There's not much to it but it can be kind of fun if you're into this type of game.

What's also frustrating is that lower-level foes with no real super powers like Nazi soldiers and Nuclear Winter's henchmen are way too strong. Often you may find yourself swarming an irritating straggler here and there after engaging in a huge rumble that has left your team weaker than Aunt May.

'Championship' mode though is an ingenious spin on presenting level-based gameplay in a whole new way as there is virtually no pause in the action. For all intents and purposes, Pac-Man has turned into a gruelling video game marathon. 'Championship' mode alone makes this download worth it for any serious Pac-Man fan.

So if you're looking for an all-out melee, then Call of Duty 3 is your game. If you want something that's somewhat stealth mission-based, then you might want to give "SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault" a whirl.

It has pretty graphics, plenty of extras and an engaging storyline. I may have taken a whole lot more from it if I was a hardcore fan of the history of X-Men, but it still has enough going for it to keep all types of gamers happy.

Tekken V: Dark Resurrection is still fun to play and it's much better than most of the competition. It's just a bit of a letdown because it feels to me that the developers missed a chance to fully take advantage on the PS3's capabilities.

Taking the pigskin to the asphalt is a novel idea and makes for a fast and fun game of arcade football. It's not nearly as slick and addictive as its sister franchise "NBA Street," though.

As enjoyable as the game is, as my roommate can attest to, watching someone else play is about as exciting as watching the real thing.

Taking the pigskin to the asphalt is a novel idea and makes for a fast and fun game of arcade football. It's not nearly as slick and addictive as its sister franchise NBA Street, though.

Don't let the big-headed cartoon folk fool you, this is a solid (but fun) simulation of golf, and online-enabled to boot. Too bad it's so similar to the previous game in the series.

Taking the pigskin to the asphalt is a novel idea and makes for a fast and fun game of arcade football. It's not nearly as slick and addictive as its sister franchise NBA Street, though.

Gun is the best Wild West game to date but it is a low-down dirty shame that developers Neversoft didn't apply the same comprehensive approach to the design work as they did to the soundtrack, voice casting and the plot.

Given today's evolution in RPG's (even for handheld RPG's), I find it hard to believe this compilation will hold the attention of newer gamers for longer then 15 minutes. Any old school players out there with a GBA however will get plenty nostalgic with this duo of games.

The Alpha titles offer a dramatic battle setting which pits two against one and a survival mode, where a character fights battle after battle until he or she dies. Fun times.

It's hard to imagine how this epic strategy game's control scheme could be any better on a console, but it's still not quite a match for the precision of the PC version.

The simulation is the best I’ve seen to date, it just falls short of my "Golden Tee" memories.

Mario Strikers Charged is far from a perfect game, but it truly is fun when played online. For the casual sports fan who doesn't want to spend hours poring over stats, defensive combinations, matchups, and what's inside the vending machines in their virtual team's arena, this game is very much worth a look.

Once every few years, a game comes along that changes all the rules. A game so unique and so groundbreaking that it not only redefines a genre, but redefines how we as gamers connect with our world. This ... is nothing close to that kind of game. But damn if it isn’t fun.

The single player section is definitely a letdown, but the multiplayer mode makes up for it in a big way.

For the features it has, though the same as others on the market, and for it’s ability to just give you a good time I give this game a 7 out of 10.

With a way deeper song list than 'Singstar Rocks' and its authentic content, 'Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol' holds up as the ultimate karaoke game for those who are fans of that sort of thing; Paula's deplorable absence notwithstanding.

While the game looks good, controls well and is genuinely funny in spots, the action starts to get repetitive fairly early on. But you gotta love that shark gun.

Although the three-dimensional maps are interesting to look at, they aren't very functional. And the small map is even less useful. So you can spend a lot of time running around in circles unless you know exactly where to go.

If you do have a DS but don’t own Advance Wars, skip Field Commander and pick up the true turn based strategy king. If you do already have Advance Wars, just play through it again and save your money for something truly new on the PSP.

Maybe the problem is True Crime tries too hard to be all things to all people, and in the process, neglects to do anything especially well.

Wii owners who haven’t yet played the game on another console and are hankering for a violent, bloody Grand Theft Auto-style title should pick this one up. But the expanded content doesn’t quite make up for the humdrum visuals and repetitive gameplay.

A decent but pretty run-of-the-mill RPG.

Maybe the problem is True Crime tries too hard to be all things to all people, and in the process, neglects to do anything especially well.

Maybe the problem is True Crime tries too hard to be all things to all people, and in the process, neglects to do anything especially well.

I'm a firm believer that graphics are a very small portion of what makes a great game great. Take away the pretty graphics in Resurrection of Evil, and what do you have? An extremely repetitive first person shooter that tries to be scary and doesn't even do that all that well.

