Nasty visuals, odd camera work, silly levels - Shadow suffers from all the problems for which people have criticised every other 3D Sonic game only, for the most part, to a greater degree. Deserves to get lost among the Christmas rush and never found or spoken of again.

Without Warning fails miserably at whatever it set out to achieve. A lousy camera and ropey AI take a lot away from the cinematic style, and the sheer weight of repetition involved in the missions does little to expand on an idea that could have become a great title.

The biggest indictment against From Russia With Love, however, is that it makes the whole experience of being Bond seem about as much fun as an afternoon spent at a stamp-collecting convention, which is something 007 should never stand accused of. It's dull, banal, boring and any other adjectives that can be used to describe a game unworthy of your attention.

Even the hippity-hop music is utterly lacklustre, and somehow it feels out of place in a G-Ridin' gangsta game. How is this? Avoid this unless you bought "FIFA Street," in which case you're beyond our help.

Whereas the races are as pedestrian as they come - immediately putting the kibosh on any plans you may have had to enjoy the online or co-op modes - the presentation that surrounds the gameplay is one of the worst attempts to sell a shoddy product to 'gangster' worshiping kids we've ever witnessed.

The only redeeming factor to Beat Down is almost everything is underlined with extra options such as negotiating, robbing, recruiting and so on. Normally, this flexibility would be welcomed but in Beat Down's case, having these extra options is akin to a Steven Seagal DVD being packaged with two discs of extras. Who cares?

One particular puzzle is solved by gathering Oompa Loompas and setting them to tasks while Charlie does the more physical work such as throwing vine balls into pipes. It's as pointless a task as Sisyphus' punishment in Hades, and you have to do it five times. In a row.

Step aside, gaming connoisseurs and parents, because it's most definitely a kids' game.

Admittedly, it has a streak of good humour running through it and a few unlockable two-player mini-games, but they're unlikely to encourage completion.

Aside from the fact that the concept isn't nearly as enjoyable as it sounds, the poor collision detection and generally cheap feel ensures that any potential excitement that could come from the game drains away after a few minutes like motor oil from a battered engine.

If you're a huge Dreamcast or Sega fan then the online side of Battle Street may warrant a rent. But, for the other 99.9% of Xbox gamers, we'd say leave the past in the past.

No sense of competitive racing, no sense of control and an almost total lack of emotional connection between you, the car and the road.

When a modern day Xbox game can't humble a 17 year-old arcade game, you know something has gone horribly wrong.

The digital equivalent of a Steven Seagal movie or a Yorkie bar - a man's videogame if ever we saw one. Unfortunately, it's also a game to make grown men weep bitter tears of frustration.

The meat of the game is, for lack of a better term, utter garbage.

Rugby 2005 still sucks. Why? Well, how about the dumbest AI we've witnessed in a sports game since, well, since "FIFA Street."

In its haste to take football back to the streets, EA forgot to make pit-stops at gameplay and fun. When MC Harvey is the best thing you can point to in a videogame, you know something has gone drastically wrong.

Still, at least you get to get out and enjoy easily the worst thirst-person controls devised.

This must rank as one of the blandest-looking shooters on the Xbox - after all, we have been treated to Mercenaries and Microsoft's own MechAssault 2, so there really is no excuse for the low-res, blandly textured environments found here, made all the worse by the disgracefully close draw distances.

Gameplay progresses at a frustratingly slow pace, and it seems the most rudimentary powers of deduction have been substituted for the need to find a small piece of evidence hidden away in the least likely place.

A very dull experience. You can't help but feel this might have actually been all right as a light gun game.

Another glitchy/stupid thing is the CPU AI. On occasions when surrounded and unable to attack the CPU character was literally just standing there, not helping.

The camera angles are poor to the extent that Demon Stone plays almost like a side-scrolling game, progressing slowly and mundanely from one cluster of enemies to the next.

Fight Club is to fighting games what Tyler Durden's posturing is to Bruce Lee - a piss-poor impression.

The game's balance is all wrong. The controls are overly simplistic and you seem to take more damage from the little helicopters that flit around than you do the other monsters.

The controls are pretty lousy, characters will often merge with each other and scenery, and moves feel limited; plus, why can't we grapple an opponent when they're stunned?...Avoid this rubbish at all costs.

For anyone who likes their games to be more than a desperately frustrating chore we recommend steering clear of this one like the Black Death.

Ninety-five per cent of these games are rubbish, but you just can't help a quick trip down memory lane.