Easily one of the best multiplayer racers ever made.

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.

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]

The rewards to be reaped are well worth ignoring the occasional glitch or repetitive section, as haunting musical tracks, and some wonderfully Geiger-esque environments make this game one of the best presented on the console, even if it sometimes lacks a little bite.

We're in this dream of a game right now and we don't want to wake up and start again- it has to continue and any interruption is akin to a fire alarm going off in a cinema during your favourite fantasy movie. Lovely stuff.

It's a shame because The Hobbit recreates the atmosphere of the book quite well, only to bugger it all up with clichés, a wayward camera and maddening difficulty level.

The career mode really doesn't make up for this cookie cutter title, and compared to Weapons Master mode of SC 2 it just cant compare.

Playing T3 was a joyless experience, and only our loyalty to the Big Man kept us playing.

The end result is that we get another decent Medal Of Honor Game set in the same Medal Of Honor mould when everyone knows that if your going to survive in the jungle you're going to have to adapt to survive.

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.

If you like the idea of an RTS but never manage to get the hang of all the complicated tactics and procedures this is the perfect game for you. It's got some good ideas well implemented, it's fun to play and essentially it plays like an introduction to the world of RTS.

CNK offers nothing new at all, failing to really improve even on its prequel, which even back then, was pretty standard fare.

In fact, every element of Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown kinda loses its comedy sheen over time, inviting the doubts to creep in and fester in your mind: Could it be that Capcom aren't actually having a laugh? Are they serious about this game?

The ridiculous handling makes these additional modes practically impossible to play.

GC's controls have been optimised for the Xbox's pad and as you are never more than a button press away, you always feel in control unlike some early conversions of the Command & Conquer series, which all results in a fun accessible RTS.

It's just plain bad. What's worse is that either the developer or the publisher is fully aware of how atrocious Rise Of The Machines is. This is of course complete speculation but...

There's just nothing new on offer to hold your interest for longer then a few races.

Far from perfect: a few choice annoyances ensure this. But in terms of enjoyment, there is a sizeable chunk of hours to play through, with or without the story sequences.

As with "Amped 2," it looks like the developers have sidelined the game feel in favour of faithful sporting recreation, and all things considered, the game benefits greatly.

It may be simple, often slow, and quite basic, but the novelty value alone makes it worthwhile.

Half-baked at best, parts of the game appear only half-finished, with sections of polygons not actually meeting, despicable clipping and some truly stone-age AI.

A beautiful, skilful, tactical and intense experience that will test you in many different environments, each demanding a different approach if success is to be achieved. Occasionally you have to rely on a little luck, but that's war, and this is cracking game.

Playing Sands of Time can't help but bring back memories of when games cut the crap and gave you simple games that stood out despite lo-fi graphics and painfully synthetic sound. At its heart is everything that made Prince of Persia '89 such a hot property.

Acceptable character animation and slightly angular backgrounds, decent combat and imaginative puzzles make for a warm gaming experience that's heavily undermined by a total lack of voice acting.

It's certainly slick and professionally done, and those who find platformers to be their favourite genre will find this very enjoyable. However, if you like your gaming to be different then all you'll get from this is a distinct feeling of deja vu.

It's not terrible, just rather pointless.

And if they've seen the film - all the better, though you should really read them the books and put on funny voices. They'll appreciate that more.

If you don't have your PlayStation2 online you're going to be missing out on a large slice of the gaming fun to be had with SOCOM II.