For the hardcore fans, the recycled taste can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially paying out twice for the same songs, but for newcomers this is a good compilation of the previous Guitar Hero games.

Brutal Legend serves up a strange mix of action adventure gameplay and heavy metal that even more bizarrely works quite well.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a solid shooter that requires players to take a more tactical approach then some other recent releases. However, it can also be an extremely frustrating experience due to the very unforgiving AI which may have the less hardcore shooter fan struggling to stick with it.

Despite its problems it does generally provide a fun experience and fans of the first game will love the new ways of spreading chaos.

At first glance, Etherlords II looks pretty much like an RPG title, but take a few moments to play and you’ll soon discover an absorbing turn based strategy game similar to "Magic: The Gathering."

PES 2010 may not have been able to topple FIFA as the leading football game but it’s clear the series is getting back on track and obvious improvements have been made over last years game.

The character development system seems a little basic and unfinished and the amount of bugs in the game really is unacceptable.

Section 8 for me is something of a mixed bag, technically it’s a pretty solid title with some of the best A.I I’ve ever encountered However, it’s heavy focus on multiplayer action means that those looking for an immersive single player campaign will have to look else where and only the most hardcore multiplayer gamers will want to stick with the game for any length of time due to the super tough A.I bots.

The shape shifting abilities of the games protagonist are fun to experiment with but the story campaign has an all too familiar feel to it.

For the hardcore fans, the recycled taste can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially paying out twice for the same songs, but for newcomers this is a good compilation of the previous Guitar Hero games.

Worms: Battle Islands brings the classic Worms experience to the Nintendo platform and introduces a range of features that while not initially useful do enhance the playing experience when played with friends. What makes the deal better, is that it is available at a budget price.

This, possibly, is Axel & Pixel’s greatest success- anyone can play it, and most would probably enjoy it if they did.

That said, there is no denying that NHL 11 provides an enjoyable recreation of ice hockey, which manages to be both accessible to newcomers and packed with content to entertain more dedicated fans.

Overall this is another highly impressive gaming package from the seasoned professionals in the golf game trade, which is enjoyable if you’re not put off by the tough learning curve to begin with.

That said, there is no denying that NHL 11 provides an enjoyable recreation of ice hockey, which manages to be both accessible to newcomers and packed with content to entertain more dedicated fans.

Overall, for all its bizarre dialogue, crazy stories and weird looking characters with strange voiceovers it works this game is amazingly entertaining and slightly addictive!

The football side of things is fairly solid, but sadly the game includes too many duties that simply aren’t part of being the manager of a football club. Then there’s the personal life aspect to deal with and coupled together they really stop the title competing with rival games. Often leaving you overwhelmed and spoiling the playing experience on offer, which is a shame as it will probably drive football mad gamers else where.

While it offers many unique race types that will provide short periods of fun the game fails to captivate you for long periods of time and as a result the it quickly loses its appeal despite the amount of variation it offers!

Whilst fans of previous series entries will doubtless drag plenty of enjoyment from having such a revered title in portable form, players less influenced by rose tinted memories of GT’s past may find it harder to forgive the limitations of the game structure and the similarly limited reasons to progress.

The mix of strategy and survival shooter works surprisingly well, some niggling flaws however stop this XBLA title living up to its full potential.

Unfortunately the strict timing required can lead to a lot of frustration and as a result the game can quickly start to feel repetitive.

On the whole, this is an enjoyable, beautifully presented and well-planned reinvention of a classic game, that retains the fun of the original but also caters for today’s modern gamers and casual gamers, especially with the obvious and liberal use of the big signs that tell you which transformation you need to use, thankfully these are not over-used allowing some experimentation.

PES 2010 may not have been able to topple FIFA as the leading football game but it’s clear the series is getting back on track and obvious improvements have been made over last years game.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a solid shooter that requires players to take a more tactical approach then some other recent releases. However, it can also be an extremely frustrating experience due to the very unforgiving AI which may have the less hardcore shooter fan struggling to stick with it.

Repetition and the simplicity of the gameplay may put off a few gamers but on the whole the game is good enough to go back to more than once enhancing its replay value with a good selection of unlockables.

Quite brutally it’s old school that just doesn’t meet the modern grade.

With a clever plot and some impressive visuals the game could be appealing and addictive though tiresome at times. Unfortunately, if you have seen the film and you already know exactly how the plot unfolds and you have already seen those most surprising, awesome scenes, this game has little thrills.

On the audio side the game has done an excellent job of bringing the individual personalities of the characters from the movie into the game with good voice acting and dialogue.

Does what it intends to do and that is to provide players, specifically younger players with an addictive but classic style platformer immersed in gorgeous graphics and a mix of unique features.

Delivers a fresh approach to the RTS genre and with its great detail, addictive gameplay and excellent replay value it is definitely worth a look for any RTS game fan.

Whilst a little slow paced the game does offer a little variety in the form of puzzles and although the path through the game seems very ‘forced’ it is still intriguing to play through if just for short periods of time.

