One of the most important reason[s] that Dungeon Siege is such an improvement over its action RPG predecessors is that the interface is just downright perfect.

Essentially, if you want to improve your chess and bring a competitive edge to it, this is the ideal pocket edition to carry round with you. The only complaint – and it’s a substantial one – is the lack of a save facility.

What it lacks is the elegance of the original design.

A game about nothing...a dungeon crawl so formulaic as to be forgettable.

The PC can support insanely high resolutions that put even the Xbox to shame. The frame rate is better on the PC, as well.

With the bugs fixed and the gameplay tweaked and polished, Superpower could be pretty decent. At the moment, it's disappointing.

If you're the type to enjoy that style of gameplay, we're honour-bound to point out "Super Smash Brothers: Melee," a superior game in about all aspects, and with infinitely more to do.

A definite step-forward for fans of Ghost Recon...However if you found problems with the original title, particularly in its engine limitations, then don't expect these to have disappeared.

It takes the best of "Jedi Knight" and superpowers it with well thought out Force powers, excellent level design, fiendish and boggling puzzles and simply magnificent lightsaber fights.

Luckily, the game is designed to be open-ended enough to let you explore multiple ways in overcoming a problem, leading to a sense of discovery and freedom, again something not typical of first-person shooters.

Not quite an ambitious failure, and not a qualified success either, the game pays the price for falling between the stools of arcade adventurousness and simulation seriousness.

With versatile server options allowing operators with a dedicated machine to run a variety of servers, the potential is there for massive success over the net. We're more than happy to recommend it to you heartily.

It's a pity the game is so linear, because the game does look great, atmospherically set in the style of the Thief series, and the character is gloriously evil, thoroughly powerful and malefic.

In terms of other improvements, On Holiday really doesn't seem to have made any thrilling leaps or advancements...Overall, a great expansion.

The game is a romp through 60s superhero cliches, mixed with excellent gameplay and a flexible character development system. Fantastic stuff.

It has too many defects and omissions.

The unyielding linear story, the decidedly average puzzles and the ease with which you sail through the levels will ensure that it gathers dust on your shelf after the first play.

Boring...plain as an old Rich Tea biscuit, and just as dry.

The game does really offer some great gaming moments, addictive hard-to-put down levels and some great boss fights.

Superior graphics...but its poor interface, repetitious campaign modes and unchallenging AI has relegated it to just another also-ran.

If you can get past the irritating introductory cutscenes and if you don't mind all-pervading cuteness, there's a depth available to plumb, and fans of micro-management will be in heaven.

If you want to feel like you have control over the game, can overlook some dated graphics and a poor viewing angle, then NBA 2K2 is just about the best basketball game on the market.

If you're impatient, have bad carpal tunnel syndrome, or just never got that whole hand-eye coordination thing down, this probably isn't the game for you.

A smashing game that has a life span as long as your Grandma's...[but] it's far too deep, complex and frustrating at first for instant hit bruisers to get their thrills from.

Graphically and sonically, the game does wonders for GBA. It’s clear and beautiful to look at – even in quite dimly lit play areas.

Even the parodic nature that was attempted here falls flat after a couple plays, leaving you with a husk of a game that could have been great.

A great kid's game and will amuse gamers with some musical knowledge or puzzle game addiction.

The game is severely crippled by awkward controls, inexplicable design decisions, and arcade-like sequences that reveals way too much about how to breeze though the twelve brief missions.

By inherently alienating new players in combining two genres, and then providing too little incentive to win over RTS vets, the game becomes more of an upgrade for fans of the franchise, who want to control new races and explore some of the new features.

Looks and plays almost exactly like the new addition to the High Heat series of a year ago.

The most obvious flaw in Grandia II is the music. It's pretty unpleasant, and often incongruous with the on-screen happenings.

And even if the training mode was more fun and well thought out, it still all boils down to how good the main game is...and frankly, the main game isn't very good anyway.

Levels are brilliantly designed and there's always a mass of things for you to do when you first come into a new section of the game and you can approach the various tasks in whatever order you desire to some extent.

These niggles aside, there’s no argument about Knockout Kings 2002 being the most exciting, addictive and authentic boxing game on PS2.

Despite only having six main stages, THPS 3 is a game that will last for a surprisingly long time.

The key problem lies in the positioning of the four buttons on the right side of the pad’s upper surface... They are too close together and too hard to distinguish by touch for the precise control THPS3 demands. In fact, it bordered on the unplayable.

The sound is great, and with a Dolby Digital system you'll hear fire shoot from the exhaust across the rear channels every time you lift off the gas. Shame Microsoft went for the cheap option with the music, though.

One thing that has not changed is the game's unparalleled sense of atmosphere...But its faults cannot be overlooked, and though supremely entertaining, it has failed to carry the baton that its prequel held so loftily.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in the sport that was America's national pastime before Donald Fehr and Bud Selig screwed it up will find this to be one of the most absorbing sports games of 2002.

There's nothing really like it on the PS2, and it's a marvel to behold in full flow. Sega and Sony should be happy that the conversion has gone so swimmingly well.

No other Star Trek quite captures the tone and feel of the license, yet does so in a way that the license isn't even necessary to make the game exciting and appealing to any gamer.

Imagine a long-time Trekkie's glee at being given the opportunity to walk around the original 60s set with the cast; Renegade is the virtual equivalent for the C&C fan.

The idea is good; a sort of modern weapons-based update to the old-school brawler genre, but the implementation is poor, riddled with camera and control issues, resulting in a less than enjoyable game.

