The Imperial Guard wasn’t the most obvious choice for Assault, but it seems to fit in just right. There’s enough to love about their style of play for beginners and veterans alike.

It’s hard to fault a game that's as bold and unpredictable as We Love Katamari.

Even with the disappointing sound aspect, it has improved on its previous faults and included enough extra to warrant a purchase.

Even though Nightlife fits seamlessly into the Sims universe it just doesn’t seem like sufficient extra content has been included in the expansion. It feels as though Nightlife is more about expanding on what you already have instead of giving you more to work with.

Bruce Campbell was great but, perhaps with a little more time, Crankypants could have done a lot more with this one.

The AI is top notch on both the opponent’s team as well as providing support for your own side, the overall atmosphere of each game is immersing and the gameplay reeks of realism.

In terms of what the expansion offers, I would say it has 2 good new character types and a very good expanded single player experience. If you are a fan of the original Sacred, you should definitely spend some time with this.

You quickly realize that Death Jr. is the right character in the wrong game. The erratic camera control and the resulting difficulty factor stop the game dead in its tracks when it comes to the fun factor.

Our test team had one little niggle about the play diagrams. We would have loved to see detailed explanations of the plays, perhaps even with animations. It can be daunting for newcomers to see the arcane drawings - the lines, the symbols, the quirky names - and then have to understand and employ them effectively.

Lock-on will mature as more patches are released and it could well become one of the great flight sims but with the initial problems it's made this a tough game to score. It's a shame the Q&A process failed this game, it would have been better if the developers had just held off and the Beta testers had got off their backsides and spotted some of the more nasty bugs.

I have logged more hours with this than many of the RTS games I have reviewed because it was both enjoyable and reasonably challenging. I can hardly wait for Phase III.

Give this to your kids only if you hate them, or want them to stop gaming, or feel like being asked how to solve "the next bit" time and again. Life’s too short. Play something else.

Coded Arms nails the controls and graphics but comes up short where it really counts and that’s in its gameplay.

In Destroy All Humans, play from the Alien perspective and finally know what it feels like to have the upper hand.

When it’s all said and done, Battlefield 2 is one of those games that justifies upgrading ones computer and splurging for the sometimes-pricey broadband connection. It’s a fulfilling experience through and through.

You would be better served, I think, purchasing an old copy of "Fallout." As for me, I will be uninstalling this game as soon as I save this article.

If, however, you enjoy tongue in cheek sports spoofs, scantily clad girls and, ahem, volleyball, then you’re in luck.

Racing fans looking for something a little different, whether you have the original or not, should check this out, it's fast, furious and fun, essential ingredients for a racing game.

Unfortunately, it’s an uninspiring, flawed and ultimately a failure. Avoid the like the proverbial plague.

Cossacks II wasn’t a giant leap forward from the original game. However, the real-time elements are a blast due to the good variety of unit and formation possibilities.

It retains all of the core features of its console brethren but has the advantage of being portable.

Guild Wars will be in my hard drive for a very long time. I anticipate that this game probably will pull quite a few people away from the pay-per month MMORPG’s that are currently out there and will develop a very strong following.

The graphics are excellent and the gameplay is challenging enough to make it feel more like a sim than arcade game.

A solid game, but the lengthy pauses that occur whenever you access your inventory can really become frustrating.

This is not to say that Dead to Rights is a damned awful game. Its just not a good one and has very little original thought behind it.

If you are sceptical of games that feature co-operative multi-character play, you needn't worry too much; it's handled reasonably well.

It is not only a game that you won’t hesitate to allow your children to play, it is a game that will have you sitting next to them with both of you playing. I can hardly wait for the Lego Star Wars sequel.

This is, by far, the most fun and accessible Splinter Cell title to date.

The thing that does keep it different is that fact that each character has access to unique weapons and spells, which makes it worthwhile to go through the game with each class of character.

One of the most innovative things about this game is the fact that you can now take your custom maps online and swap them with other players.

MX is probably the finest off-road racer to date. A long-awaited and worthy heir to the Motocross title and definitely worth the asking price. Highly recommended.

The combat is generally tight, while the visuals and overall sound should keep the non-hardcore gamers glued to their monitors.

The action is predictable, clichéd and, ultimately, unsatisfying. There’s probably a good hour or so of entertaining game play here.

The settings enable you to play either a relatively easy game war, or, for the hardcore submarine fan, enjoy a situation in which you are responsible for literally every aspect of the submarine’s function.

