In PES6 you can make a sliding tackle and come up with the ball, and the AI has been greatly improved. The passing and shooting have been made harder to master and the players’ movement off the ball is better.

The game contains scores of puzzles, requiring a mixture of logic, observation and luck. What’s great is that it gives you time to solve them, rather than placing you under constant pressure from grisly baddies. There’s also a plot-twist or two.

The characters are just as brilliantly executed, with a range of facial expressions, voices and movements that would do any animator proud.

The fun to be had derives from the game’s simplicity of play, its wildly colourful backgrounds, and the dexterity required to get it right.

An exceptional game that brings history alive with enormous flair and clarity.

There’s not much left to do in games after this.

The graphics are top-notch and the sound helps immerse you in the wonderfully rendered action.

This eighth instalment in the hugely popular skateboarding series, and the first built specially for the Xbox 360, is the best and most realistic by far.

A simple but effective upgrade.

It’s rollicking good fun all the way, let down by the short, repetitive nature of individual levels and the fact that only Michael Madsen of the original cast appears in the game.

It’s rollicking good fun all the way, let down by the short, repetitive nature of individual levels and the fact that only Michael Madsen of the original cast appears in the game.

This time around there are more units to build as well as new traps and siege equipment to help out on the battlefield.

Given the subject matter, the game deserves its 15 rating but not a parliamentary debate.

The result is sweaty-palmed fun, teaming the adult joys of a well-paced thriller with the childish delight of playing hide-and-seek in the dark.

Beautifully crafted, Sid Meier’s Railroads! is a masterful experience — as you would expect from the master himself.

The tone is jocular, the script humorous and well acted by, among others, Little Britain’s Anthony Head.

Fasten your seatbelt, and prepare for an awesome flight. [Deluxe Edition]

The tone is jocular, the script humorous and well acted by, among others, Little Britain's Anthony Head.

Forget storylines, or any pretence at one: this game is simply about quick reflexes and lightning-fast button- pounding.

Forget storylines, or any pretence at one: this game is simply about quick reflexes and lightning-fast button- pounding.

One brilliantly thought out package.

As in the film, every other word is a four-letter one, and although the graphics can be a little choppy, the game is at least engrossing, with levels short enough to demand that they be replayed.

As in the film, every other word is a four-letter one, and although the graphics can be a little choppy, the game is at least engrossing, with levels short enough to demand that they be replayed.

An endlessly inventive and incredibly addictive game.

Fans of the Nintendo SNES classic "Pilotwings" will literally jump at the chance to parachute from any of the aircraft for spectacular views of the vast landscape below. There is bound to be a sequel, because this original is so good.

Fans of the Nintendo SNES classic "Pilotwings" will literally jump at the chance to parachute from any of the aircraft for spectacular views of the vast landscape below. There is bound to be a sequel, because this original is so good.

Fans of the Nintendo SNES classic "Pilotwings" will literally jump at the chance to parachute from any of the aircraft for spectacular views of the vast landscape below. There is bound to be a sequel, because this original is so good.

Fans of the Nintendo SNES classic "Pilotwings" will literally jump at the chance to parachute from any of the aircraft for spectacular views of the vast landscape below. There is bound to be a sequel, because this original is so good.

It’s a gritty Second World War caper that loads the gaming experience to the hilt, leaving players battered, bruised and thoroughly stirred.

You could play straight through this game in a few hours, or dally with it for days. Therein lies its brilliance.

The Original Trilogy's main strength is it's presentation and humour - the novelty of the Lego enviroments has not worn off from the first Lego Star Wars game and the music is excellent. The difficulty level is too easy, but a generous amount of unlockables offers decent replay value.

You could play straight through this game in a few hours, or dally with it for days. Therein lies its brilliance.

You could play straight through this game in a few hours, or dally with it for days. Therein lies its brilliance.

You could play straight through this game in a few hours, or dally with it for days. Therein lies its brilliance.

And with 1,000 miles of road to roam, it comes closer than most games to re-creating the freedom of real life.

An instant classic.

This is a game guaranteed to offend and entertain in equal measure, but it is emphatically not for children.

Zombie hunters beware, though. The vibrating handsets make being caught an unpleasant experience.

A nice innovation is the use of the PSP’s internet access, through which you can download the ‘ghosts’ of other players whose fighting style will be utilised in place of the ordinary AI the game draws on to control your opponent.

