Treyarch have done a commendable job with the single-player in such a tough development cycle, that just managing to make a multiplayer mode that improves upon Finest Hour's is a fantastic achievement.

Huge-scale destruction is only awesome when used in moderation, not when it’s non-stop for hours on end.

Surely everybody knows the score by now: EA ever so slightly update FIFA. It gets new stats, new players, new kits and slightly better graphics whilst remaining pretty much the same game it always has been.

While we can’t look into the future to predict how Vanguard will turn out over the coming months, the early signs are promising that this could be more than just the real next generation of "Everquest."

If you’re not offended by constant references to burritos, fajitas and, erm, chickens, then Chile Con Carnage does demonstrate how a third-person shooter can be fun on the PSP in spite of its controller deficiencies.

Magnificent, beautiful, well designed, yet cruelly flawed in its structure, Nights: Journey of Dreams is absolutely worth playing. Whether you’d want to pay full price for it or wait a little longer, though, is less of a certainty.

As it stands though, Killzone isn’t a triple-A title. It is, on the other hand, a sporadically entertaining and perfectly adequate FPS which any PS2-owning fan of the genre will probably enjoy.

2K Sports insistence on cramming new features in every instalment of this long-running series is admirable, but hopefully next time they will focus on tweaking what they currently have and making the offensive side of the game more fun.

As long as you go with the flow, soak up the excellent atmosphere and don’t let yourself get too frustrated by some of the puzzles, there’s a pretty enjoyable adventure to be had.

It’s Madden, which is no bad thing, but it’s a case of same stuff, different year.

Despite being a new, full-priced release, F.E.A.R. Files already has a bit of a Bargain Bin feel about it. We’re not saying don’t add it to your wish list, but unless you’re a huge fan of FPS games and Japanese-style horror, we’d suggest it go somewhere close to the bottom.

The terrible music and pointless battle animation do nothing to help out what is already a well balanced card game.

If you know your laser flips from your rocket airs and don’t mind enduring a little hand cramp while you train your brain to skate and draw at the same time, then Skate It on the DS packs an impressive simulation of skateboarding.

Treyarch have done a commendable job with the single-player in such a tough development cycle, that just managing to make a multiplayer mode that improves upon Finest Hour’s is a fantastic achievement.

Surely everybody knows the score by now: EA ever so slightly update FIFA. It gets new stats, new players, new kits and slightly better graphics whilst remaining pretty much the same game it always has been.

Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault isn’t a revelation that puts new life back into WW2-based first person shooters. It is, however, a revelation for the series, pushing the adrenaline-fuelled action away to make for a much grittier, involving and entertaining experience.

As point-and-click adventures go, Runaway 2 is a decent effort with good art direction and relatively high production values.

While some of the set ups and situations are undoubtedly quirky and amusing, there’s nothing this time around to compare to the idiosyncratic psychoanalysis dream-sequence or the sitcom filming from the first and second instalments respectively. And in a game so straightforward, this is a problem.

Nanostray is great fun to play. Unfortunately, the “nano” part of the title seems to be indicative of it having the lifespan of a gnat, and the gulf between the extremely easy (but great) Adventure mode and the overly-hard Challenge mode (which will put off all but the most ridiculously hardcore) is baffling.

The break-up of the storyline as you switch from Felt in Belkhyde to Viese in Eden gets incredibly tedious over time, and the storyline – while incredibly naturally told and performed well – is rather uninspiring, but the game itself should give you a good 40 hours of gameplay.

It’s worth a shot if a relaxing ball rolling puzzle game sounds like your ideal PSP experience, but it’s unlikely to stay in your active playlist for long.

Treyarch have done a commendable job with the single-player in such a tough development cycle, that just managing to make a multiplayer mode that improves upon Finest Hour's is a fantastic achievement.

A pleasant enough diversion that’s unlikely to hold the attention for any great length of time. It’s fun enough while it lasts, though.

Parallel Lines at least shows that the studio is on the right track.

Pokemon Link may well fall short in several key areas – most notably with the lack of play options – but on the whole, it’s actually a fairly pleasing puzzler with all the right ingredients to keep you engaged for a decent period.

