A breath-taking game. It's majestic in scale, beautifully realised and virtually flawless in execution. Scary, shocking, captivating and, in every sense, brilliant.

At it's best this is a fiery action adventure, at it's worst it relies too heavily on pootling around a map while the sense of combat is halved the moment you use any weapon that doesn't cause a massive explosion. It's also rather brown.

If the game world wasn't so big and the developer wasn't trying to push the limits of the machine then Mercenaries wouldn't be anywhere near as playable. As it is the sense of immersion in this huge war is inspiring.

This ridiculous level of world destruction becomes infinitely more enjoyable when you play a multiplayer battle.

The new mini-games aren't particularly enjoyable for longer than five minutes at a time, but there are quite a few on offer making it a real case of quantity over quality.

It still feels clunky compared to the bling slickness of "NBA Street Volume 2" but that owes more to the fact that American football is more about fat men made of burgers barging each other over than it is playing with style and finesse.

The Wall Moves and 4-On-4 mini-games will be great incentives for anyone who wavered over buying the original but it isn't nearly enough reason for returning fans to reinvest.

DragonBall Z: Budokai 2 isn't really a fighting game, well it is, it's just not a good one.

This must rank as one of the blandest-looking shooters on the Xbox - after all, we have been treated to Mercenaries and Microsoft's own MechAssault 2, so there really is no excuse for the low-res, blandly textured environments found here, made all the worse by the disgracefully close draw distances.

Gameplay progresses at a frustratingly slow pace, and it seems the most rudimentary powers of deduction have been substituted for the need to find a small piece of evidence hidden away in the least likely place.

The title may well have been one of the best-looking games to ever grace an Xbox but compared to the PC offering it resembles an early beta version.

In fact other than the addition of Silvia, Viewtiful Joe 2 is remarkably similar to the original - the majority of flaws included. But when the game still feels fresher than the crisp clean smell of a bath towel washed in Daz Ultra we have no reason to feel aggrieved.

Freakiest of all though, are those sunken-eyed ghoulish geishas that pop up every five minutes - more chilling than any slathering zombie. Brrr.

The game delivers an all important experience that harks back to the elements that made the films great when they were originally released, and even from the start it becomes obvious that a phial full of that authentic LucasArts MagicTM has been sprinkled throughout the game.

Whether you're frantically picking up letters to give to the Shy Guy postman, or mowing as much grass as you can, the games are inventive, manic and most importantly fun. [JPN Import]

It's basically a faster, looser version of "Sands Of Time," with all the extra trimmings the first title lacked. It may well drive you completely round the bend, make you feel mentally retarded and keep you awake at night, but with so many developments and delightful touches included it's certain to become game of the year for a great many platform lovers once again.

With a comprehensive (and more importantly, rather good) multiplayer game complementing the rather hard campaign mode, Ghost Recon 2 is at least heading in the right direction now - and for the moment that's good enough for us.

The young Prince did a superb job, but amidst the darkened clouds he's aged with some style and the beautifully excessive fighting system creates a much-improved character and a better all-round game. [XBM]

The immense satisfaction when you finally pull yourself towards that vertigo-inspiring exit or leave Dahaka behind is unmatched by any other game.

There is plenty of customisation and character development, and a large variety of mini-games to master. There's never been a better time to enjoy the lighter side of golf.

In motion, Alien Hominid is like nothing else - there's always so much going on and the smooth characters and animations most modern 2D titles to shame.

A very dull experience. You can't help but feel this might have actually been all right as a light gun game.

These bugs, alongside the simplistic taverns, swordfights, trading arrangements, one-screen locations and Benny Hill-style beach skirmishes, make Pirates! feel like Treasure Island in a Pirates of the Caribbean world.

Unfortunately Rogue Agent has turned out a bit flat. All of the ingredients should have delivered a novel twist on the Bond universe, but rather than being a villainous spectacle, it's merely a competent shooter that lacks any genuine thrills.

Sadly, even with the ideas nicked from other titles, Rogue Agent leaves you with an empty feeling that while EA has studied FPS games carefully, it has no idea how to make one of its own.

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.

Another glitchy/stupid thing is the CPU AI. On occasions when surrounded and unable to attack the CPU character was literally just standing there, not helping.

We'd like to say that Metal Gear Solid 3 is on a par with the original PSone game and in many ways it's much better, but it also feels like it has been left behind in some fundamental areas by the likes of "Splinter Cell."