gives noobs a reason to keep playing.

It’s pretty accessible, with simplistic interfaces and beautiful eye candy all around. But considering that those arcadey enhancements are what’s supposed to make this game unique, we can’t help but feel casual fans would be better off playing "MLB 2K7" on easy difficulty.

And while the game has nice graphics for a late PS2 game, it makes the stunningly gorgeous Bond women appear to be stunningly made out of melting clay.

The lack of online support severely hinders the chance you’ll be seeing a lot of multiplayer action – and even if there were online support, there’s nothing like sitting down in front of the TV with three friends and bashing each other’s brains out.

In short, it's your prototypical Armored Core experience, which remains as flawed and fascinating a series as you're ever going to find.

The lack of any multiplayer at the time of release is a huge oversight. We felt it would have been nice to play a few matches against a similarly skilled human opponent in order to learn the game and ready ourselves for the campaign. We hope such functionality will be added in the future, as it would greatly enhance the overall experience.

It only offers a few days worth of play on its own and isn't much fun at all to newcomers. The game is at its best when used as an accessory, albeit an expensive one, to Diamond/Pearl.

It’s just too bad that it looks so darned ugly. The controls are a breath of fresh air, though, so long as you give them a chance (which we have a feeling too many people won’t).

The basic mechanics of Pokemon remain largely untouched – it's still catching, battling, and training as you remember it – and while that may be enough for many devotees, Generation 9 is a tougher sell for those who need more of a reason to engage with the series, impacted as it is by technical issues, mechanical oversights, and a lack of vision. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should have been a bright and bold entry that sets the series up for future expansion, but an attempt to modernize while staying loyal to the past hasn't really succeeded in doing either one – and the headache doesn't help, to boot.

The core gameplay of Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is enjoyable, but disappointing side modes, online restrictions and gimmicky power-ups make this return go a little wide of the mark.

The basic mechanics of Pokemon remain largely untouched – it's still catching, battling, and training as you remember it – and while that may be enough for many devotees, Generation 9 is a tougher sell for those who need more of a reason to engage with the series, impacted as it is by technical issues, mechanical oversights, and a lack of vision. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should have been a bright and bold entry that sets the series up for future expansion, but an attempt to modernize while staying loyal to the past hasn't really succeeded in doing either one – and the headache doesn't help, to boot.

Contrast has a lot of heart, but its protagonist and environments lack some soul. It's not the best puzzle platformer you'll ever play, but it's far from the worst.

A series of semi-amusing, unconnected activities: sounds a lot like a sandbox, which, once you graduate middle school, loses its charm unless you can bring your gat.

This collection presents something of a quandary; there's no doubt this is a fantastic package and perfectly-priced, and a must-buy for video game historians, fighting game collectors, and fans of the franchise. But the years haven't been kind to Ryoko, Janne, and the other second-rate "stars."

Despite its many issues, MLB 2K12 packs a significant punch when it comes to the nuts-and-bolts of big league baseball. We're excited about taking a couple of teams through the season. Unfortunately, it's just too ordinary-looking and choppy-playing to appeal to a wider audience. For all its good points, a game of this stature should be more polished at this stage of the franchise's existence.

Labyrinth of Lost Souls, for better or for worse, just puts a new coat of paint over its old-fashioned trappings. Whether or not that's something you actually want to play is entirely dependent on your personal taste.

Digimon World DS excels in being a solid monster collection and training sim. However, the downside is playing through the actual game to collect these monsters. From here it's all Digi-downhill.

This is not a game that will score high with gamer girlfriends.

Although its puzzles are frustrating and lacking in variety, what's all the more frustrating is there are occasional bursts of brilliance here.

If you can overlook the control issues and often totally uneven difficulty (the second boss should under no circumstances be way easier than the first, in any game, ever), and turn a blind eye to the asinine plot and characters, Shank does have its moments.

When it comes to puzzle games on Xbox Live, Hexic HD feels fresher and Astropop proves more exciting.

Country’s 30-track lineup is listed below. It’s fairly strong, though we’d prefer more classic country from Waylon Jennings or Hank Williams and Patsy Cline or Loretta Lynn and less of the empty-headed modern artists like Kellie Pickler, Jessica Simpson, and Bucky Covington. However, it does avoid the series’ typical sin of trying to appeal to fans of too many genres.

Fans of the original should avoid this one - kids will enjoy it, but Party Animals doesn't have the heart or charm of its predecessor.