The source material is wasted, with the end result being nothing more than a shoddy runabout broken up by, for the most part, mundane mini-games.

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.

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.

The problem people will have with Alpha Protocol is that it takes a lot of effort to get to see any of the good stuff. By halfway through, when you're calling in help mid-mission and can move around the map like a shadow, there really is some fun to be experienced. Clunky implementation aside, Alpha Protocol offers a glimpse of what a game based on the world of espionage could be like, and it could be good, with some hard work.

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.

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.

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

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.

A half decent storyline and inspired source material do little to conceal the miserable effort Weapons of Fate turns out to be. This is not primetime playing or even pastime stuff, its B-side gaming best left on its own to die an unimportant death. Fans of the movie or the cult comic series by Mark Millar may want to try it, but approach with caution.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

To break up the monotony of smashing hundreds and thousands of the same enemies to bits, interrupted only by the chance to restart levels because of something out of your control, you get to fight some mega mechs. These don’t necessarily require any skill, only speed, because if he latches onto one of your team you have to finish him quick as no doubt it’ll be game over shortly, and your fingers really can’t take 15 minutes of X bashing to get back here to fight him again.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. It’s an insult to anyone who plays games for more than an hour or two a year. Grin should be tarred and feathered in public for this, for failing in so many basic areas, and making some of the most feared machines in the world as impotent as cross-eyed rabbits. Avoid at all costs, and because it lacks any form of incentive to replay, I will, most definitely not, be back.

It looks good – the game world and the models fighting in it, despite some lacklustre opening cutscenes – but the means to get anything done is too painful to recommend. This has been, without a doubt, one of the times I found it hard to face going back again for another go. Which is a shame, because how this game design went through Creative Assembly’s processes and came out the other end mystifies me, and on that basis, this is almost impossible to recommend.

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.

It really is just another slice of the Iron Man pie chart, another means for a massive corporation to squeeze more money out of the general public. To Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen, that appears to be all that matters.

If this had been a modern take on the Bitmap Brothers' Speedball then it could have had some retro merit, but as a football game it's rarely anything more than stupid.

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