The events do provide a little variety, but essentially you are left feeling lost with no thirst for more.

It does two things badly, when we'd rather it did one thing well.

It’s difficult to look at Kelly Slater as anything more than a cash-in.

A decidedly average game.

Just as T3 was a juvenile-friendly selection of set pieces pulled wholesale from previous Terminator movies, The Redemption feels like cobbled together moments from the videogame archive with a Terminator spin.

This sequel is everything you'd expect, and not much else. Whether that's a good thing or not is down to your own judgement.

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

A lack of any multi-player action just adds to the pain and is as heinous a crime that a videogame could commit.

Another annoying aspect of the game is that the Artificial Intelligence is hardly cutting edge, in fact, it couldn't cut butter.

If Armored Core 2 had managed to add more of "Blaze's" carnage, we would be taking about a classic.

The inoffensive, safe, non-threatening nature of the title just doesn't ever inspire fun or even frustration, merely, and perhaps most disconcertingly, ambivalence.

You may be thinking that this all sounds very familiar, and it is, but in terms of enjoyment, Showdown is a vast improvement on its predecessors.

A pleasant game, surprisingly tough in places and if you're over 13, probably likely to be the cause of quite a few broken joypads in its flawed glory.

We can't help but feel that videogames should be exciting and exhilarating to play rather than have the slightly plodding pace that this game offers.

Aside from the somewhat devastating problems with the camera, Combat Elite is a nifty little number that has all the addictiveness, interaction, and 'pick up and play' of many retro titles that people still cherish today.

EA has decided to make the graphics grainier and more gritty but all this has done is make the game the worst-looking PSone FIFA game so far.

Unfortunately this battle system doesn''t help the fact that Orphen has average written all over it.

While it doesn’t do anything new, it’s nice enough if you’re desperate for something in the colourful platform adventure genre. Sadly, it’s difficult for all the wrong reasons.

When Line of Contact works, it's superb, but there are way too many problems at the moment that need correcting in order to justify its huge price tag.

We're incredibly upset that of all the things to suffer through the conversion process, it's the visuals – they've ended up looking rougher than a sandpaper sculpture of Shane McGowan.

Sadly, NFL Street feels exactly like a sub-game, and an extremely common one at that.

This is one title most definitely targeted at a very specific niche audience. You know who you are.

It simply doesn't live up to the show's reputation. It's not funny, the style of the graphics aren't the same and, even though Samurai Jack has some totally kick-ass moves, the game lacks enough 'wow!' factor to keep you coming back for more.

A total disappointment. It certainly has all the bells and whistles that you'd expect, so we have to commend SEGA for that; however, with the quality of the main game being lower that we've come to expect from Sonic's homestead, it's just not enough to justify the asking price.

The tactical thought and reaction process is basically thrown out the window with the any notion of just WHAT THE HELL IS GOIND ON as characters attacks become ever more extreme and impossible to predict.

The modification potential for the cars is a wafer-thin percentage of its competitors as well, but then who needs it, right?

Scaler is perfectly acceptable - if you're 5 or under. We're much older.

A confused and chaotic game. On top of this are some of the most basic graphics yet seen on the Xbox.

Throwing a fireball at Ken is still as much fun as ever, and it does look better than any other Street Fighter EX game. It won’t be the best Street Fighter game you ever play, but it’ll be fun nonetheless.

This sequel isn't as approachable. We also get the pheeling that you already know if you'll like this without reading the review.

We can't help feeling that this needed an extra couple of months' work to iron out the rough edges and implement some real strategy to the gameplay.

To be honest, the game is really quite enjoyable, but four-player Gauntlet-style fighting action would have been superb.

An above average volleyball game to go along with an equally average relationship simulator and a digital version of a sticker book collection system. Think with your brain and avoid this.

If you’re after a well–polished and accurate basketball simulator for solo play only, then NBA 2K3 is a good choice, but most people will be better off going for "NBA Street."

It feels less than the sum of it's parts, and though we respect the fact it's aimed mainly at kids, Quidditch's magic seems to be little more than a couple of fast hand movements and a burst of dry ice.

You can happily blaze away all day were it not for those objectives, playing smart is the developer's desired way for you to play but its not as much fun.

So this is a classic 6/10 - by that we mean that it's good fun and you'll enjoy playing it, yet you'll also be wondering what else you could be doing with your time.

While Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 is a fantastic game in its own right, the fact that its takes such little advantage of the hardware it’s running on prevents us from being truly ecstatic.

