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

Admittedly, the assorted firepower offers little excitement, but the experience is convincingly upbeat thanks to the game’s droll sense of humour.

In short, AoE III is yet another masterly triumph.

Shadow of the Colossus has more style than real substance and it is slightly baffling why Fumito Ueda, the game's creator, didn't develop this into something a little more Zelda-esque in order to make best use of the world he has created. He might have had a classic on his hands.

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.

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.

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.

It's still not enough to stop my tame ten- year-old tester pronouncing it Project: B.O.R.I.N.G.

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.

It’s still not enough to stop my tame ten- year-old tester pronouncing it Project: B.O.R.I.N.G.

Admittedly, the assorted firepower offers little excitement, but the experience is convincingly upbeat thanks to the game's droll sense of humour.

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."

It's still not enough to stop my tame ten- year-old tester pronouncing it Project: B.O.R.I.N.G.

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.

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.

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.

Here is a game that is both more exciting and more educational than Casualty, ER and Scrubs put together.

Now that the game is established in a 3-D world, it has, for me at least, lost a little of its gripping intensity — an option to switch action between 2-D and 3-D would have been a nice touch.

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.

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.

Now that the game is established in a 3-D world, it has, for me at least, lost a little of its gripping intensity - an option to switch action between 2-D and 3-D would have been a nice touch.

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.

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.