If there was an award for best grenade launcher sound effect in a game, Rainbow Six 3 would win. The bass-filled 'thwooomp' as it launches (and the room-shaking explosion that follows) make up just one of many Guns-N-Ammo-erotic moments. [XBM]

If you are a rally fan then the addictive gameplay coupled with the sight of the perfectly recreated cars racing around official tracks should be enough to overlook any rough edges.

Very few games today are so brazenly simplistic yet still so huge in scale so this really is a rare treat.

Skirmishes themselves are also still painfully primitive in their nature. Trying to introduce any kind of superior tactical operations into proceedings is nigh on impossible, with the two sides generally showing all the tactical nous of bar-room brawlers.

In the history of PS2 platformers, there has never been an example that positively drips character like Psychonauts does. In fact, you'd be hard pushed to find an example in any genre.

As you can probably tell from this review, we at TotalGames.net were just slightly impressed by F-Zero. If you've got yourself a GBA, you really have to buy this.

Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil has -- as a one-player game -- turned out to be good, but not the world-shaker everyone was expecting. It's Doom, basically -- a glorious-looking update of Doom, but Doom nevertheless. What saves Turok 2 is the multiplayer game, which is faster and smoother than Goldeneye.

A title that really has to be played to be believed and if you want to get the most out of the game, see everything and take advantage of the unlockables you'll be playing and believing for a long, long while.

Sure it’s not massively original but it is a new sport, there are some very nice ideas in there and it’s great fun to play.

Combine all your assassination fantasies together, illuminate them with the cinematography of "The Godfather" and this is what you get. Pure class.

The customary mid-game fighting seems a little pointless, but for a game with such a wealth of strengths, this isn’t really a problem. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised by this title.

Not much fun in single-player. Sure, it might make for good practice before taking your warrior online, but no-one is going to be buying it for Anubis' fight for corporate and religious ownership.

Don't expect the in-depth tour de force of other MMORPGs out there, but rather a relaxed experience which is good, wholesome fun that won't see you lose weeks of your life in the process of play.

EverQuest is certainly the more immediate of the two online role playing games but it still has a lifetimes worth of enjoyment in it.

It’s a good looking game – without being stunning – it handles well and offers a refreshing alternative to the usual racing fare. Some of the races do get frustrating, but on the whole, Midnight Club II is an enjoyable experience – particularly in multiplayer mode.

It’s got more longevity than a lot of games out there today and offers a style of gameplay that we’ve loved ever since the original Tony Hawk’s game. Acclaim, we salute you.

A little more innovation would have been appreciated, but this is one case where a more or less straight update of the SNES original was all that was needed to produce a great game.

Far Cry Instincts not only equals its PC cousin but actually manages to better it.

The depth within blows the likes of "Street Fighter EX3" and "Dead Or Alive 2" out of the picture.

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]

As for the FFX initiates, you're going to like this a lot. Some parts may disappoint, some parts may even annoy you, but the experience as a whole is a good one, and you'll never question your purchase.

All at once. Astro boy is challenging, beautiful and in these days, utterly unique in its simplicity. Action fans will want to snap this up at the very first opportunity. [JPN Import]

The best arcade racer we’ve played so far and EA certainly seems to be developing quite a respectable name for its ‘Big’ games.

The most entertaining, instantly involving and technically innovative PC game of the year so far.

By offering something that is not only new but extremely challenging PopTop have done the strategy gaming fraternity a real service and hopefully the legacy of Tropico will be that more games developers are prepared to attempt political simulations in the future.

An enthralling giant of a game, packed with countless delights (not forgetting the superb dramatic music) and a mammoth challenge to keep you playing for weeks on end, at the least.

If you want the most comprehensive and thorough hockey game/management sim, then NHL 2004 is the place to turn.

Anyone put off by the steep learning curve will be missing out on some exhilarating racing action both on- and offline. The Live modes are impeccable.