There's plenty to discover and see, but because it's almost just as easy to button bash as it is to perform the moves properly: the longevity is seriously affected.

In this day and age, a game can't carry itself on its licensed soundtrack alone and so ultimately Roadkill disappoints. It may be fun for while, but we all know that this sort of thing has been done better elsewhere.

Any country that regularly throws machine-recovered meat down their throats while sucking on a drink that tastes like it should be pumped down the gullets of burns victims can’t have their tastes taken too seriously.

The big turn-off contained within Rogue Ops, however, is the control element, and more specifically the focus of Nikki during play. L1 moves into look mode, where your targeting reticule glows green if an item can be used.

A boring and almost totally uninspiring game. The initial premise and use of cinematic pace is nothing but a drunken flirtation with a situation that could have been, and its not long before you find yourself playing the gaming equivalent of being a milk monitor in a class for the lactose intolerant. During a mild thunderstorm.

The responsive controls, intelligent racing and challenging tracks more than make up for the rather disappointing graphics that are becoming the signature of the series.

It may look a little basic and the style does bear more in common with the mid-eighties mistakes in taste that the game's inspiration can be dated from, but give it a chance and Wrath Unleashed becomes very playable; proving old ideas need not die with bad fashion sense.

Maybe it's the surprisingly enjoyable mini games, or the general humour that's packed into every level, but there's something about the game that could arouse a brief flicker of enjoyment for around 90 per cent of all hardened Xbox snobs.

This will sink without trace and rightly so.

There's just nothing new on offer to hold your interest for longer then a few races.

The new mini-games aren't particularly enjoyable for longer than five minutes at a time, but there are quite a few on offer making it a real case of quantity over quality.

The game is a showcase for the lead character and not an inspired one at that.

To say that Madden 2004 is challenging would be a massive understatement. It has an uncanny ability to leave you shouting at the screen when your opponents seemingly know what you are going to do even before you do it.

A nippy, futuristic, weapon-toting racer which epitomises competence without ever once daring to startle with ingenuity.

Ultimately, as a game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy misses the point somewhat and will disappoint both fans of the original and newcomers alike. Consequently this is best left avoided by all but the least demanding of gamers.

Great news if you've never played the games before and have large pockets, but for those who hoped to revisit the entire series in the same fashion as they did the original, this is nothing short of a major disappointment.

Now we're finally over our initial shock, it turns out that Gladius is everything we expected, an interesting title that unfortunately misses its target more times than it hits...

The actual game isn’t special enough to warrant more than the usual amount of puzzle fan attention.

The pairing of two characters works very well, with certain levels requiring you to position one before switching to the other in order to hit switches and open doors - yeah, we've seen this all before but it is rare for a licensed product to bother with such game mechanics.

Think of it as PSO I+II… though not as good and minus the online features. Make of that what you will.

Though the feeling is epic and the ideas are there, the pace and quality is lacking.

Like the billions of other platformers fighting for shelf space, it's just kind of... there. The lack of frustration means it's good for kids but for everyone else, why settle for Kimberly when you can have Cheryl?

An example to developers the world over that just because there is gratuitous violence, the game is not necessarily a winner. A great PC title can still flop on the Xbox, even with the addition of Live gameplay.

Bass Strike’s main ailment seems to be its rather delicate control system...Sensitive? It’s like a freshly exposed groin wound; you move too quickly and the fish is off, you wind in too slowly and the – fish – is – off.

Although it may be his trademark, the emphasis on speed in Sonic Heroes is exaggerated to the point of annoyance and you just need to push up to tear through sections of some levels, leaving collecting rings is more to do with luck than judgement and it's hard to feel totally in control, but there are plenty of puzzles en route that do take a little more thought.

The characters themselves seem to fight more like they have nagging arthritis rather than immeasurable mutant powers. And the FMV sequences would insult even PS2 owners.

The game works, but suffers from a few flaws: The table is a little too short to enable you to build up tension over long periods of time and the two player lets it down.

From a pure enjoyment standpoint, Jedi Starfighter is incredibly sterile and lacking any of the feeling and fantasy that the Star Wars series offers – plus it’s virtually a carbon copy of the last one.

Blame the short development time. Blame laziness. Blame the film licence curse. Blame whatever you want but the end result is The Incredibles is rental-only, as you'll see everything the game has to offer by the time you hand it back to the monkey behind the Blockbusters till.

