Despite the irritations, the fighting is still immensely emotive. You get a great feeling when you pull off a complicated move, and your heart rate increases dramatically when trying to get your character out of a clinch or submission attempt. If you love everything UFC, there is a lot to like here, but unless some improvements are made in the next installment, this franchise might not be able to go the distance.

Lost Planet 2’s primitive control system, simplistic combat and numerous design flaws all combine to crush any enjoyment underfoot and rapidly turn it in to a pitiable, depressing title.

Sure, it could have been executed better, and yes there are better shooters/fighting games out there. But for something which came out of left field with little announcement, it’s got a good 10 hours of play in it, and I can think of a worse way to spend that amount of time. Uninspired, but respectable for being what it is, unashamedly.

Ultimately, the game just doesn't want to be liked. Like the emo kid at school, it dares to be different yet ultimately craves acceptance, meaning Nier struggles with everything it does, often showing its less than perfect innards to the player.

In the final analysis, the cons outweigh the pros. For every moment there is a successful piece of atmosphere development, a nice touch to make you feel involved, there are three things which don’t sit right.

While the Supreme Commander universe is interesting enough, this probably isn’t the game that fans of the first installments in the series were expecting. Really, Supreme Commander 2’s cardinal sin is that it offers less than the games it follows on from, and fans of the original titles are probably best served by continuing to play those.

Ultimately, the technical issues tainted the experience beyond what I’m prepared to take, which is a terrible shame considering the level of effort that has been put in to craft an engaging and thrilling storyline. Offering a multitude of endings is redundant if I don’t want to go back and play through the game again, and I had a strong desire to see this work. In a way, I still enjoyed my time with it and can definitely see myself returning to any similar games that come along, and with smoother controls and no technical issues, there is every chance that future titles could become masterpieces.

I begged /Aliens vs. Predator/ to be better but it wouldn’t happen. It had an opportunity to be an outstanding title but so many flaws with the characters and gameplay are present that even an ardent fan of both species. like I am, can’t ignore. The whole thing felt underpowered and half-hearted. Mediocre graphics, dreadful combat and an insane waste of assets and ideas leads me to believe that Rebellion must have thought that the species-popularity alone would carry the game. Devotees of both Aliens and Predators may want to check out the multiplayer but save yourself the letdown and don’t get too excited about anything else.

From an entirely creative perspective, I’d recommend this just to see the interpretation of Hell, because the locations are often brilliant. Beyond that, there’s not much else here to go on, or to provide any enjoyment after the seven hours of play it takes to get through it.

A solid FPS, with ideas behind it that should have made it epic, but in practice, many of the grand ideas fail to translate into viable experiences. The fact that I didn’t experience any lag in over 50 games, regardless of the number of players on varied connections, is no minor feat. It’s very nearly there, and with some tweaking could be the future franchise to overwhelm them all.

While Army of Two: The 40th Day is presented well, the reasonably impressive imagery is propped up on a bristling pillar of small problems, oversights, and clumsiness. The biggest problem though remains that as a co-op game - in a world which is paying more and more attention to that buddy mechanic - it’s often easier to get enjoyment out of the single player.

As with many games like this, despite all the complaining I seem to have done, I can still see this enjoying plenty of success. This is either from a simplistic approach appealing to a greater audience, or the legions of Madureira fans being able to ignore the tearing and movement issues. If you allow yourself to become immersed in the story then perhaps you will find more here than I did, but I can’t however, and that’s why Darksiders is more Too Human for me than God of War.

Lego Indiana Jones 2 is probably the weakest of the series. It’s not a bad game, but more that the formula is getting a little old and if another title is due then some evolution is required.

To consider buying ODST, particularly for full RRP, will feel more or less like value for money depending on whether you already own the multiplayer from Halo 3 and the various expansion packs. If you don’t then the 24 maps, including three new ones and plenty of game modes offers potentially months of gameplay, and value. If it’s just the campaign mode and Firefight multiplayer you’ll be buying for the cash, which I suspect will be a lot of people, then maybe not so much.

This game has its good points, and while enjoyable in places, unfortunately lacks the appeal and polish to make it a long-term favourite.

Lifting an inspiring plot from one of the most popular Marvel graphic novels, Ultimate Alliance 2 just about avoids the pitfall of droll, worn gameplay that can plague most super hero games.

A lack of polish and some awkward gameplay means that while many of the issues its predecessor suffered from have been removed, there's still just too much wrong with the game to make it stand out as being anything more than mediocre.

A solid cast added to a recognizable storyline in familiar surroundings will let you almost share and feel the ghost busting experience. Wonderfully created cut scenes and down time in the HQ adds intensity and authenticity to that experience. One for fans and newcomers alike, Ghostbusters is a game that won’t take an age to play, but never takes itself too seriously and as a result was a pleasurable experience. Different from the rest of the herd, it begs to be played and deserves to be enjoyed.

Prototype could have been amazing, and in some ways it is, but it just doesn’t come together in the way we’d hoped. It’s scattered, confusing, and finicky, and lacks a depth of detail to go with its ambitious reach. Yes it is fun for a while, but lacks the sort of replay value we’d hoped for, and that’s a shame.

