The trouble is that The Thing just doesn’t scare us and that, you’d think, is a vital part of any horror game.

Though Dino Stalker features all the relevant gore and shocks of Capcom’s classic survival horror games (and is proud to say so) the slow gameplay, limited freedom and short lifespan puts the survival of Dino Stalker in doubt.

There’ll be times when you curse it for being so tough, but when you do get anywhere the feeling of elevation is immense.

Despite the password system and the small amount of levels, the target audience will get further play out of the mini-games (the Arkanoid-style game where you get to bounce Salem around is by far the best) and will probably take a bit longer to complete the adventure.

With no improvement of note this one is for hard (armored) core fans only.

No doubt the developers would hide behind the old ‘but it’s for the kids’ line – but believe us Antz Racing would be an insult to the intelligence of a four-year-old. Redeeming features? Not a single one.

The main problem lies in the fact that this is really nothing more than a re-done "SSX Tricky."

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

It’s quite scary to think that one or two people might pick this game up on the strength of the Gravity Games license alone.

There are virtually no sound effects or voice samples included at all, leaving the dire music to keep your ears entertained. Add weak animation and bland graphics to these other failings and you have a title almost totally lacking in charm and appeal.

”Ooh, are we having fun yet?” When Blade mutters these words as you run though the thousandth dim-witted vampire it can be hard not to see the irony – even the game is getting tired.

Essentially SEGA Soccer Slam fails to hit all the marks a fun arcade football game should hit and indeed were hit by Midway’s superior RedCard. If it’s a solid and fun arcade kick-about you’re after then plump for Midway’s game as Soccer Slam is best avoided.

Has the cars, moments of originality and the track designs to threaten even the mighty Project Gotham Racing and if the graphics were a little more impressive it may just have pipped it.

It isn’t going to win any prizes in any departments – that’s one thing that can be sure. However, there’s a certain amount of fun to be had with this in a no-brainer hack and slash-type way.

What you have is a mish-mash of two gameplay styles, neither of which is particularly enthralling. Particularly not when you’ve got games like "Timesplitters 2" hitting the streets at almost the same time.

There is so much here to dislike it is generally making us dizzy.

Certainly a decent enough addition to the genre and less demanding race fans should find plenty to smile about.

The ease of moves and the accessibility of the characters makes Guilty Gear X the complete opposite of titles like King of Fighters : Neoblood. If you are no fan of pedantic games, but enjoy a good scrap then this game is definitely for you.

It’s a challenging game, but if you like your games to tax that sponge between your ears and have enough dedication to put in the effort required to get the most out of it – this will give you weeks of entertainment.

It’s certainly a great game, but doesn’t break ground in the same way that Onimusha did.

As great and good and wonderful and new as SOCOM is, the game has a MOAB-sized room for improvement and before we go deeper into the communal experience of multiplayer combat we should cover a few points that prove that we’re not going to be fully-fledged cyber soldiers just yet.

For the first time ever, there is a worthy alternative to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Buy it and you will not be disappointed.

The prison camps are all highly detailed and full of things for you to find, figuring out the breakout is fun, some of the scrapes you get into with the guards are a laugh and, if you can handle the sheer frustration of getting constantly caught, you’ll find an in-depth and interesting adventure. But we do rather feel it could have been much better.

Every Shine is a joy to collect, with hundreds of different tasks to carry through... These different tasks mean that the game always feels fresh, and you never know what to expect next.

SEGA has gone the whole way with this one.

A refreshing change from FIFA et al. It is easy to get into but addictive enough to keep you coming back for more.

The graphics are not too bad and the water effects are quite nice, but what you end up with is a side-scrolling-perform-as-many-tricks-as-you-can-in-the-time-limit game - which becomes boring after a few turns.

Madden fans will find the play selection here a little tricky to get to grips with at first. Gone are Madden’s pop-up menus, but once you get the feel of it NFL 2K is just that little bit more satisfying to play.