One good mode can't stop this getting pinned. [Nov 2008, p.96]

A great continuation of one of the greatest sports games on 360.

Our advice: fix the career, add in some quirky new modes other than the Gamer Face, and widen the character's fighting styles beyond one special attack, and we'll be queuing up for Round 2.

A big-hearted game with some rip-off DLC. [Dec 2008, p.101]

A strategy romp that's as much hit as it is miss. [Nov 2008, p.84]

Untangling this new world's intrigues, both political and personally for characters, is unreasonably complex. New terminologies and faces are thrown at you at such rapid pace in the first few hours that you find yourself not caring.

A clever cross between life sim and silly little collecting game with a lot of fun online party action thrown in, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise will appeal to a hell of a lot of people, thanks to its superbly created and welcoming open world.

The sequel adds considerable depth to the original's plus points, without turning it into a serious economic simulation of trying to work out how to get the right amount of Snickers bars to feed your hungry mercenaries.

Gloriously imaginative and heaps of fun. [Nov 2008, p.100]

A tale worth telling to JRPG fans everywhere. [July 2009, p.90]

This isn't just an excellent introduction to the series, but a great expansion of it to keep veterans interested. Without Xbox Live you'll miss out on some of the really cool stuff, but for everyone else 2009 is definitely the year of the Tiger.

Addictive, frantic and a worthy sequel. [Nov 2008, p.100]

It's the sort of game that, when things are going badly, leaves you spending a lot of time not being able to do anything about it. You've made a mistake, and now you have to sit back and twiddle your thumbs.

The tennis is good when your'e in a match. You feel like you're really in control of the game thanks to the array of shots at your disposal, but the pace of it and the euthanasia-like tedium of the Pro Tour will put most players off after half an hour. [Aug 2008, p.84]

It has a solid, unrelenting challenge that will remind veteran gamers of years gone by when games made no apologies for being so stupidly, frustratingly, agonisingly tough.

This is dull. So very, very dull.

It's online that Madden 09 really comes into its own. [Oct 2008, p.88]

Unique, charming, frustrating, innovative. [Oct 2008, p.94]

With the hilarity of multiplayer locked until you finish the solo missions, and a slightly too-high price, this is one to miss. Shame. [July 2008, p.94]

As wonderfully addictive as ever. [Oct 2008, p.94]

It's fortunate the series can now rest on the safety net of online play and character customization because, without it this would be a slender, anorexic package - a tad ironic, when you consider just how much attention Namco has lavished on its buxom babes.

Summer Athletics gets off to a good start with a generally competent control system. It's a shame that its lack of features means that it can't quite go the distance, and ultimately ends up coughing, wheezing and spluttering after just four or five hours of gameplay.

Not the hole-in-one you've been hoping for. [Sept 2008, p.92]

Innovative co-op...shame about the rest. [Sept 2008, p.92]

Civilization Revolution is currently the best strategy game available on the console. It has the controls, it has the pedigree, it has the depth, it has the multiplayer and most of all it has the accessibility. [July 2008, p.80]

Not nearly enough fun. [Aug 2008, p.93]

As a tech demo of Xbox 360's power and a showcase of how fast, skilful and enjoyable simple online battling can be when it's taken back to basics, there's nothing better around right now.

Confusing, annoying and frustrating. [Nov 2008, p.97]

Under seven quid for one of the best one-on-one fighters since "Street Fighter II"? Bargain!

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith isn't terrible; it's just by no means an essential addition to the series. Hardcore fans will be left feeling short-changed when it comes to the complete band experience, while others will wish they could buy the support tracks as DLC.

The initial reaction when Happy Tree Friends was fired up was "rubbish", "stupid" and "why are you playing this?" It looks bland, boring and slow...Yet for the person playing it, it's endearing, addictive and surprisingly fun.

A game most of today's gaming fraternity can waltz through. Its an overhead shooter for first-timers, yin to Ikaruga's bullet-laden yang.

