Suffers from the ailment of been there, done that, and got the +3 t-shirt of protection (+ 5 against missiles).

This is just about the racing cream of the GBA crop. Fast, flowing and more absorbing than industrial sponges, owning a GBA and not having this in your collection should bring with it a custodial sentence.

It offers a challenge to the experienced gamer that is second to none, and a level of innovation that, while undeserving of its boastful slogan "Real Time Strategy Reborn", could certainly reinvigorate a genre where something truly new and unique is so very hard to come by.

The story is nothing short of fantastic and it’s worth noting that this being the last Kain game under the direction of Amy Hennig (who is off to create games for Jak and Daxter developer Naughty Dog), she has really gone out with a bang.

It has its faults, shortcomings and severe community deficiencies, but if you put the time and effort in to learn the intricacies of how it plays in both grunt and commander modes, you could end up playing this one for a long, long time to come.

Its simplistic arcade gameplay simply doesn’t cut the mustard on the birthplace of stealth gaming, and its only lasting effect will be a strange desire for the involving, story-driven gameplay of the king: "Thief."

Its stylish looks, its innovative control and demented sense of humour make for a game that’s not only a complete joy to play, but also the first title for Nintendo’s newest console to actually use the touch-screen the way it was intended.

While it’s simple and easy to get into, Shadowbane seriously lacks the depth and long term appeal of titles like "EverQuest" and "Star Wars Galaxies."

A solid addition to a fine MMORPG but the technology used in Dark Age of Camelot is really starting to show its age. The interface is clunky and upon closer inspection, characters do look a bit blocky.

With a solid graphics engine and some decent audio effects to boot, there’s no doubting that Archer Maclean’s Mercury offers an engrossing, absorbing PSP gaming experience that offers the sort of longevity most titles can only dream of – even if you do run the risk of losing handfuls of hair each time you play it.

A special mention must also go to the Minicons, which provide for a lot more variation than expected, offering all manner of power ups and, when you’ve amassed a few to select from, allow you to gear yourself up more for a specific mission with the resultant tactical depth a welcome bonus to what is essentially another third person shoot ‘em up.

All these features help build a very competent and well structured strategy title, which is a must for strategy purists. However it’s quite a heavy game to get into, and those Command and Conquer lovers will find the extra features, and lack of base building, works against them.

If you want a great looking tennis game that offers more than just quick and simple play, Pro Tournament 2 offers almost enough to keep you going until next summer, when doubtless we’ll all go tennis mad again. Now leave us alone: Wimbledon’s on.

The enemy's endless determination to take you out (the A.I's strong point) balanced with the direct and simple nature of play results in a polished and genuinely enthralling experience. Always at the heart of the game is a determination to be fun.

If you’ve played "Brothers in Arms" you will no doubt find Full Spectrum Warrior a less refined, more plodding title.

It’s a massive, massive game that never gets boring and one that’s so easy to get into and so good-looking that anyone wanting good old fashioned RPG action would be stupid to even consider purchasing anything else.

A gripping storyline and entertaining puzzles that do not frustrate combine to help create a compelling adventure game.

The short life span hurts Everything or Nothing but it would be a crime for this game to be totally ignored.

An improvement over its predecessor, though only due to the expunging of the irrelevant mini-games with an entertaining yet shallow adventure.

Cossacks II is a very enjoyable game, yet very frustrating and overly reliant on reloads and retries as you try and perfect the exact battle tactics needed for your current mission.

With simplistic controls, the fluidity of the gameplay is neigh-on faultless, something that has manifested itself in the success of the team system in the game itself, which in itself gives the game more depth than it would otherwise have enjoyed.

To compare "Earth 2160" directly with past greats like "Command & Conquer" and "Total Annihilation" is to miss the point. No, it’s not as inspired or as absorbing or as fun as those earlier games. But to find a fresh game which dares to take the baton from those titles and carry it forward another hundred yards is a real pleasure.

An incredibly generic RPG. Often playable, but sometimes frustrating and never original through its 100 hours plus playing time. In a PC market that thrives on innovation, Larian Games seem to have missed something fundamental.

The play is original and refreshing in comparison to other generic sports titles, the controls are well designed and easy to use. The play style works in this RTS format: however, timed moves are provided for those more frantic times of play.

At every turn, Sega GT Online screams "middle of the road", beset with every GT cliché in the book and with few noteworthy features beyond the obvious online antics to make it stand out from the overcrowded ranks of Gran Turismo wannabes.

The faultless execution of the courses is also of note. Even though they’re all ovals, each one brings its own challenge - be it smoothness of the surface, the camber of the surface, the length of the course or the diameter of the track, all the courses have in common is the fact they’re ovals and that the racing is so close around them.

If you’re the sort of gamer who’s obsessed with statistical accuracy in your sports sims and can live with the uncanny feeling of déjà vu, Moto GP 4 proves to be a run of the mill arcade racer that will give you the most up-to-date bike game on the market, however bland it is.

Yet again, it is the inability of Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams to deal with 3D and learn from what has gone before that will leave the majority of gamers unenthused. There is nothing new to be learned here and no moments that are particularly original or unique.