It's easy to look at Call of Juarez and see a game split down the middle, one half great and the other horrible, but to give it the credit it deserves, such a bold use of divided narrative just about makes it worthwhile for the most part with the style of both sections always perfectly in character and the ever switching perspective from hunter to hunted driving the game along even when the on screen action becomes less enjoyable.

Consider this reviewer's naïve attitude and eternally hopeful gullibility well and truly slaughtered and replaced by a seething and consuming hatred of anything that gets unceremoniously squeezed out of Hollywood's all-profit-no-quality bunghole.

Beyond its shameful lack of a single-player component, which its gameplay attributes are absolutely screaming out for, Shadowrun feels somewhat unfinished, like a beta trial for better things to come - only it is a finished offering and it is never going to deliver.

Heed our advice now, be yee a Pirates of the Caribbean fan or nay, and steer clear of this scurvy-infested wreck of a game.

To put it simply, if the idea of thirty very simple arcade games with no real objective other than good old fashioned high score setting appeals and you can put up with the strained atmosphere of craziness then you may get some fun out of this well presented but ultimately flawed collection.

And considering that the cost of the game is so low, it's hard not to recommend this to people just for nostalgia's sake. Just remember how old the games are when you start playing them, and you'll have a blast.

Shrek the Third isn't fundamentally broken or inescapably unplayable, but its sheer middle-of-the-road laziness in every contributing aspect makes it all-but impossible to recommend to anyone accept blinkered Shrek / Dreamworks fanatics and those with a bizarre penchant for shoehorned Hollywood dross.

Graphics aside Infernal is a pretty mediocre third-person shooter in a genre already boasting Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War: given this, and Gears' inevitable arrival on the PC, it's difficult to recommend Infernal.

The main achievement of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars - which rises above all other minor concerns - is that it represents the first genuinely appealing real-time strategy success on a home videogames console.

As an extension to the Tony Hawk's brand it's an interesting novelty, an admirable attempt to try and broaden the market a little. But as an investment for your hard earned cash there's really nothing to recommend it ahead of the piles of other engine powered racing games on the PS2.

Spider-Man 3 is very much a game of two halves, the conventional game elements with their inherent problems actually get in the way of the fun you can have just 'being' Spider-Man.

Its problems come far more from having not much else to show once you get behind the mask, no depth to engross you or rewards to entice you than through any real technical fault with the game that's actually on display.

A game like Hard Rock Casino can provide all the virtual casino action it likes but it's never going to provide the same thrills and spills that a simple pack of cards, bag full of coppers, crate of beer and a few good friends can do.

The main draw is the fierce, more involving shoot-outs, which given the variety of weapons and intelligence of the enemies are simply excellent.

Given the intriguing nature of the narrative and the potential for development in such a plot, it's surprising to see such a bland title. 300 offered a glimpse of what could have been created with a little imagination and it is a shame that Ancient Wars - Sparta, despite the innovative unit management system, fails to deliver overall.

If you are a gamer that still sheds a little tear for the long lost "Streets of Rage" or "Final Fight" days then this game might please you by bringing back some fond memories. My verdict would be that it delivers nothing new despite the claims and just becomes a little boring and repetitive too quickly.

When push leads inexorably to shove, there are probably two good games here. The problem is that you have to play them both at the same time. Those of us that would have preferred a pure platformer, or indeed a pure RPG experience, will suffer the most. Those that are happy to live with the combination will find a compelling experience, with well written dialogue, innovative play dynamics and bucket loads of Nintendo charm.

Unfortunately, Frontline: Fields of Thunder offers little in the way of diversity. Not only with it's own linear-nay-similar gameplay, but from the tried and test formula of RTS games of old.

Where Penumbra really wins through however is in its storytelling and puzzle solving.

The retro touches like the return of cheesy cut-scenes, the universe itself and the focus on Tiberium in its decidedly science fiction storyline have had just the right amount of effort applied to make this an incredibly refined experience.

Is it better than "Call of Duty 3"? From my point of view, no. Simply because of its style-over-substance approach, inherent in the beautiful presentation overlaying slightly above average gameplay and not-quite-right controls.

It's certainly a little rough around the edges, but spend a little time delving deeper into the 'Zone' and you'll find you've chiseled away at a beauty.

Although past versions of Virtua Tennis have always exhibited a finely tuned but "arcadey" feel, VT3 is a full bodied simulation. This new outing from Sega AM3's ever appealing sports series is a deeper, more demanding and serious beast than ever before and yet easily manages to maintain the 'fun' factor that is synonymous with the series.

