Hardened RTS players may feel a little disappointed by the relative simplicity of the title and the fact that even on the hard difficulty level it isn't as challenging as many other RTS games. But for the average user, it is perfectly pitched.

While it remains very much an acquired taste, Forever is ideal for newcomers to the series, but perhaps a roll too far for Katamari veterans. As fun now as ever, we still think that only truly dedicated rollers or Katamari newbies need apply.

Despite initial concerns about the price tag, Halo 3: ODST offers up a surprising glut of content for your money. Bungie aren't making a concentrated effort to reinvent the formula they've so successfully championed, and for that reason they're likely to come across their fair share of detractors. Halo 3: ODST is never going to be considered game of the year, but Firefight in particular will likely be played for a long time to come.

Ultimately, WET only occasionally transcends average status, its brand of excessive action marred by a lack of depth, unrelenting repetition and a dearth of imagination. Strangely likeable, those seeking straightforward, uncomplicated shooting thrills may happily overlook the game's issues and enjoy a solid, fun-filled blast for a good few hours or so.

Taking all things into consideration, and despite some dodgy gameplay balance issues, wonky supercar handling, and ill-fitting drift events, much of Need for Speed: Shift is undeniably impressive and EA's work is done with regard to breathing fresh life into a decaying series corpse.

The new features make it a better game than its predecessors, but just not enough to warrant a sure-fire, full-priced purchase. Unless you just can't bring yourself to wait, the shrewd move is to keep playing NHL 09 until you can pick up a copy on the cheap - although by then we'll probably be starring at a fresh new copy of NHL 11.

If I haven't already made it blisteringly clear, I'd advise avoiding Heroes over Europe.

A marked improvement over the first game, this sequel is really only worth seeking out if your Spider sense is tingling for more Marvel action. Otherwise, you may want to use your common sense and avoid.

Ultimately, what starts as a giggle-inducing breath of fresh air eventually gives way to such a near-insurmountable level of head-scratching challenge that many budding scribblers will slam shut the DS well before unlocking all ten of the game's themed worlds.

Harmonix have created a loving dedication to one of the greatest bands of all time. It might not set the Christmas charts on fire, but it will be a critical darling for years to come.

As a full-price purchase Mini Ninjas is hard to recommend to anyone other than those keen to snap up some easy Achievement Points by rushing headlong and unimpeded through its lacklustre adventure - for which a rental would be best advised.

Eight-player online racing provides endless gameplay and all eight of the relevant disciplines are catered for, from point-to-point endurance to time trials, rally and beyond. It is without doubt the most comprehensive and utterly playable off-road racing title we've ever played, the pitch perfect balance between immediate arcade gratification and detailed authenticity making for a matchless rally experience. Colin McRae: DiRT 2 is simply racing at its most unreservedly sublime.

Certainly, it is far from perfect, and misses out on lessons learnt elsewhere. But what it does do is bring some genuinely new ideas to the genre, while creating a game that is a lot of fun to play.

Champions Online holds a lot of promise and is the type of game that brings a smile to your face as you play despite its flaws, but it does still need some work.

It's by no means perfect, the motion controlled combat can be a tad flaky and its pacing may be too languid for some, but those Wii owners looking for something a little more grown up would be well advised to put on their climbing boots give this a try.

The entire production reeks of quality from the stellar voice work to the jaw-dropping visuals and intuitive control system - truly this is the Batman game we've all been waiting for. It is to games what "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" are to movies - Batman: Arkham Asylum is without doubt the most definitive videogame realisation of the character yet. It's also unreservedly brilliant to boot.

While Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the only episode native to the Wii, and significantly more tuned to Wii Remote and Nunchuk interaction as a result, there's no denying the overall pedigree created as a result of tweaking and attaching the original Metroid Prime and its Echoes sequel.

With competent combat, thrilling exploration and the inherent joy of becoming a world-conquering super soldier, Shadow Complex is a triumph. The journey might be short, but it's one of the sweetest you'll have all year.

High def graphics aside this could almost be five or even ten years old in terms of game design but it matters not a jot because its also genuinely fun to play.

