Yet no matter how straightforward Still Life is and how simple it looks, it’s incredibly easy to fall for. Aside from a few unnecessary inflections and misplaced accents here and there, the storytelling and voice acting is superb.

Whether or not you take advantage of Everybody’s Golf’s online mode, there can be no doubt that it not only offers enjoyable gameplay, but a wealth of worthwhile content. The only trouble is that you’ll have to spend a lot of time unlocking everything.

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.

If only GTR had been more welcoming to casual racing fans, it might have found itself a bigger and deserved market. Unfortunately we just can’t find ourselves openly recommending it – and not for a lack of quality.

When playing Pariah you may find yourself pausing to scratch your head either because the story doesn't make much sense, or because you're simply wondering why the game was so blatantly pushed out the door without even half of the polish it needed to live up to the hype.

There may not be more cars than can ever be theoretically driven to make it the Xbox's Gran Turismo, and it's not the deepest racing game, so Bizarre Creations won't be quaking in their boots in fear for the safety of their spectacular Xbox 360 sequel, Project Gotham Racing 3, but Forza Motorsport is an essential racing sim for Xbox gamers everywhere.

Nevertheless, we can’t help but feel that it’s all a little on the dated side. An RTS that hasn’t been designed for the C&C crowd isn’t a bad thing, but Rome: Total War has already demonstrated that more tactical offerings are capable of crossing the boundaries and appealing to all sub-sets of RTS gamers.

You just really need to know that it plays brilliantly, like an action-orientated version of more traditional MMORPGs. The scope of the PvE alone would justify the price, but the PvP aspect truly sweetens the deal to the point where you really can’t say no.

Area 51 is a good solid shooter with a decent storyline and rather nice graphics for a PS2 game.

The gameplay is nowhere near as original as the setting, nor is it particularly spectacular for that matter, but just as you could do better, you could also do worse.

The fact that Psychonauts isn't on the radar as one of this year's big releases is a major shame, as it is, quite simply, superb.

The fact that Psychonauts isn’t on the radar as one of this year’s big releases is a major shame, as it is, quite simply, superb.

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).

As great a game as Unreal Championship 2 is for the Xbox though, anyone who has played the magnum opus of the series that inspired it will have an inescapable nagging feeling that somehow, something is missing.

Jade Empire is a beautiful, resounding triumph, much like the strong, highly polished gemstone the game takes its name from.

While still similar in many ways to Midnight Club 2, the two remain sufficiently different that neither negates the other.

While still similar in many ways to Midnight Club 2, the two remain sufficiently different that neither negates the other.

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.

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

If you're thinking of buying this because it's cheap, don't bother, as even at its budget price it's still not worth the money.

There's nothing specifically wrong with First to Fight, it's just that the single-player simply doesn't do anything more than provide you with terrorists to shoot.

SWAT 4 doesn’t have the entire package. While a fantastic, engrossing and entertaining game, there’s a constant, nagging feeling that something’s missing.

It may not be the most technically accomplished game to have graced our screens, but the plain and simple fact is that it's so much fun to play, it's almost indescribable.

This might go some way to appease those who thought the original game was too repetitive, but we suspect it’s probably too little, too late. As for everyone else, ROE follows the exact same formula and therefore doesn't disappoint.

It may not be the most technically accomplished game to have graced our screens, but the plain and simple fact is that it’s so much fun to play, it’s almost indescribable.

It may not be the most technically accomplished game to have graced our screens, but the plain and simple fact is that it’s so much fun to play, it’s almost indescribable.

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

On a pure bang to buck ratio Chaos Theory comes out tops, but as we’re all too aware, there’s no accounting for taste. On the PC version, only online lag issues mar an otherwise excellent experience.