Too much repetition, too many boring cut scenes and lack of variety make this game a very average playing experience.

Trouble is, most of the minigames aren’t entertaining on an individual basis; the enjoyment resides in not knowing what is coming next. While it lasts.

The storyline is full of old school clichés and the adventuring part of the game, with its basic puzzles is quite frankly boring.

Dodgy controls, annoying cameras and repetitive gameplay (think obsessive scanning!) makes the game get tiresome very quickly.

While The Saga of Ryzom is probably more simplistic then most MMORPG's its a lot more approachable to those new to the genre, however this is likely to deter those looking for something to challenge them.

It doesn’t really excel in any one area or instantly grab your attention.

Unfortunately though for the less patient among us, The Silver Earring makes detective work a boring job, the witnesses have nothing interesting to say half the time and tend to babble on in the most boring manner and the quiz at the end of each chapter is enough to make you want to give up completely.

Alpha Protocol maybe a role-playing game in name, but for me it felt far to much like an average third person shooter.

Deathspank is a solid and eminently playable slice of RPG gaming, and fans of Diablo, Baldur's Gate and the like might truly enjoy the opportunity to play a lightweight comedy homage to past favourites.

Deathspank is a solid and eminently playable slice of RPG gaming, and fans of Diablo, Baldur's Gate and the like might truly enjoy the opportunity to play a lightweight comedy homage to past favourites.

Yakuza 3 certainly has its flaws! However it does possess a certain charm and offers quite a bit of variety that make it quite enjoyable, however some may not be able to stick with it that long.

As it is, we have a solid and very playable game which will no doubt entertain genre fans, but never dares to do much more than parrot good ideas that came before in a slightly grosser way. It’s hard to dislike, but for the same reasons hard to love, too.

All in all, this is a mixed package and as I said at the beginning I found it hard to get into. It is an RPG that taken on its own merit is an interesting experiment of combining elements of MMORPG into a console game.

Alpha Protocol maybe a role-playing game in name, but for me it felt far to much like an average third person shooter.

As it is, we have a solid and very playable game which will no doubt entertain genre fans, but never dares to do much more than parrot good ideas that came before in a slightly grosser way. It’s hard to dislike, but for the same reasons hard to love, too.

The unforgiving nature of the game and the constant restarts of certain areas are bad enough but add the constant unskippable cutscenes that you are forced to watch in full every time you die just tips it over the edge for me.

Simply, "Metal Gear Solid" was a slice of videogame perfection, "Metal Gear Solid 2" was too similar to its predecessor, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has tried to shake things up a little, admirably so, but has been a little too revolutionary in the process.

The foundations for one of the finest shooters ever are laid down here and there are some wonderful cinematic moments but unfortunately most are tarnished with the numerous bugs which plague the game.

While the game can be entertaining for short lengths of time playing for prolonged periods can lead to bouts of frustration as you are more often then not required to play the same missions over and over until you clear them due to the strict objectives and randomness of missions.

The cosmetic changes made to "Dead or Alive 2" do provide a level of intensity most beat 'em ups cannot reach. After the first few hours though, the wow factor will decline, leaving very little else in its place.

As a single player title the game feels a little hacked together and is hard to recommend to anyone other then the most hardcore Resident Evil fans.

If the level design and path finding was a little easy I would be happy to say that this game was brilliant for the kids but in all honesty, I feel even they would get fed up of playing after an hour or so.

The game feels fairly lacklustre and gets old fairly quickly.

The physical separation of human opponents makes every multiplayer contest a little less worthwhile, whilst the one-player game’s mission to collect track parts seems pointless if you then cannot share the resulting new tracks easily with close friends.

Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen isn’t the greatest action game to ever grace the current generation of consoles and as such will only appeal to fans who will love getting to play as some of the favourite characters from the movies.

It is a decent effort that does plenty right and very little wrong, any NFL fan would be quite happy with this arcade-like version of a classic game mechanic.

Overall, Prison Break – The Conspiracy should have been a fitting tribute to a very clever TV series, but turns out to be falling more in line with the final series – a big anticlimax.

Magna Cum Laude is a bore to play, repetitive mini-games, constant loading screens in-between locations and no challenge whatsoever makes this experience a very tiresome one indeed.

Despite having a very similar feel Family Game Night 2 offers an overall better experience then last years game due to the selection of games on offer in the title. Don’t expect a thrilling single player experience though as this isn’t what the games about.

For a game with such a new perspective and new approach to the MySims franchise, the ideas it incorporates are used so much that they become old after the first few hours of play, which is disappointing and means that this never fully achieves its full potential.

Not perfect but worth a look for anyone who misses SSX.

The game modes are nice and varied and the graphical style is great, however the actual tennis games tend to descend into uninspiring baseline games, especially with the computer.

J&D feels too safe, too 2001, and I couldn’t help but feel that my time would be better spent elsewhere.

Overall, Prison Break – The Conspiracy should have been a fitting tribute to a very clever TV series, but turns out to be falling more in line with the final series – a big anticlimax.

