An utterly outstanding game. It is also one of the few games in existence where friends gleefully swipe said Nintendo DS hardware in order to play it, resulting in various skirmishes and the subsequent prising of gaming hardware from contorted, cold, dead hands. [JPN Import]

Lumines II shows that the game has lost none of its appeal since its initial release, and the music videos really do feel like the next-step and part of a natural progression.

With around 18 levels, Screwbreaker won't present the greatest of challenges to platform junkies, but it is thoroughly entertaining while it lasts. [JPN Import]

It is a game for the TRPG hardcore; those who’ll enjoy spending hours playing the same maps or random dungeons over and over to level up in order to progress through the story, or who spend days working out the best combination of stat modifiers to make finishing off the mission puzzles that little bit easier.

LSW2 is a quality title, but it suffers the same problem as the films it parodies.

Trashy, vulgar and complete with a set of morals that are thin at best, Saints Row 2 is a fantastically stupid game that infuriates as much as it entertains.

Its extensive campaign is likely to be played and thoroughly enjoyed at least once, but any replayability has been sabotaged by its own shortcomings: the bugs, the enforced narrative and the lack of rewards.

There is nothing quite like having a group of friends around, all buzzing about the screen trying to avoid whacking the ball into the bunker and using the ingame speech modes to annoy merry hell out of each other.

There is a superbly realised first third of a game there, but the combat and linear mission structure, coupled with the awful storyline help to undermine the quality apparent elsewhere.

The minor issues are nowhere near big enough to take away from a game that sucks the player in with its originality and keeps them well and truly locked in until the judgement is made in the final case. Simply put, it’s brilliant. [JPN Import]

It stands proud as an example of how all retro collections should be compiled in terms of content, even if it does serve to highlight minor presentational niggles such as the lack of a button config option that are often common to these packs.

Toy Soldiers just tries too hard to be different, in the end.

It’s the perfect zone game, with matches ebbing and flowing as you or your opponent get ‘in the zone’, and the more you play the better you will become. Rockstar Games presents Table Tennisis a perfect example of how a sport should be digitally replicated.

Overall, this can be a frustration, especially once gamers realise this fact by seeing just how inaccessible some of the later courses can be. [JPN Import]

It's fun, gloriously slick and executed at the standards we've come to expect. DK94 players should consider this essential; to everyone else it comes highly recommended.

There are moments of such genius that it is almost impossible not to become entirely immersed within the game’s haunted world. Yet all its terrifying beauty, with a better-judged difficulty and the problems with the second character ironed out, FF2 could have been the finest game in the horror genre.

Both superb and a mess, a console FPS that feels fun, tactical, exciting all at the same time as feeling frustrating, backwards and in places amateurish.

The mixture of splendidly chunky and vibrant visuals with coy hum-along tunes draws you deep within the game’s deceptively complex system, refusing to allow you out to even take a bathroom break.

As fantastic a game as it ever was. It's one of those rare games which are so good they feel genuinely ageless; pure, uninhibited pick up and play genius with not one button to press.

Prince of Persia turns out to be a worthy justification for once again restarting the franchise. It brings the series back to its essential roots, stripping away the superfluous muck that had gathered during the last few outings and at the same time having enough new appeal, charm and content to make it worth trying.

Jungle Beat was never going to be a bad game but the innovative control scheme and the deep combo-mechanic have elevated it to a genuinely excellent one.

For those who were put off by the difficulty of the original PS2 release, this could be the version for you. [JPN Import]

Even putting the d-pad issues aside, the console’s button layout does not lend itself to Capcom’s ever-present ‘six button’ system. Fighting games are all about split-second timing and fluid control, and any sacrifice in these areas is going to impact on the player’s enjoyment of the game.

Overall, Condemned 2 starts off brilliantly and has much potential, but ends up a crushing disappointment. Not only does it pail into comparison to its predecessor, but it also fails to stand up against other games in the FPS genre.

An enchanting tapestry of stylistic design, a deep and unconventional battle system, and fifty hours-plus of rewarding game play.

An excellent multi-player romp, but in single player, it’s merely a diluted example of the other games in the series. [JPN Import]

Whilst Capcom vs SNK Millenium Fight doesn't set the 2D fighting world alight, it's a fun, slightly flawed, yet visually impressive bundle of joy in an orange case. Can we say fairer than that?

Being story-driven, the game was also broken up into short chapters, sometimes exceedingly short. With a load required between each one it could mean playing for possibly a few minutes before needing to load the next level.