The world is enormous and devoid of loading screens, allowing the player to uncover its large amount of content without interruption. But this impressive detail comes at a price. Boiling Point is crawling with glitches in both the graphics engine and the game mechanics, so going online for the latest patch is a necessity if you're up to the challenge of testing the game's depths.

Most will find life at Cook County General Hospital surprisingly dull and too much like hard work.

Artfully designed for a young audience, Madagascar will keep kids constantly entertained by serving up a wide variety of fun activities. The amusing movie characters and dialogue also ensure plenty of giggles.

Adults will breeze through the game in a few hours, but youngsters should be content replaying the adventure many times.

Artfully designed for a young audience, Madagascar will keep kids constantly entertained by serving up a wide variety of fun activities. The amusing movie characters and dialogue also ensure plenty of giggles.

Artfully designed for a young audience, Madagascar will keep kids constantly entertained by serving up a wide variety of fun activities. The amusing movie characters and dialogue also ensure plenty of giggles.

The bizarre and intense assortment of mini-games require both deft precision and manic arm flailing.

An abundance of multi-player options adds depth, and 30 weapons ensure battles are exciting.

But, strangely, you must spend your entire career playing the same type of game rather than choosing between different varieties.

Obstacles prove satisfying to overcome, but enduring a lengthy Benny Hill-style pursuit is frustrating. Patience is required.

The best inclusion is a compulsive Platform mode requiring death-defying leaps. Trial and error repetition can frustrate but improving your scores by performing perfect jumps is addictive.

Unfortunately the offensive moves cannot stop the game from feeling repetitive. Shield door "puzzles" are recycled, while brief turret-blasting interludes are dull.

The deceptively cute presentation belies a comprehensive golf simulation with terrific depth. As the title suggests, anyone can tee off and have a ball, but expert command of the golf ball is possible.

Shooters need to be special to stand out, particularly on Halo's home turf, but Pariah fails to excite or innovate.

Car handling is demanding, but beginners can instantly have fun, thanks to helpful driving assists and generous early prizes.

This ambitious game spans half a million years of human history and is so vast it could take months to explore all it has to offer.

More frustrating than fun.

More variety in the dozen multi-levelled chapters would have been welcome.

Lacking any innovation, the best this game offers has already been done.

Lacking any innovation, the best this game offers has already been done.

Frequent gags, sharp dialogue and attention to detail richly reward those willing to explore and experiment.

It may be the best-looking wrestling game to date, but the action is too linear and, before too long, predictable and repetitive.

Sadly, where the game fails to excite most is behind the wheel, due to poor physics and handling. Drivers will rarely find the need to take their finger off the throttle or cease driving recklessly, as cars never suffer damage.

Sadly, where the game fails to excite most is behind the wheel, due to poor physics and handling. Drivers will rarely find the need to take their finger off the throttle or cease driving recklessly, as cars never suffer damage.

Despite its frustrating flaws, there is still an authentic and challenging military games experience to be had.

Not as ground-breaking as the original, but still a rewarding experience.

Presentation is stark and uninviting but few games are this mentally taxing.

While too many are dull head-to-head encounters, the solo missions sharpen your skills.

The battle system may initially seem unwieldy, particularly with unhelpful camera angles often obscuring foes, but its subtle sophistication adds terrific depth.

The eye-watering speed is exhilarating and enhanced by stomach-churning nitrous boosts.

The fact that the characters are so annoying makes it quite enjoyable to see them meet their makers, but it's wise to protect them for as long as possible.

The fact that the characters are so annoying makes it quite enjoyable to see them meet their makers, but it's wise to protect them for as long as possible.

A challenging, rewarding and innovative puzzle game.

The lack of humour and pedestrian platform chores are reason enough to stick with the duo's entertaining comic-book adventures.

The fact that the characters are so annoying makes it quite enjoyable to see them meet their makers, but it's wise to protect them for as long as possible.

Despite its frustrating flaws, there is still an authentic and challenging military games experience to be had.

The best in the series to date, this brain-over-brawn tactical shooter successfully delivers all the action of a first-person shooter at just half the pace.

The best new inclusion in this console version of the PC hit is a two-player co-operative mode that lets mates tackle 20 intense missions together. It's a blast.

This Lego retelling of the prequels is both a loving tribute and an amusing parody.

Visually spectacular and hugely rewarding.

While this is an arcade racer, skill still plays a big role. Shifting the rider's weight, proper use of the clutch and preloading the suspension are necessary for clearing jumps and effective cornering.

The game's stunning locations include a war-torn Athens, a storm-swept desert and a temple chained to the back of an awe-inspiring titan. The approachable controls allow players to instantly feel thunderously powerful, performing dazzling strikes, blocks, grapples and jumps.

A delightful racer perfectly suited to PSP. Even three minutes waiting for the train can be packed with thrills.

An original puzzle experience, fusing musical elements and presentation.

The amusing story missions are fast and offer plenty of variety.

While this is an arcade racer, skill still plays a big role. Shifting the rider's weight, proper use of the clutch and preloading the suspension are necessary for clearing jumps and effective cornering.

It's testament to the PSP's power that Wipeout looks and plays better now than it ever did on PS2. This classy remake rolls all the tastiest bits of this futuristic racing series into one glorious parcel of pixels.

First-person shooter fans might struggle initially with the demanding targeting system, plus a selection of weapons that take into account the accuracy and range of their real-world counterparts.