While the action can be borderline frantic, there’s just not enough content to satisfy anyone except maybe the very young or those who desire a full price game that struggle to be entertained for more than twenty minutes.

I was hoping to be wowed again. For now, I will just wait to see what the mod community can do to entice me to keep this game on my hard drive.

One of the best features of this game has to be the audio. During early training missions you're introduced to the game's two commentators who come out with some cracking one-liners which really helps the game feel fun and rather tongue in cheek.

Sound-wise, Moment of Silence pulls the game off practically perfect. The voice-overs for the characters all seem professionally done and add an extra touch of polish to an otherwise solid game experience.

The collision detection is ridiculous. Occasionally, you will get hung up on things as ordinary as steps!

The story is good, certainly, but if I wanted to watch a sci-fi tale I'd flick on Star Trek. Nexus is purely for the lover of slow paced space adventuring and combat, and those caught up in the Imperium Galactica series.

A fast-paced thrill-ride in a solid single-player campaign, complemented by an above-average multiplayer component.

Very well conceived and produced. I am not sure if any but the most die-hard naval sim fans will be able to truly appreciate what they have at their fingertips when playing.

Clunky controls and an average presentation prohibit this game from being any better than it is.

Doesn’t deviate much from Champions of Norrath—not nearly enough to be convincing as a true sequel. It carries the torch from the first game and is still just as fun as the original. Players expecting new advances in gameplay may be disappointed but don’t let that detract you.

A good game. I enjoyed playing it, but felt so frustrated initially that it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Let's not beat around the bush (no pun intended), it's the so-called titillation factor that gamers will go for. Remember, when you start looking deeper than the brand and packaging, there's little substance. Oh, the irony.

Intolerable loading times certainly detract from enjoyment of the game, but putting this aside for a moment, the developers have failed to imbue their creation with a soul. Devoid of any discernable character, during the most dramatic moments of the story Suikoden feels like it is simply going through the motions.

The pick-up-and-play nature and the level of attention paid to graphics, sound and story truly make this worth every penny, especially considering this title costs less than 20 dollars (US).

The voice acting is done on a very professional level and doesn’t sound scripted or forced.

All in all, Painkiller: Black Edition is a mixed bag of goodies. [Black Edition]

The inclusion of a teaching system, Kasparov videos (which I could only access via media player), etc, is a nice touch, but the interface is awkward at best. This is probably the best chess engine out there right now.

Solid enough, yes, but nowhere near as awe-inspiring as the original. To be fair, it could easily be summarised as an expansion pack for "Sands of Time," with new missions and costumes to unlock, and that’s not a bad thing, either.

This game has kept me glued to the screen longer than any other MMORPG and that's down to the fun-factor.

Broken gameplay, shoddy graphical and sound work, and terrible combat all combine to make this title a little more than bearable.

With so much to do and the ability to do it at your own pace, Pirates! is the rare game that can entertain almost everyone.

So while there are problems this game is still a cracker. It's one of those games that reminds PC gamers why they prefer PC gaming over console.

With such a lack of moves comes an obvious lack of depth, and it soon becomes apparent that most of the story mode and the arcade mode can be completed with pure button-mashing.

While it had the potential to be the best console war FPS game out, it is nothing more than a competent, but mediocre shooter.

A gem of an expansion for a jewel of a game. It improves upon the original without rethinking it too much. The basic mechanics are maintained and the improvements serve to make the game more playable.

It is certainly not a rehashing of the former title and is a respectable entry into the crowded world of Tycoon-style games.

With frequent updates, it is obvious that they are trying to get this title as far to the front of the pack as possible. Only time will tell just how “massive” this MMORPG game will become.

Too many repetitive missions and clunky AI limit the overall experience for the player though. Scrapland’s concept is unique enough and there are enough quirks in the game to keep most players occupied.

The overall single-player campaign of I of the Dragon will leave you under whelmed. In the 15-20 hours it will take you to finish you'll end up doing the same tasks over and over again.

All things considered, JLS is a good expansion. If you are new to Star Wars Galaxies, I am not sure that JLS is a good starting point.

I must admit they proved that there were changes that needed to be made as this is clearly the best Tribes game out there.

In the end, it works fairly well. Unfortunately, once you get the hang of "making" relationships, there is no reason to keep playing. If you are a diehard sims fan looking for something to tide you over until the sequel is released, you may want to give this a try.

The gags are often obscene, the women exaggerated in all of the important areas, and there were a few sexually explicit poses we had to look up in our well thumbed copy of the Karma Sutra.