A stimulating, compelling game of gridiron.

Showing a complete lack of faith in either their own control system or their intended audience's ability, Double Helix have seen fit to implement a far too effective automated targeting system which does its best to remove every last element of skill from proceedings.

Any game starring fat royalty with a penchant for baked treats and a credit sequence set to Sir Mixalot's 'Baby Got Back' is instantly destined for greatness anyway. So why not have your cake and eat it?

Just as Wii Sports was exactly what Nintendo needed to help shift units when the Wii launched so too Wii Sports Resort proves to be a perfect advert for MotionPlus as well as still being a cracking game in its own right.

It's hard to be anything but overjoyed with WipEout HD Fury. The price seems miniscule for the amount of content on offer.

Sadly the lack of variety and repetitive nature of what's there does little more than throw the half hearted story telling and horrible voice acting into even sharper relief.

A dynamic cover system makes shootouts enjoyably tactical and the action remains quick and consistent throughout. What's more, it's a massive improvement over the comparatively rough first game, especially where the visuals are concerned.

If you are a parent who is looking for a game to play with their child that both of you can enjoy: this succeeds quite admirably. It even offers a multiplayer mode if you want to compete together, although this consists solely of mini-games rather than any co-operative sections within the game.

Ultimately, fans of the tabletop game will be delighted with Cyanide's videogame translation.

While Fight Night Round 4 is easily the best boxing game of 2009 and also markedly better than its superb series predecessor, the game's perfectly balanced blend of challenge and excitement, relentless action, intuitive controls, jaw-loosening graphics, and fulfilling career mean it's the best example of "the sweet science" to ever grace home consoles.

Superb controls aside, when properly assessed by the FPS genre's merciless yardstick of quality, The Conduit echoes the same linear design disappointments as Resistance: Fall of Man and finds itself languishing uncomfortably close to Turning Point: Fall of Liberty in terms of dour quality.

Revenge of the Fallen is exactly what we were expecting. No more, no less.

Overlord II is solid enough, but it doesn't go quite as 'over-the-top' as we'd have liked.

The truly frustrating thing however is that with some rather elementary things fixed (AI that isn't so terminally stupid, environments that don't look like they were made out of papier-mache, an involving combat mechanic) DW games would become not only more enjoyable for the mainstream but also surely more enjoyable for their fan base too. Until then however this is, and will continue to be, an experience to excite the devoted few rather than tempt the masses.

One of the most exhaustive, expansive and compelling RPG experiences on the market.

The story remains suitably compelling and entertaining throughout, but it's the intuitive controls and strength of the ghostbusting itself that'll keep you playing.

The result of this attention to detail and commitment to develop an ongoing Wii version of the game is a great little experience. If you have even a slight inkling towards darts and a smattering of patience to persevere for a few hours with the controls you will find a lot of fun here.

If you are a big fan of darts and watch it religiously then I can see this game being right up your street, especially during the months when it's not on the television. But for those of you out there that occasionally have a session with your pals down the pub then I suggest you stick with the traditional way of playing darts and avoid this title.

The sad thing is that Guitar Hero has actually done more than enough over the last few years to deserve some kind of back slapping celebration of it's success, it's just a shame Activision have decided this quick and easy cash in is the best way forward.

As far as social Wii games go, Let's Tap is a great addition to the immense stable already available for the console and more than worth a punt. Bold, colourful and smile-inducing, it's a work of unique tapping genius, which is definitely something you don't hear everyday.

Prototype emerges as the raucous illegitimate spawn of Crackdown, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and The Darkness - making no excuses for portraying Manhattan as a throwaway playground to be leapt, swooped and flown over with ease while gleefully blowing shit up, ignoring the body count, and rushing headlong through an incessant flood of gory but breathtaking action.

Virtua Tennis 2009 plays a better, more compelling game than any other tennis game around, but it is still fundamentally more of the same. Nonetheless, if you're in the market for a new set of balls, then this is certainly a game that you'll love.