It shows that there is huge potential for games that let users create more than just a standard character – if only other companies would grow a set and let their developers use their imaginations more.

It’s just too hardcore for the light-weights and too light-weight for the hardcore.

With the amount of in game advertising that is all over the place, EA probably don’t need to sell many copies to make enough money to guarantee the next instalment in the franchise. We just hope they make more of that opportunity to evolve the series than they did with this somewhat lacklustre effort.

The graphics are worse, joypads are a poor substitute for keyboard and mouse control, online play is laggier and there aren’t enough people playing. And to rub it all in, you can pick the PC version for a good deal cheaper.

The reason not to like it, namely that it’s a compromised version of a two year old game that itself was a pretender to Virtua Tennis’ crown, is pretty strong too.

For the most part it’s an enjoyable if unremarkable shooter, where satisfying gunplay and alien carnage struggle to overcome a shallow plot and quirky controls.

If you really want to have a crack at more cerebral online strategy, you should have a look at the splendid DefCon first. It may not have anywhere near the scope or variety offered in MAN2’s maps and random-ally allocation, but it’s a fair bit cheaper and, dare we say it, requires less work to enjoy.

Longevity issues aside, Duel Masters is still one of those games that are great to play if you only have 10 or 20 minutes spare at a time.

The graphics are worse, joypads are a poor substitute for keyboard and mouse control, online play is laggier and there aren’t enough people playing. And to rub it all in, you can pick the PC version for a good deal cheaper.

Newbies may find it a little intimidating to get into, but perseverance brings reward in the shape of an immersive experience that’s about as fun as war gaming can get.

Space Rangers isn’t going to blow you away, but it may just suck you up for a few long evenings.

Worms Forts has some of the best features straight from the old games, but you can’t help but notice that a few good things are still missing from the transition to 3D.

Those are the game’s main transgressions, but you do get used to them and learn how to avoid most of the major problems. You’ll want to take the effort too, because at its heart Second Sight is a good game whose rewards outweigh its frustrations.

Parallel Lines at least shows that the studio is on the right track.

As a game for all the family and friends it works really well.

Bomberman Land Touch! 2 is something of a glorified update, albeit to an admittedly still enjoyable game that benefits greatly from competitive online play.

The level of depth and historical accuracy is not going to sit easy with most gamers, but if you consider yourself a war-gamer or even a historian then this has your name written all over it.

It’s such a shame though to see what could have been a splendid old-school RTS with mostly decent presentation (aside from the fact that the camera doesn’t zoom out enough) and three imaginative and well-balanced factions being wasted on a single player campaign that’s broken, and a multiplayer mode that nobody’s yet playing.

In the end, Destroy All Humans! just doesn’t provide good value for money, and that’s something the developers seem to have lost sight of.

The real downfall for the game is that there simply isn’t enough content in Rayman: Raving Rabbids to keep you interested for a great deal of time.

For some S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky will reek of a badly designed game, while for others it will resemble a well designed reality, but for us it’s somewhere in between the two and none the better for it.

Stronghold 2 is addictive in its complexity and rich in its many-layered economic management system, not to mention challenging (yes, partly thanks to the lack of help in learning how to play the damn thing).

To be fair, the game is aimed at kids and it's by no means poor – the fact that it's available for less than twenty quid doesn't exactly hurt either.

While board games on Xbox Live are not everyone’s cup of tea, those looking for a bit of fast-paced and fun strategy that’s actually quite relaxing to play, Carcasonne certainly delivers, and has the promise of tile-set expansions in the near future.

It may not be quite the same as owning a real table, but it’s certainly cheaper and the game feels a lot less cynical than some of the under-polished retro arcade packages that are currently available.

Only hardcore fans of Warhammer need really apply: there are quite simply too many other RTS games out there which are far better, many of which beat Mark Of Chaos at its own game without even intending to.

To be fair, the game is aimed at kids and it’s by no means poor – the fact that it’s available for less than twenty quid doesn’t exactly hurt either.