As a first-person shooter, Prey makes up in design for what it lacks in depth. The game moves along swiftly, balancing a strong narrative with solid puzzle-solving and some very tasty eye candy.

As a first-person shooter, Prey makes up in design for what it lacks in depth. The game moves along swiftly, balancing a strong narrative with solid puzzle-solving and some very tasty eye candy.

It’s good, simple and highly addictive, though if you have a pen and a copy of The Times, it may be surplus to requirements.

"SimCity" in its later incarnations became too laborious, so that cyber-builders even found themselves planning and maintaining water systems. City Life scores high by keeping things more straightforward.

This episode has more depth than the two previous follow- ups, and its developer, IO Interactive, has introduced many intelligent refinements.

This episode has more depth than the two previous follow- ups, and its developer, IO Interactive, has introduced many intelligent refinements.

This episode has more depth than the two previous follow- ups, and its developer, IO Interactive, has introduced many intelligent refinements.

It’s a third-person shooter with smooth, detailed graphics, and a learning curve set so beautifully that even non- shooter fans should love it.

It’s a third-person shooter with smooth, detailed graphics, and a learning curve set so beautifully that even non- shooter fans should love it.

It's a third-person shooter with smooth, detailed graphics, and a learning curve set so beautifully that even non- shooter fans should love it.

With its bright colours, chirpy soundtrack and tricky but not wall-bashingly frustrating challenges, this is a game you will pick up once and never put down.

The classic moment section, which features 125 well-known situations, is one of several nice touches in this game.

Most importantly, the puzzles are back on track. Traps, levers, pulleys, chains, chasms, secret passges, underground lakes, rotating knives — there’s a cunning solution to each, designed to keep you puzzling for just long enough to gain satisfaction in the solving, but not long enough to make you want to hurl your own internal organs at the screen.

Most importantly, the puzzles are back on track. Traps, levers, pulleys, chains, chasms, secret passges, underground lakes, rotating knives — there’s a cunning solution to each, designed to keep you puzzling for just long enough to gain satisfaction in the solving, but not long enough to make you want to hurl your own internal organs at the screen.

Most importantly, the puzzles are back on track. Traps, levers, pulleys, chains, chasms, secret passges, underground lakes, rotating knives — there’s a cunning solution to each, designed to keep you puzzling for just long enough to gain satisfaction in the solving, but not long enough to make you want to hurl your own internal organs at the screen.

About as interactive as you can get. Controlling your shots is just like real life, and because your movements are mirrored exactly on screen, everything, from how you stand to how you swing the included miniature golf club, will affect your gameplay.

Most importantly, the puzzles are back on track. Traps, levers, pulleys, chains, chasms, secret passges, underground lakes, rotating knives - there's a cunning solution to each, designed to keep you puzzling for just long enough to gain satisfaction in the solving, but not long enough to make you want to hurl your own internal organs at the screen.

Not one for easily bored older children, perhaps, but a well-crafted story that young players will enjoy.

An epic, not only because the immaculate world you inhabit is so immense, but also because the gameplay is fantastically intense.

An epic, not only because the immaculate world you inhabit is so immense, but also because the gameplay is fantastically intense.

This is a cracker. A lot of thought has clearly gone into making the most of the DS’s touch-screen capability here, and it works gloriously. Sure, you still walk down dark corridors blasting anything that moves, but here you are in control as never before.

By turning round the normal rules so that the D-pad operates the functions and the right hand buttons deal with the camera, this intuitive system gives the gameplay a huge boost and also reverses the law of diminishing returns for sequels.

As frantic as it is visually stunning.

Even by the high standards already set, Pursuit Force is an astonishing title... The best PSP title yet.

As the entire game is played at fever-pitch, you soon find yourself looking forward to the next mission briefing, if only for a chance to catch your breath. The only mystery to Black is why there is no multiplayer mode, since such intense battle settings would make for great competitive bouts.

This is more for 24 fans, who will instantly love it — so long as they don’t mind another TV addiction to feed.

As the entire game is played at fever-pitch, you soon find yourself looking forward to the next mission briefing, if only for a chance to catch your breath. The only mystery to Black is why there is no multiplayer mode, since such intense battle settings would make for great competitive bouts.

Each district also serves up specific challenges, so that opening a business at a certain time or reaching a profit milestone will unlock reward buildings such as churches and law courts, which please the locals and boost their satisfaction levels.

