It's achingly non-stop martial-art four-player silliness. Sweet! [May 2009, p.85]

A solid sequel, but it doesn't add a lot that's substantially new.

Tirelessly one dimensional. [May 2009, p.88]

It's limited, but what's here is well-executed and very playable, even on PSP. [May 2009, p.84]

A decent attempt at an update, but it can't compete with Buzz TV. [May 2009, p.93]

Fun to play, but it's too punishing and packs a hefty learning curve.

Not the greatest shooter with some annoying puzzles, but Fracture serves as a hugely entertaining game for those looking for something a little bit different.

Mercs 2 is disappointing because its execution doesn't live up to its ambition. Though big and bold, There's a feeling that you've played it all before. And you have.

You've got to be slavish in your love for Ferraris to really enjoy this. I was dying to climb behind the wheel of something else after a couple of hours. It's an accomplished racer, but I was expecting the prancing horse to give me more of a kick.

It's fun while it lasts, but the novelty soon wears off. It's authentic, and paints the culture of B-Boying in a great light, but it becomes just a little too b-boring, too quickly.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a sound of a series cautiously dipping its toe in the water, slightly afraid of how the big bad Rock Band shark will react to its presence.

Top Spin 3 really won't be to everyone's tastes, and Virtua Tennis fans needn't bother.

FlatOut finds its natural home on PSP where the speedy events and abusing your driver gag don't outstay their welcome as much as on PlayStation 2. An instant pick-up-and-play winner.

Viking is sadly, a massively missed opportunity that's dragged into the depths of mediocrity by a boring story, an uninteresting hero, repetitive missions, endless wandering around, hit-and-miss sound, disappointing battles and lots of slowdown.

With new additions like the Shop, leaner graphics and a custom difficulty option, ensure this is the best Pursuit Force yet. Twenty-plus hours of macho gaming in your hand.

A solid racing game with some good ideas, but the package is overshadowed by a dense, inaccessible structure and frankly boring events. Play online and you'll get more from the game.

A shallow and clumsy game that fails to make the most of the PSP and the AVP licence.

Jericho isn't a groundbreaking shooter, but what it does, it does really well. Sadly, there's no online content here, just a slew of production art to unlock by completing skill tests in the game - making for a sound FPS that will have horror geeks gagging for more and shooter fans reaching for the sick bag. [Nov 2007, p.92]

Renegade Squadron looks great and has some fantastic online multiplayer modes, but it unfortunately suffers from a sluggish control system. Still worth a bash if you're a fan though.

What carries the game through some of its weaker moments is its charm and spirited embodiment of the movie.

A bland, ugly and dreary game - which goes against everything you're used to after playing the series on PS2. There's a certain compulsive quality to sniping but after a couple of levels, you'll develop a strange sense of deja vu and wish you were playing a better shooter.

Younger kids will love it and come back for more. A fun concept, well executed.

Championship Edition is super-realistic. Perhaps too much for its own good. For F1 buffs that's 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 far better.

Providing you can get your head around the overly crammed control system and slightly iffy player intelligence, the addition of Master League mode should provide many a pleasant train journey.

Full Auto 2 is a missed opportunity and comes over even more badly when compared to "MotorStorm." Buy that instead, or wait for "Burnout 5" to spectacularly crash the party.

Fans will love this, but most will be better off with "Star Wars: Battlefront II."

D-Day doesn't change anything or bring anything new to the table sadly, but if you want the same Brothers in Arms experience on a handheld, then this is faultless if a bit unambitious.

A bit half-arsed. The game in general is muted by glitches, slowdown and painful loading times, while the best things about it - the online play options - have been removed.

But - and maybe this is just us - singing these serious rock songs just isn't as much fun as belting out tracks by Blondie and Girls Aloud. We felt a bit embarrassed trying to sing serious songs by Snow Patrol and Hard-Fi. You just don't get the same fun party vibe ploughing through serious emotional songs as you do with the fluffy pop nonsense.

Genji looks great, and bodes well for what PS3 will be able to do, but as a game it feels like a technical demo.

At best, it's a simple hack and slasher with an okay Co-op mode, but 10 minutes of play is all it takes to realise how shoddy the action is.