Considering the wealth of amazing movie content spawned by the creative powers at LucasFilm, it still boggles the mind that LucasArts is seemingly incapable of crafting a truly worthy gaming offshoot that encapsulates the wonder and excitement of Indiana Jones or the star-gazing imagination of Star Wars.

You may feel less like a rock star and more like a traditional gamer while you play but it's great fun and a million times better than being laughed at on the bus while strumming your DS.

They say timing is everything and there's a sense that EA will be onto a winner here simply by being the first fully integrated MotionPlus tennis game to hit the shelves.

I don't often get the chance to say this, but here we have the combination of a development team at the top of their game, a technology that matches their requirements and a console in the perfect demographic. Out of this perfect storm comes the first game on the Wii I can whole heartedly endorse to anyone regardless of their age or gaming persuasion.

This is explosive, balls-to-the-wall action that makes no concessions in delivering the ultimate playground in which to wreak havoc. The almost limitless potential for reckless mayhem is what makes Guerrilla such an unashamedly fun game to play, which is why this is without a doubt the biggest summer blockbuster so far this year and consequently an essential purchase. Now go on, get your ass to Mars.

It's really chuffing addictive.

When that ambition fails to live up to its promise by delivering a hollow and disappointing experience, you can't help but feel somewhat nonplussed by the final product. This should have been incredible, but having tried our very best to like Codemasters' latest racing IP, we can't help but feel like we've been taken for a ride. Fuel-ed, if you will.

Damnation strikes you as an unconfident, unconvincing effort, and the only possible conclusion is that Blue Omega lack a basic grasp on the fundamentals.

It may not reinvent the wheel as far as the open-world genre is concerned, but in crafting a suitably compelling and eminently playable title, Sucker Punch have shaken off the child-friendly shackles of their Sly Cooper games and produced something distinctly dark and mature, that simply demands to be played.

The draw of an irresistible cast of characters - all nicely rendered as endearing retro sprites and stylish anime portraits - should already seal the deal for the core audience, but for everyone else, Cross Edge will seem like nothing more than an obscure curio.

Like an unexpected kick in the plums, it's a genuine surprise that this is actually rather good.

The variety, innovative interaction and sheer playfulness on offer are more than enough to warrant the cover price alone.

GRIN have successfully created the right tools, but failed to provide the proper playground to make you want to play with them.

The overwhelming feeling, the more you play D-A-C, is that what it really needs is more Star Trek in it.

The RTS foundations are in place and there are plenty of core and online missions to test player mettle (and patience), but, as with Battlestations: Midway, the control interface is still unwieldy, the action is still stodgy and unfulfilling, and the aesthetics are still hampered by distinctly last-gen failings.

Plants Vs Zombies is clearly a labour of love and on top of that it's what you might call the perfection of simplistic budget gaming. The game stimulates the emotional mind from start to finish, providing the kind of spontaneous quick-fire stimulation that our minds have come to expect from 21st century lifestyles.

The problem is it's a one trick pony. The shock of the violence and the speed of the gameplay initially grabs your attention, but it lacks the spectacle to keep itself feeling fresh and inventive, then before long a sense of banal repetition sets in. And you're not even a third of the way through the game. I can't deny that it gives you quite a lot of game for your money, but it also outstays its welcome.

Velvet Assassin is an excruciatingly painful, unappealing mess of a game, and its number of redeeming qualities can be counted on the stump of a leper's former arm: it ends.

If you've always fancied the idea of having the genuine OutRun arcade cabinet experience with added online support then OutRun Online Arcade does exactly what it says on the tin while managing to be a lot of fun to boot.

Only Valve's Orange Box trumps it for sheer value and quality. For that reason alone, Assault on Dark Athena is nigh on essential.

Despite the pedigree of the licence, very little of the movie's quality has made its way into the game. The characters are bland and the presentation of the narrative is decidedly uninspiring. It feels like a half-finished game and, whilst the idea has a lot of potential, is decidedly lacking in quality in its current form.

It's perhaps not the ideal starting place for GH newbies (unless they're Metallica die-hards) but for the rest of us it's a lovely addition to our growing GH library.

