Despite its refusal to innovate, its blatant copying from the God of War rulebook, and its missed opportunities, Dante's Inferno is nonetheless a solid title. At the very least, it's an engaging prospect for Xbox loyalists who've never played a God of War game. However, with the likes of Darksiders and Bayonetta on the market (as well as God of War III in our sights), Dante's Inferno is the weakest proposition of the bunch.

It's not the most gripping story we've ever come across, but it certainly isn't the worst, and if you like zombie films then it'll be right up your street.

If intense dogfights and Yankie banter sound appealing then Heroes of the Pacific is for you; sadly the repetitive gameplay is a major deciding for everybody else.

The counter/block system seems to be over-refined with a fine line drawn between whether a counter move is successful or not, and once an opponent is on a roll of combo attacks, players might as well put down the controller and let them do the damage because trying to escape proves to be exceptionally difficult.

Given the lower-end price of FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage and its obvious strengths, it's easy to look past the lack of imagination and next-generation refinement.

It's far from perfect, with issues such as the crazy swings in player AI and overall lack of finesse and skill required; but for the most part we're more than willing to forgo them in the name of fun – in multiplayer bouts particularly, FIFA Street throws up some highly frenetic yet engaging, competitive fun.

As an experiment to push the capabilities of downloadable content over Xbox Live, there's little to doubt Anniversary's originality - on Microsoft's console at least. However, a few extra touches to the lighting and a few soaked vests aside, the Xbox 360 edition of Lara's first outing will be more for the fans.

Demonically difficult, heart-shatteringly hard, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a gamer's game. Solid in both respects of the word, Konami's elderly iconic franchise fits perfectly on PSP for some vampire killing on the move...even if you do feel like throwing the handheld into a wall at times.

Fundamentally the same as the last couple of Spider-Man titles with a handful of enhancements, Spider-Man 3 on the next-generation consoles disappoints in its portrayal of what the new range of consoles have to offer - particularly if you're looking for something other then crisp, clear visuals.

Despite the fact that the weapons fail to pack a punch, and the enemy AI is just as weak, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat is fun with a level of frantic action that's emphasised by the addition of the hot-swapping functionality.

Continuing the theme of simplification that was prevalent throughout Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft's attempt to reinvent the Prince of Persia series is considerably disappointing.

Whilst not as executed quite to the level we'd hoped for, Alone in the Dark remains an original take on the survival horror genre, with its DVD-style structure and environmental interaction worthy of praise.

Split/Second is an original concept made irksome by a lack of depth and highly questionable balancing in the gameplay. Nonetheless, we can't help but feel that there's a lot more mileage left in Blackrock's big idea.

Buy with the knowledge that even the multiplayer mode can't save some environments from growing stale.

If intense dogfights and Yankie banter sound appealing then Heroes of the Pacific is for you; sadly the repetitive gameplay is a major deciding for everybody else.

It's the same Traveller's Tales Lego experience once again. Apart from the fact that Batman is now the subject matter, very little is new here and the gameplay is far from fresh.

A few more months in development ironing out the control system and the suspect AI would have seen a much better release, whilst mid-level saves would have eliminated some of the frustration.

If you’re looking for something to play in short bursts then World Tour Soccer: Challenge Edition can prove to be entertaining, but if you prefer your game to have an inkling of skill it’s probably better to wait for the debut of Konami’s mighty Pro Evolution series.

OK we admit, Scene It? Lights Camera Action isn't the car wreck of a title that we thought it would be, but it has more to prove if it's going to challenge its stylish rival on PlayStation. Hopefully this debut instalment will be quickly followed with a regular stream of downloadable content over Xbox Live, ensuring that the often-repeated 'non-repeatable' questions don't get too stale.

The story mode does provide a challenge and will last most around the 15 hour mark, however once that's past the game has very little to offer largely because of the fundamental online options.

The enjoyment is gained by the authenticity that Heavy Iron has crafted, playing the game feels as though you’re playing through one of the shows.

ProStroke Golf continues to offer an alternative to EA's gargantuan golfing franchise, even on the PSP, though the decision to drop the first-person perspective when lining up a shot, and the PSP's single-nipple disability, does bring the gameplay gap between the two a tad closer.

Whilst the production values of GUN are high in every possible way, it's let down by a short campaign and an overly structured dynamic of side-missions.

The GBA’s Achilles heel once again rears its ugly head, unless playing under bright light identifying the colour of the gems is a nightmare, as not only can you not determine the colour but the sprites are too small as well.

One of the most impressive looking titles so far on Xbox 360 The Darkness is nonetheless let down by poor AI from both the Darklings and the various mob and zombie soldiers that Jackie encounters.

It's hard to imagine why gamers would opt for PES over FIFA this year unless they are such stubborn fans of the series that they'll never let go. FIFA betters Konami's offerings more or less across the board this time around, while PES' continued lack of substantial gameplay innovations (even without any comparisons to FIFA) is becoming quite worrying to say the least.

There's no denying the appeal of Bad Company 2's multiplayer. DICE is still expertly nailing down what it pioneered all the way back in 2002, and the experience remains far from stale. However, poor design in the single-player makes for a campaign that's not only lacklustre throughout, but cripplingly buggy at times as well.

With only eight chapters Mirror's Edge is a particularly short game and the only thing that extends this is the trial-and-error gameplay. You're constantly left feeling as though Mirror's Edge needed something else to sustain it.