Slight irritations aside, Sports Interactive continues to be the pioneering force in making football management sims. So do yourself a favour; buy this game, stock up the fridge and don’t forget to feed the dog.

Despite its problems, BfME easily stands up to the extraordinarily high standard of RTS titles that we’ve been treated to this year.

Overall Warrior Within seems to be in something of a messy transition period, caught between the light-hearted fun of the original and some noirish violent action game that was probably more the result of mis-focused market testing than any kind of genuine developer decision.

Overall Warrior Within seems to be in something of a messy transition period, caught between the light-hearted fun of the original and some noirish violent action game that was probably more the result of mis-focused market testing than any kind of genuine developer decision.

Overall Warrior Within seems to be in something of a messy transition period, caught between the light-hearted fun of the original and some noirish violent action game that was probably more the result of mis-focused market testing than any kind of genuine developer decision.

Overall Warrior Within seems to be in something of a messy transition period, caught between the light-hearted fun of the original and some noirish violent action game that was probably more the result of mis-focused market testing than any kind of genuine developer decision.

Nevertheless, put the hype to one side, as WoW is still an exceptionally good game, and nothing less than a highly accomplished jewel in the crown of MMORPGs.

Fans of historical RTS games will be far better off with Rome: Total War or any number of other, better alternatives. While nowhere near as awful as Heroes Hour, Alexander is nevertheless glitchy, and feels unfinished.

It’s truly one of the most addictive games we’ve played this year, and teaches the mildly boring Port Royale 2 a thing or two about how such sims should be done.

For the sake of the video game industry, don't buy Goldeneye: Rogue Agent. It's a benchmark for bad ideas badly implemented.

To its credit, Escalation has certainly improved the Joint Ops experience – just not tremendously.

The only good thing we can say about Beyblade GRevolution is that the time you spend actually playing it is time you'll spend weighing up your life, the area you live in and how much better everything else is than this piss poor excuse for a video game is.

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.

On the whole, Half-Life 2 manages to be an incredible new game while still retaining that unique Half-Life magic.

As a whole, Bloodlines is, even with its faults, a very high quality product. The game world is well presented, and is immersive to the degree that you could easily lose yourself in it for hours at a time and not even notice.

CSI: Miami may not be much more than a glorified interactive story book, but it’s still easy to recommend.

The game may not have a huge amount of depth, but its clear a great deal of care and attention has gone in to making it as polished and as faithful to the subject matter as possible, from the colourful voiced menus to the dazzling special effects and cinematic camera cuts.

If it weren't for the somewhat unpolished enemy AI and placement, Ghost Recon 2 could have been a very realistic and engaging shooter. As it is, it feels a little out-of-kilter and more like a standard (but very good looking) shooter with some pacing issues.

Sure the kiddies might like it, but big kids should avoid this one unless you have a good reason to make your brain go numb.

Unfortunately, Rumble Roses is just stuck inside a teenage boy’s fantasy about Anime and the WWE, with no ambition or revolutionary features even attempted.

On the whole we admire what NFSU2 has brought to the table in terms of customisations and we’re even swayed by the glitzy graphics and excellent audio. It’s just a shame that the racing isn’t quite as exciting.

It's certainly not the game to convert anyone from one camp to the other. It delivers a new story, new features and kick-ass multiplayer functionality, but still has exactly the same gameplay as we've all seen before.

As a game Everquest II improves on many aspects of the original, boasting some of the most detailed graphics in any game to date, a feature rich community toolset, a very well thought out crafting system, meaningful character choices, highly interactive combat and a lot more besides.

After a while it’ll begin feeling like you’re playing the game in auto pilot, but that won’t last long because, well, the game doesn’t last all that long.

Sometimes it’s too complex and sometimes it leaves you feeling hopelessly powerless over certain situations, but these facts are more of an inconvenience and don’t significantly affect your chances of success.

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.

All of the mechanics for a great game are there, yet the more intangible aspects of great game making seem to have been overlooked entirely.

Despite there being only one major change to the game, and a couple of slightly smaller ones, Ratchet & Clank 3 is still an improvement and genuinely one of the best platforming games on PS2.

Sega Superstars’ many minigames may be of a decidedly variable quality, but those that are decent easily make up for the duds. All the Sega hallmarks are there, from the robust and colourful graphics to the faithful and sometimes nostalgia-inducing soundtrack.