As a game its certainty one for the good pile, and will provide hours of solid well made driving entertainment on and off line, however having created such an open and immersive world so impressively it fails to build on that potential by not offering the player any real sense of progression or involvement in it beyond simply moving from race to race and buying more cars.

This is very much a game where stealth and planning wins out over gung-ho heroism. The more successful kills you rack up the more popular you'll become with the Navy top brass, this'll lead to you being able to improve the quality of your crew and even fit your sub out with some important upgrades if you're lucky.

There is nothing next-gen about the title in the least; only slightly improved graphics.

While the large metallic joystick and arcade unit might be dust in the ether (actually there's the original arcade unit I remember for sale on eBay now) I'm at a point where I can't walk past my PSP without picking it up.

By making the start of the game so poorly balanced and infusing the whole experience with the control scheme from hell, Monte Cristo ensured that it took a certain amount of will power to play through far enough to get to the good bits which surely isn't good enough.

It's still got some dodgy AI moments (mafia members running non-stop into walls, anyone?) and occasionally the Wii controls are a little unresponsive, but for 20 plus hours of gameplay, you could certainly spend your money on worse during what seems to be a somewhat worryingly slow period for game releases on Wii.

For the most part though it's more of the same in the looks department with not much changed since FIFA 07.

It's an average at best fighting game hiding behind a love or hate it licence marketed firmly at children.

As action games go GOWII certainly has one of the most elegantly plotted and skilfully woven stories ever, perfectly mining its mythological setting to deliver an experience full of all the delightful twists, awe inspiring set pieces and huge battles that you'd hoped for.

And while the title's misgivings are obstacles that anyone interested enough in the sport will learn over time to overcome, as a beacon towards accessibility to gaming for non-games players, they'll no doubt serve to hinder rather than endear their experiences.

The whole thing feels like something of a work in progress, full of interesting and potentially brilliant ideas that somehow just fail to live up to their billing.

Absolutely crammed with speed and thrills, though perhaps a little light in terms of content and longevity without the inclusion of multiplayer, Burnout Dominator is still as impressive as most of the series editions, and certainly equally as appealing as Burnout: Revenge in all the right gameplay places - but that is also perhaps its one defining fault.

It's really all about the experience, reading all the facts and features lists in the world isn't going to accurately convey the feeling of playing GRAW 2, the feeling of being sucked into a game world so beautifully formed and well designed that the individual features blur into the impressive whole.

A hackneyed title with a series of touch screen controls tacked-on. It feels like there's only one thing left to say: better luck next time, Rayman.

As depictions of large battles go its probably the least epic I've ever seen, hampered by an engine that seems unable to cope with more than ten or twelve characters on screen at once and some of the most soul destroyingly boring combat you'll find it manages to take a fantastic premise and some of the most visually striking source material around to produce a game that will be filling bargain bins around the country within weeks.

Championship Edition is super-realistic. Perhaps too much so for its own good. For F1 buffs it is ideal, but if you want an adrenaline-pumping ride on PS3, there's another game, with a big desert and mad vehicles, which does it all much better I'm afraid. One for the fanatics, then.

There are faults too of course, it doesn't really offer much new after the first few levels other than changes of scenery and some bigger weapons and the slow motion action can get a bit old hat after a while, but they never detract much from the game as a whole and ultimately if you play it the way that it's clearly meant to be played, as opposed to just blasting through the levels as fast as possible, then you'll be rewarded with one of the best action games on the PSP.

In the case of SSX Blur and snowboarding, the console's motion controllers really do succeed in adding a sense of freedom and, if it's applicable to a videogaming representation of a sport, a certain naturalness to proceedings, unconfined by long-established methods of control.

I can't be bothered to go on. Anyone who buys this is an idiot. I wish artistic license would have allowed me to start and end the review in as many words.

I could continue. I could tell you more about the dated combat, broken tutorial, utterly vacant multiplayer lobbies and risible voice acting. I could yet I decline. As you should if anyone offers you this title. Even at its bargain basement RRP.

Somewhere under the flawed exterior there are some good or even great ideas buried inside but these are sadly let down by some unforgivable glitches in the most fundamental parts of the RTS mechanics, problems that are thrown into sharp contrast when experienced through the unforgivably dull campaign mode.

Does it stand up to the uninitiated? Yes, to a degree, it's fun, playable and defiantly addictive.

As much as a sore ass is the sign of a poor movie, sore eyes from a lack of blinking is a sure sign of an excellent videogame. Perhaps the biggest endorsement worth assigning to Crackdown is that hours of enjoyable gameplay will fly by as the player endeavours to rid Pacific City of its criminal contingent - and not much blinking will take place in the process.

