There are enough changes and additions to NHL Hitz 20-03 to justify a purchase and if you are a fan of the game you won’t be disappointed.

If you’re prepared to put up with this lack of variation, you’ll find a good, solid game with many parallels to the Tony Hawk’s series itself.

The fact remains that the improvements that NHL Hitz 20-03 has over the first game just can’t justify yet another £40… it’s just not different enough.

Just too basic to allow for any long-term appeal.

Unlike most developers Nintendo can take an ingenious and unusual idea and turn it into an inventive game of discovery and fun. This, you might say, is the Nintendo difference.

A dull, badly animated waste of money.

Invisible walls, unintuitive controls, an overgenerous landing ability and an overall sensation of direness that’ll make anyone who’s familiar with extreme sports games, find playing this one just dull.

You don’t feel anywhere near as connected to the gameplay as you do with "Tetris" or "Bust-A-Move." Another problem is that despite all of the chaos going on around you the game feels quite slow.

All Kemco appears to have done is taken Tetris and turned it upside down. Oh, and added a load of ‘cute’ egg characters too to brighten the whole thing up. Great.

The only downsides are some cheap-looking graphics, and clunky interface work. But Beach Life is a cool alternative for us pasty-kneed Brits who couldn’t make it to the Balearics this summer.

The trouble is that The Thing just doesn’t scare us and that, you’d think, is a vital part of any horror game.

Though Dino Stalker features all the relevant gore and shocks of Capcom’s classic survival horror games (and is proud to say so) the slow gameplay, limited freedom and short lifespan puts the survival of Dino Stalker in doubt.

There’ll be times when you curse it for being so tough, but when you do get anywhere the feeling of elevation is immense.

Despite the password system and the small amount of levels, the target audience will get further play out of the mini-games (the Arkanoid-style game where you get to bounce Salem around is by far the best) and will probably take a bit longer to complete the adventure.

With no improvement of note this one is for hard (armored) core fans only.

No doubt the developers would hide behind the old ‘but it’s for the kids’ line – but believe us Antz Racing would be an insult to the intelligence of a four-year-old. Redeeming features? Not a single one.

The main problem lies in the fact that this is really nothing more than a re-done "SSX Tricky."

Colourful, fun and even – dare we say it – educational, Barbie Groovy Games is nicely designed and perfect for its market.

It’s quite scary to think that one or two people might pick this game up on the strength of the Gravity Games license alone.

There are virtually no sound effects or voice samples included at all, leaving the dire music to keep your ears entertained. Add weak animation and bland graphics to these other failings and you have a title almost totally lacking in charm and appeal.

”Ooh, are we having fun yet?” When Blade mutters these words as you run though the thousandth dim-witted vampire it can be hard not to see the irony – even the game is getting tired.

Essentially SEGA Soccer Slam fails to hit all the marks a fun arcade football game should hit and indeed were hit by Midway’s superior RedCard. If it’s a solid and fun arcade kick-about you’re after then plump for Midway’s game as Soccer Slam is best avoided.

Has the cars, moments of originality and the track designs to threaten even the mighty Project Gotham Racing and if the graphics were a little more impressive it may just have pipped it.

It isn’t going to win any prizes in any departments – that’s one thing that can be sure. However, there’s a certain amount of fun to be had with this in a no-brainer hack and slash-type way.

What you have is a mish-mash of two gameplay styles, neither of which is particularly enthralling. Particularly not when you’ve got games like "Timesplitters 2" hitting the streets at almost the same time.

There is so much here to dislike it is generally making us dizzy.

Certainly a decent enough addition to the genre and less demanding race fans should find plenty to smile about.

The ease of moves and the accessibility of the characters makes Guilty Gear X the complete opposite of titles like King of Fighters : Neoblood. If you are no fan of pedantic games, but enjoy a good scrap then this game is definitely for you.

It’s a challenging game, but if you like your games to tax that sponge between your ears and have enough dedication to put in the effort required to get the most out of it – this will give you weeks of entertainment.

It’s certainly a great game, but doesn’t break ground in the same way that Onimusha did.

As great and good and wonderful and new as SOCOM is, the game has a MOAB-sized room for improvement and before we go deeper into the communal experience of multiplayer combat we should cover a few points that prove that we’re not going to be fully-fledged cyber soldiers just yet.

For the first time ever, there is a worthy alternative to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Buy it and you will not be disappointed.