Much like a lot of the leading mans films, Wheelman is brainless entertainment without any pesky delusions of grandeur to trip over. Yes the plot is daft and the action as unrealistic as it comes but crucially it's also, for the most part, thoroughly enjoyable.

As the studio responsible for the ace Total War series, it's difficult to understand how they've managed to get this so very wrong. It's a real shame that what seems like a decent idea ultimately emerges as a visually unappealing, impenetrably tough and devastatingly unrefined sci-fi strategy title.

It's a real shame that Legends of WrestleMania turns out to be such a slight affair as otherwise it's quite possibly the best wrestling game that developer Yuke's has made in a long time. The control system is a genuine improvement over previous efforts and the strong roster of legends is highly appealing. Had Yuke's fleshed out the WrestleMania Tour portion of the game into a fully-fledged story mode, this could have been something pretty special. As it stands however, Legends simply feels like an incomplete experience, which is a real shame and a major missed opportunity.

A largely unremarkable point-and-click offering that's unlikely to spawn a radical revival for the genre or lure PC gamers away from the (still) superior mouse controller. Wii owners looking for a richer, more modern gaming experience that comes packed with charm and convincingly tests grey matter would be well advised to seek out the criminally unappreciated Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure.

Weapons of Fate does a perfectly serviceable job in continuing the film's story, delivering decent enough in-game likenesses and equally accomplished voice acting, but the end product just doesn't boast the level of polish we had hoped for.

While the Wii version undoubtedly ends up a slightly less ambitious game, the overall package across both DS and Wii more than makes up for this shortfall.

It really is good, old fashioned adventure gaming fun.

It says something about the virtues of Chinatown Wars that the only thing possibly denying it the perfect GTA status is the soundtrack. The mini-games are plentiful but never outstay their welcome, the slick presentation pushes the boundaries of the DS, and the range of content creates an extensive but wonderfully accessible game. It's phenomenal, a game that I keep dipping into whenever the possibility arrives, and a desperately needed addition to the DS's library.

It might not add anything new to the genre but it's still reasonably entertaining, especially if you're keen on the period it's set in.

The bottom line here is that Nintendo's supposedly underpowered home console remains the single best option for a pure survival horror experience thanks to the vastly superior controls, taut gameplay and fright value of Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition.

When it's all added up, Uprising is a generous package. Not as extensive as Kane's Wrath, but released at half the price, it offers you about a third of the original game. It's not remarkable, by any means, and though it's never dull it also never escapes the feeling of being an expansion by numbers.

There's no denying that MadWorld is effortlessly, deliriously fun. The OTT, unashamedly brutal mutilation never grows tired, which will encourage you to return to the game even after you've aced the initial play-through of the story.

It just lacks passion for me. It all feels very, very functional; much like a slice of white bread in fact. You may eat a slice of white bread and there is nothing wrong with it but you would never think it was the best food you had ever eaten; it'd just fill you up until something better came along. Codename: Panzers - Cold War is the white bread of the RTS world. It is perfectly adequate, it'll keep you occupied while there's nothing better to do, but you'd never choose it over the chocolate of the RTS world, Dawn of War 2, or the cake: Empire: Total War.

What Ensemble have achieved is nothing short of astonishing. It may not prove to be the finest example in presenting lasting appeal – single-player certainly doesn’t last all that long – but ultimately, Halo Wars stands out as an RTS experience that works incredibly well while ticking all of the right boxes for the fans.

If you have the time and the dedication, Empire: Total War will shower you with gaming glory and riches.

Potential is a key word for discussing HAWX. There's a lot of hope within the engine, and the core gameplay is competent enough to secure its position as an emerging IP. It's still a bit rough around the edges, though, and Ubisoft should perhaps be a little bit ashamed for not allowing its natural potential to shine through.

As it stands this is an interesting development in the struggle to divine a way forward for the blue hedgehog. But unfortunately it's an experience that isn't nearly as much fun as it sounds.