The real-time strategy experience that fans of the genre will have been waiting for. Its complex, finely tuned, gorgeous to look at and includes extensive online support for those who have 'pwned' the single-player mode, so to speak, and fancy taking on the world.

The whole package fails to do the actually racing justice. You'll be bored of the small number of courses within the first few hours and, unless you have a decent number of friends who own copies, the multiplayer mode won't ever get enough use to make it worthwhile.

As a PSP exclusive R&C: Size Matters is a welcome reminder of what the PSP should be about, a truly great game that uses the hardware perfectly.

Taking it on its own merits it's a generally fun but rather un-ambitious and far too short arcade brawler that certainly isn't going to change the world but will happily provide a few hours of solid fun for anyone willing to give it a go.

It's all well and good banging on about games that defined childhood gaming experiences, but essentially what does an 80s kid from North London know when he's horribly sunburnt and tipsy from a few sips of Sangria? That was then, and sadly for Capcom Puzzle World, this is now.

Yes, the loading times are a pain but do they ruin the experience as a whole? Not at all. Yes, the AI seems a little weaker than the PS2 version but is it really that noticeable? No, especially at the higher difficulty settings.

Its enjoyably lightweight game play combined with a tirade of sickeningly clichéd narrative twists, fit snugly together to demonstrate another indication in the development of The Sims as a whole - and one which EA, love them or hate them, have moulded and managed with an admirable level of expertise.

Even thought the game has its annoyances (like the steep death penalty you have to endure) it's a very accomplished title with a lot of rewards for a dedicated player.

Midway finds some fairly uncharted waters in which to lay-anchor, even if the game could be a bit more expansive.

The sheer amount of options and decision-making direction available to the player can be quite overwhelming. There are, however, a selection of well paced tutorials at hand in order to draw you into some of the game's elements at a gentle pace.

Initially, Pirates! feels extremely open ended and multi-faceted, yet its varied gameplay features soon lapse into the uncomfortable realms of repetition and borderline monotony - there's nothing on offer by way of expansion over its PC and Xbox counterparts.

All you can ask from an expansion pack, does it improve the original game, does it offer more content and does it do enough to become essential to the core experience. The Burning Crusade offers an emphatic yes to all these so there really is very little excuse for fans not to buy it.

Provides an impressively solid 12 hours of action and excitement that's just as appealing as any other third-person shooter presently available.

Although the basis for gameplay is almost unchanged from the beginning of number one to the final dregs of number six, Metal Slug never loses its grip on you, forcing the player to concentrate on the action unfolding on every inch of the screen at all times.

It's still a title that's hampered by the limitations of its chosen platform, one that would have been significantly more fun to play on a PS2 or any of the other home consoles.

A top tier PSP game that provides an immersive and enjoyable tactical shooter experience in the palm of your hand. It's just a little frustrating to see it being held back from true greatness by things outside of its control.

The controls are simple, the graphics pretty, and the game fluffy enough to forgive its essential repetitiveness.

It is a title with a dull, repetitive level structure, unforgivably long loading times, lazy cutscenes, a generic musical score and perhaps most damningly, another game blighted by the continuing curse of sub-standard Superman videogames.

It might not be the utterly revolutionary Zelda title that we all expected and its not without its faults, but one thing is clear: Twilight Princess is worth the Wii's price tag alone, even if the fishing does put you at risk of a coronary.

It demonstrates a welcome change of direction for the now infamous series and definite inroads into future potential for the future of similar racers on Wii. No, it's not without its faults (the less said about the unfulfilling multiplayer, the better), but viewed as a shamelessly simple arcade racer, it offers a surprising amount of longevity and fun.

It's a solid shooter that ticks all the right boxes and is a blast to play in places. Just don't expect it to blow you away or give you a good idea about what the PS3 can do, because it only scratches the surface.

At times, you'll be fighting enemies who are off-screen behind the camera - or worse again, trying to clear jumps and obstacles you can't even see.

With such soulless and unplayable mechanics slapped onto an idea that was mediocre at best and marketed to kids via a familiar(ish) licence this represents not only the worst game I've played in a long long time but the most gut wrenchingly cynical example of all that's wrong with the games industry today.

Mark of Chaos is disappointing. More disappointing that the game itself really deserves, as it is a perfectly respectable RTS that has nothing to be ashamed of on your local game stores shelf next to its peers.

As is sadly the case most of the time, avid fans of the series will be disappointed and if you have already played the original then you will not want to buy this PSP version, as it offers you nothing apart from going through the experience again and an unnecessary hole in your wallet.

