It is very enjoyable to play through and does feature moments of brilliance. However, we think a lot of you will be disappointed by what it has to offer.

It's a tough, fun game that will have you coming back for more until you've mastered it. But it all feels a little dated now. Be aware that this isn't your typical shooter either... silent, but violent.

There's no denying the marked improvements which make Pandora Tomorrow a far more amicable gaming experience, unfortunately it's the similarities that keep it from greatness. This plays how the original should have.

It's more indicative of the current crop of racing games that a 15 year-old concept feels so refreshing.

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.

This subtlety, off the wall humour and quaint fun makes Ribbit King multiplayer very compelling indeed.

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.

One major plus point is a superb, absorbing 5.1-surround sound experience that demands volume and really brings the game to life.

At a time when many games endorse themselves based on the power of a single gimmick, Midway has crammed all manner of ragdoll physics, realworld physics, particle and lighting effects into Psi-Ops, laid an innovation of its own over the top, and left the final product to speak for itself. In a perfect world, all games would be developed with this much attention to detail.

What really elevates the game, though, is the impressive implementation of the Havoc 2.0 engine. Fling an enemy into a wall, and his broken body will slump lifelessly to the floor, throw him into a barrel and chuckle wickedly as the hapless guard goes sailing through the air like an oversized rag doll.

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.

For our thoughts on Doubles in Smash Court 2, take the implied criticism of the last sentence, breed it with a retarded monkey suffering with diarrhoea, square the answer and you'll have some idea how awkward a mode this is.

Surprisingly, it's this split between the game's determination to showcase new elements while reintroducing more traditional gameplay that makes Sonic Advance 3 such a success; there's something here for everyone, no matter which era of Sonic you prefer.

It's fluid action all the way, absolutely no problem to pick up and learn for even the most novice of gamers, striking to look at and lengthy enough to keep you going for months. And we've still not played it in English. [JPN Import]

This is an average platformer. Everything from the double jump and the by-the-book boss fights to the pickups and the 'special moves' feel...well...overused.

First off it's a 3D platformer but with less jumping about than you might be used to, which is actually a blessing because it is the worst double jump ever witnessed. It doesn't cover much distance or height and it's very, very slow. Pointless.

As always, there are plenty of cards, beans and secrets to find if you've got a craving for that 100 per cent completion feeling, but if not, the credits will be rolling long before the proverbial cows make it home.

Whilst the team-play system is superbly implemented and the animations have been greatly improved, the game still lacks in originality and any real challenge.

The developer has obviously done the best it can with the camera and you will have few problems controlling your men. It can be incredibly annoying that the camera can't pull away from the action just a fraction more.

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.

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.

Small problems like this, the brightness level and the basic control system are heavily outweighed by the exceptional gameplay and the stunning world laid out before you in Thief. [XBM]

While this is infinitely superior to "Robotech: Battlecry," it's lacks the subtle mix of arcade with strategy that made "Gungriffon Blaze" such excellent yet shabbier bargain basket bargain.

In a nutshell, Custom Robo is a vibrant and entertaining adventure game with more customisation options and robot combinations than you will ever actually see. [JPN Import]

What upset us most is that as a novel idea that shows an occasional flash of genius, you genuinely want to love Future Tactics. Unfortunately, the sad truth is you can't love this game because deep down, you know it will never love you back.

The game represents an interesting twist on the traditional hacking and slashing themes but at the end of the day, it is still just that to anyone who can't be swayed by some RPG-lite elements and a few more enemies on screen.

The one aspect of the presentation that does warrant attention, however, is the camera, which true to third-person shooter form, manages to make the game far less enjoyable than it really should be. Where action is concerned, this isn't such a problem, but when solving puzzles the camera can prove a greater enemy than Dracula and all his undead minions combined.

A frantic and fun blaster that should do well on the back of enthusiasm sure to be generated by the movie.