The way PS2 Project 8 uses shabby video versions of the Xbox 360 cutscenes to tell the story shows you this is a bit of a corner-cutting exercise in game-making, as is the lack of characters to choose from when starting a game, and the loss of online play.

Carbon is huge and involving, full of neat ideas like crew recruitment and custom bodypart sculpting, but that, yeah, it isn't all that great when it comes to getting behind the wheel. We still need speed from the series, and more importantly, thrills.

What does let the whole thing down are the loading times (they're everywhere, even on the inventory screen, which you want to be able to flick through at speed) and the fact the combat does get repetitive.

Leaving aside the rubbish storyline, the dialogue sounds like it was written by a white chav who thinks he's black, and characters are only able to speak if they're waving their arms around at the same time. It makes the Fast and the Furious flicks look like Shakespeare.

All in all there are plenty of gems here, if not a lot of variation. But you can't knock a compilation that offers a classic picture perfect conversion of Street Fighter II.

Single-player is pitiful and multiplayer is substantial. A cautious thumbs-up then, but in a strange, bi-polar way - and only for keen fans of multiplayer shooters.

What we have here is a variation on Tamagotchi that's been roughly crowbarred into The Sims 2. So it's a good job that the animals themselves are so well animated and likeable.

Very much a case of new year, same Tiger, boasting the least significant set of updates we've seen in the series for some time. That said, it still rightfully deserves to dominate the genre, being immensely satisfying when it goes right, and deeply frustrating when it goes wrong.

If the presentation wasn't so ropey this might have been a contender, but as it is, Eagle Eye Golf is a bit of a cheap knock-off.

Armageddon is fine. Nothing special, but not bad, and its Konquest mode is probably the perfect game for that Saturday afternoon period just before the footy kicks off, when your head still hurts from Friday.

Although the low price and decent racing make this good value, it's uninspired stuff.

It's all a bit dour in truth, with little excitement generated by the commentators, the court-side atmosphere and, most significantly, what happens on the court itself.

The only downside is it would have been perfect Wi-Fi fare, only there are no online features at all. The lack of vehicles is also a shame, but at least the PS2 version's decent fighting system remains.

For all the style and attention to detail that's been put into this game, it's a pity the bulk of your time is spent fannying around completing boring and what feel like irrelevant side-quests.

Don't expect too many surprises if you've played a Dynasty Warriors, a Kessen or a Samurai Warriors game before, but don't expect this to be complete and utter sh.t either. After 17 similar games, you should know what you're getting.

The story can weigh things down, but generally it drives the game along well enough. It's just a shame there isn't more to do in Tokyo itself.

There's incredible depth to how you strike the ball, which makes the overall game very satisfying. There's little in terms of game modes, and no online mode is a bitter pill, but as a pure golf simulation it's very slick indeed.

There's plenty of depth and subtlety to uncover in the fighting system, and the only niggles centre on the game's relative lack of fluidity. Everything else makes this a top PSP fighter. And yes, we know, you told us so.

Thankfully, the difficulty has been offset by the inclusion of regular checkpoints and some new moves for Arthur - the ability to hang from ledges gives some welcome leeway when jumps are mistimed, and a double tap on the D-pad makes him dash. It's great, simplistic, old-school adventuring, but fiendish with it. Crap gamers: you have been warned.

The story is unchanged and the notion of unlocking tracks and videos also returns, yet even though his first outing on PS2 saw him get flamed by all but his most loyal fans, G Unit Edition is a surprisingly decent 50 Cent game. Westwood would be proud.

There's still that nagging feeling that, certainly on a few of the defensive plays, you could put down the controller and it wouldn't make any difference to how the action panned out.

The charm factor is certainly still here in abundance. Ultimately though, it's simply far too frustrating for its own good.

Despite our low expectations, Miami Vice is competently made and surprisingly enjoyable. It isn't the most original of games and doesn't really push beyond the pattern established in the first mission, yet it does prove that PSP can 'do' shooting games and deserves some credit for that.

To get the most out of Super DBZ you need to be willing to spend hours and hours plumbing the depths of the combo system and mastering every character. Beyond that, there's just not enough to do here.

While the single-player game can be a total bitch, the multiplayer takes that frustration and turns it into actual excitement.