I’d like to see developers scrap these constant installments completely and remake a one off Harry Potter game. Maybe one that tells the whole story, obviously in a very watered down fashion. One good game is better than seven clones of the same mediocre game.

Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen isn’t the greatest action game to ever grace the current generation of consoles and as such will only appeal to fans who will love getting to play as some of the favourite characters from the movies.

Overall, Greed Corp offers an intriguing new twist to strategy gaming, putting you under just a little more pressure when considering your moves – it won't hold your attention for long but while it does, it will keep you quite entertained.

This game promised so much but for me it failed to deliver overall. Dull and repetitive objectives and a lacklustre story combined with some unfair and inconsistent AI makes the short single player mode an uninspired stroll through corridor filled levels.

As a whole it is a good package but one that will fail to appeal to older gamers.

Overall, Greed Corp offers an intriguing new twist to strategy gaming, putting you under just a little more pressure when considering your moves – it won't hold your attention for long but while it does, it will keep you quite entertained.

Start the Party as a single player experience is seriously lacking, but like most casual games the experience improves when played with friends.

Overall Phantasy Star Portable will only appeal to fans of the franchise. There’s simply not enough to entice most to play, mainly to its repetitive nature and the depth it requires to get the most out of the title.

Overall HAWX 2 tries to build on the solid foundations laid by the original game by adding more variety, but ultimately it fails to recreate the action packed feeling the first game did so well and simply doesn't make the same impact.

Overall HAWX 2 tries to build on the solid foundations laid by the original game by adding more variety, but ultimately it fails to recreate the action packed feeling the first game did so well and simply doesn't make the same impact.

But by no means is it a bad game, but on the other hand it’s not a particularly good game and as such falls into the doldrums or mediocrity.

After enjoying the original game I had high hopes for Mafia 2, but despite putting the bad things about the original right they seem to have taken everything that was good about it and trashed it.

After enjoying the original game I had high hopes for Mafia 2, but despite putting the bad things about the original right they seem to have taken everything that was good about it and trashed it.

But by no means is it a bad game, but on the other hand it’s not a particularly good game and as such falls into the doldrums or mediocrity.

Other than the ingenuous battle system there is little else to warrant praise in the game.

The presentation of the game is excellent and the graphics are superb, however my personal view was that I got bored with the game very quickly.

It has its gimmick transformers style morphing and some of the fighting can be quite addictive but there is nothing here that separates it from any other FPS out there, pretty standard stuff with a big licence name.

The Shoot lacks any really depth and the multiplayer element hasn't been implemented as well as it could have been and as a result despite not being a bad shooter overall the game quickly starts to feel repetitive.

The game offers absolutely nothing new and plays like something that’s been dragged up from the 90’s.

The game shows a chronic lack of progression, which eventually leads you to question whether or not the admittedly imaginative concept should really have been made into a videogame at all.

A sub-par gameplay experience with awkward controls, an annoying camera and very basic driving experiences. The original game got away with it but now there is no excuse.

Attention is all too often drawn to missed opportunities in the game, the most glaring of these being a multiplayer mode. Imagine the frustration if "Bomberman" was only one player. This is often how you feel in NFH.

Due to its overall poor design the game seems to of become nothing more then a mass of space shooting sequences.

This title has the dubious honour of being the most cynical, poorly produced mess that I have clapped eyes on for at least five years.

The third issue to be dealt with is the game’s poor AI and atrocious collision detection, items that cry out to be dealt with as a pair.

Something that will prove infuriating regardless is the utter unfairness of the game’s final boss, a confrontation that only serves to highlight the game’s major problems.

The game also lacks any real variation as you pretty much do exactly the same thing throughout, prolonged play quickly becomes tiresome and the game starts to feel, dare I say it, like a chore.

The heart of a point and click adventure is its puzzles and Black Mirror does this badly forcing players to go backwards and forwards in seemingly pointless treks and it all adds up to a feeling that you are simply playing a role in a very boring movie, you don’t control your character, just guide him through the motions.

The only problem I can and would raise is that although it shows you what to do, your form or stance maybe wrong when tackling some of the exercises. Also the resistance band provided seems cheap and flimsy, so much so that I could not trust it for some of the exercises.

The experience does improve when played with friends and fans of the last game may want to give it a try other than that it is hard to recommend.

Sonic Free Riders serves up a rather disappointing playing experience and everything it gets right is pulled down by the clumsy and sluggish controls that do nothing other than make it feel like you're not in control. Despite initial optimism and potential this is one of the weaker Kinect launch titles.

Dark Void is probably going to go down as one of the most disappointing titles of the year, after all of the expectation and hype. With a bit more time spent polishing and developing key elements and its story this could have become a “classic” as the potential is their for all to see, however in its current form it will sadly slip into the void of mediocrity that has claimed so many third person shooter in the past.

Whilst this sequel may improve some of the technical aspects of The Force Unleashed, the all important narrative is non-existent.