Neo Contra isn’t a terrible game; it simply fails to get the balance between running and gunning right, resting far too much emphasis on the latter. It’s fun for a quick blast, but doesn’t offer enough depth or difficulty to warrant extended play.

There is no doubt that Silicon Knights have failed to live up to their early promises regarding Too Human.

Children of Mana is ideal as a pick-up-and-play game, if you fancy a quick whizz through a monster-inhabited tower or two, maybe on the bus or train. But playing it at length feels like the most tedious, level grinding and repetitive waste of time, particularly when you consider that the DS has so much more to offer in terms of RPG actioners.

Easy mode is far too easy (granting you unlimited magic power) and Normal mode far too tough. Treasure really ought to have found a happy compromise, which may have added to the title's replay value. [JPN Import]

Who would want to buy this game? Only Sado-masochists who enjoy shoddy frame rates, huge loading times, unintuitive controls, poor menu design, bugged gameplay and boring storylines. It could have been good, that's what infuriates most of all.

Quantum of Solace is definitely of interest to more than just Bond fans – anyone looking for a varied, somewhat light-hearted shooter will derive a good degree of enjoyment from it.

What was shaping up conceptually to have been the definitive Batman game to date, simply ends up being little more than a disappointing cash-in, complete with spoiler-laden (and bafflingly unskippable) clips of the movie between levels, film trailers, and even some unlockable costumes for good measure.

A vaguely solid effort, and strides ahead of most emetic licences, but still crushingly repetitive and disappointingly dull, considering the generally well-regarded imagination of the film.

Being blunt, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men is a sickly mess of a game with the multitude of negatives undermining every positive.

Whilst "Super Puzzle Fighter" is still a great game, the poor multiplayer options mean that you are better off with one of versions previously released on the home consoles, or one of HD versions making their way to PS3, 360 and PC later this year.

So we have a game that’s initially too easy, but compels extended play anyway – probably something to do with the ridiculously infectious music.

People wanting a game to get their teeth into will certainly find it a challenge although many will also be tearing their hair out by the handful. The one question on many people’s lips is why port Warrior Within, of all the games in the Prince of Persia trilogy? Why not simply begin with Sands of Time and start at the beginning.

Makes a brave effort of emulating the TV series, but is ultimately let down by the poor A.I., and when stealth is the mainstay of the game, we’re left shaken, not stirred.

Whilst not suited to tournament play in the slightest, there’s plenty of scope for having fun juggling opponents and letting rip with massive combos. Let's hope The King of Fighters: Neowave will take up the tournament reins sometime soon.

It's not a bad game at all, it just feels rather uninspired.

Its tricks are old and it offers no challenge but for the irksome nuisances of its design. [JPN Import]

The only gem left to shine through the rubble of this collapsed concept is the character Clochette. The desperate melodrama in her voice fits this prissy madam perfectly and she, along with the plot-twist that her arc of the story entails, provides the only real highlight of the story.

Disposable amusement; if you want to experience an immediate, reassuringly predictable FPS then you may find elements to enjoy here.

It's just that both DS owners and Worms fans deserve so much more than a bog standard port. Open Warfare lacks the developer effort and imagination that could have made it a Worms game to remember. Instead it offers the bare minimum that you would expect.

Again the game features multiplayer over Live, but suffers from very few people playing online and is solely populated by prepubescents with limited vocabularies that consist of nothing but insults.

All in all whilst looking great on the surface, scratching a little deeper reveals some flaws, with Bounty Hounds feeling more like a tech demo that has been turned into a game rather than a game in its own right.

This isn’t a high-def interactive movie or a massive leap forward for all things Marvel – but it is a fun distraction and perfect for a casual or younger, superhero-mad gamer.

Even more irritating are the recoveries that actually need to be manipulated. One requires you to shout into the microphone to wake your character up, and another to blow into the microphone to clear the screen of fog.

Deep down, Jericho clearly has the right idea. However, the implementation - which feels half-hearted at times - really lets it down.

Hakuna Matata is a unique title and as such will no doubt attract a cult following. There is a lot to offer those who can find the required time and patience required to gain the best from it.

Striking perhaps for all the wrong reasons. It surprises due to the simplicity and appears original because it bucks the current trend of excess. Yet this originality is indeed false, because it has been so heavily based upon the games of old. [JPN Import]

Diddy Kong Racing DS is still a compulsive challenge and for sheer content and variety, it wins outright. But it’s not a fully convincing reinvention, and equally it’s changed too much to feel like a reassuring old friend.

Let it be made perfectly clear, FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup is the Xbox 360’s turkey.