Gun is a violent, interestingly fulfilling shooter, albeit so brief it doesn't quite do its fantastic premise justice.

Dominator is as slick and insane as the other Burnout games, but it’s missing some key features found in its most recent predecessors. Fans of the latest Burnout titles might want to swerve to avoid this one.

Justice For All will entertain you with engaging characters and interesting storylines. If you’re good at detective work, you’ll be hooked; if you’re not, you may be putting this game down sooner than later.

A decent party game for the attention deficit disorder crowd, but the single-player game doesn't offer much that you won't have already experienced in the Game Boy Advance version.

The realisation that there's a great deal of repetitive gameplay here sets in all too quickly with samey fight sequences and perpetual chasing.

Instead of picking where to go from a menu on the screen like you were searching for Carmen Sandiego, you actually get to roam around the various cities and other places on the map.

Although, Naruto has a lot of unnecessary elements, it still is one of the most enjoyable fighting games I have played in a long time.

But the fantastic presentation of the multiplayer concept, aided by the single cartridge format, is reason enough for purchase. Bombs away!

A bigger pad would help in the future.The other problem is the selection of game modes to choose from.

A unique release in the sense that it could be a stepping-stone to bigger and better things. There is no reason Bigbig couldn’t flesh out what they have created already and release a console version.

The problem with this game is that you can repeatedly continue over and over and over again, taking away some of the challenge.

It's quite unlikely that the intended audience for Super Princess Peach ever played "Super Mario Bros" back in the day, or perhaps any of the many sequels - and therefore is almost likely to be a newcomer to the platform genre. And if that's the case, Peach is a perfect primer, just in time for "New Super Mario Bros" in a few months time.

There's little need for varied strategies throughout Lockdown, and once you figure out how to sweep a room efficiently, the entire game is pretty much open for completion. It makes for an interesting twist on the strategy based shooter formula, because the need for absolute teamwork is almost entirely diminished.

It’s a big improvement over the previous game in the series, the ill-conceived “Super Monkey Ball Adventure,” and it’s another solid showcase for the Wii.

Formula One: Championship Edition is clearly aimed at real racing game fans and those people, whether they're playing a simple quick race or time trial, in career mode, Grand Prix Weekend, World Championship or with others online, should certainly be satisfied here.

A fun, zany, irreverent, violent (yeah!) and humorous game. It's just not very deep. It makes for a really good rental game as most of the coolest and engaging parts of the game are encountered in the first few missions and are then repeated throughout the rest of the experience.

Let’s face it. Minigame extravaganzas like ‘Brain Academy’ are not made for the hardcore gamer. They are for the casual market whose hardcore gaming experience consists of playing solitaire on their computer.

Overly finicky controls are the biggest ding against this decent but not superlative version of SSX for Nintendo's winsome Wii.

The main problem with the story mode, though, is that's simply too hard.

I for one am still waiting for the time when they finally shake up the series and create a nice long epic that makes the GameBoy series wish it could compete... Will it happen? Here's hoping.

Old-school Sonic speed plus a few new twists makes for a decent if not earth-shattering return to the realm of the blue hedgehog.

Although it’s not going to satisfy the hardcore beat-matching gamers, Groove does bring another dimension to the PS2 and the EyeToy.

What's even more annoying is that like in previous SOCOMs, the characters have a bad habit of getting stuck on the environment.

Compared to EA’s last 360 FIFA release, the game’s flow seems much more natural than FIFA 07’s sometimes bizarrely inaccurate passing and crossing.

As much as I enjoyed it, I now spend most of my time nitpicking on small issues that in the end keep this game from being a classic.

Old-school Sonic speed plus a few new twists makes for a decent if not earth-shattering return to the realm of the blue hedgehog.

If you have played Sega GT 2002 at all, in any way, stick clear of this title, and avoid that empty feeling you'll get from paying money to play it.

Easy to get and get into, with a slick engine (and only a few nitpicky problems) but clearly lacking a really creative story team.

For the most part however, the control works great. Once you align your backswing with the power gauge on-screen, it's really simple to drive accurate distances and directions.

This is a one-of-a-kind title that could only be done on the Nintendo DS, but this melange of musical marine life won't be everyone's cup of sea water.

While a bit of a novelty, the mic works well, even if the games could have just as easily been played with a regular joystick.

Here lies the ultimate problem: if you're not hard-core, you're just going to end up playing around with it, and you'll almost certainly become bored within a few hours.

As if the gameplay wasn't stale enough already, every few minutes you are treated with long speeches from characters in the game.

For starters, though the game is $10.99 some may feel cheated by there being only two variations of the same level. More content will come available through download, but one level is still only one level.

While Cars is fun and inventive at times, it does manage to stay a cut below most of the competition.

