It's clear this is Visceral's first jab at the genre, though, and with a bit more confidence (or time and money, perhaps) they could have definitely made more of their excellent core mechanics and the well-implemented license. It might be an unashamed God of War clone, but there are certainly worse games to try and imitate.

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.

I just plain old got bored with the game. The occasional clunkiness of both the presentation and the interface didn't bother me, but when the thrill of getting new items began to diminish under the realisation that the developers had little else up their sleeve other than to keep heaping monsters and loot onto me then I just gave up.

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.

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.

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.

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

Gearbox Software have managed to squeeze another ounce or two of power out of the DS, and it's all put to very good use. The game ultimately makes a success of itself because the experience is not only believable, but great fun to play.

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.

Ultimately, if it weren't for an oddly skewed sense of gameplay delivery that offers two separate genre types (action and puzzle) rather than a comfortable mixture of both, Overlord: Raising Hell would be the thoroughly refreshing genre experience that the Xbox 360 version couldn't quite become. As it is, despite the game's platform-specific tweaks and its plush design, genuine humour, and intuitive minion controls, the game still doesn't lend itself to being anything other than a smile-inducing distraction... that is already available for a far smaller asking price on the Xbox 360 and PC.

The combat is enjoyable, particularly against the government soldiers, but the game would have definitely benefited immensely from a more solid melee mechanic and a bit more variety here and there. Then again some stylish and innovative ranged combat mechanics more than make up for this.

In some ways Prinny succeeds in spite of itself.

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.

While substandard scripts and voice acting can be forgiven, when someone pays upwards of £30 for a game lasting ten hours maximum they do not expect to be faced with fiddly controls or to be confused by poorly thought out level structures.

Quite simply one of the best games you'll never play.

An excellent balance of gritty realism and game play. It's been a long time but Outlaws can finally hang up its guns and retire.

This is a game (famed for its capturing of a hardcore following) that has been made much less palatable for its key demographic. What's worse is that the changes are entirely unsuccessful in convincing anyone but fans of the show that any of this really matters.

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

Taking it as a whole its blatantly not perfect, in fact it's almost shoddy at times, but there's a nugget of gold inside SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike that shines through bright enough to almost make up for the numerous problems.

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.

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.

You can see the core of a decent game in here if you ignore the problems, albeit one that would be let down by uninspired mission design and a dodgy plot.

There's bound to be plenty of cynics, but it's a lot better sitting around with your family and playing this than other Christmas staples, especially some dodgy DVD 'game' of Deal or no Deal your Mum picked up two years ago.

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

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

As a standalone football game without all the World Cup-related fluff and filling, EA have provided something which is actually good fun to play (both off and online), certainly not like their frustratingly average efforts over recent years.

What you are left with is a mature confident golf game that really does deliver an unrivalled experience in terms of replicating real-world golf.

Fans of The Godfather will be pleased to hear that the game based on the film hasn't trodden down the same path as disasters such as "Enter The Matrix"; but isn't quite up there with consensual videogame classics such as the Nintendo 64's "GoldenEye."