It's crap. It’s like Crazy Taxi’s-not-quite-ready-to-hang-with-the-grown-ups little brother, complete with bad hair and pimples.

Compared with prominent puzzlers on other platforms, Balloon Pop might seem a bit outdated, slightly repetitive, and lacking in unique charm. But until the Wii's software library offers better options for the price, it's a decent choice for genre dabblers and those seeking a simple diversion.

Both the thrill of the hunt and the shock of its brutality are trivialised into non-existence by the threadbare graphics engine, anti-physics and tawdry interface.

While the golf is undeniably fun, you’re much better off snapping up a copy from Tiger’s PS2 heyday a couple of years back – unlike baseball or football, these games tend to age well.

Between the just-right-amount-of-stuff-to-do-without-overwhelming-you franchise mode and nifty mini- and party games, there’s plenty to do this fall. While you’re at it, do yourself a favor and dig NHL 2K5 out of your library, just to be reminded how good things used to be.

We’re thrilled that Harmonix didn’t try to fix things that weren’t broken and add in silly things just to add bullet points on the box – the original Rock Band was nearly perfect already.

If you love this music, go ahead and buy this game in spite of the score below; you’ll love it. Just don’t ask us to sing along unless you found that video we were talking about.

This is the Sanjaya of rhythm action games – it makes a novel first impression, but you realize almost immediately that it’s only worthwhile if you like laughing at ineptitude.

PowerUp Forever has a gorgeous look, and if it copies too heavily from other games, it combines the borrowed bits in a truly unique way. It’s more artistic than most games, but it’s also strictly a solo experience. There are a ton of other twin-stick shooters that are just a little deeper and better balanced, and many of them offer multiplayer support.

To be blunt, EA should’ve done one of three things with Tiger on the PS2 – restore some features that all other platforms enjoy, sell it for $10 as a “roster update” of sorts, or just put it out to pasture once and for all.

Since it’s plain to see that EA continues to Move Forward on the next-generation front at the expense of the last one, you should too.

Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues looks great, plays moderately well, and definitely has some lasting play value. But it’s still no match for lightsabers, chattering droids, and the Death Star.

We really, really wanted to like BCFX, as the idea of any kind of competition for EA’s NCAA monopoly is music to our ears. Sadly, BCFX simply isn’t anywhere near ready for the big time.

G-Force for the PSP takes away any joy that might come from being a super-spy guinea pig and leaves a lousy, repetitive grind.

And yes, while 2K10 doesn’t have as many options as The Inside or NBA Live, it’s still a worthwhile handheld hoops title that deserves a look.

The main appeal of the DS version of The Bigs 2 is that it could be a nice introduction to baseball for kids. It’s relatively easy to play, and offers up a decent bit of strategy to go along with pitching and hitting. Other than that, though, it’s an eminently forgettable slice of an otherwise stellar franchise.

Lastly, and perhaps most tragically, the PlayStation 2 comes with full voiceover work for all the characters. You might think this would be a good thing – but Zak repeats his exclamations over new Cryptids so often, you find yourself wanting to choke him, and some of the subtitles appear as placeholder text. Party foul.

Ultimately, the repetitive gameplay and limited scope show this old mech could use a tad more oil.

NeoGeo Heroes has good things going for it – a great premise, fantastic boss encounters, and a load of extras for a very reasonable price. Frequently dull levels suck out a lot of the charm, however, and the game's biggest selling point – SNK nostalgia – is completely underutilized. In the end, NeoGeo Heroes feels like a fun idea executed merely adequately instead of spectacularly.

Despite everything it has going against it, Deathsmiles 2X stands out as one of the better shooters available in the Western market. It's action-packed, easy to play, tough to master, and has a certain charm to it that makes you forgive its lackluster presentation.

Jaws: Ultimate Predator isn't a good game by any stretch (although it's still more interesting than the bloodier 3DS version). It's ugly, clumsy and buggy, and will hugely disappoint anyone who's just looking to play as a giant shark that messily eats people. For all its faults, however, it's still surprisingly competent.

The game's just not much fun; the controls are sluggish to the point of being broken, the visuals are bland, the 3D is glitchy and seeing blood in the water does little to make the bare-bones gameplay and story interesting.

While it gets a firm thumbs up from us, bear in mind that ThreadSpace: Hyperbol is the very epitome of try-before-you-buy.

The strength of TGC’s physics and its engaging Course Designer are shining diamonds in the rough, but the rest of game (or lack thereof) proves the dev should be less concerned with wasting money on a pointless reissue and focus its attentions on building a franchise that has the potential to give EA a run for its big boy money.

Warzone 2 makes a good first impression. While it shares some similarities with its predecessor, Infinity Ward has delivered a more tactical battle royale that smartly subverts expectations. [Review in Progress]

Witchfire enters early access with a bright future ahead of it. While there's certainly some rough edges, The Astronauts has assembled the skeleton of a capable fusion between FPS sensibilities and roguelite punishments, and I'm keen to see how it evolves over time from here. [Early Access review]

Fntastic has confirmed that development has ceased on The Day Before, just four days on from its launch into Early Access. Steam has since stopped allowing anybody to purchase the game, although our review of The Day Before remains – giving you some insight into the state the extraction shooter was in at release. [Review in Progress]

Palworld is a strange and obliviously cruel game that nonetheless shows effort and some real thought running through its core design. Consequently, the end result (so far) is an arguably-functional hybrid of several proven formulas that still can't help feeling like a tonal car crash. [Early Access Review]