'brilliant', 'fantastic' and 'a breathtaking work of genius.'

Despite being on a handheld, the visuals and music in the game really astound – they create just the right mood for a game about vampires and other nasty stuff.

Add in the camaraderie and chat, the shouts of alarm and the odd comedy moment to lighten the tension and you have a cracking game that would be perfect if only there were a couple of branches down the very straight and narrow.

Beautifully conceived and packed chock-full of garish Mario-isms. This is far better than any other golfing effort the N64 has spewed up in the past and we had to wait for the trusty little plumber to prove again just why he's the dog's danglies at almost everything he does.

Considering that Japan isn’t famous for its success in the sport, for some reason the developers at KCET have a canny knack of delivering almost every attribute of our beautiful game in precision detail, with realism so sharp you could almost take an eye out!

The camera is extremely intelligent, zooming in and panning out where appropriate to give you the best view of proceedings. On the odd occasion where the camera doesn't give a perfect shot of things, the camera buttons make fixing the view very simple. Rare has got a serious rival for the title of N64 3-D adventure game supremo!

The game is practically faultless and comes recommended to all, but it won’t last forever and is over too soon. Then again, the same could be said for sunset, but people don’t stop watching that because the onset of night is inevitable and quick.

Tremendous fun... Gameplay is rarely this pure. Get monkey spanking!

With the perfect combination of all-out mass slaughtering and stealth missions, Syphon Filter is an unexpected gem that comes highly recommended.

In other words: You best get yaw white-boy, tea-drinking, mummy-kissing ass down to the staw – bitch.

To play this is to love it - there is so much to do, so much to learn and so much enjoyment to be had from this that I cannot see anyone failing to like it.

Despite being a fun, polished and highly stylised game, Ratchet & Clank 2 feels like it's playing catch-up in a crowded genre, a feeling made all the more real considering its running on a year old graphics engine.

Another fantastic game from the masters of extreme sports.

An enjoyable remix of all the best that platform adventures have to offer and, ultimately, it can only be your loss if you do decide to pass on it.

Jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

Its claims to be a truly interactive experience are wishful thinking, it’s still a pretty linear game. Although there are different ways to accomplish things, the ultimate goal remains much the same.

There is so much to do in this enormous, indepth game that you could get sucked into its fantastically animated absorbing world and stay there for weeks. Donkey Kong 64 deseves the fanfare of being the most eagerly-awaited game since Zelda.

Rather than confusing the player with endless pages of stats or making the controls overly complicated (something Smilebit did with "GunValkyrie"), the company has achieved just the right balance of gameplay, visuals, atmosphere and story line.

The title may well have been one of the best-looking games to ever grace an Xbox but compared to the PC offering it resembles an early beta version.

A riotous arcade experience structured to provide massive, total addiction. The 'just-one-more-go' syndrome is impossible to resist.

For goodness' sake don't play this on evenings when you have to work the next day because the odds are you'll still be in front of your machine in the early hours, striving to build one more bit of your spaceship, or conquering just one more city before you go to bed.

It's brilliant. Better than the first game, in fact. It's got everything you could ask for. More Pikmin, bigger play areas, dungeons to explore, multiplayer modes... but crucially, it doesn't feel bloated. [JPN Import]

The most complete FPS we have ever seen. This is it. We have it now. We have a game that is as essential to your console happiness as a memory card, Dual Shock and big comfy armchair.

It sets down the ground rules early on and adheres to them with a wonderful strictness that many games are terrified to do.

Apart from the oversight of not including 3D greens, leaving putting a little to guesswork, Tiger Woods 2003 really is one of the best golf sims ever made.

The standard sit-on-the-fence "If you're a fan..." line doesn't apply here. Instead, we say this - buy it, learn the rules and thank us later. Ours will be a pint. Without the mayonnaise, thank you.

Fine visuals, excellent sound and a level of presentation currently unrivalled in any sporting product - what more could you want?

With lusciously detailed graphics and some superb sound FX and music rounding the game off, Red Alert looks destined to follow "Dune II" and "Command and Conquer" straight into the Westwood hall of fame.

A work of Tolkeinesque proportions and not only the greatest RPG of our times, but one of the greatest games of all time. Wholeheartedly recommended.

Quite simply, Beetle Adventure Racing is the most fun, most exciting and most satisfying racing game on the N64 to date.

After all, any self-respecting Halo 2 Live player who actually misses out on these nine new maps is probably beyond help anyway.

The definitive, most universally appealing WWII title ever made. It's not that the game does anything more or less than its digital brothers in arms, far from it, but instead it strips the genre down to the bare essentials and this turns it into one of the most pure shooters we've seen for some time.

New modes, new vehicles and a whole new batch of trophies and awards to obtain (including the awesome Vertical Takedowns that see you falling from a height to land on a rival) all make for an experience that has enough in common with the sublime "Burnout 3" to create a feeling of comfort, but is different enough to test you all over again.

