In the end, it's only the star billing of Alba (by proxy) that can wilfully will a player to continue. Even her character model is unconvincing, with the obligatory "Lara mode" (ie, face player to camera, stand rigid and inspect geekishly for blemishes) and de rigueur costume change throughout levels, doing little to assuage.

There is certainly a lot to keep anyone occupied here, even if the main game is a little un-balanced, simply firing up a game of monkey bowling whilst sitting on the train makes it a worthy purchase.

Beyond the use of sound effects and architecture as seen in the film this does rank as one of the poorest film licenses I have endured.

For those unexcited by the prospect of actually being Bond, some problems, the most predominant of which is the games failure to engage or innovate on any other level than being an above average jaunt through an enormously exciting fictional world, may be too much.

Simply the best adventure game currently available on the Gameboy Advance. It's tough, but rewarding, plays extremely well and is not a simple port like so many other of Nintendo's releases before it.

Whether you're negotiating platforms (made simple thanks to a camera that pans down) or involved in the final climatic battle with Metroid Prime, you always feel as if you're at one with the game. And surely that's what gaming's all about, isn't it?

An outstanding improvement on a stale series. There’s still room for improvement; a few more fatalities would have been nice, and more detailed arenas to fight in would take the game up a level.

The game camera despite offering several possible views is like a stubborn sheep – refusing to do as its told and turning slowly in confined spaces.

Sometime Wreckless is too chaotic for you to properly digest it. There can be too much onscreen action and it blends into one big mess.

A totally underwhelming experience.

The ‘zap’ system and the loss of item chests (the main difference in this episode) is a welcome addition indeed and makes Resident Evil 0 a definite purchase to any fan of the series.

It offers everything good about next-gen sports games: smooth, fluid game play; atmospheric sights and sounds; arcade to reality; options galore; a potentially unlimited lifespan.

Completing Shinobi is not an issue, but doing it with the style deserving of the series certainly is. Achieving those impressive A rankings will keep the dedicated occupied for the foreseeable future. Given the lack of alternative modes and the shortness of the main game, this fact will probably be lost on those who prioritise completion over mastery.

Lost however is some of the speed and flow of the previous games; a little too much in the way of exploration involved for a Sonic game (if you want to find all the bonus level entrances anyway).

It’s not in the same league as "Jak and Daxter," but is it still head and shoulders above everything else currently available on the Playstation 2.

Whilst Sons of Liberty and "Splinter Cell" offer huge, all encompassing adventures; there is no quick fix. With Substance the mission structure allows quick access and it soon becomes very addictive.

Sure, it may look and sound decent, but only the most hardened of masochists will ever see the later stages, let alone complete them.

It isn't a terrible game, it's just repetitive, flat, murky and rushed out for Christmas.

The sound of GTA Vice City is glorious.

Technically, the Xbox conversion of Shenmue 2 is a pot-pourri of highs and lows. Visually, it's two notches above its DC brother (AM2 have attached light sources to EVERYTHING - moreso at night, where neon bathes you in its "afterglow") but two notches below what the system is capable of.

The near-perfect control and competitive game dynamic makes this one of the most compulsive games I've played.

Sixty hours is barely scratching the sun beaten and twisted surface of this game. Sixty hours in PSO is nothing.

A great game, steep in challenge and offers very little but repetitive running and shooting, you will know if you are going to like it from the box, what you wont know is if you have anywhere with the required lighting to be able to play it.

An average game, which could have been improved with better mission structure, variety and additional modes.

Whilst extremely generic, it offers huge amounts of fun for the first few hours. Get past that however, and you soon realise that beneath the low brow gags and goofy gifts, there’s not a lot left to make it stand out from the crowd.

Its sheer difficulty will put off all but the most hard core of gamers (and even then it’s gonna take a lot to convince.)

Maybe like American Football and Baseball, Whacked is simply going to become another title that many English gamers will simply not get. I know this one didn’t.

If you love hoops, then this is a great simulation that will last until the next iteration, but Gamestyle feels that the real fun is to be had out on the blacktop and not in the comfort of your La-Z-Boy.