Unfortunately the package is let down by the genuinely poor enemy AI and missions that never really offer any variety beyond repetitive killing.

Maybe EA just need a few more sequels and a brand new console to perfect the series, but this writer has a sneaky suspicion that EA knows that a brand name and a few famous faces will be enough to encourage strong sales.

A wonderful achievement both technically and, more importantly, in the level of historical detail that it contains.

Early bosses can be defeated by simply standing right in front of them and persistently pressing of the x button.

What makes Ridge Racer unique is that, even though the entire race is driven at top speed, it requires total concentration, control and pin-point precision to capture the chequered flag. Your performance has to be consistent throughout.

If you are looking for a gentle, charming distraction that can be picked up and put down with as much frequency as you like, I strongly recommend you give it a go. It's certainly one of the better looking titles about, and makes for a relaxing counterpoint after all the gritty realism in the likes of "Gears of War."

It refines and codifies the advances that prior titles have made before it and packages all these lessons in what are undeniably sumptuous visuals.

Call of Duty 3 looks superb, its action is flowing, its detailing is immense, and its authenticity unmatched, but conversely it provides worthless gameplay extras where extras are simply not necessary, and it detracts from established and proven foundations through occasionally sloppy delivery - in its core single-player element.

Infinitely playable and any fan of the series will find it a greatly rewarding experience.

More a SOCOM 3.5 rather than a full-blown sequel, Combined Assault both improves on what the franchise has always done well in its execution of multiplayer action, but highlights the shortcomings with the single player mode as a result.

With a refreshingly simple interface, various scenarios and multiplayer options, Anno 1701 presents one of the most charming experiences in the civilisation simulation genre this year.

An abomination of a racing game, not only is it lacking in everything a good racing game needs (a sense of speed, fun tracks, controls that feel right and competitive AI) but it has all been put together with such an obvious lack of care or basic gameplay testing that you wonder why they bothered at all.

If any major criticism can be levelled at Final Fantasy XII, a finger would have to be pointed at the game's less than endearing storyline.

One of the most pleasing things about Killzone Liberation that it seems to have been polished to the point you can almost see your face in it, it's impeccably balanced, looks amazing and is full of little gameplay touches and ideas that only come when a game has been developed by people who truly care about it.

A perfect example of this fact, not only is it the best game so far in this underrated series it's also one of the most enjoyable racing games around at the moment for any console.

Despite a genuinely well designed central character and a delightfully surreal sense of humour it's now two failures out of two for the Death Jr series.

If you like you shooting with a dollop of tangible fear, F.E.A.R. is for you.

Testing out the new additions and playing around with the new options is more than mildly diverting. However, after a while the tediousness of the city-scape and the simplicity of the driving model conspire to make one think of the other things that could be done with the time.

If you've not played a NFS game recently then this is worth a look and if you have and enjoyed it then this isn't going to offer any surprises, but just like a turkey dinner it will probably more than satisfy you.

The familiarity of Vice City Stories also breeds a clawing sense of stagnancy, and the lack of a second analogue stick - while patched - does leave a rent in the application of the gameplay control.

A good, but not brilliant game. It's a vast improvement over last year's FIFA 06 and plays slightly better than 2006 FIFA World Cup. While gameplay wise it's still not quite up there with Pro Evo 6 it comes closer than ever before this time around.

While streamlining the Dungeon Siege experience for the handheld market undoubtedly made sense when it was discussed at design time, the sense of depth and involvement that's been lost in the process leaves a frustratingly shallow game.

Secret Files: Tunguska signifies a new era for point and click adventures, both in terms of playability and stylistically - don't miss it!

For veterans of the series, you will gladly find your love for it refreshed and charged, once again to play through this new glorious setting and deeper plotline, incorporating two new character classes and hero customisation to keep you online and campaigning for hours on end.

It succeeds in tracing classic-but now dated-gameplay structure while offering an instantly accessible social online aspect that may well offer an avenue into MMO not usually accepted by those with more of a penchant for more immediate titles. However, it fails monumentally to accept the next-gen baton handed up hopefully by its Dreamcast predecessor.

It sets the foundation and future for the franchise on the next-generation. However, if Ultimate Alliance had better playable characters, improved customization and a little more of a challenge in places it would indeed be perfect.

Apart from the topical title, Flushed Away shares the same type of brain busting boredom we've all come to expect from these sort of lazy cash-ins, with the added disadvantage of leaving itself open for some puntastic criticism... absolute toilet.