Although the draw of online leaderboards and achievements is compelling, unfortunately for Pinball FX, the table designs all feel a little mediocre and lack the features of truly great pinball tables like The Addams Family and Star Trek TNG; maybe the future downloadable content will be better. That said, it is a solid pinball simulation that portrays the ball physics with some degree of finesse, and so it's definitely worth checking out the trial game at least.

A shocking effort, then, and one of the more memorable disasters in recent games history.

Despite its foibles, this simplified RPG is accessible to anyone, and remains as engrossing as it ever was.

Despite its foibles, this simplified RPG is accessible to anyone, and remains as engrossing as it ever was.

The most interesting feature though, has to be the inclusion of the "Double Play" mode where it's possible to play a 2P game whilst controlling both ships - a technique made famous by a skillful Japanese Ikaruga player, and now here it is entering the mainstream as a proper play mode. [JPN Import]

While the eight-player party mode delivers plenty of short-term fun with friends and family, the lack of traditional modes and tightened controls hurt Bust-A-Move Bash! in the long run.

Another excellent and approachable leaderboard-chasing romp through colourfully lit cityscapes with an upbeat tempo soundtrack. Though it's perhaps a little short-lived due to the limited tracks currently available, it's a lot of fun while it lasts.

If you have never tried a Paper Mario game then this is the most accessible game in the series to date and if you have tried one but did not find it to your taste then give this one a try.

However, the game ultimately stands or falls on its ability to remain fun and dynamic. For a two year old game, that to all intents and purposes feels like a poor man’s God Of war in places, it does still hold-up pretty well.

On the face of it Chocobo Tales appears to be aimed at a younger audience; however the game has a delightful charm that will appeal to anyone who’s a fan of the Final Fantasy series.

If nothing else, Vanguard serves as a pretty good indication of how well suited the Wii’s control setup is for this kind of game and one can only hope that future releases, most notably Metroid Prime 3, will succeed in adding what Vanguard lacks – a decent videogame to back up the inventive controls.

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.

For anyone who is a fan of entertaining, no-brainer old-school arcade gameplay, this is essential.

The game can also be scored for a winsome budget price, which means that it isn’t too much of a kick to the nads if you fail to get to grips with the dodgy controls and limited wares on offer.

Puzzle Quest PSP does exactly what it sets out to do, masterfully combining the role-playing and puzzle genres into one game that is perfect for handheld gaming.

No game has gumption like EDF. No other game has the balls to make the most basic enemy an ant the size of a bus. No other game lets the player get away with such wanton collateral damage. No other game has the audacity to throw so much at you and fill the screen with such massive explosions that your neighbours will think aliens really have invaded and will hide in their cellars. The sheer spectacle is a sensory supernova.

Kororinpa isn't a massively deep game - we're talking more like swimming pool than Marianas Trench - and as such it certainly won't take most people very long to plough through to the credits, but when compared games of this ilk there's still plenty to come back for.

There isn’t much else to say about this stupendous game. It is among the very best games to have graced the console, indeed it is among the best of this or any other generation.

Even with the limited themes, Worms has a lot of legs, or at least a lengthy slimy belly, and it’s a worthy addition to XBLA, especially as a multiplayer game over Live.

Very little in GRAW2 is designed to convert those who steadfastly refused to get on with the first, something which Ubisoft makes no apologies for. Instead they have provided for the already-converted with a game that will thrill and engage for its duration.

Wario's a greedy so-and-so, and he goes to a lot of trouble to get what he wants. Master of Disguise is an enjoyable diversion which some will enjoy, but you have to question whether Wario's elaborate scheme was really worth bothering with in the first place.

As lacklustre as Vice City Stories is, there’s no denying that it effectively replicates the core genius of the GTA series in a way no other sandbox action title can. Presumably the last GTA on the PS2, you’ll leave it thinking that it was a missed opportunity rather than a poor experience.

Bullet Witch gets by on the fun nature of the physics and occasionally spectacular setpieces (the Up in Flames at 10,000 Feet boss encounter on the back of a jumbo jet, or downing multiple enemy Chinooks with a Tornado) but the incessant dourness and spartan environments can become rather depressing simply on an aesthetic level without bringing frustrating game mechanics into it.

It's cheap, it's easy, there’s no death, severed limbs or even blood, it's great for wowing hammered friends with a motion sensitive controller. In fact, it's simply ornamental.

Unshackled from the limitations of ‘vertical-only’ movement, this update is more intuitive than its predecessor and turning the DS ninety degrees is a wonderful touch too.

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.

Trioncube’s mesmerisingly spartan yet compulsive gameplay, married to the charming presentation, indelible soundtrack and reward trail, often confect to make this feel like a honeyed breath of fresh air. [JPN Import]

Forget what you have heard about this being a title that will “train” you how to use your new hardware - it doesn’t. You can learn much more with the in-bundle magnificence of Wii Sports, or the genuine innovation offered by Wario Ware. Let’s hope that more consideration is put into future first party releases of this ilk.