Dragon Quest VIII's world flows. It moves. It's utterly huge. It reminds one of "Zelda: Ocarina of Time" on a "Grand Theft Auto" scale. It is an adventure. It's possible to get hopelessly lost in mountain paths, or on tributaries in rivers that dissect giant continents with no place to land a boat outside of a shady hidden casino in the rocks. [JPN Import]

For those that have completed the game the credits are one of the funniest things I have ever seen in a game. The credits run on for quite a while and almost make having completed the game an afterthought.

This is still the best choice for gamers wanting to batter a hard white ball around a park but anyone returning to the series will be disappointed with the slender changes.

Not since "Zeus: Master Of Olympus" have the gods smiled so benignly on RTS worshippers, and for new adorers and regular acolytes alike, Age Of Mythology is a revelation – this is a must for followers and atheists alike.

A shotgun blast of colour and speed, Wipeout 3 is not something you'll forget easily. It's the biggest, finest-looking, finest-playing game of an exceptionally good trilogy.

Despite the fact that the gameplay is quite deep and requires a fair amount of thought to do well at, the actual game itself is incredibly easy to pick up.

The visuals are excellent, commentary exciting and convincing, and overall enjoyment is top-notch. Highly recommended.

A solid looking, solid playing basketball game that sits firmly in the ‘realism’ camp.

Good in the sense that it means anyone can instantly pick it up and perform miraculous feats of head-cleaving prowess. But bad because it means you can effortlessly plough straight through it without having to work very hard.

SEGA Sports certainly know how to make their titles as exciting as possible – the music plays, the lights flash, the audience is pumped up, all you’d need is a hotdog and you’d have the perfect hockey experience!

The visual splendour of the whole land will undoubtedly entice Xbox owners to the shops - and quite rightly so - but it's the underlying quests that will keep them involved in the game until the bitter end.

Resident Evil 2 is not just a great game, but also proof that the N64 can do the supposedly impossible when developers put their minds to it. An incredible achievement.

The gameplay is sumptuous, and is helped along considerably by a smooth learning curve and a constant 60fps update. The biggest surprise of all, and one which we've mentioned several times, is the depth the game has to offer.

Style is nothing without substance.

Whilst definitely not monumental, it’s a fair distraction that’s in need of a bit of a boost.

There are predictable twists and a couple that may just surprise you, the voice acting is impressive and the animated cut scenes are still a breath of fresh air after the endless glossy renders of other games.

Through four years of massive commitment and seasonal hell with over 300 vehicles and 600 infantry types, this a game to challenge the serious gamer.

That the plot is furthered only periodically, rather than religiously at the end of each mission, highlights Namco’s tempered hand, ensuring that it’s the gameplay which remains firmly at centre stage.

Pure, unadulterated, hard-core, ass kicking, pop a cap in ya' ass action and gunplay. Max Payne levels it’s .45 and sends stealth quivering back to the marketing table, where it belongs. And it’s all the better for it.

Half the fun came from picking out each light in an area before flipping on the night vision and having some fun with any gullible goons.

This game doesn't only look great it also sounds amazing. The meaty gunfire and explosions will shake the very skin from your bones.

Far more complete and polished than the last Tiger Woods. There's so much in there that it will take months to win everything.

There''s ''playing hours a plenty'' here for all strategy fans, the soundtrack and speech are great and the story is complex and intriguing. Put it this way, it's my present number one pastime apart from swivelling my microscope.

No other bball game comes close.

This is helped by the huge amount of freedom that the player is granted. If you can see it, the odds are that you can get to it, which means that the whole island is Carver's plaything. The highest peaks can be scaled, rivers can be swam through and ditches can be hidden in.

Animation of the beautifully rendered characters and unit models particularly livens up the screen, and the attention to detail is often quite remarkable.

The action is as fast and frantic as ever and it is virtually impossible to play Descent II without bucking and rearing in your seat.

One of the most clever, crowd-pleasing, tense, dramatic, beautiful and playable games ever conceived.

Full of options and it plays like a dream, but even if you're not playing you'll be impressed.

This really is classic stuff. Most games of this ilk can be effortlessly breezed through within a couple of goes, but not this monster. Despite having ten continues as standard, you''ll lose them within the first three levels -- leaving vast chunks of unexplored terrain that''ll have you begging for extra credits. [JPN Import]

Bear in mind that these would be ten or eleven of the most stimulating hours you can imagine, filled with drama, action, fear, wonder and really quite the most intense violence any person should witness.

Beautiful to look at, it's as rewarding as ever to play and, judging by the attention to detail that has been lavished on it, it's the most lovingly-created game ever. The chances are that you'll fall in love with it too, as only people who are obsessed with cars can fall in love with inanimate and soulless objects.

From the stable that gave us "Symphony Of The Night" and "Metal Gear Solid," more is rightfully expected.

The depth of story is surprisingly luxurious... This isn't a "Final Fantasy" beater but it's a cracking RPG nonetheless.

