An intriguing marriage of direct and indirect control plus a serviceable gather-build-annihilate template don't quite redeem Robocalypse from a sheer lack of substance.

A good tennis game, let down by a frustrating slow campaign and terrible loading times.

Darkside Chronicles is a vast improvement on its predecessor and offers the dedicated RE follower an archive of unlockable memories, reading materials and fan service in an especially well-presented package.

Spore was meant to be everything to everyone; casual, hardcore, old, young, fat, thin, ugly, uglier. But it isn't.

Given this and a stab at serious inventiveness, Mini Ninjas might have drawn abreast with LEGO Star Wars, rather than sidling warily around the perimeter of essential purchase.

That most damning of all things - neither memorably awful, nor memorably brilliant, but simply decent. The sureness with which Monolith revisits the original game's themes and dual gameplay structure is commendable, but the spark isn't quite there.

Diehard fans will once again enjoy this title, but for the Sonic franchise, it's another missed opportunity.

Ghost Squad is fairly recent game, however it lives on past glories. There's not much game here compared to House of the Dead 2 & 3, but with 4 friends Ghost Squad provides hours of entertainment normally only available for a pound a time each in Alton Towers.

Bound in Blood is a slow but steady cowboy crowd-pleaser which rides close to the beaten track. An excellent story is left to shoulder much of the entertainment value while the gunplay sits back in the saddle. Never less than competent, but not essential.

My biggest objection to Arctic Edge is also what I most like about the game: it’s the same old Motorstorm in pocket-sized form, a solid “diet” reissue of a sensationally stupid racer.

A diverting tactical shooter curbed by ageing design principles, flawed story-telling and run-of-the-mill tech. Easily the best Brothers in Arms title so far, but after three years in development we were expecting something more evolutionary.

Ratchet and Clank might be living on borrowed time, but between the gags and the glitz we’re happy to forgo collecting a little longer.

Ghostbusters is a good game because it's everything it should have been.

An offer we can probably refuse, despite the great script and solid sim-management blueprint.

It's certainly a game that can kill a bit of time between a group of friends, and it's not like there'll be many negative memories associated with the game afterwards, but I just don't feel it's that good.

There's no real need for repeat playthroughs, nor will the urge be there once you've finished it the first time. Multiplayer is a great addition, but it surely won't attract the crowds that Halo and CoD consistently pull in, thus making it a (most likely) unfortunate dud.

Drop-in local multiplayer, though a decent laugh on higher difficulty settings, can’t quite save Dead Space: Extraction from solid rental status.

It still feels like a budget project, a slice of throwaway fun jury-rigged to a more significant release, but this time there's no Halo 3 to hide behind, and the downsides are too conspicuous to ignore.

Fracture has staked its reputation on one main mechanic of making the earth move and for that, it doesn't deliver.

The potential is there for a third game to capitalise on the series’ positive features, but until that day, the 40th Day stands as a perfectly competent but ultimately disposable title.

Very much the well turned-out but unremarkable flight sim we first thought it was, despite mid-development flashes of promise.

A big brash bully of an open world shooter which rarely shines.

Not so much Silent Hill returning home as Silent Hill rooting through its own garbage. A polished but utterly complacent slab of survival horror.

The potential is there for a third game to capitalise on the series’ positive features, but until that day, the 40th Day stands as a perfectly competent but ultimately disposable title.

It's not what I wanted, it's not what I expected and it's fundamentally broken in many different ways. It's a callous cheat of a game, it's shallow, short and has a man doing a crap Darth Vader impression.

Ultimately your purchasing decision rests on your comfort with the Wii Remote as control method. If you are a die hard SMB professional that truly mastered the Wii Remote and you’re longing for 70 plus levels of challenge, the main game will satisfy that.

Half Val Kilmer, Half Christian Bale, the formula is looking a tad trite and jaded. Too apathetic for many but fans and kids alike will still find its cute and simplistic ways endearing enough.

Brainless fun in small doses, but so many spare parts in the long run.