A novel flashback to how things used to be, but one that will make you more grateful than ever that we aren’t at that point in time any more. Dated, jaded and passed it sell by date.

Ultimately Viking: Battle for Asgard is almost a complete waste of Norse mythology. It’s bloody and epic, but the boring, repetitive combat and hours you spend doing un-Vikingly menial tasks leaves a sour taste in the mouth, washed down with a swig of bitter, pointless stealth idiocy.

Instead of balancing on the line between arcade game and simulation, the game tries and fails to be both, giving the whole package a strange split personality that does nothing to endear you to it.

Ultimately Viking: Battle for Asgard is almost a complete waste of Norse mythology. It’s bloody and epic, but the boring, repetitive combat and hours you spend doing un-Vikingly menial tasks leaves a sour taste in the mouth, washed down with a swig of bitter, pointless stealth idiocy.

It’s as though no effort has gone into the gameplay beyond what merely works, and little thought has been given into making either the main single player or multiplayer modes fun or worth pursuing.

You won’t want to play through the game more than once, but once you’ve done it you’ll have all the cut-scenes and access to everything you’d ever want from the game – aside from the odd spot of ‘kick Sam into the bottomless pit’.

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

It’s as though no effort has gone into the gameplay beyond what merely works, and little thought has been given into making either the main single player or multiplayer modes fun or worth pursuing.

Target Liberty has a good atmosphere and the controls have been well thought out, but the story isn’t at all convincing and the gameplay doesn’t have enough merit in the end.

It may offer a richer gameplay experience than Uno, but Lost Cities just doesn’t have the fast, fun and addictive quality of that particular social card game.

There is little atmosphere and it’s about as immersive as playing one of those silly Osama Bin Laden-killing flash games in your web browser.

The nucleus of a good game is there, but its ambition is married to an apparent lack of expertise with the result that, like a crudely cut gemstone, it has few if any redeeming features.

This type of game has been done so much better in the past and we just can’t think of anything that makes it stand out – not even the tacked on multiplayer which feels like exactly that.

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

The game is a giant leap in the wrong direction for the series.

While the PC expansion version is a decent way to expand the life of the game, on console it’s nothing more than an awkward, ugly and pointless update to the original Sims 2 on consoles, which itself wasn’t that great.

The aimless blasting across what seems like a countless number of levels that are practically indistinguishable from one another do not a great game make, but if you can play on a friend’s copy, it’s worth doing so to snatch a glimpse at what’s to come. Hopefully...

When a game is this easy, predictable and limited, hardcore gamers are too busy praying for DS versions of the original Dragon Quest games to be bothered with it.

It’s just too simplistic to hold the attention of any serious management fan.

This game is an unchallenging space shooter made a little more difficult with frustrating design and a terrible camera angle. Even if you’re a fan of the TV series, we really cannot recommend a purchase.

This could, and indeed should, have been a market leading game, blowing people away with clever tactical shooting action. Instead, it’s flawed and with the exception of the co-op mode, has nothing to make it shine.

This game will probably appeal to people who bought the first, if only to continue the story.

Perhaps the most damning evidence in the case against bothering with this game (as if AI that sees your allies forever flying into your plane and bafflingly unresponsive speed controls aren’t quite enough) is that the whole experience feels reminiscent of a dumbed-down version of Crimson Skies.

A flung together collection of sub “Now That’s What I Call Music!” tracks doesn’t really make for an enticing prospect.

The bulk of Spiderwick is fuelled by what might be called the game’s ‘action’ sections, where players take on goblins and ogres by mashing just one attack button. These levels are the least inspired and try any motivation the gamer might have, which is unlikely to be great if they haven’t already seen the movie.

If you’re really keen on an officially sanctioned and more importantly legal nostalgic journey – especially if you’re fond of scrolling shoot-em-ups – then the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary collection does have its merits.

Littered with occasionaly glimmers of hope, Vivendi’s attempt to create a true killer-app sadly falls flat, with most of the game feeling uninspired and largely by-the-numbers.

While it’s kind of cool to see a new take on such an old game, the presence of a muddy palette and outdated game mechanics combined with the inexplicable absence of co-op makes Beast Rider forgettable and so much less than it could have been.