If the massive game world and plethora of races and things to do were housed in something with proper physics and some reference to the real world, we would have loved it. Unfortunately, Codemasters have published a shambles of a game, so we’ll spend our time playing GRiD and waiting for Dirt 2.

Sacred 2 may do a lot, but it does it poorly.

For someone who has nothing planned for a weekend, this is a fun thrill-ride with cinematic action that delivers on many levels.

You know, it’s not the end of the world, but it seems aimed squarely at people who have either never driven a car or like the cut of Vin’s jib. I’m neither, so I found it a difficult thing to appreciate in any way, shape or form. It’s too easy, too simple, too contrived. People who demand very little from their time on a game might disagree.

If you were a fan, even if you haven’t been in a decade, this should provide enough smiling moments to make it worth a look and then a trade in. It’s worth the investment is you know the origins of the WWE franchise. On the other hand, if you’re a stalwart of the wrestling genre on consoles then there are other, more rewarding, games to invest your time and piledrivers on.

That’s not to say it’s a poor game, because if you’re one of the following: a massive Halo fan; someone who needs to learn how to play an RTS; or you’re under 10 years of age, then this would be an awesome game to play, I’m sure. And although it’s a solid release, stick it beside some of the other RTS titles out there, and it just doesn’t have the depth.

One of the weakest Clancy games to date, although not because it’s broken in any way, it’s just so pedestrian it never grabs the gamer like most of the other titles in this stable. And, I know, it’s not a flight sim. What it is though is a middle-of-the-road arcade game.

Relic’s last few titles have been a triumph, and there were high hopes for Dawn of War II. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t quite measure up to the previous iterations of the series or Company of Heroes. Relic are capable as ever at implementing some thoughtful and well-designed game mechanics, but the campaign design and multiplayer balance are both severely lacking.

Although this doesn’t lead from the front in the horror genre any longer, it’s still a competent shooter that always entertains but never taxes the player's intelligence.

Sonic Unleashed brings the SEGA icon to the 360 and although there should be masses looking to get a handle on it, it quickly becomes apparent that technology has left our little hedgehog behind.

I think there is still life left in the Tomb Raider franchise, but rather than working on the unimportant storyline, Eidos would do well to work on the controls and camera angles if this series is going to survive. In a day when everything is about co-operative and multiplayer gaming, you can't just rehash out the same old game over and over and hope the fanbase won't dwindle.

This game won’t take you hours to complete but you will come back for more. It’s a game that’s worthy of renting at least once, but if pounding high and mighty superheroes into the ground appeals to you, then this is one for your collection.

So, Endwar has a novelty feature that works really well and is fun to use. It’s just a shame that there are some small issues, because this really could be the next step in console warfare.

My real problem with Quantum, though, is its lack of coherency. It tries to do so much, but everything slides into the ‘meh’ basket, right beside so many prior Bond games.

MySims Kingdom is little more than old Sims in new clothing. That being said, it’s another strong release in the franchise and a sure-fire purchase for those suffering Simsism.

All promise, no pay-off: In Wii Music, a great gaming idea hits the skids with a bum control scheme, weak song selection, and mediocre graphics.

NBA Live 09 All-Play marks another step back for EA on the Wii. In short, this means unflaggingly offense-heavy gameplay, dull visuals, and uninspiring features.

If my Spanish isn’t off, Samba de Amigo means dance your ass off. And you will—to songs at first infectious, and then plague-like. But do yourself a favour: buy the additional music packs.

Think of coming home tired and wanting to watch a movie. You have The Usual Suspects and Die Hard in front of you. You know that the former will provide ample action and plot twists, but that it’s easier to have someone mindlessly shout “Yipee-Kai-Ay” and blow things up. Well Lego Batman is the equivalent in gaming.

Having to order Baja: Edge of Control from overseas might have been a sign that it wasn’t going to be a killer title. How true.

Spore is a mishmash of many existing game concepts held together by the innovative creature evolution process. It must be aimed at a younger and less cynical audience than I, or one than has a lot of free time to spend in the model designer.

HellBored staffer Finn wishes he spent those long, dark hours cooped up with the other Warhammer release of late. The good one.

While still pretty and all, Trouble in Paradise doesn't move forward enough to warrant a purchase if you've played the previous ones.

Combining frenetic sword and gun gameplay against the backdrop of the gods sounds good, but ultimately Too Human shows how far the developers tried, and failed, to reach.

The focus on a comic book landscape instead of a celluloid one doesn’t save Ron Perlman’s work from being murdered by the simplest of mistakes.

Despite being a fun action game in the vein of the GameCube’s much superior Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, The Incredible Hulk follows in the footsteps of the majority of movie-to-game adaptations, and lacks any substance.

Essentially the game has far too much fluff and not enough substance for anyone but the dedicated millions. Sales figures for the two titles are very high, which indicates Pokémon is still going strong, but if you are not a fan I would suggest trying another game.