The prison camps are all highly detailed and full of things for you to find, figuring out the breakout is fun, some of the scrapes you get into with the guards are a laugh and, if you can handle the sheer frustration of getting constantly caught, you’ll find an in-depth and interesting adventure. But we do rather feel it could have been much better.

Every Shine is a joy to collect, with hundreds of different tasks to carry through... These different tasks mean that the game always feels fresh, and you never know what to expect next.

SEGA has gone the whole way with this one.

A refreshing change from FIFA et al. It is easy to get into but addictive enough to keep you coming back for more.

The graphics are not too bad and the water effects are quite nice, but what you end up with is a side-scrolling-perform-as-many-tricks-as-you-can-in-the-time-limit game - which becomes boring after a few turns.

Madden fans will find the play selection here a little tricky to get to grips with at first. Gone are Madden’s pop-up menus, but once you get the feel of it NFL 2K is just that little bit more satisfying to play.

With some occasionally spooky moments, dialogue that isn’t afraid to say **** and NPCs that don’t mind the occasional vomiting session you’ve got a game that does the source film justice.

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!

There's no denying that this brave attempt at combining styles has resulted in a good solid title that's entertaining and fun to play.

A game whose high-resolution graphics, expansive levels and creatively devised puzzles will delight Xbox owners everywhere.

The next time a game developer gets a wacky idea, and an original game design, they should concentrate on offering a full adventure, rather than knocking off a few levels and making it depressingly hard to get through.

The gameplay is as solid as you’d expect it to be, but what of the problems that have plagued this type of title in the past (on the PSone at least)? Yes we’re talking about massive loading times and missing frames of animation.

The game looks better than ever, with more colours making it a real visual treat, and the additional buttons allow for plenty of new tricks.

The main drawback though is simply the hardcore nature of the beast, the controls are as intuitively arcade based as Madden and so playing is made difficult if you really don’t know what a ‘screen pass to the wide out is’.

A massive improvement over the previous Mat Hoffman title on the PSone. It’s nothing too original and it does have its flaws.

Madden has always been the king of the hill and this year is no exception.

The game itself is still a really enjoyable romp, but that doesn’t stop this being possibly the most lacklustre Nintendo release to date – the ‘Magical’ is ironic, surely?

Without the huge stars of the NBA to play against, it already falls flat next to EA’s "NBA Street" and despite all of its urban trappings this is a very bland and unexciting ballgame.

Our main gripe other than this that there is too much emphasis placed on completing the tasks in order to open up new levels – this is very restricting.

Authentic play, televisual presentation and a storming soundtrack featuring Bon Jovi and Andrew WK add up to the finest American Football game money can buy.

Unfortunately, it’s also in the multiplayer mode that Beach Spikers manages to falter slightly thanks to the rather lacklustre selection of mini-games that have been.

The lack of endearing characters dosen't help the cause either – there is no empathy on your part as your character comes across as an extremely nasty person...a large slice of fun, but nothing special.

Whether each play is successful or not is therefore something for which one rarely feels wholly responsible, although the overall sheen ensures that your suspension of disbelief can easily compensate.

Quite simply the new Mack Daddy of extreme sports games. Think what might happen if "Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3," "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2" and "Jet Set Radio Future" all settled down and had a baby together… that’s Aggressive Inline.

The game feels very much like a third person version of "Command & Conquer."

You do this with the aid of obscuring camera angles, slow reactions, moves which force you to fight in the wrong direction, clumsy controls and a loading time that exceeds all expectations.

A blast, and for some simple brainless hack n’ slash action you won’t find a better packed or well-presented disc on the PS2.

This game is indeed all we hoped for and a little bit more.

It’s got more longevity than a lot of games out there today and offers a style of gameplay that we’ve loved ever since the original Tony Hawk’s game. Acclaim, we salute you.

It doesn't include as many next-generation enhancements as we would like to have seen, but at the end of the day the original game was ahead of its time when it launched on Dreamcast.

It doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to be a realistic simulation of the sport or a straight-out arcade game, as it stands it manages to succeed as neither.

With some excellent kiddified gameplay, superb graphics and enough content to keep the little people quiet – for a while at least – this is a fine example of how to use a tie-in licence properly.

All this hard work is wasted thanks to the abysmal gameplay and game design. The license does nothing to enhance this mediocre title – in fact, it further highlights its flaws.

Alien Escape is just too simplistic and too shallow to warrant serious attention.

