That the plot is furthered only periodically, rather than religiously at the end of each mission, highlights Namco’s tempered hand, ensuring that it’s the gameplay which remains firmly at centre stage.

Pure, unadulterated, hard-core, ass kicking, pop a cap in ya' ass action and gunplay. Max Payne levels it’s .45 and sends stealth quivering back to the marketing table, where it belongs. And it’s all the better for it.

Half the fun came from picking out each light in an area before flipping on the night vision and having some fun with any gullible goons.

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

Far more complete and polished than the last Tiger Woods. There's so much in there that it will take months to win everything.

There''s ''playing hours a plenty'' here for all strategy fans, the soundtrack and speech are great and the story is complex and intriguing. Put it this way, it's my present number one pastime apart from swivelling my microscope.

No other bball game comes close.

This is helped by the huge amount of freedom that the player is granted. If you can see it, the odds are that you can get to it, which means that the whole island is Carver's plaything. The highest peaks can be scaled, rivers can be swam through and ditches can be hidden in.

Animation of the beautifully rendered characters and unit models particularly livens up the screen, and the attention to detail is often quite remarkable.

The action is as fast and frantic as ever and it is virtually impossible to play Descent II without bucking and rearing in your seat.

One of the most clever, crowd-pleasing, tense, dramatic, beautiful and playable games ever conceived.

Full of options and it plays like a dream, but even if you're not playing you'll be impressed.

This really is classic stuff. Most games of this ilk can be effortlessly breezed through within a couple of goes, but not this monster. Despite having ten continues as standard, you''ll lose them within the first three levels -- leaving vast chunks of unexplored terrain that''ll have you begging for extra credits. [JPN Import]

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.

Beautiful to look at, it's as rewarding as ever to play and, judging by the attention to detail that has been lavished on it, it's the most lovingly-created game ever. The chances are that you'll fall in love with it too, as only people who are obsessed with cars can fall in love with inanimate and soulless objects.

From the stable that gave us "Symphony Of The Night" and "Metal Gear Solid," more is rightfully expected.

The depth of story is surprisingly luxurious... This isn't a "Final Fantasy" beater but it's a cracking RPG nonetheless.

Visually and aurally, Prince of Persia is right up there with the best that gaming has to offer, although a good gaming-spec machine is required in order to appreciate the finer points of the experience.

Fans of the original will love RT2 and anyone with even the slightest strategical bent will love the challenge it poses.

Represents state-of-the-art gaming and pushes the PlayStation to its limits -- short of nicking a coin-op, this is the closest thing you'll ever come to arcade perfection in the home.

The animations are perfectly complemented by the pixel perfect shadowing and some truly stunning effects, such as the player leaving marks on the clay courts as they skid across to reach for a shot.

It's supposed to be fun and with this it has no problem, and no equal. If the first game was ‘hole in one’ perfect then Tiger Woods 2004 doesn’t even need to take a swing – it's cool enough already.

Just a little underdeveloped. A little more freedom of play and movement would have done justice to the original ideas, then the hype would have been justified.

Almost perfectly executed, there is so much to depth to Medieval Total War that only years of play can adequately discover. But take our word for it, this is a cracker!

Considering that we're still ploughing through the 2004 edition without complaint, we daresay there'll be more than enough to fill the time between now and next year, when we'll inevitably see Tiger Woods 2006 if his career-skid interface hasn't become any more severe.

A package more desirable than Neve Campbell wrapped in a lottery cheque!

The tracks are stunning and the physics engine manages to feel realistic, but also work perfectly as a game.

Luigi seems even floatier, and embarrassed head-shaking ensues when you see Princess Peach throwing shapes like a bad-ass Crip from the Wes' side. Ooh, where's she hiding the Glock?... NBA Street V3 is superfluous and expensive.