The biggest problem is that Shadow Ops apparent efforts at achieving a cinematic feel have fallen well flat and the FMV is disappointingly bland.

Born of the Blood does exactly what an expansion should do in making an original game bigger and better. The problem is that the balance is way off, leaving it ridiculously challenging to anybody but the most hardened of veterans, and anyone tempted by any original game plus expansion offers in the shops is on a hiding to nothing.

Even the positive multiplayer aspect can’t be recommended because it is just nothing new. At around six hours to play through, and with only a moderately intriguing storyline to follow, this is about as thin as F.E.A.R.’s welcome will wear without breaking.

A neat combination of cool single player match options and a brave crack at doing cricket multiplayer that surprisingly works really well. As a sports simulation it does a respectable job of jazzing up a historically dull sport, but we doubt there will be long term appeal for anyone not already obsessed with it.

In the end, Destroy All Humans! just doesn't provide good value for money, and that's something the developers seem to have lost sight of.

The graphics are of a very good standard, with sharp crisp colours and lots going on at the same time.

Worms feels more dumbed down than watered down, and 800 points is a lot for the novelty of playing an old game in HD. Still, if you buy it, people will most certainly come out to play, and ultimately the gameplay transcends the rather sparse contents.

The first half of Bright Side Of The Moon is reasonable enough, but the concluding portion (perhaps the dark side?) is a badly-designed anti-climax that’s rendered even worse by the fact that it’s following on from the magnificent Reality 2.0 – by far the pinnacle of the series.

It’s certainly addictive enough to draw in even expert players for a decent number of hours, but where it shines (whether intentionally or otherwise) is as an introduction to the genre for less experienced players.

As Myst-style adventure games go, Secret of the Lost Cavern is certainly one of the better ones, and some may find the puzzles a little more approachable than in that venerable series, even if the visuals are a little less fantastic.

The game’s saving grace is the entertaining Mission mode, which adds some much needed longevity to proceedings, with plenty of tasks to complete for more ryo.

The Matrix Online feels like it might have been released a little prematurely. There are countless bugs cropping up here, there and everywhere, and lag is definitely an issue on occasions.

All said and done, Locomotion is a good sim, but it does feel dated and in particular seems geared towards the more hardcore transport or tycoon enthusiast.

Jericho is definitely a case of inventive design married all-too-unhappily to old school thinking, and the result is a game that is almost fatally broken.

Ultimately the game’s strength, at least in terms of gameplay, lies in balancing the needs of communities and creatively planning functioning medieval settlements. It may not be deep, but it feels pretty accurate.

Jericho is definitely a case of inventive design married all-too-unhappily to old school thinking, and the result is a game that is almost fatally broken.

It offers that shallow kind of fun that plays on the novelty of the experience rather than anything else. The game is undeniably well-polished, but the longevity value is a bit questionable for anything other than hardcore Star Wars fans.

To be fair, the game is aimed at kids and it's by no means poor – the fact that it's available for less than twenty quid doesn't exactly hurt either.

Jericho is definitely a case of inventive design married all-too-unhappily to old school thinking, and the result is a game that is almost fatally broken.

It is definitely lacking in the accuracy department and suffers from the same style of tactics working time and time again, with the AI never seeming to learn, which will spoil it for more experienced RTS players. But hey, if Blitzkrieg 2 lit your fuel depot then this expansion certainly won’t douse the fire; it just fails to recruit the necessary reinforcements to entice in new players.

What Storm of Zehir does best is in bringing a little bit of Forgotten Realms to life without going too over the top on the story.

By no means is the game a classic, but it is arguably a good tie-in that drawns from the movies’ strengths and doesn’t do anything in particular to offend.

If you’ve always fancied getting one of those home gym kits that are always in the Argos catalogue and Sunday supplements, then Wii Fit would make an ideal substitute. Without will-power, though, you might want to consider waiting for the inevitable clutch of games to appear that’ll use the potentially excellent balance board in a way that’s just more fun.