Playing the game is a bittersweet experience. It’s strangely diverting, but all the time you’re thinking of what it could have been with a bit more testing and tweaking.

Think about it: How many other games out there can keep our collective attention for so long without even giving us anything as tangible as the thrill of completing a single level?

No matter who you try and kid, this is still a PlayStation2 port. This is something that is evident from the sound quality and the unchanged water.

Although entertaining, MX Superfly lacks that consuming compulsion to see, perform, and unlock everything, but it is worth a rental if the words ‘Yamaha’ and ‘Honda’ excite you.

Most notably, the view is always looking toward a selected target while your ship can fly in any direction – even toward the screen. This makes for some unusual yet still remarkably fun dogfight situations.

Cutting edge software this is not, and when you consider that it’s a port of existing PS2 and GameCube games, you realise that this is a simple cash-in.

A very accomplished F1 product that will ignite the passion of fans. The rest of us however, should wait to see if the inevitable F1 2003 drives any better.

A game which while enjoyable at first, is neither all out brutal or skill–full enough a simulation to make you want to hone either your fighting or football skills for months to come.

An absolutely listless piece of software, which fails on almost every level to convey the action of its subject sport. If the big man himself sees this, he’s liable to bite the Darling brothers’ ears off.

Much like the graphics, sound, multiplayer, and story (why bother with a story?) these additional game modes are merely a novelty and soon betray themselves as lacklustre additions bolted onto an admittedly great concept.

If you want to experience something a bit different and something that will genuinely chill you to the bone, take note; you need this game. Eternal Darkness takes adventuring and horror to levels that "Tomb Raider" and "Resident Evil" will never reach.

And as all this PS2 majesty seeps in through your senses you’ll find your hand reaching to the back of the PS2 as your body makes an involuntary movement toward self-preservation. Click!

Easily the best example of its genre on the PS2 and if you enjoyed "MX2002" then this markedly superior sequel will represent a near essential purchase.

Freekstyle is a solid and often fun game that is sadly plagued by some niggling faults and the knowledge that both in terms of the genre and game style, this has been done better before.

The response of each craft, no matter how demanding, feels gloriously authentic and exudes the same order of weighty behaviour which so successfully separates A-Spec from GT2.

Fireblade has some nice ideas, none of which are carried out with proficiency.

The fairly simplistic gameplay mechanics may not appeal to rallying purists, but anyone looking for an accessible, if somewhat unorthodox, racing title will find much to enjoy here.

A highly playable and very fast arcade racer.

Beyond the fine-tuning in visuals and updated line-up there is little in the way of new experiences on offer compared to the previous EA F1 games. Sure you’ve got the new cars and tracks, but is this really going to make the difference over F1 2001?

This might not be the most detailed of F1 simulators but for now it looks, sounds and plays the business!

A very fast arcade-style game that is positively overflowing with character.

Feels like a rushed and unpolished version of a game that, while good, will never be able to hold a torch to the original N64 games.

Okay, so we’re still stuck with crap passwords and not even a difficulty level to boost lastability, but if the movie was a hit with you, then this perfect platformer is one spin-off that’s worth shelling out for.

Although battles and conversations make up a big part of the gameplay, aimless wondering makes up even more.

It’s an average gun game that fans of the under-supported genre who are tired of "Time Crisis 2" will get some fun from, but it’s no classic.

No matter how much extra strategy you put on top of this combat system (as it is, not much), or how convoluted the maps and puzzles (they’re not) you are still going to be stuck with a fundamental flaw in the fact that the in-game fighting just ain’t fun.

Controlled in much the same way as Tekken, the game is played out at a somewhat less feverish pace and whilst never reaching the compelling heights of the aforementioned titles, bouts are still something that beat-’em-up fans should enjoy.

Games are meant to be fun and Hudson couldn’t have squeezed more fun into Bomberman Generation if it tried.

Where the game stalls is not in what it gives you, but what it doesn’t. Maybe it’s us, but we really enjoyed the mission debriefings that "Ace Combat" offered.

A refreshingly original release.

The weird and wonderful world of Jim is well suited to the GBA – fast-paced and addictive, with enough challenge to get the little grey cells working – but this disappointing port hasn’t done its slimy hero many favours, and GBA owners will find much better elsewhere.

There’s nothing that Bomberman Max 2 does wrong, its just that we’ve all seen it before so many times that it’s starting to get stale.