If you can put up with the banality of the missions and NPCs, and the fact that all the player characters look the same, Neocron is slowly becoming one of the most interesting MMORPG worlds.

Harry Potter may posses a certain charm that transcends the generation gap, but don’t expect this game to weave the same magic.

RalliSport Challenge is a cracking rally game that just falls short in so many places it can’t make the podium. For sheer content and powersliding potential, it’ll deliver in spades until "Colin McRae 3." Just don’t expect a perfect ride.

Attractive, accessible and plenty to do – for a golf game, anyway.

A shining example of the genre, and one that will be remembered for a whole twelve months. As the series carries on there are fewer defining moments which mark one instalment from the next: a little gameplay gloss here, a graphical rennovation there.

It’s managed to make ostensibly the same game as it always has, but with just a little bit of lateral thinking has revolutionised its own formula. Bring on Age of Bomber Jackets, already.

Achingly beautiful, eccentric combat in the clouds.

When it comes to looks, Strike Fighters is a stunner.

Yes, to the casual user it feels little different – and not that much faster – to the original game; but frankly, no one can criticise Firaxis for giving Civ junkies the multiplayer hit they’ve been demanding for the last year.

There is a hangar full of new additions including new 3D cloud textures that make hide-and-seek dog-fighting a real possibility.

Stick with it through those slow, opening Hobbiton chapters and you’ll be immortalised in the terrible poetry of Elvensong. No doubt.

Fans should definitely indulge but more frugal souls who choose to meet Monica for the first time via a budget copy of the original game are certainly no fools.

Challenging, cerebral, and maddening.

An excellent FPS, and easily one of the year’s best. It’s varied, funny, imaginative, challenging (on anything other than Easy mode, which you could complete blindfolded) and has a lot to offer. However, despite all this, it lacks its predecessor’s spark of genius and genuine originality. If we sound a little on the negative side, it’s only through mild disappointment that it’s merely a very good game rather than a repeat performance of a genuine classic.

UT2003 may not be a revolution, but after a raft of unexciting "Counter-Strike" clones over the last couple of years, it’s the finest game you’ll find gracing any server right now.

An interesting twist is the lack of fog of war. This takes a while to get used to, but works surprisingly well.

A bona fide labour of love that evidently had the blinkers on.

Entertaining, but little innovation to write home about.

Battlefield 1942 is absolutely a multiplayer title – and don’t let anyone tell you different – and in that respect it really does the business.

Shiny graphics and slick production can’t hide the tedium.

As cinematic games go, Mafia is in a league of its own.

There’s little new that stands out in Icewind Dale II to recommend it. There's a lacks the style and emphasis on story that characterises the genre’s best.

The Thing isn’t a classic but it is a superbly executed, engrossing horror shooter that almost everyone will enjoy, once at least.

Strategy game of the year, perhaps of the millennium.

While certainly more approachable than its US Election themed follow-up "Political Machine," TCM is a much older game and really doesn't have the same smoothness or fun value. [March 2005, p.113]

A fun, involving strategy game with unsophisticated visuals featuring online play and modding to ensure plenty of longevity. [Oct 2008, p.111]

Reasonably entertaining space-shooty madness. [Dec 2004, p.104]

The game itself is too lightweight to stand much repeating, leaving two possible outcomes: you'll become a paranoid conspiracy theorist, or get bored, shoot the driver, and watch them all perish in the resulting crash. [Feb 2005, p.93]