It's not as technically demanding as Street Fighter IV, and feels like a more free-flowing, mobile, nimble fighter in comparison. [Issue#66, p.99]

In spite of minor grumbles, this is an expansive, varied and satisfying physics puzzler and, while it could do with a smidge more personality, it certainly benefits from a budget price.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

And it's a testimony to their patience and kind-heartedness that they didn't punch us in the face for wasting an evening of their precious, finite life.

The introduction of the flow system early in the game seems innocuous at first, but it will quickly become the bane of your boarding existence. [Issue#67, p.88]

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Some great ideas, but derezzes in its execution.

Thing is, in spite of all this peripheral mediocrity, if you pick up Blood Stone, you'll probably get a day or so's entertainment from it.

Of the five there's only one genuine dud. Phu Bai Valley is an indistinct, formless and aesthetically muddy mess, made even worse if you play it in Rush mode with its arbitrary barriers. The other four, however, are some of the best Battlefield maps we've seen.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

When Unleashed 2 is good, it's really good. The stage-long, multi-tiered showdown against the skyscraper-high Gorog, though mechanically uninspired, is guaranteed to take your breath away. But the contrived and insignificant plot undoes the majority of the improved gameplay's good work, and the whole absolutely fails to live up to LucasArts' earlier promises of Empire-grade grandeur.

Splatterhouse starts off strong on a path of giddy puerility, always seeming on the cusp of offering more than misogyny and punching all the blood out of monsters - or at least giving you a sly wink to let you in on the joke - but it never actually comes.

While Majin gets a recommendation, it's a cautious one - you have to have the stomach for Cartoon Network voices, a preference for puzzles and exploration over combat, and the patience to double back on yourself. If you've got all that, then Majin will give you an extremely fair slice of entertainment.

Kinect Joy Ride provides a crammed package with plenty of games, a fine selection of unlockables and a challenge that offers plenty of room for improvement of your skills. If you're looking for a launch title to really get your teeth into even when you're on your own, you could do much worse than this.

Vanquish plays a one-note song, but thankfully that note is 'slow motion exploding robot face'. [Issue#66, p.92]

Def Jam Rapstar has the potential to go from very good to great. For now, it's very, very good. [Issue#67, p.89]

Fable III is still a great game, but something this brilliant deserves a more considered - and climactic - ending.

The story and comic feels light-hearted where it should be dark and disturbing, and the games lack longevity. [Issue#67, p.105]

It's not perfect, but Hot Pursuit is still the kind of collision between Criterion and Need For Speed you'd hope for. It pays respect to the classic NFS games, borrows the best bits from Burnout and is a technical masterpiece. The chase to reclaim NFS's once legendary chart topping form is well and truly on.

When all is said and done, this is the 'proper' Call of Duty fans have been waiting for. [Issue#67, p.84]

A compelling way to stay healthy. [Christmas 2010, p.108]

Button-mashing action without depth. [Christmas 2010, p.93]

The facts remain - there's nothing quite like this on the Xbox 360 and the series is wildly popular for a very good reason.

This year's instalment still provides enough fan-service to make the hardcore throw their money into the ring, but it doesn't offer enough mass-market appeal.

We couldn't help but be slightly disappointed with the main plot - it feels flimsy compared to the huge journey the previous instalment treated us to, and the only truly impactful storytelling occurs when you leave Ezio behind. In spite of this, the sandbox is more complex and there's easily as much to do here as in the previous titles.

The only regret is that it's so approachable as to make it less effective as a dancing tutor: the ability to muddle through moves and still succeed, and the lack of a hardcore boot camp that shows what you actually look like, means Jacko-esque proficiency isn't guaranteed.

The depth from Kinectimals doesn't really come from the games but from the connection between child and fluffy pretend animal. In that regard Frontier has nailed it. It's too simplistic for grown up casual gamers, but youngsters will lap it up.

Great bursts of short-term, shallow fun.