It's such a shame that the missions don't use the area to its full potential and, unlike GTA, there's very little to keep you coming back once you've completed them all.

The whole experience is beautifully rendered in high resolution, which makes for some sumptuous details in the graphics.

The game is full of good, original ideas that allow you to tackle familiar situations in a fresh way, and despite flaws that we'll discuss later on, playing through it proved to be an immensely enjoyable experience.

This is as much fun as working in a butchers, if you happen to be one of those spooky automatons that stand in the window and carve meat for eternity.

Although the AI is good having a human wingman can be a great help. It's just a shame that this can't be extended onto live.

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.

One for the novice, or those more interested in ‘larger than life’ gaming than the real sport.

No doubt the satisfaction gleaned is as alien to some as the allure of Sudoku to others, but being in that small Tactics RPG clique makes it all the sweeter.

This is what Doom is, and for those who’ve never played the PC original before, it’s wonderful.

We’re amazed that Splinter Cell is as good as it is on the GBA. It’s almost as if Ubi Soft took the original Xbox game and siphoned away all the superfluous elements (such as the oh-so-pretty lighting effects, shadow-casting and highly-detailed graphics) until all that was left was the GBA version.

An empty shell of a game that revolves around non-stop action. Which is great, if that’s your favourite flavour of jam.

The action, story and move-set keep things moderately interesting, but after a while the woolly targeting starts to grate.

Combat is a fluid, nippy affair more in keeping with 2D fighters like Guilty Gear than Tekken and includes a fine array of attacks that can be learnt and built on.

Pool Paradise confirms Archer Maclean's reputation as a man with his finger on the pulse of the snooker/pool genre. By combining a highly accurate and satisfying physics engine with the addictive world of gambling and the all-important storyline, his team have created a game that should appeal to a far wider market than your average pool/snooker title and it's only twenty notes. A winner.

If there were a little more meat on this, we’d be looking at one of the best pinball games around, but as it stands, we can’t help but want for more.

The second [half of the game] - and arguably the more addictive - is the car customisation.

It's SOCOM meets Hitman and it makes lying in the rubble of a blown-out rathaus a tense, exciting and deeply satisfying pastime.

The main problem with Patrician 2, however, is the lack of delegation.

Invisible barriers also pepper the apparently open areas which grace certain courses – call us new-fashioned, but PLAY doesn't expect to be dismounted for no other reason than touching a piece of earth that the coders have deemed "out of bounds". Put a tangible obstacle there or let us the hell through!

Just about manages to deliver the goods. If you’re after a solid simulation of the sport of basketball then you could do a great deal worse than this.

It might not revolutionise the Xbox and it won't appeal to everyone, but those looking to head to the skies and kick some ass will not be let down by the single-player campaign in Heroes Of The Pacific, while the multiplayer options add another dimension to the game, with the chance to send your mates hurtling into the drink with their tails on fire.

Sadly there is one fatal flaw that destroys any illusion of this being a simulation – the controls. The punches are easy enough to get used to but moving your character around the ring is a nightmare.

Tomb Raider III may essentially be more of the same apart from a few new bells and whistles, but with gameplay as engrossing as this, perhaps that's no bad thing. It still walks all over young pretenders like ODT.

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.

So while this may not offer the same level of ingenuity as the original Blood Omen, it’s certainly more varied than the Soul Reaver games.

The nail in the coffin for Wrestlemania XIX has to be the decision to include the completely horrible Revenge mode as the main single-player option, as opposed to any kind of Career mode.

Minute irritations aside, for your 20 nupes you get a fantastic game of pool by the father of 3D ball rolling, enough stuff to keep you coming back on your own and if you bring a mate the competition is never ending.

We just can't get that excited about Konami's latest venture. Maybe it's the annoying plot twist that happens halfway through the game - think "Ico" with a plaster cast - that essentially forces you to replay through all the frightening locations you've already visited.

A decent if flawed game that despite the great licence can’t help but wallow in its own mundane, self-inflicted faults. What we are left with is an altogether average game.

Merely more of the same, which is good enough as the original kept us enthralled to the end.

