Afterburner Climax is a great, and reasonably priced way to play the arcade game in the comfort of your own home, but it's a remarkably simple game that will leave some people wanting a lot more.

We had a blast playing the game here in the office, with almost everyone gathering to watch. But it is an inferior fighting game, no matter how oddly compelling it is to see two sets of fictional characters clash in such improbable circumstances.

An imaginative, slightly quirky platform puzzler which will be great for the kids but doesn't hold a whole lot of challenge for adult gamers.

If you're looking for a complex, challenging flying game then you're better off spending your cash elsewhere, but if you fancy some light-hearted arcade action and know you'll make use of the multiplayer mode, or just have some leftover enthusiasm for WWII games, this could be the one for you.

Whether or not you will embrace it, though, all depends on either your loyalty to the franchise or the seriousness of your masochistic tendencies.

One of the finest examples of bringing the essence of arcade gaming to modern consoles and a game no adrenaline junkie should pass up.

ProStreet isn't a bad game, it simply doesn't hold a candle to its competition, and Need for Speed fans will be left wondering where all the fun has gone from the illegal, turned legal, street racing series.

Look past Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s dull story and you’ll find spectacle and freedom lurking in its Na’vi customs and breathtaking ecosystems.

We can't help but feel that Burst Limit is an opportunity lost.

The battle system is perhaps the game’s strongest asset, with stylish gun-slinging action that wouldn’t look all that out of place in something like Devil May Cry.

It's fun, accessible, full of educational info and should keep young'ns happy for a good while.

With similarities to the likes of ICO, Shadow of The Colossus and last year's Journey, it's another exceptional entry in Sony's arthouse-inspired run of games that it consistently does so well.

If you've got the hardware you'll experience a quite stunning game, but one that doesn't fulfil its potential.

The problems playing online are a major let down, and, for us, prevent the game from getting an eight. Ignore that, and, somewhat surprisingly, you've got one of the Wii's most fun fighting games.

A considerable multiplayer mode and truly excellent musical score round off a nice package, but Tactical Strike isn't quite the amazing new direction for real time strategy it could have been.

While the rewards in hidden areas aren't as satisfying as you might expect from a game like this, Gato Roboto's tense, creative boss battles with a talking rodent are an absolute delight.

And it feels empty; fetch quests are all well and good but after the impressive voice acting and general spectacle of the main adventure starts to fade, you’re left with an altogether dull world in which to roam.

Medal of Honor's balancing act combines two developers and game engines. Lofty ambitions on both fronts are ultimately let down by very little desire to redefine the game's range or bring out the best from each engine's particular set of talents, but it's undeniable that both single and multiplayer have their individual merits.

You have to give Yuke's credit for aiming high. The wealth of content and customisation options on offer is absolutely staggering and wrestling fans that wish to ignore the game's main campaign mode will certainly find plenty to entertain them here. WWE 12, however, isn't in the same league as the series' high-water marks. It is the nucleus of what could be a great game.

The lack of a proper single-player experience (it's an extended multiplayer tutorial and nothing else) and the poor graphics will prevent Section 8 from achieving huge success and high review scores, but the core multiplayer gameplay should ensure a healthy and loyal following for a while at least.

A modestly brilliant game throughout, and is thoroughly playable and very addictive. It has some inspired boss and bullet pattern design, and gives an immediate, rewarding sensation that truly belongs to the world of retro games.

While the Soviets can be considered a new playable faction, the fact that they don't bring any new units means they play pretty much identically to their American enemies. This is perhaps Soviet Assault's biggest disappointment.

It's still the most well produced variation on the Deadly Giant Worm genre.

It's not without its faults, some of which are more serious than others, but Splash Damage achieves the impossible: a game that feels fresh in the stalest of genres.

After an hour of 'easy' exploration, you welcome back the real survival horror of Amnesia.

Once you get past the terrible opening missions and start blowing things up with massive explosions there's a game here that is worth a look, but it's criminally unpolished and as such will leave many gamers rather unsatisfied.