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.

If you take it at face value and realise that it is a simple game that provides an element of fun especially in 2-player mode you wont be disappointed.

It’s not an awful game by any scale, but it is tepid and flawed in its execution.

On the one hand it’s a fantastic game, and on the other, so was Here Comes the Pain, which has a good deal of what SvR does and some things that it doesn’t.

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.

Considering the sparse amount of survival horror titles on the Xbox, it's no surprise that Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly – Director's Cut drags itself to the top of the pile with ease.

The Incredibles will still be an adequate Christmas present to go with the branded action figures, books and random merchandise that children will be finding under their vastly over-decorated artificial trees, even if marginally more effort goes into making a Happy Meal.

But don’t forget we’re gamers, and you can be sure that if we get on two knees and kiss some ass, it’s not because we’re paid to, it’s because we’ve just played the kind of game that reminds us why we’re doing this in the first place.

Don’t be fooled by the bright, cartoony exterior – RCT3 offers a detailed and sometimes complex package.

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).

Dead or Alive 3 is the better game overall, but for fans of nostalgia and those desperate to beat each other up over Xbox Live, Dead or Alive Ultimate is as good as it's going to get right now.

No matter how many bad songs there are, no matter how many planes you’ll never pilot or how much you want there to be multiplayer, Ace Combat: Squadron Leader is still a fantastic game.

Unsurprisingly, it’s a hit and miss affair. That’s just the internet for you.

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.

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.

As far as it goes, Men of Valor hasn't really exceeded expectations, but nor has it failed to live up to them, assuming your expectations were a Medal of Honor clone set in Vietnam.

Whether or not the single player was necessary (it certainly wasn’t unwelcome), T:V is definitely a highly enjoyable multiplayer experience.

As great as it is to be sliding down a banister firing off both guns before holding out your blades to slice into two anyone unlucky enough to be standing near the bottom as you pass, the sloppy controls and quirks in the design do prevent BR2 from being anything more than a reasonably-decent third-person action-slasher.

As great as it is to be sliding down a banister firing off both guns before holding out your blades to slice into two anyone unlucky enough to be standing near the bottom as you pass, the sloppy controls and quirks in the design do prevent BR2 from being anything more than a reasonably-decent third-person action-slasher.

Featuring jumping, gliding, twatting things with sticks, and bucket loads of what some would call “wit”, this game has it all.

Featuring jumping, gliding, twatting things with sticks, and bucket loads of what some would call "wit", this game has it all.

Still, not bad when you consider it'd cost you the same to get a GBA cartridge with just one NES game on it, and what price nostalgia, eh?

Now that it has arrived however, we can safely say that it's firmly up there as one of the best games released this year.

Featuring jumping, gliding, twatting things with sticks, and bucket loads of what some would call "wit", this game has it all.

It has to be said though – as a game, LSL is pretty thin. The mini-games are weak and become pretty repetitive. Happily though, the bawdy comedy that plays out while you’re going through the motions, especially during the conversations, do make it all worthwhile.

It has to be said though – as a game, LSL is pretty thin. The mini-games are weak and become pretty repetitive. Happily though, the bawdy comedy that plays out while you’re going through the motions, especially during the conversations, do make it all worthwhile.

The graphics, although dated and unoriginal, aren’t terrible. And the first person shooting gameplay can’t be knocked too heavily, because after all, it’s the same system implemented in every first person shooter.

It has to be said though – as a game, LSL is pretty thin. The mini-games are weak and become pretty repetitive. Happily though, the bawdy comedy that plays out while you're going through the motions, especially during the conversations, do make it all worthwhile.

If you’re on the market for a fighter then you could do a lot worse than MK:D. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to do any better as this is a highly complete and well-rounded package with lots to keep you interested.

However, casual Tony Hawk fans should really think twice about investing, as there’s not a huge amount to set it apart from the rest.

However, casual Tony Hawk fans should really think twice about investing, as there’s not a huge amount to set it apart from the rest.

If you're on the market for a fighter then you could do a lot worse than MK:D. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to do any better as this is a highly complete and well-rounded package with lots to keep you interested.

However, casual Tony Hawk fans should really think twice about investing, as there's not a huge amount to set it apart from the rest.