Vattic's tale is a compelling emotional journey, and his psychic powers can really clock up a decent amount of player satisfaction. In spite of this, Second Sight is flawed, but perhaps more importantly, it's nothing special.

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

While we can't see Lock-On bringing the genre back to the masses, the sheer visual appeal, the depth of the missions and ability to customise and make the game your own should see it do a lot better than recent efforts.

It's simple, it's short, but it's still great fun.

It’s the closest thing to a vaguely taxing "Banjo Kazooie" -style adventure we might ever get.

Visually the game is now crisp like snow as far as the eye can see.

It's a blaster dressed in perfect olive greens that makes previous "Medal Of Honor" games seem slightly robotic and soulless in comparison.

Despite it lacking the scope of challenge that you get in "Dance Dance Revolution," as well as being not quite as show-off friendly, the sheer absurdity of sitting there hitting a pair of bongos and clapping in time to crazy Japanese salsa music proves to be irresistible – not to mention entirely accessible to pretty much any member of your average 2.4 family. [JPN Import]

The other side to the game is its humour and visual appeal. Sure, this is a 2D game, but it's also packed with smart touches of animation and grand set-piece battles to liven any rainy Sunday for five minutes.

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.

Colourful, cute and unoriginal then, just like Rayman has always been.

It is hectic fun that's packed with (largely mindless) violence... It soon gets repetitive though with most missions involving similar enemies and following a similar structure. It is a good blast however.

It's not going to take you long to open up all the modes, and you might tire of the microgames once you've played them a few times, but trust us when we say it's a worthy investment.

As with most aerial-based antics most of the games' objectives are straight forward and involve little more than clearing the screen of enemies but the blend of black and white wartime footage, airborne action and wonderfully recreated propaganda posters immersed us so much.

As well as upgrading the visuals and modes though, the controls have also been tweaked; while the original game was considered a bit too fast to play properly, Smackdown: JBI has been slowed down ever so slightly to allow for more strategic and authentic action… which is always a good thing.

Despite our disdain of the very concept of this game we did find it fairly engrossing.

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.

I don't use the word 'glorious' lightly - Myth III's use of 3D is possibly a new benchmark against which subsequent RTS titles will be judged.

Aside from being a hell of a lot easier than "Colin" to get to grips with, the overall experience is not as engaging as Codemasters’ title.

Manhunt is boring. Cash's standard walking pace is painfully slow, press R1 and his running speed is ridiculously fast. Navigating the game is therefore less than pleasurable and, should you not have anyone to dice up, a tedious experience.

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.

This isn’t the prettiest adventure to hit the cathode-ray tube, but as an enjoyable and well-woven game it holds together in an enjoyable and consuming manner without resorting to pigeon philosophy and half-hour digital fireworks.

The one thing that really stands out about Grand Prix Challenge though is the quality of the graphics and the amazing frame-rate that makes every course look sublime.

It's a shame some of the effort wasn't pushed in the direction of the second half of the game.

It's a wannabe of epic proportions, the outer layer of which peels away almost instantly to reveal a substandard set of digital internal organs.

Played at leisure, though, this remains a bewitching adventure, and one that true Harry-maniacs will want to return to again and again.

The good thing with Midtown Madness 3 is that it doesn’t take itself at all seriously.

Afar as 2D fighting games go, this is right up there with the best, if not THE best.

It lacks the smooth edges and convincing action sequences of its Star Wars predecessors; KOTOR is still in a different galaxy.

An excellent package and a true treasure.

Simply an average game that happens to have a Star Wars license, and that's not enough to make it worth a purchase. Its worst problem is that it can be repetitive and boring.

Half-baked doesn’t even begin to describe this fodder – which is a shame because even with its clichéd eccentricity it could have won as an example of style over substance. It doesn’t.

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.

Every aspect of Area 51 is performed with quality, but with borrowed style that's familiar yet doesn't breed contempt.

We just find this new instalment (if not version) of the same game (oh-so) slightly better for reasons we can’t truly explain. It just is. Slightly.

