The courses in this game are just as much the stars as the cars. The dazzling downtown locations are massive, dominated by skyscrapers whose light bathes the streets in a radiant glow.

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.

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.

The game-within-a-game concept is fantastic and the simulation of the MMORPG experience is flawlessly executed.

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 is a handsome game with a stirring soundtrack, with the potential to deliver weeks of very involving gameplay for hardcore followers.

Although some found "Jak 2" hard going in places, Jak 3 is better all round, and soundly completes the adventure series.

The basic format will be laughably familiar to any half- experienced role-player, but the shortness of the levels, the bright graphics and the arrows to help you on your way make this a game that will delight, rather than frustrate.

Park and his team’s creative modelling skills make the films magical, but in replacing them with computer graphics this game delivers pretty average fare. That said, its cartoon visuals and helpful prompts should keep younger children amused for hours.

While older teenagers may snub this Harry Potter outing, there’s still good mileage in the bespectacled chappie for younger players.

The mechanics are competent, but it is the characterisations, especially the wooden delivery of some lines, that let the game down. On the plus side, the ample options include a story mode, multiplayer clash modes and a mission designer to open up replay values.

This may be a fine simulation, but it is not entirely realistic – for example, hapless government ministers do not meddle, passenger trains are not cancelled because drivers pull sickies and no key routes grind to a standstill because of leaves on the line.

And while it may lack the visual splendour of, say, "Brothers in Arms," it does fire up the imagination to deliver an authentic, atmospheric war experience that exhausts as much as it excites.

But what is most important about We Love Katamari is that it represents a move in which Electronic Arts, the world's biggest games publisher, has been prepared to release a title that is new, entertaining, and ultimately, original.

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.

Those who do not want to embark on complex challenges will still find hours of enjoyment in sandbox mode.

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.

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 update, happily, is more appealing, with improved, streamlined gameplay.

From the introductory scene featuring a Darth Vader-esque Megatron to the grand-scale boss fights later in the game, this is a thoroughly entertaining and well-constructed title.

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

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.

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

Although some of the voice acting creaks, the peasants who sound like Goon Show rejects are surprisingly entertaining.

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.

The game does move at a slow pace, but with such a complex case to unravel this is no time to rush about, eh, Watson?

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.

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

"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.

Graphically impressive, to the point where those prone to sea-sickness should stay away, and the dark bowels of the ship provide an eerily effective gaming environment.

The best aspect, however, is the fighting, which is easy to learn and control and varies in style from martial arts to drunken brawling.

The third-person game is faithfully realised, enhanced by a coherent adventure penned by the show’s own scriptwriters and solid voice performances by the series’ cast members.

The main drawback to Shrek 2 is its slightly flaky in-game camera feature, which does not always let you see the action from the best angles.

The interface is largely invisible, having been dramatically streamlined to make this a more intuitive experience for newcomers to the RTS genre.

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.

The mechanics are competent, but it is the characterisations, especially the wooden delivery of some lines, that let the game down. On the plus side, the ample options include a story mode, multiplayer clash modes and a mission designer to open up replay values.

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.

Shielding, tackling and dribbling have been boosted for better on-pitch control, while business in the boardroom looms with a more comprehensive management game and careers judged over a 15-year span.

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 shaded graphics lend the outing a moody and otherworldly air, while many of the puzzles dotted around the levels are refreshingly cryptic. This may not be an epic game, but it is a satisfying spine-chiller all the same.

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.

The visuals are first rate. News footage sets the scene of the chaos, while short in-game cut-scenes intertwine seamlessly with the action.

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.

A simple but effective upgrade.

Unlike the first two in the series, which were made by a different studio, the interface is simple and intuitive, and the result addictive — the permutations seem endless.

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 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. All this detail is demanding, so you will need a fairly powerful PC to prevent the visuals from occasionally chugging.

This is a light-hearted beat-em-up that will appeal to both old-school fans and DragonBall aficionados.

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.

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 courses in this game are just as much the stars as the cars. The dazzling downtown locations are massive, dominated by skyscrapers whose light bathes the streets in a radiant glow.

Graphically impressive, to the point where those prone to sea-sickness should stay away, and the dark bowels of the ship provide an eerily effective gaming environment.

Shielding, tackling and dribbling have been boosted for better on-pitch control, while business in the boardroom looms with a more comprehensive management game and careers judged over a 15-year span.

The online action is about more than endless fighting, since players also get the chance to formulate strategies in a sort of chat-room environment.

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.

More experienced gamers may scoff early on, but will find more rewards once they start to build up a mini-army of Pokémon, which they can trade online with other dedicated players.

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."

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

Though The Godfather is competent, it is also bland, despite the voices of James Caan and Robert Duvall, and you rarely feel a sense of power.

