It does improve the longer you play it and there's something enticing about blagging the next new piece of kit to slap on your car. Unfortunately the racing itself simply isn't fun enough.

The fighting system has been tweaked, leaving it as one of the smoothest rides on the console, and the visuals really set it apart from almost any other game created.

More brutal than anything we've seen before on PlayStation, the open structure of the game and lack of energy bars are welcome additions to a genre which was frankly getting stale.

Our longest wait was just over 60 seconds (longer than our quickest match-up) while an announcer blathers on about the next match and we sit confused, assuming that the game has crashed.

It's a fine survival horror game that's starting to show its age. The Xbox really needs an original horror outing all of its own.

The puzzles in Silicon Valley are varied and fun, preventing the whole thing from just becoming a matter of repeatedly killing things, and this is yet another factor which keeps the interest going.

It's all just a question of whether you like to take corners slowly, having someone talking about the corners and then getting angry at yourself because you messed up. So take you pick of the three: "Burnout 3," Colin, "RalliSport 2" - which is more fun? "Burnout 3"? Yep.

The trouble is, with the likes of "Project Gotham Racing 3" and "Test Drive Unlimited" looking pretty awesome - that level of expectation is very high - and this latest Need For Speed adventure doesn't quite have the weight to match it.

The story mode is too short but the challenges and multiplayer options make up for it. Although it's not a massive improvement over TimeSplitters 2, it is definitely just as good in terms of pure entertainment.

Playing against another person is far more satisfying as the level of error and ingenuity creeps into the game.

It may not be a startlingly original game but Need for Speed: Underground is an enjoyable one, and for racing fans, it's a must.

A good third-person, team-building, shooter for the GameCube. But it needs more depth to the AI, longer levels and less linear missions.

The young Prince did a superb job, but amidst the darkened clouds he's aged with some style and the beautifully excessive fighting system creates a much-improved character and a better all-round game. [XBM]

Regardless of how cheesy it may be, we're glad that there's a slow motion 'Spidey Sense' button, it allows you to appreciate all of the work that has gone into the animation.

The critics will be keen to slam these scenes as a crucial flaw but while we’d agree that they are possibly the most annoying factor, they do an excellent job of pushing the story forward and after the first few hours, the balance becomes much more acceptable.

In a nutshell this can be described as the best GBA fighting game on the shelves.

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

Another criticism levelled at last year’s release was the dodgy AI. This time round the CPU players are much more intelligent making for a more challenging, yet rewarding game.

This is as straight a port as you’re likely to see. Whatever Eidos were doing over the last six to eight months, it certainly wasn’t improving the package.

Well, now Fahrenheit is here in all its understated, slow-burning glory; and chances are most gamers will probably be blissfully unaware that the adventure genre has changed for the better in Quantic Dream's latest masterpiece.

The immense satisfaction when you finally pull yourself towards that vertigo-inspiring exit or leave Dahaka behind is unmatched by any other game.

There is nothing else quite like this, and until the sequel, there never will be. Get this at your peril - your life social life will soon be gone afterwards.

The GameCube version of XG3 is, to be frank, bloody marvellous.

This game is brilliant, but it scares us.

The healthy collection of missions provides plenty of variety to try out some of your moves, although sometimes the breakdown of these missions into short objectives can spoil your fluency.

Sure, you can dress your fighter in all sorts of swish gear and blinging jewellery and Henry Rollins is on hand to teach you new 'Blazin' moves and generally improve your tactics, but once you've taken away all the gimmicks, you're left with what is still a very niche title.

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.

It may be a cliché, but you will soon involuntarily be nodding your head in time with the breaks, whether they be rawk guitars or looped vocals.