Without any truly brilliant missions to balance things out, the single-player campaign never really gets off the ground. Multiplayer games are a lot more fun, but if you have no interest in taking to the skies with other people, this isn't a squadron that you want to be part of.

Eat Them! taps in to what makes mindless destruction addictively fun.

Harms Way is a free game, and a very good one at that, but it feels like it's lacking the content to make it anything more than a fun way to spend a few hours and then never come back to.

This is "GoldenEye" for a new generation. And praise doesn't come much higher than that.

Dynasty Warriors 9 still has the 'levelling hundreds of dudes without breaking a sweat' core loop so you feel like a badass, but the open world removes some of the depth. Fans can still enjoy, but it won't win any new hearts this time.

If you're not entirely sure whether you're going to enjoy The Mercenaries 3D or not, ask yourself this: is £35 too much to spend on a mini-game ripped out of Resident Evil 4?

If only Dalcò, rather than honouring his heroine by smothering her search for truth in confounding gloom, had abided by her love of illumination.

Juiced Eliminator attempts to simulate what it's like to be a street racer, but it simply lacks the flair and excitement that other games in the genre offer.

If you can forgive its failings you'll unearth a good Da Vinci Code-style detective story that should keep you going for a weekend at the very least.

On paper, Alpha Protocol sounds incredibly alluring, combining the best elements of the role-playing and action genres with a refreshing concept. In executing that concept, however, the game falls apart at the seams.

EA hasn't done that bad a job here, but I'd personally rather stick with the real thing.

If you're a Wii owner you could do far worse. And for some crazies out there, the whole constant death replay entire stages thing will be like vanilla milkshake: aka as good as it gets.

It’s a good thing the fundamental gameplay is addictive, because the missions are tedious.

Star Wars fans will drop the cash on it regardless, but there's enough here to satisfy the urges of serious tower defence players too.

There's little to no challenge present throughout the entire game, the story only makes sense if you already know the plot and there's a lack of things to do outside of the three main gameplay mechanics. Buy if you're a mega fan, but avoid if you like your games with even a tiny amount of depth.

Shadow of the Beast is enjoyable, its combat smooth and rewarding, but high-score chasing isn't going to keep many players around for long once the credits roll.

While some Phantasy Star fans will lament the stripped down nature of the game - from SEGA's point of view, this was unavoidable - overall it's complete fan service. The lack of online play (something that may be rectified by the PSP's linking with the PS3) is a disappointment, as is the overall sense that it's not quite as triple-A a product as it could have been, but as a PSP game it's certainly up there with the best of 2009.

Starts strongly, but soon fades into a slog through samey puzzles and ever-weaker environments.

Aliens Vs Predator is a great deal of fun, but there's no getting away from the fact that it feels somewhat dated and that the marine campaign is head and shoulders above the other two.

Outside of the odd frustrating stage, the only criticism I have of Sonic Rivals is its brevity.

Gat out of Hell gives you more stuff to do, and is mildly entertaining while it lasts, but it's not a patch on the core game it comes with. If thought of as the side course to the main dish, this is fine. Newcomers will find a lot to enjoy, but there's little reason to return if a dive into Hell is what you were looking forward to.

Movie licensed titles are often less than satisfactory, but The Spiderwick Chronicles manages to pair decent gameplay with impressive production values.

This is a standard Facebook game in iOS' clothing that ambitiously tries to make use of the iPhone without ever really doing anything at all.

Entertaining in places, Killer is Dead will only appeal to players who enjoyed Suda51’s previous titles, particularly Lollipop Chainsaw. If you’re not convinced by now, this will do nothing to alter that mindset, unless objectifying women is your thing.

If you don't fondly remember the first wave of Crazy Taxi games, steer well clear of this. However, if you fancy a taste of some retro driving action, this may be worth a purchase, but approach with caution and low expectations or prepare for a shock.

The Run certainly isn't terrible, and a big improvement on Black Box's previous effort, Undercover, but it needed more moments like the avalanche and less monotonous freeways. With the campaign over in an afternoon and the rest of the package failing to offer anything to keep you playing, The Run is some decent throwaway fun that will be forgotten as soon as you move on to something else.

The Golf Club is functional. That is a huge plus for many people wanting to do away with the flash and gimmicks found in EA's golf series, but this isn't an excuse for the presentation to be as sloppy as it is.

Chief amongst the offenders is a combat system so outdated I wouldn't be surprised if Vetra games had it shipped it in especially from 1999. Fighting monsters, which is done by mashing your attacks and occasionally blocking, feels clunky and detached, with weapons that all feel like they've got the wrong weight.