Graphically, the level of detail in the tracks is simply stunning compared with the scenery on "Burnout," a reflection of the superiority of the new Xbox over the old.

Rugby, with its elaborate set-pieces and impenetrable laws, is a hard game to render on computer, but this is an extremely good try.

Rugby, with its elaborate set-pieces and impenetrable laws, is a hard game to render on computer, but this is an extremely good try.

The disturbing difference is the 360’s much-vaunted graphics. Hair tosses silkily; veins stand out muscularly; bosoms jounce, waft and settle gravity-defyingly.

The graphics are superb, especially on the Xbox, and if you can cope with the frustration of replaying tricky scenes again and again, this could be the game for you.

The graphics are superb, especially on the Xbox, and if you can cope with the frustration of replaying tricky scenes again and again, this could be the game for you.

The graphics are superb, especially on the Xbox, and if you can cope with the frustration of replaying tricky scenes again and again, this could be the game for you.

Each activity comes with a tutorial from a virtual instructor, and as you kick out at the falling balloons on the TV screen it’ s impossible not to smile. And how often do you see that down the gym?

The graphics are refreshingly crisp and clear, while the battlefield sound effects are spot on, incorporating a medley of explosions, machinegun fire and desperate battle cries.

This close to Christmas, Special Forces is probably for the game’s most loyal fans only — the folk who have played it so much that they are already desperate for new features to layer upon their already intense online experiences.

The graphics are refreshingly crisp and clear, while the battlefield sound effects are spot on, incorporating a medley of explosions, machinegun fire and desperate battle cries.

Although experienced first- person shooter players may find the going in single-player mode a little too easy, the game offers a host of multiplayer options, including split-screen on one console, or team-based mass slaughter challenges via the internet.

Drive the Goldfinger DB5, fly the Thunderball jetpack and fight some classic baddies in challenging environments. It's enough to make you toss your trilby on to a hat-rack in delight.

This is not merely about killing anything that moves (though it helps), since horse-riding and poker playing are among the many other skills needed along the way.

It not only looks fantastic, but uses the graphics ability of the 360 to the full, with super-smooth angles and movement, and the puzzles it presents are every bit as challenging as those in games such as Zelda, with which it shares a medieval theme. Brilliantly designed and executed, and fabulously entertaining.

It’s a simple idea, but the best ones always are.

Drive the Goldfinger DB5, fly the Thunderball jetpack and fight some classic baddies in challenging environments. It’s enough to make you toss your trilby on to a hat-rack in delight.

Drive the Goldfinger DB5, fly the Thunderball jetpack and fight some classic baddies in challenging environments. It's enough to make you toss your trilby on to a hat-rack in delight.

With its simple gameplay and involving story, Spartan: Total Warrior is a perfect blend of strategy game and hack'n'slash romp.

Crisp graphics and sound effects make this a fun game to play, while the voices, provided by the cast of the TV series, add credibility.

With its simple gameplay and involving story, Spartan: Total Warrior is a perfect blend of strategy game and hack’n’slash romp.

The graphics are solid and sharply focused, while the cities that used to expand all too predictably now take on more organic growth patterns that spread to encompass land between cities more naturally.

With its simple gameplay and involving story, Spartan: Total Warrior is a perfect blend of strategy game and hack'n'slash romp.

In short, AoE III is yet another masterly triumph.

The first-person caper is satisfyingly immersive thanks to some outstanding graphical touches - heavy rain splatters neatly on Jeeps and we can even see Red’s freckles in close-up.

Where LA Rush beats the others to the winning post is in the way that it allows you to spend the money you earn — welcome to the video game equivalent of MTV’s hit TV show "Pimp My Ride."

Games do not come much larger than SOCOM 3, which has been designed very much with the internet in mind: go online and you can play against up to 31 opponents.

Where LA Rush beats the others to the winning post is in the way that it allows you to spend the money you earn - welcome to the video game equivalent of MTV's hit TV show "Pimp My Ride."

This adventure looks great, its landscape dominated by crooked buildings and brooding grey skies; navigating Jack is simple and the characters are all well realised. A perfect children’s game.

The game serves up a clutch of sturdy gambling options, from craps to Texas hold ’em poker, and it can feel just as tacky as a trip to Vegas thanks to some gloriously cheesy music.

This adventure looks great, its landscape dominated by crooked buildings and brooding grey skies; navigating Jack is simple and the characters are all well realised. A perfect children's game.