This game doesn't only look great it also sounds amazing. The meaty gunfire and explosions will shake the very skin from your bones.

It also looks immensely cool to see Jacques swinging through the air. Later, his whip is upgraded to a segmented sword-cum-whip combo - as brandished by Ivy in Soul Calibur - once again demonstrating the disparate influences that have gone into his design. [JPN Import]

The designers have gone for a serious challenge mode. This is not a puzzler for the faint-hearted!

There is nothing wrong with this game universe or the adventure within it, if only we all the had the time to enjoy it properly without the need for work, study or sleep getting in the way!

Not only is the atmosphere of this one second to none, the game that it surrounds is massively rewarding and challenging in equal measures.

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.

Quite simply, Beetle Adventure Racing is the most fun, most exciting and most satisfying racing game on the N64 to date.

If you can look past this failing though, P. N. 03... is massively enjoyable game. Each room is another challenge, asking you to think on your feet while being attacked from all angles, and strangely, it never gets too frustrating.

Relies a little too heavily on the creativity, imagination – and popularity – of the licence, without adding much in terms of innovative gameplay. However, for younger gamers, it is a simple and enjoyable game, and a perfectly pleasant walk with the dinosaurs.

A fantastic port of the PC title and is incredibly addictive to play, but it could've been so much better. As it is, this is more like the Jack Sparrow of the pirate world; it doesn't quite reach the kind of class you'd expect from a pirate like One-Eyed Willy.

The bikes handle brilliantly, with a real sense of momentum and a transfer of weight to the front and rear wheels under acceleration and braking.

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.

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

The Juiced of 2005 is virtually unrecognisable from the Juiced of 2004, and quite frankly it puts "Need For Speed Underground" to shame.

Playing NFSUG is like driving through the West End at midnight wearing Vaseline smeared sunglasses. Quite how a game can look both polished and blocky is beyond us, but that's exactly what EA has managed here.

As long as you don't want to be blown away with an audio-visual feast adventure fans will really enjoy it.

When useful new features are added to an already excellent title, surely this just makes the experience that much more enjoyable. Go on, swallow your pride and play a damn fine PS2 game on your Xbox. [XBM]

A definite improvement on last year’s version and while it’s still some way from perfection, it is the best and only proper offering this Xmas.

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.

Massively superior to the pre-Xbox original, Headhunter: Redemption doesn't stand up as anything really special in this crowded genre, but instead flashes with moments of quality and intriguing entertainment that sparks life into a strictly one-way stroll through endless corridors.

Despite being a fun, polished and highly stylised game, Ratchet & Clank 2 feels like it's playing catch-up in a crowded genre, a feeling made all the more real considering its running on a year old graphics engine.

Tweaked sounds and graphics make it look slightly better and sound slightly nicer, but it’s not really a sequel in the true sense of the word. The Sims Bustin’ Out adds logical improvements to an already winning formula without blowing us away with any stunning revelations.

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.

We found that the need to hammer the A, B, L and R buttons repeatedly did get quite painful after a while. Doubtless fans of the Ready 2 Rumble series will love it though.

We don't dislike Brothers In Arms - far from it - but can only be disappointed that we expected a classic war game and instead Ubisoft merely delivered a very good one.

Good in the sense that it means anyone can instantly pick it up and perform miraculous feats of head-cleaving prowess. But bad because it means you can effortlessly plough straight through it without having to work very hard.

As a party game, PaRappa the Rapper is top notch. It is totally hilarious when you have the cheesy cartoon hip-hop pumped up loud and people get into difficulties trying to follow the lyrics in time.

A solid looking, solid playing basketball game that sits firmly in the ‘realism’ camp.