The control method and lazy design of the later levels threaten to dampen the early enjoyment, but Crush must be praised for trying to innovate, and is thus a worthy purchase for any PSP owner in search of their next puzzle fix.

Largely missed opportunity. Those who loved the original for its setting and style will be disappointed and put off by the direction the series has taken.

While it is true that the twenty-one bosses won’t take long to dispose of, everything in the game is of such high quality that it does not matter. It’s easy to spend hours without even bothering about the main objectives, just blowing stuff up and admiring the physics at work.

It's a very minor masterpiece; a perfect execution that's inherently shallow rather than profound. Give credit, though, to a hype-free summer blockbuster that will doubtlessly leave the senses tingling.

The narrative of Xenosaga dwarfs all of its other elements, which are under-developed in comparison.

GSH carefully sidesteps out of the shadow of its imposing ancestor and manages to be one of the most addictive and unadulterated blasters on Nintendo's handheld.

Monotonous it can be, but it’s rarely frustrating or difficult to play. That said, if it was released in 1998 it could have been genre-defining, in 2006 it is merely genre-filling.

Looks as if Tony has survived to skate another day, but that shark is still snapping at his heels.

Despite the repetitive and fiddly combat - which de-harmonises the experience and impacts on the enjoyment factor somewhat - ardent, die-hard fans of the series will have a fulfilling and fun time with the revisited universe.

While not a complete success, Battlefield: Bad Company has many plus points, and provides a limited but fun single-player campaign that, while not wholly original, does have some memorable moments.

There are a large number of games for Nintendo’s new console that employ mini-games, lazily or not. It is to Intelligent Systems’ credit that in terms of utilising the new control method, whilst retaining the feel and strong standards of their excellent franchise, this is easily the best current example of the genre available.

Rocket Slime is a game which was largely overlooked on release, a shame given that, despite its younger target audience and the departure from the typical Dragon Quest RPG stylings, it’s shamelessly entertaining.

Gimmick? Perhaps, but Boktai does enough, and achieves enough, to argue the point otherwise. Besides, sometimes it can just be enjoyable to give into that inner child, or imbecile, and embrace the novelty.

Endlessly entertaining. [JPN Import]

This is by no means the definitive Tony Hawk, but if you’re yet to play THUG 2, it’s certainly a solid enough arena to start.

A flawed masterpiece and one which will undoubtedly be as fondly remembered as its predecessor.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a let-down in as much as it caters for its target audience, but does little to refresh or invigorate the series as a whole.

Capcom have done a sterling job of updating the game for the PSP and this is a very fine example of what can be achieved on the platform.

Balanced, tuned and counter-weighted to within a pixel’s distance of perfection, Treasure have masterminded a game both technically adept and visually astonishing. Revel in this pean to the art of destruction. [JPN Import]

Test Drive Unlimited doesn’t have the same thoroughbred racing pedigree as present in PGR3, nor does it have the clinical precision of Ridge Racer 6; instead, what it provides is a complete driving experience and a real sense of ownership, seamlessly fusing both single- and multi-player gaming; it’s more than the sum of its parts.

Colourful, charming, frequently funny and most importantly, fun to play. It’s not the biggest or hardest game, but the good controls, pleasing visuals and wonderful monkeys make it worth any platform fans time.

The controls are intuitive and simplistic with those small details, such as the marine looking around or grinning gleefully when you pick up a new weapon, present and correct. Doom is good value at 800 points and well worth the purchase.

The clunky interface, numerous bugs, fractured story telling and underdeveloped ideas do distract from what could well have been a real classic, but the fact that GSC have come through development hell to produce a game as memorable as this is quite an achievement.

With the fast and furious gameplay of old once again rediscovered, it’s only the odd moments of glaring level-design error that cause the kind of dismay that a selection of the 3D titles offered up.

This is a very easy game to get into, and one which intuitively finds its complexity in difficult situations rather than bombarding the player with gimmicks and gadgets. The very essence of the stealth genre was created with Thief: The Dark Project back in 1998. Six years later, Thief: Deadly Shadows captures the same spirit beautifully.

What Nocturne does provide is an atmospheric and refreshing change to the angst-ridden-teen-saves-the-world, bread and butter adventures we’ve come to expect of the genre.

With Final Fantasy XII being such a revolution to the series, creating the series’ best battle system in the process, Final Fantasy XIII feels like a massive backwards step.

Undoubtedly the best game in the series, Blood Money will thrill long-time fans, giving them everything they could possibly want from their favourite killer.