If the thought of playing as a goofy rip-off of Ninja Gaiden star Ryu Hyabusa named Frank, who always refers to himself in the third person, doesn't have you running for the hills, then by all means pick up Shadow Hearts: From The New World. You definitely won't find yourself bored.

But while the game starts out easy, the challenge quickly ramps up; far from being dumbed-down, this is a game that requires concentration, precision and lots of practice.

The progression of nearly every story element is handled with almost mathematical precision. The results are gaming-by-numbers, but the whole is a hell of a lot of fun.

The power of the Xbox 360 is put to brilliant, vicious use in Burnout Revenge's second lap, and it's still one of the most thrilling racing games we've played. Get online and hurt someone.

State of War doesn't offer much variety in terms of gameplay, but it does offer up a fun hack-and-slash game that can be picked up and played for a few minutes or a few hours.

After all, when you can fly up to an opponent and gut-blast him with a lightning bolt of sheer psychic power ... that makes up for a lot.

There's a kind of freedom here that "Zoo Keeper" simply can't offer. No, Pokemon Teozei isn't as simple, and maybe, as a result, it's not quite as addictive. However, it certainly feels like a much more rounded game, putting it just behind "Polarium" and "Meteos" as the best puzzlers that you can get for your handheld.

And yet, one of the best things about Jewel Quest is its own obsessing with its silly backstory.

It's not often you come across an RTS with production values this high; every part seems to be polished till it shines.

But this is straightforward run-and-gun, and it's bloodless, one-player run-and-gun at that. It's worth playing for its grueling gunfights and beautiful, combustible environments; just don't expect anything earth-shattering.

If you're not too old to play pretend and mean it, Stormreach proves fun for the whole family. Just be aware that if you don't bring your whole family, you won't have much fun.

Not remotely as long as its title. Rather, it winds down after about 12 hours or so, with no multiplayer options. Nor is it the most original. But the story is above par for a game or a TV show, and the sum of its parts equals a good, old fashioned, popcorn gaming experience.

One more thing: the swearing. Normally we don't mind, but the script for Streetwise sounds like it was written by a grade-schooler who'd just discovered cursing. Obscene language is overused to the point where the effect isn't gritty at all. In fact, it's just laughable.

So what would the average person want with a tough-as-nails, sloppy conversion of a year-old adventure? Nothing. Even the hardcore Ys fans should skip the PSP game and go straight for the PS2 verison.

But Generation of Chaos is too chaotic and takes an entire generation to play. Most folks will opt for something faster and easier to love.

FIFA Street 2 just isn't much fun to play, plain and simple.

FIFA Street 2 is like real football because of the spherical bits of leather the players kick around - but that's where the similarities end.

The Stetchkov Syndicate takes that sense of style up a notch as you flit through a church rammed with recovering junkies in one level, then sweep into a rock club with a massive devil statue the next. Excellent.

The lousy racing also means that the reasonably attractive graphics go to waste, and that the only one of the middling engine sounds you’ll want to hear is your own, cooling down. At least the atrocious techno music is easily silenced.

Take all this finesse and arcade action online, and MLB '06 gets even better, with tournaments and leader boards to boot. Overall, it's one of the best baseball games ever, on any platform.

The DS version is by far the worst iteration of the bunch, which is sad considering none of them are that great.

This one's for kids or those looking for a cheery, laid-back adventure.

The ability to drop seamlessly from a sun-gilded skyscraper-sentinelled skyline to a pedestrian-eye's view of the bustling taxi-clogged street hundreds of feet below is wonderful (SimCity 4 suddenly seems very dry).

Sonic fans may fill their need for speed here, but everyone else, please walk on.

It takes all of 10 seconds to understand but countless hours to perfect. Is there a better recipe for a portable game?

Its toughness means that for the bad tempered out there, this game is a sure source of busted controllers. And its visual and story blandness might be a turnoff.

This complexity demands your total concentration, resulting in an all-consuming gaming experience. You're gonna lose hours to this game.

This complexity demands your total concentration, resulting in an all-consuming gaming experience. You're gonna lose hours to this game.