Perhaps more of a focus on cerebral maze-like levels and less on the ‘gotcha’ high-wire acts might have helped this unique game series reach its full potential.

The tweaks to the existing feature set and gameplay have certainly raised its game and will make you feel like you are close to experiencing a real football match.

The tweaks to the existing feature set and gameplay have certainly raised its game and will make you feel like you are close to experiencing a real football match.

The tweaks to the existing feature set and gameplay have certainly raised its game and will make you feel like you are close to experiencing a real football match.

The tweaks to the existing feature set and gameplay have certainly raised its game and will make you feel like you are close to experiencing a real football match.

Just plain dreadful...There was only ever a faint hope it wouldn’t be as bad as "The Simpsons Skateboarding" or that "Futurama" game, but it is.

Everything about the game is over-the-top, including the story, and in our book that’s no bad thing. Like diving around and shooting bad guys in slow motion? Buy this.

In GTR 2, the casual gamer still doesn’t have a game that will easily cater to them, but the hardcore racing fans have a new benchmark for racing sims on the PC to play with, even if the slider has only moved slightly on from the original GTR.

By far one of the most understatedly atmospheric games of the year, DefCon has cornered the market on the kind of strategy that tenses the buttocks to sphincter-alarming proportions. Death, destruction, brains and beauty – who the hell needs a nice game of chess?

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.

Thanks to its clunking interface and reluctance to be inventive in pretty much any respect, it’s tricky to describe it as little more than SimCity 4 in a Roman toga.

This type of game has been done better, and on top of that, the genre has moved on to the next generation where murky and jaggy graphics are a thing of the past.

The visuals push the PS2 to its limits, the combat system is incredibly unique and enjoyable, and there are countless hours of gameplay to be had in reincarnating every Einherjar during Silmeria and Alicia’s wonderfully written adventure – even if you never really get to know them.

In the end, NBA 2K7’s biggest accolade is a result of its triumph in communicating a passion and love for one sport so completely.

It’s a sad state of affairs when games as majestic and perfectly constructed as Okami are ignored and world-class development studios such as Clover find themselves closed down after poor sales of their critically acclaimed titles simply because their games don’t feature enough guns or licensed music.

A huge, lazy and sometimes glitchy disappointment of a game.

It remains a weak 3D fighter, crippled by balance issues and an inferiority complex.

It’s hard for us not to come away from a session of Samurai Warriors (or frankly any Warriors game right now) without the words ‘time’, ‘of’, ‘waste’, ‘fat’ and ‘big’ crossing our minds, but there you have it. The words ‘boring’, ‘repetitive’, ‘uninspiring’ and even ‘ugly’ are not far behind.

The new flag-bearer of a genre. Superbly paced with a supreme balance of thoughtful strategy and frantic firefights, the game stands up to repeated play even if you never touch the multiplayer or skirmish modes.

An interesting addition to the genre at best, but is only an average example of what’s available that, apart from its looks, offers little that hasn’t been done before and more importantly, done better.

The game is every bit as cute and niche as ever, but it’s not even pretending to be anything new or innovative for fans – it’s just the same old slog once again, with only a few new faces and a few new things to see.

Just watch out for that evil installer. And don’t forget the hefty patch. And try not to lose patience with the micromanagement. Oh, and… did we mention you’d have more fun playing "Company of Heroes"?

It trumps the already brilliant original by being based on the classic trilogy of films and, in terms of gameplay, is the multiplayer co-op game of the decade so far.

It trumps the already brilliant original by being based on the classic trilogy of films and, in terms of gameplay, is the multiplayer co-op game of the decade so far.

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.

It trumps the already brilliant original by being based on the classic trilogy of films and, in terms of gameplay, is the multiplayer co-op game of the decade so far.

It trumps the already brilliant original by being based on the classic trilogy of films and, in terms of gameplay, is the multiplayer co-op game of the decade so far.

We really do have to implore you, don’t let your curiosity get the better of you. Bad Day L.A. is dire.