There's no denying that Dark Messiah has a certain bloody charm, with battles against numerous enemies being both challenging and rather gory. By the end though, things do become a little repetitive, and this prevents the game from being anything truly special.

It's easy to like Action Henk. It does all the basic stuff well: simple to pick up, hard to master, fun, fast, colourful. Yet it feels like a fleeting interest.

It's a modernised take on dungeon crawling that brings a few new ideas to the series.

Please Eden, next time just focus on the driving.

Stay’s compelling lead character and gripping dialogue ensures you’ll want to see Quinn’s journey through to the end. It’s just a shame it spends a bit too much time testing your patience with irksome puzzles and some needless waffling.

Still, if you're still a plastic guitar aficionado then Warriors of Rock is undeniably fun; it just severely lacks in ambition, and its ostentatious new coat of paint is little more than a sleight of hand designed to trick you into thinking you're in for a different ride this year. You're not.

The game is designed to simply let you get on with it. The lack of loading screens means you can continuously chug through a 10-12 hour game without the usual stop-and-start pausing at static screens, like you're being bullied by a traffic warden.

With a 360 controller plugged into your PC Halo 2 for Vista is a decent, if rather dated FPS. For a game that is spearheading Microsoft's new operating system though, it's just not good enough.

Had Rainbow managed to solve a few of the combat problems and tidied up the presentation (and squeeze in a better story) THQ would have had one of the console's best games on its hands. For that reason it's a shame we've ended up with just an extremely competent and enjoyable one.

Gameplay still lags behind the mighty Pro Evolution Soccer in a few areas, but the 'first touch' and 'off the ball' systems continue to impress. Presentation is great as expected, making this the perfect title to celebrate the World Cup with, even if it's not the perfect footy game.

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues was always going to feel a bit desperate, making the most out of a small amount of new content, but Traveller's Tales has done a decent job.

50 Cent fans are going to love every minute, and non-fans are likely to have a pretty good time too. Just don't expect a deep gameplay experience.

We loved it, but if you're someone who takes games very seriously and are looking for a nigh-on carbon copy of GTA 4 this won't be for you.

It just doesn't have the scope to match Rockstar's efforts though, and the driving sections aren't thrilling enough to get the pulse really racing.

There are, of course, multiple endings, and the minutes leading up to each resolution can be flavoured with violence and revelation, or laced with deceit. The question is: Do we care?

Byking has delivered more than a fitting send-off to this series. In many ways, this is a complete My Hero Academia game experience. However, these strengths make it all the more painful when My Hero Academia All’s Justice fails to reach its full potential. Despite the simplicity of its mechanics and more conservative approach to storytelling, attention to detail and earnest love for its source material make My Hero Academia All’s Justice a competent if unremarkable conclusion to the series.

A fun take on both stealth games and genre films, Serial Cleaner will be way more enjoyable if it can fix a bad lighting bug that made it almost unplayable.

Like its predecessor, World Stage is one of the best multiplayer racers on Nintendo's family-friendly console. But you can't escape the feeling that it's a lazy effort.

Good fun, but it's short-lived in the extreme. While £2.99 might not seem much, other App Store games offer far better value for money, making it feel like you're paying a slight premium for the license.

Sadly a rather forgettable game, which is something that's a little hard to believe considering the near constant high quality the series is known for.

This isn't the sequel we've been yearning for all these years. It's a fancy looking homage; a game that regurgitates old levels with shiny new visuals. Sonic 4 does a fantastic job of recreating the retro Sonic experience that defined many a childhood, but ironically this could be considered its biggest shortcoming.

A decent, if fairly by the numbers, port of the Wii game.

As it is, Auto Assault is a distraction - a bit of massively multiplayer fluff - not the genuine competitor to World of Warcraft people hoped it would be.

A by-the-numbers remaster, then, and one that would've benefited from a bit more love. For those who just wanted to see what all the fuss was about on their Xbox One or PS4, however, it suffices.

