While it’s frequently breathtaking in its ingenuity elsewhere – from impressively reductionist point-and-click design to intelligent, inventive puzzling – ultimately, it’s the melancholy atmosphere that lingers when it’s all over.

Unbound from the lumbering storytelling, when you and a friend are tackling levels at your leisure, hurling crowds of mechmen skywards, it’s exactly the sort of brainless destruction the game should be.

A game that's going to stoke the hearts of anyone who ever fell in love with the original films – which is likely anyone who's ever picked up a game pad.

A true blockbuster of a game, Quantum of Solace is loud, dumb but sadly all-too-forgettable. The Bond licence goes a good way to hiding the game’s lack of ideas and for the four hours the single-player campaign lasts there’s no denying it’s a solid blast, but ultimately there’s better ways to spend your money this autumn.

For everything it gets right – the gritty storyline, adrenalin-fuelled firefights and epic set-pieces – it falls flat on its face in other areas, like the stupid AI, disappointing co-op and occasionally by-the-numbers level design. Visually, it’s equally as unbalanced.

A game that's going to stoke the hearts of anyone who ever fell in love with the original films – which is likely anyone who's ever picked up a game pad.

Though the game enthralls in short bursts it’s hard to see anyone sticking with it for more than a couple of plays before moving on to more substantial fare – and as such we wouldn’t recommend anyone paying out for the full-fat asking price.

Though the game enthralls in short bursts it’s hard to see anyone sticking with it for more than a couple of plays before moving on to more substantial fare – and as such we wouldn’t recommend anyone paying out for the full-fat asking price.

More than any other ‘Wii’-branded Nintendo offering, Wii Music truly demands an open mind to appreciate. Join the party with too many expectations – in either direction – and you’re likely to walk away either bewildered, disappointed or disgusted.

It does little to endorse Ubisoft's claim that it's been in development for years, as underneath the admittedly high-detail visuals it's a pretty rudimentary thing. It's a long way better than bilge like the Quantum of Solace, but it's certainly got no sense of a landmark pop-cultural moment, in the way we're repeatedly told the film will.

It does little to endorse Ubisoft's claim that it's been in development for years, as underneath the admittedly high-detail visuals it's a pretty rudimentary thing. It's a long way better than bilge like the Quantum of Solace, but it's certainly got no sense of a landmark pop-cultural moment, in the way we're repeatedly told the film will.

Disorientating, disjointed, over-stretched and largely charmless.

Every bit as disappointing as expected. By Capcom's normally impressive standards, this is by some margin its least impressive offering for a generation. To be blunt, Dark Void is a bland mass of half-baked ideas, generic combat and unengaging aerial action, with poor AI and a wearisome story.

Every bit as disappointing as expected. By Capcom's normally impressive standards, this is by some margin its least impressive offering for a generation. To be blunt, Dark Void is a bland mass of half-baked ideas, generic combat and unengaging aerial action, with poor AI and a wearisome story.

Sure, its plot is hugely contrived, it’s occasionally frustrating and really lacking in the kind of polish we expect from big-name games in this day and age. However, it’s also undoubtedly one of the most imaginative, ambitious and exciting titles to hit a console in the last few years.

With FIFA already offering a fairly respectable portrayal of the sport on the DS, there’s no reason to even consider purchasing Pro Evolution Soccer 2008; it’s a redundant retread of already barren ground, failing as both an update or a standalone title.

For the already-converted, Labyrinth of Lost Souls is a more than solid dungeon crawler. Its fulsome selection of side-quests, items, and expansive dungeons could keep you exploring for many hours, making it excellent value. But it's hard to imagine it winning over the unconvinced or the uninitiated.

For all its promise to deliver a thoughtful take on the murkier aspects of war combined with Free Radical's proven prestige with first person shooters, ultimately Haze is a resounding disappointment that never truly shines in any department.

Conquest offers much sound and fury but little substance.