Regardless of that feeling of déjà vu, Carbon is another solid racer from EA, and the Auto-Sculpt feature is absolutely fantastic, not to mention the impressive car roster and functional online component.

If you're a fan of the "X-Men Legends" games that have appeared over the last few years you'll know what to expect from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, but you'll probably still be surprised at how polished and lengthy the game is.

While a decent dungeon crawler in its own right, it just feels unimpressive in comparison to its rivals. Unless you must have a DC Comics dungeon crawler, you'd be better off looking at "Marvel Ultimate Alliance."

An improvement over the original, but these improvements are marginal, and it still has a lot of the same issues that occurred in the first game.

Overall gameplay improvements make Pets a better game than Sims 2 on consoles was last year, and animal lovers will no doubt spend hours creating their ultimate cat or dog, complete with embarrassing clothes and lovable personality.

The recently released "ProStroke Golf" demonstrated how a more advanced control system can work on consoles, and playing Tiger Woods 07 does feel like a slight step back. At the same time, the controls have a simplicity to them that makes the game easy to play, and there is level of depth to the control and shot choice for the more serious players.

The drug dealing aspect is really the game's only defining feature, and with the rest of the game being merely competent in all areas, the Scarface licence is left to do all the hard work.

FIFA 07 most definitely beats PES in a few areas, most notably in presentation and the brilliant first-touch control, but it's still not PES.

FIFA 07 most definitely beats PES in a few areas, most notably in presentation and the brilliant first-touch control, but it's still not PES.

Anyone with an established affection for roguelikes (apparently there are a lot of you) and even the slightest liking of Pokémon will really enjoy this. And ultimately, I did too - played one mission at a time, Mystery Dungeon's old-fashionedness in the context of the adorable setting is charming, and you can't fault it for a lack of longevity.

It's a nice touch to actually have to build things in a game featuring building blocks, and adds to the game's overall tongue-in-cheek feel.

What ProStroke delivers is the most in-depth control system I can imagine working on a standard console controller, but the game that's built around it simply isn't exciting enough to sway Tiger fans over to a new series.

It's a nice touch to actually have to build things in a game featuring building blocks, and adds to the game's overall tongue-in-cheek feel.

The single-player Career won't take all that long to complete, but with a hugely entertaining multiplayer mode both on and offline, there's a good chance you'll continue playing for a while after.

It's just about good enough to entertain kids who must see more of the characters from the movie, but everyone else should stay well clear.

Although it'll be over fairly quickly, there are a few bonus features and a 2D arcade game to play with, and it's sure to please a few kids as the summer holiday boredom starts to kick in.

The level designs vary from excellent to poor, enemy variety is non-existent (ok, the gang members where masks, but still), the aforementioned rescue missions become tedious, and the end arrives a couple of levels too soon.

The racing is by no means terrible, and will serve its purpose for those interested in a Cars video game, but had that aspect been nailed, the whole experience would have been elevated a notch or two.

The racing is by no means terrible, and will serve its purpose for those interested in a Cars video game, but had that aspect been nailed, the whole experience would have been elevated a notch or two.

Depth way beyond that of any other action game released this year, sleek presentation and some of the best levels ever created in a video game.

It's amazing when you sit down with a game that you had the lowest of expectations for, only to find an incredibly well put together experience.

So then, another Hollywood movie, and another so-so game based on it. The Da Vinci Code has the right heritage but unfortunately suffers from the same disease as many of its ilk - it has been rushed to meet a release date without receiving the kind of polish that could have made a great game out of the subject matter.

The idea of giving the player three fairly unique characters to play as is good one, but the game design verges on plain stupid at times.

The idea of giving the player three fairly unique characters to play as is good one, but the game design verges on plain stupid at times.

For the absolute best version you need to check out the Xbox game, but other than a few slight technical differences and some control irks you'd be hard pushed to tell it apart from the PlayStation 2 version.

Gameplay still lags behind the mighty "Pro Evolution Soccer" in a few areas, but the 'first touch' and 'off the ball' systems continue to impress. Presentation is great as expected.

Gameplay still lags behind the mighty "Pro Evolution Soccer" in a few areas, but the 'first touch' and 'off the ball' systems continue to impress. Presentation is great as expected.

So, having sacrificed gameplay in favour of story, what's left is a product that isn't really much of a game at all. If you can put up with the tedium of puzzles and stealth sections, the rich story and compelling characters will furnish you with a rewarding experience.