When all is said and done, Get on da Mic fails at just about everything it sets out to do.

Little more than a routine, seen-it-all-before FPS. For all the imagination, originality and excitement on offer it could have been written by a robot.

The physics are realistic even though they will probably turn off anyone who is not willing to put in a good deal of time. However, if you have ever dreamed of sailing, this is a good place to start.

While there’s something to be said for giving value for money, I’d have preferred a more tightly paced story; a good handful of levels are just making up the numbers, and Shade would have been so much better for a bit of trim.

While the game background history will be more than familiar, Panzers does have a real fun-factor. Thanks to the great visuals and the quick paced free-flowing nature of the gameplay we think this has to be one of the best this year.

Make no mistake: this is a competent, well-oiled machine of a game. There are no bloopers, no major glitches, and no howling errors of judgement.

We all have our devious cunning side which can really blossom in this game. If you love strategy games that offer a real challenge then this is for you.

The building and base development aspects are fun but the more you play the more the global overview feature feels like an unwanted distraction.

This game is definitely not for everyone since the lack of a tutorial and inadequate manual act as hurdles for anyone who is new to this type of strategy game.

The development team should perhaps be reminded that players tend to take it personally when their progress is halted by poor design.

In the strict application, and importance, of strategy in regard to your success, Rome: Total War is to most other strategy games what chess is to tic-tac-toe. Far from flawless, Rome is, unquestionably, an enjoyable and immersive game.

The different styles employed within the game: stealth, shooting, psychic abilities means this will be enjoyed by many different gamers, whether they love their Timesplitters, their Tomb Raiders or their Metal Gear Solids.

Brings a few changes from the original release and seems like an overall better polished title. The learning curve however may stop this game from having any sort of retail success and won’t appeal to the masses. This game is for hardcore strategists only—tank rushers and zerg herders need not inquire.

Unfortunately the game misses the mark on so many issues that gameplay is behind even the current market leaders which are at least 2 years old.

I’ve always been more of an action oriented gamer, with little patience for the pacing and resource management of RTS games. However, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War provides a gaming experience that I enthusiastically endorse.

Polished and full of the “little things” that take a game from good to great. I do not think there will be any fan of the Sims series that will disappointed with this title.

The stupidly executed barriers would not be such a problem if the AI made up for it. Unfortunately, it appears both your allies and enemies are capable of doing only three things: run, shoot, stop.

Offers a lot for the strategy gamer who loves to keep track of every intimate detail of his business operations. However, casual gamers will lose interest fast as their businesses crumble into a pile of debt.

If you're looking for something a little more distinctive and hanker for lightning-paced strategy then Arena Wars is well worth your time.

It suffers and revels in both gaming and horror-story clichés, but still succeeds in creating a sense of wonder and unease.

All in all this is a fun game, while most flight simulators are difficult to fly you can easily pick this game up and be shouting 'chocks away' before you know it. Some people may find it a little short but it's got re-play value on the higher difficulty setting.

While not quite horrid, the Alpha Black Zero experience feels too empty to get us excited. For the most part, the gameplay mechanics are in place, but ABZ’s very slow pacing and merely mediocre storyline just can't separate it from the millions of other ordinary shooters.

I can’t see any compelling reason to buy this over any competing product. And if you are male and in a stable relationship, just forget it.

It is addictive, and does have some brilliant and different features, but many RPG fans will feel that the flaws could easily have been ironed out with the extreme delays in this game’s production.

It offers a beguiling mix of arcade action and serious simulation.

The environments in Doom 3 are exceptional. The lighting and lack thereof is so well composed that, given the appropriate system, you will bleed into that reality. It does not look like a game.

I hope if they make a sequel or a similar game they include more ‘real’ puzzles and make it a genuine scare. Helping an old lady ghost find her ghost cat hardly pushes the terror buttons.

Most gamers will feel cheated by the boring combat and atrocious camera work. Thus leaving the non-hardcore crowd focusing on a writhing, grinding, and silly second-rate strip act by a virtual Oscar winner.

The game is almost too difficult at times, and will probably appeal only to the die-hard RTS fan. If you want a challenge in the WWII arena, this is just what the doctor ordered.

I'll admit it took a little getting into this game, after about 5 or 6 missions it managed to pull be in and have me hankering for more. The gameplay is addictive thanks to the mix of strategy elements.

While breaking absolutely zero new ground for its genre, Ground Control II’s single player gameplay is solid all around.