Besides some lazy moments where characters show up repeatedly and say the same things over and over, some clunky controls on the main map and some overly-long load times between races and minigames, Cars does the trick.

The overuse of bland office building environments and a steep difficulty curve mar an otherwise captivating storyline and novel use of the first-person perspective.

For the hardcore gamer, there should be enough here to keep their interest through until the ending.

Even the novelty of playing as Sean Connery's classic Bond can't overcome the feeling of been there, done that.

Fans of the books and films will enjoy the chance to explore the Hogwarts grounds and do things like ride Buckbeak the hippogriff and collect all of the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, but there's not a lot in this game to appeal to your average Muggle.

While it's more about the art of being a ninja than the hack 'n' slash escapades of Ninja Gaiden, Tenchu is hampered by mediocre graphics, bad camera control and a host of other niggling faults.

And on the whole it was a worthwhile experience. Sure, it maybe doesn't measure up in quality and look of the more professional sports title, such as Top Spin.

The single player section is short and simple enough for any youngster to get through (probably with a little help from mom or dad) and best of all, there are plenty of addictive minigames to keep players occupied after the closing credits.

The graphics won't win any awards but despite the small screens, the game still gives a decent sense of size and scope when you're playing. Players are blocky but the game uses bright colours and easy-to-navigate menus (the same of which can't be said about the home console versions).

Stunning visuals, intense audio and an interesting backstory can't quite make up for the mediocre gameplay and technological glitches.

If you absolutely love the movie (or your kids do) then get the game, but if you want a good racing game, get something better (i.e. Burnout, Wipeout, Race Driver 2006, Ridge Racer, OutRun 2006 or even Need for Speed Underground).

Technically, 'Rival Swords' looks like you wrapped your television in thick gauze a lot of the time and the faded colours don't help matters much.

The game looks and sound great. The town has great detail and an elaborate layout that makes each new place look different but still seem to be part of the same setting.

In my experience, it is usually the GBA title that pales in comparison to the sophistication of its elder sibling. Not so with Monster House. The GBA RPG-like game is the clear-cut keeper.

Even though there are special challenges, tournaments, multiplayer options, a whole host of wicked unlockable characters and some intriguing courts to play on, Mario Hoops 3 on 3 seems lacking as a complete package.

It looks nice enough but clumsy controls, a boring ‘stocking up’ system that you’re forced in to and general repetitiveness put this squarely into the ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’ category.

This lack of any replay value is perhaps the biggest shortcoming of a game that’s otherwise good fun and good for your brain.

It's a fine addition to Black & White 2 but in the end it's more of the same - entertaining more of the same, though, for under $20.

While Guitar Hero is still one of the best games of recent years, this cash grab of a psuedo-sequel does no favours to the franchise or to '80s music.

It's fascinating the game goes to such lengths in the narrative and it is this that keeps the .hack//G.U. interesting. It's a little open-ended as it's the first in a series of three games, but you can continue to play other levels after the story ends.

If you happen to be a veteran gamer WITH kids, then Madagascar can provide you with a guilt-free excuse to play video games with your children- or maybe even on your own ("Honey, I'm just clearing this level for Bobby...)

Fantastic visuals, a decent plot and an interesting music-based fighting system are hampered by some tacked-on non-features, iffy controls and a thinner roster of rappers. Bring back Lil Kim!

Enjoyable, although apart from the upgradeable weapons system and weapon loadouts in the multiplayer, it is not groundbreaking.

The game looks pretty good from the air - especially the awesome blur effect when you speed up - but it's almost embarrassing to see some of the details up close.

In the end, Turok demands more than some gamers will want to give.

If you think you’d enjoy playing an RTS you played 4 years ago, but with wickedly updated graphics/sound/cut scenes and with a dual layered map, then by all means pick [it] up.

The battles, generally speaking, are similarly mundane; they are long, drawn out affairs that are less about strategy and more about exchanging blows with the enemy until either your party members or the enemy team expires.

While there's not a whole lot of variety to the game play, the slick look and novel control scheme help make up for Rise to Honor's other shortcomings. And no, that's not a crack about Jet Li's height.

The game looks and sound great. The town has great detail and an elaborate layout that makes each new place look different but still seem to be part of the same setting.

An exciting adventure that will keep you engaged until the final battle.

A little less fun, less deep and less educational than it ought to be, especially for a full-priced game. A C+ effort only.

The biggest problem with a game like Magnetica is that whilst a puzzle game is supposed to be the kind of thing a casual gamer can just pick up and bash through, because of Magnetica's often seemingly impossible levels, the frustration of the lack of progress hinders its long term appeal.

All in all the premise of the game is fun. If you gave this game to a nine-year-old they would have smiles on their faces.