Though it starts off slow, Folklore turns out to be a surprisingly deep and visually lush experience, with novel new twists on familiar gameplay standards.

Casual gamers, and fans of other “real-time” mech based games beware though: Front Mission 4 will probably be either too technical, too boring, or just not your cup of tea.

Had the developers spent a little more time fixing the control and camera issues and making it in general more user-friendly, Chibi-Robo would go from being above-average to being great. As it is, it's still an original, fairly addictive title that has enough going for it to leave gamers satisfied.

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.

Easy to pick up and play and immediately enjoyable.

But it’s also immensely fun and satisfying to blow yourself and numerous other things on the screen up "real good", over and over again. Visually, Every Extend Extra (got to love those Engrish translations) is gorgeous, mesmerizing and quite varied.

One additional factor that can’t be overlooked is the addictiveness of this game. Zoo Keeper has been in my DS for weeks now, and as much as I complain about the weight of the DS, or the similarities between Zoo Keeper and "Bejeweled," I don’t think I’m going to change it out for anything else that soon.

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.

Just like a Lynch movie, debate over the merits and meaning of Killer7 will no doubt rage for months to come, if not years. But just as some dismiss surrealism as trivial waffle, others will find great delight and much scope within the fixed parameters of what is presented 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.

Those who consider themselves puzzle game connoisseurs or armchair detectives will have their skills severely tested and unlike the finale of "Missing: Since January", the conclusion is worth all the time and effort.

Its streamlined and action oriented gameplay fit the PSP well and it has been given an exceptionally nice graphical polish.

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.

This is the best game I've seen Activision put out in a while.

Insanely long load times are the only major flaw in this amazingly thorough conversion of a console game to the PSP format. Vroom!

This here game is a-brimmin' with more gunslingin', hoss-ridin', outlaw-shootin' goodness than you could fit in a stagecoach's worth of 10-gallon hats. It's rootin' AND tootin'.

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

This is the most well-rounded DDR version yet and with Xbox Live downloadable content coming in the future, its appeal will last even longer.

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

Once again Nintendo creates a game for the DS that is perfect for casual gamers, but if that doesn’t describe you, your hatred for this cute title will probably know no bounds.

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.

Episode 2 should take only about 40 hours to finish, short by the standards of the genre today and half the length of Episode 1.

Younger racers won’t really care too much about the auto-reset and lack of sliding all that much and should be engrossed in the unfolding storyline.

The only big problems with the game itself are that it isn't all that long, and it doesn't take advantage of the dual screens.

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

Excite Truck is as boisterous and cantankerous as your mother-in-law was when you forgot to call on her birthday. It's engines roar. It's music snarls. There's nothing sedate or stately about it. And, that's why it's simple but thrilling mindless fun.

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.

Heavy on story and atmosphere and with a massive number of missions to complete, Siren should appeal to devoted fans of the survival-horror genre. But it's simply too complex and unwieldy to be appreciated by less hardcore players.

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.

Undeniably the best-looking PSP release since "Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror". The floating spectral faces, the tidal wave of blood, the massive beast masquerading as a temple are just some of the early "wow moments" that show off the technology that is packed into the PSP device.

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.

Given its target audience, you’d have a hard time finding anything on the market quite this good that is also targeted at the 12 and under crowd.

Its easy controls, addictively simple game play and variety of game modes are likely to appeal to all but the hard-core soccer enthusiast.

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.

The graphics in Nanostray are some of the prettiest on the DS, hands down. The environments are varied, there is a ton of vibrant colours and except for some very rare slowdowns, the game runs at a smooth 60 FPS, no small feat considering how much is always going on on both screens.

As good as it was, the PSP’s UEFA has everything FIFA has and with the new Treble mode, way more fun in variety.

The game has a great feel to it simply because it's packaged together so nicely with sound, graphics, and gameplay. Where you may encounter problems is if you've already played the original, because this sequel certainly does not live up the lofty height of its predecessor.

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.

A flimsy, hollow and ill-timed release that only some children would take pleasure from as their expectations on occasion are not that high.

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 most challenging levels though are the ones that get all Splinter Cell-ish on you. Even though you don't don Sam Fisher's trademark goggles, the gameplay is similar.

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.

Unfortunately, the music and sound effects are just plain irritating and obnoxious, with tunes that might appeal to 7-year olds.

The "big reveal" takes awhile, and because it takes some time to finally happen you'll be fearing virtually everything that goes bump in the night.

While nothing about this is extremely challenging on one of the easier skill levels, trying to beat your high score and making some awesome combos while playing a seasoned human player or computer player on difficult is what will separate the newbies from the true pros.

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.

This is pure, unadulterated four-wheeled destruction on an epic scale, and I haven't had this much fun playing a racing game in ages.

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.

What really leaves all the other modes in the proverbial dust though is the free-roaming aspect of 'Cars'.

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.

If you don't already own Super Smash Bros Melee, and all Blockbuster's copies are already rented, Shrek Super Slam just might fit tbe bill.

Most importantly, it has the all-important replayability that can sometimes make or break a game. This game stands up to any FPS out right now, and surpasses some.

As generic a third-person shooter as you're likely to find, with its novel gimmicks countered by some truly irritating shortcomings.

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.

Disney has all the bases covered and then some to keep a child's interest as they work their way through an assortment of diverse levels.

And that¹s what this rapidly descends into, a series of unappealing tasks.

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...)

There are several game modes, all of which are quite fun and challenging – as long as you can stop yourself from using unlimited hints in the Puzzle Mode.

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.

It's a treat to play something so fresh, and yet so (often frustratingly) familiar. Helmet Chaos strikes the perfect balance between its 20th Century lineage and gameplay for today.

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.

The other big reason for shooter fans to check this game out is because of the online multiplayer, which is surprisingly well done.

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 “big reveal” takes awhile, and because it takes some time to finally happen you’ll be fearing virtually everything that goes bump in the night.

Action oriented fans should steer clear of this title, but those looking for an accurate soccer experience should at the very least give this title a try.

With all of its mysticism, strange but curious creatures and dazzling surroundings, 'Keepsake' will be a sure-fire hit with the Harry Potter crowd if they don't mind exercising their wits as well as feasting their eyes.

Goblet of Fire is far from a difficult game, but should present enough of a challenge to younger Potter fans, and there's plenty of extras for fans of all ages to sift through, making this an above-average title.

Aside from being full of useless exposition about Rune Cannons and the various empires in these Island Nations, the story doesn't even make much sense.