As a game for adults who have little interest in Harry's mythology and hype, The Chamber of Secret is a nice looking game which is too linear and far too easy to follow to offer any real challenge.

Assuming you have friends then you're in for an average time too. Are these levels atmospheric or just murky? Murky.

It’s a shame that the game comes to an end so soon. There are five levels in total and while each consists of various stages, they’re fairly short, meaning it isn’t long before the final boss falls and the credits are rolling.

The rather twitchy controls don’t help matters either, forcing you to persevere through, rather than enjoy, the game.

There’s a clever smattering of Challenge modes, various original and well-handled Stunts for you to master and enough tracks and vehicles to give the game decent longevity.

Aside from some dodgy camera work (as always) this is a simple and at times fun game, which will be enjoyed by very young players. But there are plenty of better games like this out there.

Real life heroes they may be, but trudging round extinguishing virtual flames soon becomes a fairly tiresome effort and you'll find yourself hankering for something a little more action-packed.

The trouble is (and we can’t really expect anything different) that it doesn’t do anything above and beyond the call of duty.

A rare victory for the kid's game genre and shining example of how these games should be done.

The levels are well designed with bright, colourful graphics throughout, making the game seem almost like the film, and with so many personalities to talk to there's never a dull moment.

Eternal Ring is a decent idea executed with some style. Alas, after a while, the novelty wears off and you don’t care enough about the tale to see it through to the end.

Any improvements to the fun factor given to a multiplayer game is mostly down to all humans suffering from the same level of confusion given by a game that could do with being more like worms and less like a squeaking game of Crossbows & Catapults. More annoying than fun and not funny.

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.

From the balance between crashes and near misses to the graphical detail and track progression, Speed Kings always trails Burnout 2. If you’re a bike fanatic then Speed Kings is the game for you. Everyone else should stick with Acclaim’s other arcade racer.

This is certainly one offbeat character we wouldn't mind seeing again.

Admittedly, this game is designed to be played in multiplayer and when done so is quite fun. For about ten minutes.

Little more than your average shooter - collect the weapons, shoot the bad guys, hit a few switches and, well, that's about it. We wouldn't object to this if it was done well, but it's not.

A tired old game with very little to say for itself. Please Tom Clancy, we know it made for good source material for your books but leave the Cold War behind. It's over already.

For starters, anyone familiar with the Dreamcast version will stare in disbelief at the ropy visuals that this version has been saddled with. Everything from the characters to the levels look strangely rough-hewn and the textures look somewhat muted and lack definition and sharpness of colour.

The problem is that you have no control over where the camera is pointing so 50 percent of the time you'll be aiming at something off the screen.

By all means once it appears in bargain bins (and believe us, that'll be sooner rather than later) Galleon needs to be purchased, if only so you can see how such a potential epic has strayed so far off course. Tragic, simply tragic. [XBM]

The story mode is tough, but relatively short, and it becomes quite clear that Samurai Western is more of a blood soaked sprinter than a legendary long-distance athlete of a game.

A lot of fun and should not disappoint gamers who do not know the heritage of the title, but if you are looking for the pure thrills of the original Defender, then you may be left slightly wanting.

Possibly the biggest disappointment of the year. What could have been this year's "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" turns out to be a shoddily executed, clumsy and unrewarding experience.

It's certainly slick and professionally done, and those who find platformers to be their favourite genre will find this very enjoyable. However, if you like your gaming to be different then all you'll get from this is a distinct feeling of deja vu.

If you’re looking at IndyCar Series as an alternative to EA’s F1 games or simply as a detailed simulator then don’t. You’ll be exceedingly bored, frustrated and dizzy before you’ve even finished a race. If you like driving in circles, then buy yourself a Scalextric kit.

It's a shame because The Hobbit recreates the atmosphere of the book quite well, only to bugger it all up with clichés, a wayward camera and maddening difficulty level.

To us it began to feel a little stale during the loading screen.

We are loathe to diss it completely as it is fun for a while, but you really cannot justify paying forty quid for it. Rent this, grab some beers, unhook your brain and you'll have fun - but don't think about paying full price for it, there's just not enough here.

Fans of the movie series do not want to be solving complex puzzles – they want to be slaying the dead – and A Fistful Of Boomstick gives constant opportunity for this.

The space-flying gimmick surely doesn’t warrant a purchase on its own. This should’ve been a very decent shoot-‘em-up. What happened?