Tight controls, inventive action scenes and solid artificial intelligence all combine to make the single-player mode an excellent experience.

The game can be maddeningly frustrating, requiring precision and steely nerves, but also hugely addictive.

Puzzles are kept to a minimum but due to the repetitive ship interiors and the absence of a map, players will spend plenty of time meandering.

The game is delightfully simple to learn but requires tactics and quick thinking.

While not PSP's best driving game, Rivals is an entertaining street racer that offers quick thrills.

It is a charming romp through dazzling jungle environments via glistening ice chambers, volcanic caverns and aquatic wonderlands. But sadly, many players will complete Jungle Beat in just a few hours.

First-person shooter fans might struggle initially with the demanding targeting system, plus a selection of weapons that take into account the accuracy and range of their real-world counterparts.

Player intelligence is improved, with more backline support reacting to the play. But defenders often leave holes and lack urgency near the line.

Gripping and gritty, but will leave you wanting more.

The dialogue and plot are as cheesy as the pizza Dante gobbles while slicing baddies but the presentation is astonishing.

Enemies are intelligent, using cover effectively. Unfortunately, most encounters are overcome using the same method: laying suppressing fire and flanking.

Controls work beautifully and patience and timing are crucial.

Gripping and gritty, but will leave you wanting more.

Controls work beautifully and patience and timing are crucial.

Controls work beautifully and patience and timing are crucial.

Unfortunately, because there are fewer resources than in previous versions, this becomes repetitive all too quickly.

Battles are marvellously theatrical, with punches, kicks and throws so powerful the ground ruptures when pugilists fall.

A very deep and realistic space simulation, but one that is too slow for most gamers to appreciate.

Its biggest strength is the realistic handling. You feel every nuance of the car's movements, weight shifts and suspension, particularly with a Driving Force Pro steering wheel. This is a peerless driving simulation that will test even professional drivers.

Tight controls, inventive action scenes and solid artificial intelligence all combine to make the single-player mode an excellent experience.

Major change comes on the battlefield. With the introduction of game mechanics from Dynasty Warriors, players can now directly control troop manoeuvres.

Tight controls, inventive action scenes and solid artificial intelligence all combine to make the single-player mode an excellent experience.

Fans will enjoy creeping around and using the wonderful grappling hook, but in a post Splinter Cell-era it is disappointing that light and darkness still have little bearing on the ninja's visibility to foes.

A mix of detailed cut scenes and graphically pleasing levels helps move the adventure along, but cannot cover up what is essentially a derivative and straightforward action game hanging its hopes on a movie licence.

For a system that prides itself on interactivity, WarioWare: Touched! is a notable complement. It's a shallow, inconsistent experience, though, and one I suspect will wear on you after a while.

A mix of detailed cut scenes and graphically pleasing levels helps move the adventure along, but cannot cover up what is essentially a derivative and straightforward action game hanging its hopes on a movie licence.

Controls are sloppy, environments are bland and blasting alien bugs becomes dull. Even a futuristic tank cannot enliven the ground-based missions, particularly as the vehicle is clumsy to manoeuvre.

There are a large range of weapons and opponents are smart. Unfortunately, the lengthy espionage sorties are often not as gripping and the change of pace is jarring.

Nina's solo outing fails to rise to the calibre of the Tekken series, though her fans will have fun.

More new elements would have been welcome, but The Sith Lords is another epic and fascinating Star Wars adventure.

But where this latest instalment excels is in enhanced options and customisation for serious fans, while still offering pick-up-and-play access for those after a quick sporting fix.

But where this latest instalment excels is in enhanced options and customisation for serious fans, while still offering pick-up-and-play access for those after a quick sporting fix.

But where this latest instalment excels is in enhanced options and customisation for serious fans, while still offering pick-up-and-play access for those after a quick sporting fix.

Furnishing the mansion with tacky knick-knacks while schmoozing potential bunnies gets dull.

A frisky concept with limited thrills and not enough depth to challenge gamers.

Few games are this fresh or entertaining.

A frisky concept with limited thrills and not enough depth to challenge gamers.

Dark, violent and derivative, but nowhere near as flawed as the movie.

The touch-screen controls are perfect and two-player action wonderful fun. But often chain reactions come from luck rather than skill and there is a lack of variety in the different play modes.

Dark, violent and derivative, but nowhere near as flawed as the movie.

Dark, violent and derivative, but nowhere near as flawed as the movie.

The artificial intelligence of other characters is often dim. Enemies are often oblivious to your nearby presence, while colleagues provide little genuine assistance.

A relentlessly gripping ride that assaults the senses.

While it's not quite as epic as "GTA:SA," the combat within Mercenaries is more focused and polished, thanks to tight controls, amazing graphics and clever physics.

Engaging sub-quests extend the game's lifespan and chatting to the beguiling locals while humming the tunes is a joy.

While it's not quite as epic as "GTA:SA," the combat within Mercenaries is more focused and polished, thanks to tight controls, amazing graphics and clever physics.

There are sufficient missions but little choice of objectives, ensuring the action starts to feel prematurely repetitive.

While Street 2 is appealingly approachable, it gets monotonous, particularly for owners of the original. Solo modes are dull and arduous.

The linearity is a shame given the dearth of quality games for girls and the potential of more free-form interactive novels.

The visuals have now lost much of their shine, which isn't helped by poor collision detection. Wireless multiplayer racing can be enjoyed by up to six DS owners in some events with just one copy of the game.