Whether you want to plough through the fetch quests, trim seconds on your downhill time, or simply take a jaunt down some powdery slopes there is plenty here for everyone to enjoy.

Those who've always wanted a portable slice of Phantasy Star will find hours of content to enjoy, especially if they have a like minded friend or two. The rest of the world however may find it more of an acquired taste.

Considering the worth of a lengthy campaign offering genuine challenge, thrilling local multiplayer with A.I. bots, and a layered online multiplayer component that's likely to be PSN's main point of attraction for the foreseeable future, it's clear Killzone 2 has taken the ever-so popular wheel, slapped a gorgeous chrome rim on it, drastically reduced its tyre profile, and applied a sense of balance never before felt on a wheel. Why then would anyone want to reinvent the wheel when the damn wheel never looked so good or rolled so well?

Surprisingly good. It may lack some of the fine polish and epic sense of scale found in the triple-A titles it so obviously borrows from, but that's no reason to ignore it completely. It is a game that revels in its absurdity never taking itself seriously, an attitude that breeds a certain amount of forgiveness for its shortcomings.

Sadly, Rebellion's staid middle-of-the-road performance continues with Shellshock 2: Blood Trails, which, although not unequivocally broken, is so thoroughly unappealing and 'last generation' that it's all-but guaranteed a well-deserved place amid the lower echelons of gaming mediocrity.

Drakensang offers around 40-50 hours of gameplay depending on how many side quests you tackle, meaning there's plenty to be getting on with, and with a well written storyline and surprisingly good visuals, it really is a noteworthy all round package.

Despite a few incredibly minor niggles, Street Fighter IV arguably represents a new zenith for the series and puts every other beat 'em up in the shade. Visually and technically superior in every conceivable way, Street Fighter IV revives a much loved franchise and is unquestionably something genuinely special that will be appreciated for many years to come, much like its hallowed forebear.

The Lost and Damned is an excellent, well-produced, complete title. It, deservedly, makes Project Anchorage, Bring Down the Sky and Knothole Island look timid. It makes Half-Life's Episodes look miniscule.

In some ways Prinny succeeds in spite of itself.

This is easily more than a technology demo - as some accused Flow of being. As with any game like this, it is much easier to understand in the flesh than to explain. And I suggest you do just that. For a minimal investment you will find a gaming experience as elegant and subtle as any novel. And like a good novel, it is one you will want to pass on to all your friends.

F.E.A.R. 2 is a decent mix of self-aware cliche, gratuitous and hyperbolic violence mixed with the occasional touch of subtlety and reservation. It's a solid, dependable shooter that, in its best moments, gets your heart racing. Whilst the universe might be confusing and unfriendly for those who haven't played the first game, the shooting mechanics should be satisfying enough for fans of the genre.

LocoRoco 2 could well be the most enjoyable mix of madcap nonsense and simple yet perfectly formed gameplay that there's been all year.

It's a little rough around the edges in places, but Overkill has a barefaced charm and mischievous sense of fun that makes it impossible not to love. It's uncomplicated, old school entertainment. Just make sure you leave your sense of decency at the door when you enter this House of the Dead.

Deadly Creatures is an interesting concept that is commendable from a technical point of view, and is only let down by a few niggles.

X-Blades is, in summary, really just one long button-mash-fest, and doesn't require much subtlety as a result. Unfortunately the story and graphics do not do enough to make up for this simplicity - the game is of a decent length but sadly just gets very samey towards the end. Nothing special, overall; one for genre fanatics only.

It's inferior to developer Cing's own Hotel Dusk and occasionally rather dull, but as far as Wii titles of this ilk are concerned, Code: R is your best bet.

Fallout's strength has always been found in the moral decisions and branching pathways. There is simply none of that to be had in this episode - it is simply combat. While it can be fun, and possibly challenging with a lower-level character, it's not what Fallout is about. There is no real plot, either - it is background information to the Fallout universe, and that's all.

A couple of managers I competed against admitted they were addicted, yet none had a problem with this particular addiction. As for me, I think one of the most interesting things about FML is the thought of where Sports Interactive will take the concept next.