Fork out 40 quid for Hellboy? Hell no! [Sept 2008, p.90]

A bot-standard, rusty platformer for kids. [Sept 2008, p.86]

A third-person action-adventure with the beating black heart of a survival horror, Alone in the Dark is a game that needs to be experienced by everybody. Its novel approach of applying shocks into an episodic structure, eight hourly segments in all, is a masterstroke.

It's accessible, it's fun and its destruction is novel enough to keep players entertained. If this was about breaking up the Rainbow Six Vegas and G.R.A.W. stranglehold on the squad combat genre, it hasn't quite pulled it off. It's not bad company for the night; it's just not memorable company either.

Superb tennis sim, but where's Wimbledon? [July 2008, p.85]

Nothing really new. [Aug 2008, p.92]

Pretty ugly, but it has a nice personality. [Sept 2008, p.84]

A fun concept, but the lack of depth turns it into a snorkelling trip rather than an undersea odyssey. [Aug 2008, p.95]

Definitely not worth the ridiculous 800 MP asking price. [Aug 2008, p.94]

It represents the sport in a grittier light than the super-polished Fight Night series.

But if you are one of those four ardent fans, you'll find this is a remarkably faithful representation of NASCAR and a vast improvement over last year's edition. [Aug 2008, p.88]

A great little fighter though a bit repetitive. [Aug 2008, p.78]

Seriously, there's nothing incredible about this. [Aug 2008, p.79]

There's enough frenzied destruction to entertain for an afternoon - just leave your brain at the door. [Aug 2008, p.94]

Well designed and addictive. [Aug 2008, p.95]

But their utter linearity wears the patina thin as the same ground is covered again and again; the really exciting scenes wilt into mindless reaction games, and even the best part - the fistfights - become stale after a few repetitive bouts.

Still, there's no denying that Ninja Gaiden II has tons going for it, and when the combat works, which it does for most of the game, it can be a beautiful ballet of blood and steel with you at the centre, devising and scrapping split-second plans as you rip your way from alamo to alamo. If you've got the stomach for it, Ninja Gaiden will reward you. They just could have been a little less mean.

While GRID's a nice game, it's ultimately a new selection of cars and tracks for Colin McRae DiRT. You might want to bear that in mind when it comes to buying it.

That rare thing: a film tie-in that's not bad. [Sept 2008, p.87]

By permitting Traveller's Tales to parody the movies to such an extent, they've allowed the developer to create something above and beyond the standard movie tie-in. [July 2008, p.86]

What doesn't work this time out is Throttle Monkey mode, Atari's way of separating the casual from hardcore gamer. In other titles speeded-up gameplay can be an endurance test; here, it's just unplayable.

One of the best team FPSs to date.

Probably the best budget game we've ever seen...You'd have a frozen heart not to love it. [July 2008, p.95]

Those gamers who check out Penny Arcade daily will be playing to see the reappearance of iconic characters and to laugh at the in-jokes dotted throughout the game. But even they would have a hard time swallowing the 1,600 MP price tag (around £15) for five hours of gameplay - gameplay that isn't heavy on replayability.

Pretty much "FIFA 08" with a new front end and 571 teams removed. [May 2008, p.80]

It's not entirely run-of-the-mill. [Aug 2008, p.85]

Neither assaulting nor heroic. [July 2008, p.96]

One of the best family games out there. [June 2008, p.78]

For all its promise, this is another entirely superfluous superhero game. [June 2008, p.70]

It's got a world you believe in, a cast you care about and a script stuffed with brilliant moments... Utterly stunning in every resepct. [May 2008, p.79]

Challenging, but rather dull presentation. [June 2008, p.78]

A treat for fans and better than "NBA Street." [June 2008, p.66]

Zany, but this price is just ridiculous. [June 2008, p.79]

Battlezone is fun, it's enjoyable and it works, which is far better than you would expect from a rusty tank after 27 years of inactivity. [Feb 2008, p.102]

An amazing sight to behold. [Apr 2008, p.99]

Sugary, sweet and addictive puzzle fun. [May 2008, p.93]

Passable, but there are better alternatives. [May 2008, p.92]

Dark Sector's ultimate error is that it still can't quite shake off its tag of "just another generic action shooter." But it sure as hell gives it a try. [Apr 2008, p.82]

It's a solid attempt at bringing this sort of game genre to the 360, but it still appears that, much like sleeping with a robot behind your partner's back, controlling an RTS with a joypad will always be a clunky affair.

