Provided you have some patience, and a computer with enough horsepower to run it, the game is addictive, rewarding and a lot of fun. It would be nice to see Creative Assembly support this title following release, particularly given how much “character” Empire has. A few bug fixes and overhauls could turn this into one for the ages.

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.

Drop dead gorgeous visuals and Guerrilla getting adventurous with the multiplayer makes this one of the must-play games on the PS3.

Goddamn if I don’t look back at the time I spent on it and grin. It’s significantly longer than you’d imagine too, with perhaps 15 hours game time if you try and challenge yourself a little bit and put it on Hard. So really, what more can you ask for – reasonable physics, good soundtrack, loads of gaming, multiplayer, replayability? Believe me, nobody is as surprised as I am by that sentence. But I tell you, this is worth a go.

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.

While it’s a little buggy in places, and even though Capcom have not acknowledged the existence of a third dimension, there’s nothing wrong with SF4 that cannot be quickly patched out, and even the most distractible of gamers will find it hard to put the controller down for long.

It might weigh in at a massive 1.78Gb of a download, but the sheer volume of new content is the reason why. The Lost and Damned has set a new benchmark for the quality of downloadable content and other developers take note. Two or three hours game time in an unrelated zone hardly comes close to matching this. Quite simply, anyone who enjoyed GTA IV should make downloading this their highest priority.

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.

It may be out of the question if you’ve got a PC and have MAME, where I’m sure all these games are available for free, but if you’ve got the cash and the memories, then this can provide a lot of what games used to be all about – fun.

House of the Dead: Overkill may be a bit short on content but it more than makes up for it by achieving exactly what it set out to do, supplying a gruesome blood splattered shoot’em up, with its tongue firmly in its rotted cheek. Now if only I could import some of the other Wii characters in to replace the mutants.

While it may only be a hack and slash, button mashing experience at its core, the art work, gore factor and voice acting means that for those who allow themselves to ignore the simplicity of its combat, and the usual problems like camera angles that games like this are burdened with, it's a refreshing and entertaining experience.

Grinding and flips have never been so much like the real thing, and despite being rather complex in the controls department, most of the time, it always comes off.

Lord of the Rings: Conquest follows in the same tradition of so many other games based on Tolkien’s world: full of promise but lacking in execution.

The Prince’s debut on the PS3 and 360 may be impressive, but changes in the formula mean that it’s not going to appeal to everyone.

From a gaming era that you would think was long forgotten comes a remake of one of the best RPG games ever to be released, now available on the DS, and a must play.

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.

A fun exercise that needs continual updating to keep making it work.

Where "The Club" and "Shadowrun" were online-only games that faded quickly because they were fun for a few minutes, Left 4 Dead has the potential to become a cult classic, like Counterstrike. It doesn’t matter that the levels are the same every time you play, because when you’ve mastered the various elements of the game, that’s what brings its own rewards.

Moving away from the track and back onto the roads may have returned Need for Speed to where it belongs, but things aren’t perfect yet.

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.

It may not compare to SSX Tricky, Amped 3 or 1080 in terms of sheer arcade enjoyment, but the Wii version is better than the 360 and the balance board is the reason why. It’s fun for a moderate amount of time and looks good. Worth a shot.

The undisputed champion of the MMO world has delivered the ultimate sucker punch to all its competitors; delivering a visually outstanding, totally engaging and massively entertaining new expansion.

It’s hard to emphasize what a refreshing thing it is to play a game that’s so completely ... different.

If you played the first Red Alert and the various add-ons for that, then you have a much better idea of this latest release than you might think you do. If you liked the first one, you’ll love this. Its modernisation hasn’t come at the cost of playability, and while it’s not the best game out this Xmas and it’s not the best RTS on the market, it’s still damn good fun.

However, the new approach to World War II adds a surprise at every turn and World at War delivers a good single-player experience, and even manages to hold its own against some of the toughest multiplayer competition out there.

Action fans everywhere are going to adore it, but I recommend everyone play it. It’s big, brash, loud and full of ball-shrinkingly deadly scenarios and for that, we can forgive the predictability of the rest of it.

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.

Unreal III engine. Check. Monsters. Check. Guns. Check. Then why does it feel like a soggy chocolate biscuit?

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.

The biggest ever multiplayer for a console game, coupled with a simply massive storyline, means that despite its faults, Resistance 2 is worth a look for anyone after a hardcore shooter on the PS3.

But really, those why find the missions a little repetitive are missing the point, because while Fallout 3 is certainly not perfect, the goods outweigh the bad to such a degree that the negatives really can be ignored. Whether you want to trade, rob trade caravans, become a melee combat specialist or perfect killing from 500 yards, the possibilities are endless.

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.