It’s a fun game that provides all the spectacle of breakdancing without the trip to the chiropractor afterwards.

The 3-D graphics, though impressive, have changed little, and the fighting characters remain pretty much the same.

It may sound mundane, but there are enough winning touches to make the game very playable in short bursts.

"Ratchet & Clank" fans may turn up their noses at the largely failed attempts at humour in the dialogue, but if your Christmas games are already losing their appeal, you could do a lot worse than this, especially for the price.

While serving up some more cerebral fare with the violent action is laudable, and the graphics are very good, by extending its sights, Shadow of Rome just fails to conquer.

Ultimately, though, it’s all about how well you wield a crowbar.

This is a sterile affair which, although adequate in every department, excels in none.

Fifa Street 2 falls down in one vital aspect - namely the art of defending.

But this compilation serves up all their gaming hits and, apart from proving just how far, thankfully, gaming has come in the last 25 years, it also manages to deliver nostalgia by the bucketload.

The cars on the circuit, from the Dodge Viper to the Mazda RX-8, are all impressively rendered, but slide off the track at the first push of the turn right button at one of the many hairpin bends.

The FPS game definitely needs revitalising by something new and original. This isn't it.

The more you play the more both the gameplay and Redmond’s catchphrases err on the repetitive side.

The variety of moves keeps the game engrossing. You may be unlikely to return to it once you have played it, but reuniting Captain Blue with his movie seems reward enough.

An efficient training mode allows you to take to the trails with confidence, though you might find the crash course more entertaining.

There is no getting away from the fact that this series is now showing its age. The linking video sequences are bland, while the colours jar badly.

The FPS game definitely needs revitalising by something new and original. This isn’t it.

Though voiced and scripted by the people behind the TV show, the game is lightweight, and its quirky navigation and control issues make it one for serious fans only.

The action is fluid, and the voiceover occasionally knowing, in an archly self-referential, Pixar kind of way.

The action is fluid, and the voiceover occasionally knowing, in an archly self-referential, Pixar kind of way.

We can overlook the dingy appearance of the redesigned world, but the new style of play, involving a pair of bonded characters and a sort of extra-dimensional training area known as The Battlefields, adds layers of unnecessary complication.

Though NFL Street 2 does enough to entertain for an hour or two, fans of proper football, played with feet, are likely to find it quite dull.

Fifa Street 2 falls down in one vital aspect — namely the art of defending.

There is plenty to do in the management of the park and great rewards for success. However, all this is undermined because it is much more fun to play one of the driving, mini-golf, shooting or football games than do all the menial things.

The learning curve is gentle, the controls simple to master, but there's little new here.

Though voiced and scripted by the people behind the TV show, the game is lightweight, and its quirky navigation and control issues make it one for serious fans only.

But this compilation serves up all their gaming hits and, apart from proving just how far, thankfully, gaming has come in the last 25 years, it also manages to deliver nostalgia by the bucketload.

For all the nice touches, however, the shockingly poor artificial intelligence lets down Cold Winter badly, and the game is unlikely to offer serious players any real challenge.

Though voiced and scripted by the people behind the TV show, the game is lightweight, and its quirky navigation and control issues make it one for serious fans only.

Shark Tale may feel linear at times, but the experience is not so diluted that it delivers a totally flavourless caper. The game is rated 3+ and younger players should enjoy its mix of chases, stealth, puzzle-solving, simple fighting and musical tap-dancing.

Nice graphics and smooth gameplay are no substitute for imagination.

The graphics are solid and fighting is actually quite impressive, with the special moves giving variety to the hack’n’slash action. Yet all the time a feeling of déjà vu takes away from the action on the screen.

There is plenty to do in the management of the park and great rewards for success. However, all this is undermined because it is much more fun to play one of the driving, mini-golf, shooting or football games than do all the menial things.

Despite the different endings, the game does not have enormous replay values, but the original Christie novel is included for good measure.

TMOS has an impressively complex storyline, backed up by superbly detailed background graphics.

But this compilation serves up all their gaming hits and, apart from proving just how far, thankfully, gaming has come in the last 25 years, it also manages to deliver nostalgia by the bucketload.

Releasing a game without a save mode is a brave move; releasing a game without a save mode because you forgot is just worrying. For those of you hoping to play Gangland and complete it, my advice is to wait until a save patch becomes available, supposedly in the next month or so.

Nice graphics and smooth gameplay are no substitute for imagination.

It’s violent, it’s breathlessly easy to play, and it’s ever so slightly repetitive.

The graphics are solid and fighting is actually quite impressive, with the special moves giving variety to the hack’n’slash action. Yet all the time a feeling of déjà vu takes away from the action on the screen.