It doesn't make particularly good use of the stylus, and the graphics won't blow you away, but if you're a Batman fan you won't find a better Batman game on the system.

If you've already got your traditional football fix, though, World Tour Soccer 2 offers something that neither of the big boys does. It's an arcade game, so don't expect to be putting together beautiful free-flowing moves that Brazil would be proud of, but the challenges make for a game that feels very different to normal football, and a title that will fill the gaps between World Cup matches very well indeed.

Some of the best presentation the Wii has seen makes this hard not to enjoy, but frequent camera issues and repetitive combat try their best to get in the way of the fun.

A decent, if fairly by the numbers, port of the Wii game.

Don’t get me wrong, F1 24 is by no means a bad, or even average game, and if you’re a fan of the series, you will absolutely have a great time with it. The new changes there are meaningful, especially for veterans of the series who enjoy getting to grips with the deeper mechanics. But if you’re a casual player just looking to jump on and do a few races now and then, F1 24 may feel less like a brand-new title, and more like a $70 update to a game you already own.

Your enjoyment of Skate It on DS will largely be determined by your enjoyment of skateboarding in general. The controls are fiendishly difficult but, if you're into the sport, they're rewarding to master.

For every moment where the ideas seem fresh, the gameplay feels awkward, often to the extent that the fundamental mechanics feel broken. You're certainly an army of two, but you might not want to see your partner again once you're finished.

RoboCop Rogue City Unfinished Business is a repetitive slog coasting on the goodwill of a venerated licensed IP to mask a deadening mix of mediocre shooting, repetitive levels, and a bland story.

I enjoyed my time battling foes alongside wizard friends new and old, but Magicka 2 takes more effort than most games, and it's tiring.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is, like football, a game of two halves. The actual fighting half, which is arguably the more critical 50% anyway, is fun and exciting. The other half is a bit confusing.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet take the long-awaited step into a fully open-world, but one poorly implemented and marred by frustration. A compelling story and characters are a saving grace in what is ultimately a fun game, but Pokemon's attempts at modernising continue to fall disappointingly short.

Wattam should be played, if for no other reason than to see a designer expressing ambivalence about his own ideas.

Despite being an impressive achievement for the DS - just as the original game was earlier this year - we simply can't get on with the cramped control peripheral and tinny music.

While it won't be for everyone, Ninja does exactly what it set out to, with style and humour to boot.

Your overall experience of Arkham City isn't affected in the slightest by what's happened here, and while the core mechanics are punchy and gratifying there's a very real sense Harley's real revenge is that she managed to get you to slap down seven quid for this.

Finding matches and dating is complicated enough to need effort and finesse on your part. While the look and UI weren't designed for console, this campy dating sim will leave you both satisfied and wanting more. That's what she said.

It's not going to set the world alight like Gears of War and it doesn't revolutionise survival horror like Resident Evil 4, but its thrilling combat and sensational visuals make it well worth adding to your collection.

Tembo could have been great, but sadly it's a game in which you're made to crawl over the line instead of gloriously smash through it.

SpikySnail's Niv Fisher worked on physics-based sims in the medical field before trying game design, and it's the impressive physics that really make The Splatters as fun as it is.

If you enjoy rich worlds, interesting stories and endearing characters, however, I implore you: don't let this pass you by.

Overlord II is a solid improvement on the original and great fun for newcomers and existing fans. The core gameplay hasn't changed too much, but small tweaks here and there and the introduction of mounts helps keep things fresh.

The Wii version breathes some new life into the series, but doesn't quite nail the controls, at times feeling a little hit and miss.

Despite getting a name check in the title, the cats are at best some sort of bizarre comedy foil for the canines.

The awful load times from the console versions have been radically reduced here, but there are still a number of other problems that start to grate after a while - such as the need to perform tricks to earn points needed to buy new tracks, riders and other things from the store. All problems aside, MX vs. ATV Unleashed is an enjoyable game.