A quintessentially average 'alright for a one-night stand but don't even think of proposing' game that your Xbox 360 has had the pleasure of experiencing at least a couple of hundred times before.

The ultimate Sega party game. [Apr 2008, p.90]

Ubisoft has taken a huge gamble by not making wholesale changes to Rainbow Six Vegas 2, but it's come up smelling liike roses. It's still one of the very best-value, high-quality FPS packages available on the 360. [Apr 2008, p.72]

Easy to play, but not a whole lot of fun. [June 2008, p.79]

An all-out assault on the brain, a gruesome spectacle to behold. A horrific beauty has once again been born by Monolith. [Mar 2008, p.87]

More than any other Pro Evo, this one spits in your face and laughs at your pathetically predictable attempts to play it, again and again, until your old ways are eventually stamped into the dust...It still plays a beautiful game. [Dec 2007, p.80]

It has the feel and production values of a blockbuster game, but lacks any big-budget thrills. If you can get over the inane storyline, there's enjoyment to be had from the solid game play and co-op moves, but don't expect the fun to live much longer than those Iraqis you're shooting at.

Contender for the dullest game ever made. [May 2008, p.93]

But the thing which pulls this down to a seven is actually its technical aspect - while diving in and out of the subgames would amuse, the constant loading pauses before most fracture its atmosphere.

The game's ultimate wrong turning is that it looks and plays like something released several years ago. [May 2008, p.88]

While Lost tries to encapsulate the spirit of the series, it ends up smothered by it, restricted from being anything more than a shiny tourist guide to the set and characters. [Apr 2008, p.84]

Frontlines feels like an unfinished testing ground for excellent ideas that would have shone in a superb FPS game. Unfortunately, as there's not enough game modes, not enough maps and a weak single-player campaign, this is not a superb FPS game. [Mar 2008, p.88]

Simple, elegant and hopelessly addictive. [Feb 2008, p.103]

It's a one-trick pony, true. Yet does that even matter when the trick is this damn good? Of course it doesn't. Just buckle up, enjoy the ride and hang on for your life. [Feb 2008, p.92]

It's the most accessible entry to date, but not the most compelling. [Apr 2008, p.80]

It's a good job the multiplayer's so enjoyable because, if we're being honest, the single-player mode is pretty shallow.

Without even a two-player mode, this won't last you ten minutes. [Aug 2007, p.103]

Annoying rather than quirky and appealing. [Apr 2008, p.99]

Drearily predictable stain on the franchise. [Apr 2008, p.88]

It's just a bit shallow, and technically flawed with it: the frame-rate is nowhere near as solid as you'd expect from a game that looks only "all right" and the physics system is prone to craziness. Despite all the time in development, it lacks polish. [Feb 2008, p.96]

Makes you want to jump off a cliff.

Lost Odyssey's heritage is enough to make it great. [Apr 2008, p.92]

The core puzzling itself is horribly addictive. Poker Smash isn't going to make you want to eat ice cream-topped pizza but it is the perfect way to kill a few hours.

Idea-free shooting. With dinosaurs. [Mar 2008, p.90]

This is old-school style gaming, sticking proudly with the DMC staple. Nevertheless, Capcom has got the balance right this time. "Devil May Cry 3" was undoubtedly the pinnacle of the series, despite becoming insanely difficult far too quickly. Here it's a much slower incline rather than a sharp spike.

Chronically average. [Apr 2008, p.86]

If you missed the cult the first time round, now is the time to jump on board. If you are already part of the cult, we know you'll be playing this right now.