However, casual Tony Hawk fans should really think twice about investing, as there's not a huge amount to set it apart from the rest.

Overall this is definitely a game for the fans and not a game that’s likely to convert non-fans. If you’ve never played a Myst game then it’s easy to see why Myst IV might be frustrating.

Codename: Panzers has seemingly appeared from nowhere – at least on these shores – yet has effortlessly succeeded in being one of the best RTS titles of the year so far.

If there’s any criticism at all it’s that the game throws it all at you at once thanks to a fairly unwieldy menu system, but the tutorials go some way to help and even if advanced team tactics and formations aren’t up your street, it’s good to know that they are there.

Evil Genius is a flawed strategy title very much in the Dungeon Keeper mould, but that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had. It’s certainly entertaining enough to keep you playing, but the numerous faults do serve to irk throughout, which ultimately strips away some of the pleasure.

All the ingredients for a nice simple and playable game are here, it’s just that carelessness and an unpolished roughness drags the game down to mediocre levels.

Rome: Total War is nothing less than awesome, and is engrossing enough to provide weeks of play at the very least.

Kohan II: Kings of War is a good quality RTS that manages to stand out from the RTS crowd.

It’s repetitive, a little on the shallow side, and probably not for your average twitch gamer, but it’s also highly original and extremely entertaining.

A game that (probably) does as much justice to the cartoon series as you can expect, and while fans of ‘proper’ fighting games will overlook it – with some justification – it’s not without its merits. The visual style, special effects, damageable arenas and, we understand, proper voice actors all lend themselves to a fairly well rounded experience.

Blood Will Tell is a fantastic game poorly put together.

Shadow Ops is a rather bland, generic FPS that – aside from some good sound and all-round high production values – offers absolutely nothing in the way of originality.

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.

There’s not much here that’s new, but at least it’s accomplished, and has been put together with style.

Purple Haze adds nothing of note. In all the game is a bit of a mystery: it’s clearly aging and clearly inferior to the PC version and really doesn’t benefit from being on consoles in any way.

Purple Haze adds nothing of note. In all the game is a bit of a mystery: it's clearly aging and clearly inferior to the PC version and really doesn't benefit from being on consoles in any way.

The Sims 2 is, after all, a lovingly crafted and very well put together piece of software.

The graphics, sound and gameplay are extremely well polished; the AI is also good with your platoon mates actually helping rather than hindering.

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

These are thankfully relatively minor criticisms when considering the enjoyable new multiplayer mode, and how impressively cinematic and fun the stronger single player levels are, but they should still be kept in mind if you’re considering giving UO a purchase.

You have to appreciate the effort and craft that's gone into Fable, even if much of it is pretty shallow or not as well realised as it might have been.

Port Royale 2 is certainly a game of two halves – on the one hand, there’s a dull and tedious economic engine that could suck the life blood out of many gamers quicker than Dracula with a busty virgin. But on the other hand, there’s the engrossing and open-ended combat system that allows you to carve out a career as a buccaneer.

For every ten or so big releases which disappoint, there’s a relatively small-scale title that comes along and surprises everybody by being pretty good. Arena Wars fits nicely into this category.

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.

At the end of the day, Burnout 3 is a little too simplified for our tastes.

At the end of the day, Burnout 3 is a little too simplified for our tastes.

If you can derive entertainment from this then good for you, but just don't get your hopes up T3 fans.

Aside from the lack of internet play (although there is the option of 8 player gaming thanks to the joy of the multitap), it could be said that this is as close as gaming has ever come to a classic Ice

Pikmin 2 excels in every respect.

Day of Reckoning is an absolutely crucial addition to the games collection of any fan of WWE.

With a quality single player campaign, custom game modes, split-screen co-op and a very strong multiplayer component, Black Arrow is hard to fault even if it is very similar to Rainbow Six 3 – which is not in itself a bad thing.

As an FPS game, somewhat inferior, but as an interactive experience, simply unmatched.

Cheap and cheerful would be stretching it, but as far as budget shooters go, it's not too bad.

We may not call Bunjigai a classic, largely thanks to its less-than-refined story and level design, but as an action-packed hack and slash experience this game has it where it counts.

In the end Sudeki is not without its disappointments, but it also has its moments. Unless you take particular objection to the stylistic setting, it's still worth a throw of the dice.

The second thing you need to know? It’s appalling.