Visually and aurally, Prince of Persia is right up there with the best that gaming has to offer, although a good gaming-spec machine is required in order to appreciate the finer points of the experience.

Fans of the original will love RT2 and anyone with even the slightest strategical bent will love the challenge it poses.

Represents state-of-the-art gaming and pushes the PlayStation to its limits -- short of nicking a coin-op, this is the closest thing you'll ever come to arcade perfection in the home.

The animations are perfectly complemented by the pixel perfect shadowing and some truly stunning effects, such as the player leaving marks on the clay courts as they skid across to reach for a shot.

It's supposed to be fun and with this it has no problem, and no equal. If the first game was ‘hole in one’ perfect then Tiger Woods 2004 doesn’t even need to take a swing – it's cool enough already.

Just a little underdeveloped. A little more freedom of play and movement would have done justice to the original ideas, then the hype would have been justified.

Almost perfectly executed, there is so much to depth to Medieval Total War that only years of play can adequately discover. But take our word for it, this is a cracker!

Considering that we're still ploughing through the 2004 edition without complaint, we daresay there'll be more than enough to fill the time between now and next year, when we'll inevitably see Tiger Woods 2006 if his career-skid interface hasn't become any more severe.

A package more desirable than Neve Campbell wrapped in a lottery cheque!

The tracks are stunning and the physics engine manages to feel realistic, but also work perfectly as a game.

Luigi seems even floatier, and embarrassed head-shaking ensues when you see Princess Peach throwing shapes like a bad-ass Crip from the Wes' side. Ooh, where's she hiding the Glock?... NBA Street V3 is superfluous and expensive.

We didn't want just another gun-toting FPS and this is realistic, intrinsically comfortable to play and a solid alternative to single-trigger action. But, as a long-term contender this doesn't carry enough depth to make it the ultimate combat ally.

Graphically appealing and full of great special effects and sound samples, this will enthuse any Crash fan. As a racing game though, it's just a little too slow to get your pulse racing.

This is the single most impressive piece of software the PS2 has seen since "GTA3." Where the Rockstar game innovated in its style of play Frontline innovates in the perfection of its execution. We’ve seen first-person shooters before, but nothing like this. Nothing as superbly crafted as this.

Every aspect of Tekken 5's production is of the highest quality save one area - the game's Devil Within mode - the latest take in the Tekken Force series. Visually bland and repetitive in a way only the very worst scrolling beat-'em-ups can be. It's a crime then that completing it is the only way unlock Devil Jin. [JPN Import]

It’s easy to pick up and play, it’s addictive, it’s chock full of bonuses to unlock. It is by far and away the best golf game we’ve played.

We'd suggest you're somewhat dead inside if you didn't succumb to Psychonauts' attractive lure; the comedy ranges from sublime to outright hilarious, the visuals are delightfully detailed and the level design, while focused on collecting for the most part, is both devious and thought-provoking.

The latest all-action game that still has lots to offer the strategy gamer so go, go go!

Beneath the day-glo grass and cuddly-wuddly wittle characters beats the brutal, steroid-pumped heart of a sadistic beast who eats raw liver and stamps on puppies for laughs. Everything about Diddy Kong Racing is perfect.

While 32-bit consoles have seen a drift back to the old 2-D scrolling shoot-'em-ups, Star Fox updates the format for the 21st century. It's a stunning, state-of-the-art space opera.

While there's no doubt that it's a solid golf game that’s engrossing and fun to play, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 just doesn't feel like a true sequel.

If real aliens turn up while you are playing this, they don’t stand a chance of getting your attention.

There is now a level editor named Tiger Proofing where players can customise their own greens and add naff little gimmicks to impress their mates and try to convince themselves that it's not exactly the same game as they all bought last year.

The control system (using the right stick for punches) is an inspired idea and has been well balanced with the stamina meter. However, it only seems to work smoothly half of the time.

Whether you choose to take part in a tournament against the world’s best or just opt for a single match where you try and improve your score, PGA Tour 2003 is a golfing treat.

With beautifully realised fantasy words to explore and depth that belies its surface-sweetened nastiness, this is one that will satisfy all who feel the need for unbridled platform action. And attitude.

Totally immersing from the start, never letting up and always lashed with the sort of extreme violence that we’ve always wanted.

Every mission gives you a new perspective on the game, causing you to re-evaluate your prior thoughts and strategies, giving priority to different units in different battles.

This game offers the most realistic facial models to date, with every single hairdressing error and facial tick of the FA and the 450 worldwide team members featured in stunning detail.

There's a lot in Warioland to wow you but, at the end of the day, it's just a GBC adventure with nice graphics. Which is REAL daylight robbery.

Where Shogo departs from its gaming relatives is in the mix of huge MCVs that can leap gracefully up the outsides of tall buildings and daintily tread on dinky people and the on hoof levels where your frail body is fully exposed to the bullets, laser bolts and high explosives.