The Alpha games feature special counter moves, and more characters and combos with each progressive title. The main question is: do you want to spend 20 quid on this collection when you've probably already got most of the titles in the loft?

The barrage of 'street'-speak, stupid player names (we want to punch the prick who calls himself '1/2 Man, 1/2 Amazing'), yawnsome hip-hop and seriously over-the-top commentary all becomes a bit much, though we guess it kind of comes with the territory. If you're after a more skilful alternative to NBA Street V3 then And 1 Streetball should be right up your, er, street.

It looks charming in an early-90s 2D sort of way and is well put together, but the benchmark this generic title has set will easily be smashed by the likes of "Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII."

So yes, it's yet another old-school shooter for PSP then, but if you prefer a sterner challenge to what's currently on offer, Gradius Collection could well be just the job.

Original, fun and a fine test of the grey matter as much as it is of the reflexes. It's just a shame that there's not enough meat to make it a must.

A rare example of a video game treating its comic book source with due respect.

A very solid mutant romp, with some cool levels, varied gameplay and pretty sweet graphics to boot. It's certainly better than the average movie tie-in, although we'd advise you not to rush into buying unless you have at least a mild interest in the X-Men universe.

But what it does well it does very well. It gets the feel of the book bang on, offering plenty of new locations, puzzles and setpieces to play through for fans. Newcomers will find a meaty mental test awaiting them with each new problem proving infuriatingly addictive.

It's rare that a PSP game can truthfully claim to be an enhancement of its PS2 forebear, but NBA Ballers Rebound comes pretty close.

It's like video gaming's very own Rio Ferdinand: it looks the part, but aside from one or two promising moments, the way it plays is totally unremarkable.

The career mode is well structured though, offering tangible rewards as you progress from the smallest table to the high-rollers, but it doesn't stop you thinking you'd be better off with a real pack, a few mates and a sun visor.

At its core, Tourist Trophy is a very nice game but it's totally bogged down by ripping off too much content from "Gran Turismo 4" and not going far enough with the riding simulation.

The Aston-driving sections are literally a blast and the atmosphere of the film is nailed. But the main event - running and gunning with Mr. Bond - is a real letdown.

Pitching all the characters into a frantic, objective-based free-for-all, and dressing it up with the visual panache that developer Clover Studio does so well means Red Hot Rumble is a unique and superbly enjoyable button-mashfest.

There's enough quality here to keep retro-heads entertained for some time.

The problem with the game lies in the fact that something so fresh 18 months ago suddenly feels a little crusty around the edges and suspiciously soft in the centre.

Overall this is a big improvement over "Driv3r"...Now, if only they'd make the next game 100% driving. As it stands, Parallel Lines can't help but come across as a pale imitation of "GTA: San Andreas."

If this wasn't a portable game it would get very dull, quickly. But it is, and developer Koei has taken advantage of that by producing a game that's very good at providing short, sharp bouts of mindless carnage.

PSP is blessed with quality fighting games at the mo', leaving Dragon Ball Z somewhat in a no man's land between average and great.

Being able to play as Jack Bauer and do all the stuff they've seen him do in the show is the most important thing to them, and on those basic terms, 24: The Game is an unqualified success.

It looks really pretty, but it's too hard for kids, too childish for 'da yoof' and too much like a bad acid trip for anyone over 25. Even the most diehard Sega fan will find Sonic's latest a bitter slap in the chops.

Drakengard 2 is decent enough, but ultimately looks a bit cheap and doesn't really pull off its ground or aerial combat with great conviction. It mutters 'average' from the first minute to the last.

If you've resisted the temptation to give it a blast in the past, there's never been a better time, since this Special Edition is a fiver cheaper than the Platinum re-release. As a time-waster until "Devil May Cry 4" on PS3, it's worth a squirt.

It's bright, easy to play and no one's going to get offended or upset by the events portrayed. It's a fun game for kids, or larger adults who want a big, stupid thing to have a laugh with.

Yes, the atmosphere is thicker than Pete Burns' lippy, and sure, this is fantastic hairraising fare, but it is hard to shake the feeling that the bare bones of The Tormented - spooky exploration mixed with shadowy combat - has been done much better elsewhere, and this feels antiquated and cumbersome and in comparison.