It's a beautiful pretender; but ultimately, beauty is only a surface attraction.

The game’s utter oddness is enough to grab the attention of the average gamer, but its on-and-off mission structure isn’t going to keep them for long and once again fisticuffs in first-person proves problematic.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin offers players its share of great moments, but on a whole, this is just an average game.

While the formula may never grow old, purchasing its incarnations is becoming rather trivial.

What is certain though is that Streets of Rage 2 is a classic title that fully deserves to be revived and remembered in modern day gaming. Now, pass me the pain relief and I’ll be on my way.

I suppose, if you have an interest in US history, you might eke more enjoyment from the game than I did. But, I am afraid all the fears I had when I first unwrapped the game came true. Playable but, in the end, pretty dull.

It's the mission design that proves most disappointing. Its scale is highly ambitious but Dead Island's population of living dead aren't enough to compensate for its barren lack of variety and an increasingly tedious structure.

The problem is that the single-player package stretches the pretty basic gameplay worryingly thin, and leaderboard competition can only keep you interested for so long. If you're looking for a decent arcade romp you could do a lot worse than pick up Zombie Driver HD. It's just that you could do a lot better, too.

Aside from an exhaustion that I’m still trying to shake, I walk away from Ken’s Rage 2 with the realization that us fans probably won’t be graced with a well deserved adaptation anytime soon and that realization already has my eyes shedding streaks of sorrowful man seed.

Again, what the game aims to achieve is what leads to its downfall, resting securely in the shade of its predecessor's success and achieving some value in that way, without ever coming out to mark its own territory.

It doesn't know whether it's a hack and slash game or a tactical masterclass, and although it attempts to combine these, it doesn't do so convincingly.

If you enjoyed the original Kingdom Hearts you'll find some enjoyment here too, but sadly it is not the classic it could have - and probably should have - been.

If there had been a more expansive single-player mode, smoother animations, and a more variety of levels, Snowboard Kids DS could have been a force to be reckoned with.

It’s fun, chaotic, and unbelievably bloody. But it’s just not enough to make up for the other glaring flaws; gratuitous violence in video games is only as good as the gameplay that backs it up. Think about it.

If you’re in the market for a bog standard platformer that exceeds itself visually and aurally, then Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is a worthwhile head spin without the legal repercussions.

Grandia III makes great strides in the magic and skill systems, and the battles are as exciting as ever. It’s just that the storyline is so disappointing that at times it is difficult to continue playing through the game.

Instincts had quite a bit going for it (good graphics, comfortable controls, unique setting) but then does a great job of screwing it all up and making you not care (repetitive levels, stupid enemy designs, slight unfinished feel in places).

It's got a highly polished presentation, a feat that few games on the Gamecube can muster. Sadly, this game has one a single flaw that ultimately denies it from greatness: the damned microphone.

In the end, that’s what Magical Starsign really is; a glorified GBA game with Touch Screen controls tacked on as an afterthought.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes isn't so much a detective game, but a puzzle title, one that limits its audience given its difficult old skool approach. On top of that, its outdated graphics and terrible frame rate asks more of its players to swallow before taking things seriously.

Crystal Quest is a pleasant shooter, with no huge flaws, yet the gameplay lets it down. Compared to something as action-packed and addictive as Geometry Wars there isn’t much to keep you playing other than for an impressive high score to boast about.

The game is incredibly repetitive. You get the standard different worlds of jungle, sand, sky, etc. but other than the colour palette and decor there wasn't anything unique about any of them.

Mega Man X7 is a decent follow-up to the travesty of a game that was Mega Man X6, but it will still come off as a lacking action title for the gamers that have never been interested in the series. Nice try, Capcom.

The platforming, while serviceable enough on its own, is made needlessly annoying with a horrendous excuse of a camera. But if you manage to get it working long enough, you'll be treated to some of Disney's finest, from the animated shorts of the early twentieth century to the nightmarish visions of a world that is normally reserved for cherished childhood memories.

It's just disappointing that there are so many issues with the three main games that people are going to be interested in.

Like all good arcade games, it never reaches for anything deeper than ‘compulsive time-killer’, and this could lead to voices, both internal and external, saying that it’s an empty, flawed experience not worth spending your time or money on.

Costume Quest ultimately fills the same void as the candy filling the kids' buckets: it tastes good, but it's not terribly filling.

It isn’t as nerve-shreddingly terrifying as its predecessor, but A Machine for Pigs purveys a different kind of horror, revelling in the power of suggestion rather than the substance of real threat.