With its slow pacing and detailed puzzles, Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches is definitely a game for confirmed adventure fans rather than casual players, but aside from the spookiness factor being somewhat hampered by the low budget aesthetics, the story does a great job of pulling you in thanks to its intimate nature and everyday setting. A minor gem, but a rough one to be sure.

EA have, just as they did with "Battlefield 2," released an unfinished game full to the brim with bugs and annoyances.

While we found Obscure to be a very reasonable addition to the genre, it has to be said that there isn’t really a great deal to get excited about.

The story and puzzle solving elements work really well, but Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is badly let down by this insistence on making some clues as obscure as possible.

If this Mercury was put into a thermometer, it would be floating just above “lukewarm”.

Other than its repetitiveness, disappointing draw-distances and dodgy camera, Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper isn’t actually all that bad. In fact, despite its attempt to look tactical and thoughtful in its objective screens, the entirely unexpected bombastic soundtrack makes it clear that, at its heart, there’s no pretension of it being anything other than a cracking little arcade fighter.

But at around 7 or 8 hours and with no multiplayer or real longevity beyond playing on Hard difficulty, it's just as well that the game has a budget price tag.

Should have been great, could have been great; but ends up just being a better than average attempt at doing something a little different.

Just Cause does have the qualities of an addictive game, but there isn’t enough substance to keep you interested for very long. And for all its fancy stunts and gun battles, the nannying controls take away the element of skill, making the whole experience feel a bit shallow.

So. It's GTA. On the GBA. But… it's just not GTA. Not really. Like Max Payne Advance before it, what you're getting is a watered-down experience, but still the closest thing you're going to get on the handheld (if that counts as a plus-point).

It is worth re-emphasising that the core game is still intact, and is still better than you might expect had you not played it before. It’s just such a crying shame that the control system, as functional as it is, does absolutely nothing for the gameplay.

The game is short and sweet but with little to offer any replay value. It’s a mishmash of good ideas that have been thrown together with only some success. It bodes well for a sequel, though.

Ultimately Spikeout: Battle Street is a decent and mildly refreshing old school beat-em-up, but it could be better.

A game that falls short of expectations. You can see from the early levels and even a few of the later rooms that a lot of really creative ambition and skill was employed in its making, but for whatever reason it’s as though that particular tap of talent was turned to a trickle towards the end. Combined with some control issues that weren’t in the previous two games, Tomb Raider Underworld represents a bit of a downturn for the series.

An extremely robust and well-featured RTS with hours of play stretched out waiting to be dived into. The fact that the usual selling point of such titles – the campaign mode – is rather disappointing interferes with how the game will ultimately be received.

You’d expect the first of a trilogy to be the most novel and at least as good as future instalments, but in this case we’re really hoping for a greater effort for the next outing. It’s worth noting that there’s no multiplayer and little replayability, but a Steam version of the original SiN has been bundled with it as a sort of bribe.

The trouble is it’s not especially outstanding either, and lacks the hook enjoyed by the likes of the Tetris or Bust-a-Move games.

The decent visuals and mainstream theme do help things a little, and the underlying complexities of hex-based warfare are pretty well masked, but in the end this is still a game for those who prefer to spend long nights, manual in hand, working towards a distant reward.

Fans of the series will find plenty to do in Shin Budokai 2, although ultimately there’s not been enough progress since the last instalment to make the game anywhere near recommended.

The game is short and sweet but with little to offer any replay value. It’s a mishmash of good ideas that have been thrown together with only some success. It bodes well for a sequel, though.

A game that falls short of expectations. You can see from the early levels and even a few of the later rooms that a lot of really creative ambition and skill was employed in its making, but for whatever reason it’s as though that particular tap of talent was turned to a trickle towards the end. Combined with some control issues that weren’t in the previous two games, Tomb Raider Underworld represents a bit of a downturn for the series.

The story is derivative, the aliens are clichéd and stupid and the gameplay is pretty bog standard for the most part.

What the series needs is not useless gimmicks and badly rehashed game mechanics, but good, old-fashioned racing fun. We don’t need customisable bells and whistles; what gamers really want is a Need for Speed that uses its strengths, and doesn’t try to shoe-horn in its weaknesses for the sake of bullet points on a press release.