Despite the fantastic Monster Editing mode and all the game's charm, it's not the exactly the height of originality and can be completed way too easily. Still, whilst the game may not be amazing, it's pretty darn good.

It sets down the ground rules early on and adheres to them with a wonderful strictness that many games are terrified to do.

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]

When not having "almost fun" by busting ghosts (see boxout) we're left wondering what the game wants. Gallons of paint and polish can't disguise the fact that the heart of Ghosthunter is very old.

Underneath all the 'hilariosity' though, are some rock solid physics.

The implementation of the Hit Stick (use the right analogue stick for some hard hitting defensive plays) is a nice touch and the rest of the game's mechanics have received a subtle overhaul to ensure it plays better than ever.

The standard sit-on-the-fence "If you're a fan..." line doesn't apply here. Instead, we say this - buy it, learn the rules and thank us later. Ours will be a pint. Without the mayonnaise, thank you.

The Live aspect of Black Arrow is the finest you'll find on the Xbox, and the new 3.0 support adds a further, inevitable, depth to what was already a first-class shooter... You need this game because it is utterly and unashamedly brilliant.

By all means once it appears in bargain bins (and believe us, that'll be sooner rather than later) Galleon needs to be purchased, if only so you can see how such a potential epic has strayed so far off course. Tragic, simply tragic. [XBM]

The controls are all over the place, the collision detection is laughable, the missions are dull and it is the biggest waste of time and money since that thing KLF did ages ago. By no means be fooled into buying this, nah, you won't be, no-one is that stupid.

There are enough varied magical effects to keep the action interesting and fill the screen with the occasional burst of bright, explosive light effects.

In a culture that often prioritises surface quality over content, Catwoman embodies the 'videogames that look good but play dreadfully' stereotype, with some aspects of the game (ie the ones that are likely to feature in screenshots) obviously given far more development time than, say, the quality of enemy intelligence or how anyone interacts with the gameworld.

Playing through those 30 or so hours is one of the most enjoyable Xbox experiences around, as the game can be played at the player's own pace. There's no rushing to meet timed events or missing out on special items that only appear for half an hour.

If you want a shallow, no fun, sexist, rip-off of "Prince Of Persia," taken from a terrible idea for a film, then why the hell are you reading this magazine?

We're basically being screwed from behind while simultaneously being fed the most exquisite cuisine. What a predicament. Oh well... us GameCube owners are used to being screwed, so we may as well just close our eyes and taste the honey.

A pleasant surprise. It's a game that focuses on having fun and the fact that it stretches your grey matter at the same time is an added bonus.

Catwoman, is quite simply, complete tripe...It's superficial. Everything about this game is based around how it looks rather than how it plays.

We defy you to get through an entire tournament and still care whether you win or lose, which is about the best summation of Athens 2004 as we're likely to find.

The battle system is light years ahead of anything else in the RPG world - remarkably, it actually makes dungeon crawling fun - and the sheer amount of options you have with it means that you'll never get bored. [JPN Import]

It’s a shame that the game comes to an end so soon. There are five levels in total and while each consists of various stages, they’re fairly short, meaning it isn’t long before the final boss falls and the credits are rolling.

Just as Spider-Man has to struggle with the burden of trying to live a normal life as Peter Parker, Spider-Man 2 struggles to find balance between the open ended gameplay of titles such as GTA it has so obviously been influenced by and platform games of old and their out-moded approach to boss fights.

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.

A little more depth would have made it a classic, but it's still a must for Spidey fans, or anyone else after a big, brash citywide blast.

Minute irritations aside, for your 20 nupes you get a fantastic game of pool by the father of 3D ball rolling, enough stuff to keep you coming back on your own and if you bring a mate the competition is never ending.

Yes, the game rewards the time you put in and trust us, this is one game you'll be coming back to again and again.

We really must emphasise that whatever your skill level, MTV proves to be immensely fun and afternoons slip by amid delusions of musical prowess. If you've ever heard a song remix and thought 'How hard could it be?' MTV will show you: a piece of cake.

You may be thinking that this all sounds very familiar, and it is, but in terms of enjoyment, Showdown is a vast improvement on its predecessors.

An incredibly versatile package and if it weren't for the fairly minor inconvenience of being trapped within the sound set of whichever of the ten basic tracks in which you choose to work, it would be almost without fault.