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.