With up to an incredible sixteen players battling against the AI it's a truly great gaming experience, providing you can get into a game that's lag free.

Series heritage aside, this is a pleasingly lengthy adventure spread across two DVDs that's most definitely worth a look.

Even with its previous-gen roots, Burnout Revenge is a brilliant Xbox 360 title that deserves a place in your collection. If you own or have played a lot of the Xbox or PlayStation 2 version, it's a much harder decision to make.

They've put more than enough bells and whistles in to make Battle for Middle-Earth II seem extremely fresh and, most importantly, a lot of fun. When it comes down to it, for the LOTR strategy fan, this game is a must.

The story is brilliantly told and it's great to see some of the gap between season 2 and 3 being filled in. Sure, it should have been a better game, and it's not exactly a challenging game to play through, but if you're a fan of the show it'll keep you hooked from start to finish.

It deserves every harsh word written about it. It's the worst kind of cynical cash in and not only damages the legacy of Final Fight, but damages Capcom's reputation as a forward thinking games publisher.

For once, it's an expansion pack that does exactly what it says on the box. It broadens the experience of the already panoramically wide core game enough to justify a purchase.

The sensitive controls are a huge hurdle that needs to be crossed for newcomers, but existing fans of THQ's extreme sports series will soon ease into a competent handheld game.

GalCiv2's sandbox mode is a control freak's delight.

Though the premise of developing and building your very own New York seems a fantastic idea, for those of us brought up with the freedom of the Sim City series, the restrictions are just too much to bear.

How and why the company continues to churn out such rubbish is a mystery, and even the biggest Sonic fans must be starting to lose their patience.

Even though there isn't a whole lot here that we haven't seen before, if you dig the sport, this purchase should be an obvious choice. And if you have an Xbox 360, well then, all the better.

The visuals play more of an important role than just eye-candy.

A noble, if distinctly old fashioned, effort to capture the magic of a classic series in the palm of your hand. Amazingly, it even gives the sublime Advance Wars Dual Strike a run for its strategy money.

Ultimately it just feels like you've played it before (and if you completed the first game, then I guess you have), and that feeling permeates every part of the lenghty campaign. Nothing feels fresh, nor is there any depth to any aspect.

For every devilish puzzle that you crack, there's a moment of annoyance due to the clunky controls or slow character movement.

For those who have played the game to death on an older console, the 'Rebirth' mode and assorted other extras may offer enough incentive to drop the cash on it again, and for the ten people who are yet to play Resident Evil, it's certainly worth experiencing for the first time, despite its rather aged control scheme.

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.

Essentially Wild ARMs 4 is an average RPG that half-heartedly tries to add a couple of new ideas, but these additions aren't done well enough and don't change the RPG formula enough to warrant much attention.

The tutorials do their best to bring you up to speed on all the gameplay concepts, but you'll need to invest a fair amount of time to get the hang of it all. Played competitively there are few games as intense as this, making the lack of unique game modes more than bearable.

At least in terms of being faithful to the source material, it retains a similar level of simplicity, except that in 2006 that just isn't enough.

The jointed Tokobot moves work well, and the opening sections are good fun, but the ideas soon run out, leaving a game that isn't brilliant as an all out action platformer, nor a puzzle-based adventure.

Animal Crossing is less of a game than a way of life; and life is something you have to experience for yourself, rather than have it described to you vicariously.

It really does have something for every RPG fan, and its main success is something every game should strive for before innovation; it excels at the simple things, with gameplay that makes it accessible to new players and enjoyable for devoted RPG fans.

By far the best hockey game on the market, but with the near identical current-gen versions already at bargain bin prices, it's hard to justify forking over the extra cash for moderately improved graphics and a goalie system that still needs tweaking.

A solid simulation basketball game that's worth picking up if you've got a hankering for the sport, not to mention the fact that's it's incredibly affordable.

Infected is the gaming equivalent of a video nasty that devotees of gore-splattered mayhem will lap up like a new Romero movie. Designed exclusively for the PSP, it also shows developers are starting to really think about what handheld gamers want, rather than just porting stripped down versions of established PlayStation franchises.

While Dragon Quest VIII is content to leave the furthering of the RPG to other games, it does a brilliant job of bringing the past into the modern era by coupling old-fashioned gameplay with some beautiful art design.

You only have to see the opening cutscene to realise that Pac-Man World 3 isn't a game for adults. As a children's game it's not bad at all, with some 3D platforming gameplay that treads a familiar path, and plenty of variety to keep things interesting.

Hideous.

The whole package is undeniably ambitious and for the most part Zipper Interactive has pulled it off, but the complex controls combined with the dumbed down aiming make it less impressive as a game than its PlayStation 2 cousins.

Genre fans will rejoice in its depth and should grab it straightaway.

If there was ever a game that needed you to experience it first hand, this is it. Screenshots or word of mouth can never fully convey what Red Octane has done here.

A game that simply doesn't feel right on the PSP. It's slow (and even slower when played wirelessly with a friend), lacks a quick play mode, and has an uninspired story mode.

It is addictive, intense and packed with detail.

A novel take on the beat-'em-up that is accessible and engaging.

When a game has this much attention to detail, when the script fizzes along with such humour and throws in plot twist after plot twist during the courtroom battles, it's easy to forgive the linearity.

With support for up to 32 players online there's nothing quite like this for the PlayStation 2 or on consoles in general.

A solid simulation basketball game that's worth picking up if you've got a hankering for the sport, not to mention the fact that's it's incredibly affordable.

If you're looking to dabble in a bit of retro gaming I'd advise looking at the far more entertaining "Capcom Classics Collection," which includes superior games and has been created with far more care.

As a harmless game for kids to play together, Micro Machines V4 serves its purpose, but a bit of flair and a larger scope could have made it the ultimate party racing game.

Hideous.

A fairly deep fighting experience that may not be as accessible or immediate as some of the competition, but is rewarding enough for those who are willing to put in the time.

Thankfully, what we got is new layers of depth that, while not revolutionising the series, have made this year's game a more accurate and more immersive managerial experience.

If you're after a game to show just why the DS has been such a huge success, look no further than Touch Darts. Its perfectly tuned gameplay is hard to resist and if it weren't for a lack of true multiplayer we'd probably be looking at the best sports game on the handheld. Sadly, Touch Darts is a game that you'll love for a week and then forget about.

The game might be basic in terms of graphics and presentation, and it might disappoint some fans by being based on the cartoon series and not the live action show, but Top Trumps Doctor Who is a recommended purchase for any young DS-owning Doctor Who fan.

It's just that, somewhere along the line, they forgot to add any enjoyment or sense of reward to the actual game.

A game genre so heavily built around playing with friends it was always going to struggle on the PSP, and poor visuals and presentation don't help International Athletics one bit.