What is a simple fact is that this is a must purchase if you own a PS3. My local retailer has entirely removed its ‘Coming Soon’ section for the PS3 so there’s nothing to wait for. This is, by far, the best game on the system and certainly a serious contender for game of the year.

It really comes down to this: if you are going to buy a band kit, which do you buy, Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour? I say the latter. Better drums is the big thing if you’re getting the whole kit, because if you’re not, the Rock Band has more songs to play, if you have the money to download them. But if you are after drums, there’s only one answer: and this game is it.

A brilliantly realised world means Lionhead have come closer to delivering on its lofty promises than ever before, and the players are the ones who reap the reward.

Web of Shadows unfortunately, while sporting some inventive features, has nothing else to detach it from its earlier predecessors and the fast paced combat and the nimble webslinging are just not enough to carry the game.

A picturesque, open world environment and some simply brilliant fire physics make up for incompetent AI and a lot of repetitiveness in the missions.

A dominance of circuit based racers means Midnight Club: Los Angeles is quite a breath of fresh air in the run up to the Christmas season.

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.

Returning to Stilwater may not be the prettiest experience in life, but the sheer level of mayhem contained in the game makes it noticeable for different reasons.

It's always uncomfortably close to the real, and in the real world it's so much worse to be this horribly intimate with something so nasty. If I had to complain about something I'd say the game was a little too long for me, but everything has to take 15 bloody hours these days, and bloody hours they are.

The FIFA series has been stuck somewhere around Division Two for the last few years, but the 09 version is the best yet.

A simple premise, brilliantly executed, makes World of Goo one of the year's best puzzle games.

Aside from the terrain-altering powers, nothing about Fracture is new, it’s all been done somewhere else and done better. But does that make Fracture poor? Not really.

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.

But despite all its flaws, Hell’s Highway should be applauded for all the work in the story and characters. It’s brilliantly scripted and even provides elements of survival horror as the terrors close in on Baker’s mind. Worth a look, even though the series appears stuck in neutral.

Pure exploded into the limelight by stealing the Best Driving Game award at E3 this year, and only weeks later it’s on the shelf. And, you know what? It’s an awful lot of fun.

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.

Great gameplay combines with a strong control scheme, superb visuals, and light-hearted music to make de Blob not just a great puzzle-come-platform, but a great game.

Whether you’ve never played an MMORPG before or you are an avid fan, this game is an absolute must play. It took me a few weeks to come to this decision and a fair amount of game time. In that time I turned from being completely underwhelmed at the start, massively frustrated with game glitches in the middle to relishing logging back in for another session of all out war.

The thing is that when I look back on the time I spent playing the game, and it was a longer play time than I expected, I don’t remember all the bad stuff. I very much enjoyed the journey and the superbly done story and, without any critical failings in the game mechanics, then that’s a great thing to be able to say.

Still one of the prettiest games ever, Crysis: Warhead improves on its predecessor in every way. It's just a pity that there isn't more of it.

As a title, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky presents an interesting challenge for the reviewer. The game tries to be many things, succeeding at some while falling well short of the mark in other areas. Are glaring flaws to be overlooked in recognition of genuine ambition, even occasional moments of brilliance?

I don’t believe there will be much distinction between the franchises apart from the DLC tracks available. With both expanding as fast as we can report, and with names like The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix being added to the fray, I honestly reckon there’s enough music out there for both to be successful, and that if Harmonix can do something about their terrible staggered worldwide release schedule, they may still be in contention.

It is engrossing, and it is thorough. It has simple plug and play exhibition game mode for casual fans, and in depth stats, analysis, and career modes for the die hard. If you are a hockey fan or a sports game enthusiast, this is the game for you.

Lock’s Quest is a hugely entertaining twist on the traditional tower defence game that will keep you glued to your handheld for hours on end.

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.

In conclusion: If you want Spore, buy Spore. If you don’t mind wading through hours and hours of the most basic, linear, join-the-dots repetition for the sake of a stripped-back creature creator on your DS, then why not? Knock yourself out. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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

Square Enix’s 360 exclusive RPG is a colourful jaunt that should appeal to an audience beyond its Final Fantasy following.

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

The PS3 version fares no better than last year's abysmal 360 release.

It’s an ugly game, both visually and technically. But for all that I hate the stuff under the bonnet (or hood), it manages to drive and lets you blow things up, lots. There’s a market of people who will love that, and doing it co-op in drop-in drop-out multiplayer might just clinch the deal.

Tiger Woods 09 is like a visit to a strip club – you know what to expect, but it’s always worth a look.

Frustrating, boring and ordinary ... three words that should not be associated with Ferrari.

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.

It’s hard to recommend this to people who aren’t fans though, because the single player is completely underrepresented and I see no value in it for someone new. Online play will give it some legs with the fans but really, I think this is a case of fanboy love gone too far.

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.