It's hard to know who it's for. Newcomers can get by with the original, and old hands have played most of it before. If you're a massive fan of the series - and of Frank West in particular - it's still worth picking this up, but even at twenty notes, there's little to make this an urgent purchase.

The campaign, despite being short, ends up feeling like a bit of a slog and the use of the drone loses its appeal after an hour or so. The controls and presentation are top of their class, but without a really enjoyable game to back them up Moon ends up feeling like a missed opportunity.

The wait for a new Jak and Daxter game has been a long one, and we're still waiting for the series to arrive on the PS3 (blame Uncharted and its success for that), but this PSP outing doesn't disappoint.

Out of all the Pixar and Dreamworks games, it is absolutely among one of the best, and would make for a brilliant Christmas present if you're looking to satisfy the kids over the festive season.

The new motion-controls - a feature we cringed at when first announced - unexpectedly make the game that much more enjoyable.

It fails to match the sum of its parts. The drug dealing aspect is really the game's only defining feature, and with the rest of the game being merely competent in all areas, the Scarface licence is left to do all the hard work.

More than any other studio, Ubisoft is willing to mutate its existing IPs until they scarcely resemble what they once were.

Basic crafting, unlockable abilities, exploration, and shootouts with looters all provide some structural complexities. But unfortunately, still hidden underneath that crust is an astonishingly boring apocalypse.

Despite getting a name check in the title, the cats are at best some sort of bizarre comedy foil for the canines.

If you fancy a game that is a unique experience, Bound is certainly one that will get people talking even though it doesn't entirely meet all its goals.

It's visually appealing, easy to pick up, and the combat has a nice competitive edge to it. But this feeling doesn't last as long as perhaps it ought to. Once you've plundered your way through all the game has to offer, the lack of variety is clear to see and the story isn't good enough to hold things together.

It lacks polish, but Dead by Daylight is a genuinely tense ode to 80s slasher movies.

We can't help but feel that Burst Limit is an opportunity lost.

If you can get past the fact that it isn’t the best looker, you’ll have a good time with Styx. It’s particularly recommended for hardcore sneak-em-up fans looking for a genuine challenge: a stealth-action game in which the emphasis is unapologetically on the stealth, and not the action.

Mindless entertainment is all well and good but, at its worst, Shank's gameplay is as ugly as the underworld of thugs, drunks and violence that make up the game's universe.

While Afterlight is a definite improvement over its predecessors, it still lacks that je ne sais quoi which would push it towards "classic" territory. Despite an iconic sci-fi setting and competent execution, Afterlight somehow fails to really spark the imagination.

The chief pleasures on offer are those of the power fantasy and of the newly burgeoning subgenre that we might call the zoological misadventure.

You have to give Yuke's credit for aiming high. The wealth of content and customisation options on offer is absolutely staggering and wrestling fans that wish to ignore the game's main campaign mode will certainly find plenty to entertain them here. WWE 12, however, isn't in the same league as the series' high-water marks. It is the nucleus of what could be a great game.

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues was always going to feel a bit desperate, making the most out of a small amount of new content, but Traveller's Tales has done a decent job.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet take the long-awaited step into a fully open-world, but one poorly implemented and marred by frustration. A compelling story and characters are a saving grace in what is ultimately a fun game, but Pokemon's attempts at modernising continue to fall disappointingly short.

Despite getting a name check in the title, the cats are at best some sort of bizarre comedy foil for the canines.

Where Little Orpheus differs from its predecessors, and what marks it as a curious mobile game, is that you appreciate it most when you aren’t playing.

Basic crafting, unlockable abilities, exploration, and shootouts with looters all provide some structural complexities. But unfortunately, still hidden underneath that crust is an astonishingly boring apocalypse.

Far Cry New Dawn is your regularly scheduled stop-gap Far Cry, with some lovely tweaks like the ranked enemies and weapons, and a fantastical element that reaches its natural conclusion.