Minor niggles aside, Muppet Pinball Mayhem is a good solid pinball simulation, that should keep you flipping away for a long, long time.

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.

Playing Serious Sam is like one long deathmatch only the grunts youíre up against are far from clever.

A title that's finally worthy of the licence it's based on and in the world of videogames, that's a very rare occurrence.

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.

Using Vattic's psychic abilities can be immensely enjoyable, especially when he learns to pick up people and smash them through windows. However, when the novelty of the psychic powers wears off, the game seems like an average third-person adventure with drab environments and awkward controls.

Fans of "Ready 2 Rumble" will find a great deal to enjoy here - even if it doesn''t quite reach the classic heights of the first game there is still plenty of variety here to keep you coming back for more.

Whether you're after a quick ten minute distraction of you're preparing to sit in a train carriage for five hours, this game should suit your every need.

Has enough substance behind the dazzle to hold off accusations of it being nothing more than a Descent clone in pretty new clothes. Forsaken 64's deathmatch mode is superb, every bit as playable as that of Rare''s Bondage festival. One of the best games of the year!

Our demon-manifesting rage at the total mediocrity of this series isn't helped by the dodgy jaggy graphics or frequent and annoyingly long loading times, but if you played the original and kept an end of game save, you may want to continue your story.

Two way link–up mode (as with many of the best puzzle games) is what makes Eggo Mania a really good game, and this along with the power ups, different modes and hideously addictive gameplay make Eggo Mania an essential buy if you’re a puzzle fan.

Serious gamers may want to sit this one out, but Mary-Kate & Ashely fans will dance with delight at this GBA offering.

It doesn’t aim to break the mould or do anything particularly innovative, but instead relies on proven ingredients and a good line in humour to keep things ticking.

A well crafted game that pays respects to its franchise, drawing strength from it rather than using it as a prop. More like this please Trip.

Don’t overlook this one – it’s quite quietly one of the most agreeable racers we’ve seen for some time.

This is a fantastic game and is worth buying, but don’t be surprised when it burns out of replay value a month down the line.

Obviously there is a definite audience ready to lap up the action herein and they will enjoy the chance to explore various areas of Sunnydale, all of which have been recreated perfectly.

It’s fair to say that Victorious Boxing will develop fine stick control more than simply being male ever could and, as in life, the rewards are vast, with expert wagglers able to move and fall into a lean-accentuated strike all in one, ahem, fluid motion.

The rewards to be reaped are well worth ignoring the occasional glitch or repetitive section, as haunting musical tracks, and some wonderfully Geiger-esque environments make this game one of the best presented on the console, even if it sometimes lacks a little bite.

But the worst crime of all is the dynamics – or rather, lack of them. You can plough into a police car at top speed, and mostly come to a grinding halt.

Although World Driver Championship is technically superb and looks gorgeous, it''s arcadey where it should be realistic and vice versa. The end result is that it's just not thrilling enough.

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

Despite lacking in the depth found in more established fighters, Bloody Roar: Primal Fury is a complete blast to play.

I enjoyed playing this game more than I thought I would do - the Age of Kings fan in me made sure of that - but it must be sad that SW:GB looks remarkably dated given the current state of the RTS market.

What truly rains on the game's parade, however, is the constant button bashing through the one too many levels, which after a while, simply numb the brain.

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.

The battles soon result in simplistic tat-for-tat assaults using the boosted special attacks whilst the tactical differences between various sections is questionable.

It may have allusions of "Grandia", it may have huge sections marred by cheese-fuelled music that can sound as if it has actually being produced by a fifteen-year old sound chip, but it's still an excellent title that can be so gripping you may find yourself considering a life as a tabletop wargamer, dice in hand and grin on face.

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

There are no new developments in the game mechanics to speak of, it’s just the classic turn-based combat gameplay that kept us giggling throughout the last decade.

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.

The Sims 2 might not be an incredible game, technically, but it's the stories that are written in your head and the situations that are thrown up as you play that make it a unique experience.

An immensely enjoyable shooter with adrenaline-soaked action, a Todd McFarlane attitude and a Marilyn Manson edge. Welcome to the dark side.