As stunning an Xbox conversion as it was a Dreamcast original.

TrueSwing is an unparalleled re-creation of what it's like to actually swing a golf club, and the visual touches provide you with nearly everything that a membership at a real-world club can offer. There is no finer simulation of golf.

Ultima may have been King of the RPGs once, but it has been standing still for too long in a world that moves at a million miles an hour.

While the courses are fairly long, there are not enough racers to make it eventful or as interesting as it could have been, providing periods where things are just plain dull.

To get anything out of it, you'll need to do a fair bit of thinking and studying. If you don't enjoy a program of mental weightlifting in your entertainment, steer clear.

Truckloads of fun. The adventures in SAIS may be strange, but they are wonderfully entertaining and thoroughly addictive.

The incredibly stupid AI is also a big problem since it is hard to overlook the mechanical flaws when the gameplay is only moderately engaging.

What makes the game worth recommending is that the mixture of so-so adventuring with so-so combat makes for a pretty good game that's addictive and more strategic than games that are strictly focused on adventure or fighting.

It's a great title for hardcore UFC fans who are looking for authenticity and stripped bare chuddies minimalism, but for gamers who have been spoiled by a sea of options, moves, and thrills this is far too... skinny.

The new Gamecube-only version improves on the experience with much better graphics, although the same underlying gameplay remains relatively unchanged.

Where Gran Turismo is probably a little more graphically rich (mostly because of all the diverse locations), it's the actual racing experience that makes NASCAR 2002 Season a better game. Each race has its own story.

Simple, engaging and spot-on in terms of presenting controversial material in a humorous and tongue-in-cheek manner.

Featuring similar hack and slash gameplay, which has an uncanny knack of being addictive due to its frustrating nature, Maximo is a title that may appeal more to old-school gamers.

Racer Revenge isn't a bad game in terms of action when you're out there mid-gameplay, but it does nothing to add to the fun we had with Episode I Racer.

Although the two-player mode is entertaining, there's not enough variety to keep you going for long, and the quibbles with the camera and the music are the icing on an unsatisfying cake. Avoid.

Powerful, easy to use, and loaded with potential, it could become the flagship computer title for train enthusiasts.

The crisp sprites appear even better suited on the little screen, with the bright, colourful and incredibly well drawn, nicely animated cartoon-like sprites shining, even with GBA's legendary 'dark screen' problem.

The Second Encounter is more refined in every way, if such a phrase can be used to describe a shooter that boasts alien rednecks with pumpkin heads and chainsaws as some of the lead villains.

So Wreckless, while being a graphical tour de force, and a superb showcase title for the polygon-pushing potential of the Xbox, is one of those games that's all talk and no trousers.

Completing the (sometimes difficult) challenges can be rewarding, but as it is this will probably only be of passing interest to Gamecube owners.

Whilst the new challenges offered in the expansion will amuse and frustrate those megalomaniacs amongst us for some considerable time, there is nothing spectacularly new about Paradise Island.

Vintage 1994 graphics and laughable gameplay make this one the first games of 2002 to snatch a deserved one-star rating.

It's the fluid and perfectly measured pace of Sonic Team's new game that makes it so good...Absolutely superb stuff.

Okay for a quick blast with its pick-up-and-play controls and simplistic physics, but just as you start getting into it, you begin to realise there isn't really an awful lot more.

Graphically, you're in for a treat. What strikes you immediately is the great job the designers have done with the lighting effects.

The controls will definitely take a while to familiarise with, but the rewards are rich in gameplay and visual splendour.

It has an original take on the combat system but its average graphics and strictly linear gameplay will not guarantee a long shelf life.

Put into perspective and it being an ambitious "hit the ground running" success by Namco, Tekken Advance is a stunning achievement for GBA and deserves the praise lavished on it.

For fans of the original, this is the version to own, providing super slick game mechanics and excellent presentation. Just don’t expect it to do anything other than entertain you for a while, rather than knock the pants off your head like "Halo" did.

An all-round fantastic experience. It's got enough building to keep god-sim fans happy, enough interaction to keep Sims-fanatics interested, and enough detail for even the management freaks to have a damn good time.

Mothers and fathers concerned that their impressionable offspring are being perverted by dalliances with Liberty City and Max Payne will open their arms to Parappa and his wholesome morals.

Merely another bike sim that does not quite make the grade. Lacking intrinsic excitement, its appeal will not last beyond the time it takes to complete.

Outstanding in every way. All of the story elements, fantasy fiction races, and winning design elements have been retained, albeit in greatly enhanced forms that make everything feel fresh.

Its key omission, though, comes in the loss of the original's delightfully open-ended nature. There is no "good" or "bad' way to win a bowling match -- you either win or you lose -- in which case all you need to do is try again.

A fast moving, initially addictive action game that soon becomes too repetitive and limiting to sustain a long involvement.

Obviously, the full season is the mode most fans will run for, but the other modes are the icing on the cake that keep you coming back for more after you've won the championship, and their absence here is disappointing.

Intensely atmospheric, the game manages to make you feel part of a bigger battle, even when you're doing a Schwarzenegger alone through a German bunker for half of the game.

Ultimately falls far short of the revered PC series with its less sophisticated controls and missions and ridiculously short length.

It would have made a much better college game where blaring soundtracks and sparkling animation effects are not as important.

Maybe it is the fact that you will frustratingly lose lives because it is not always clear what is potentially deadly scenery, and what is harmless background...Whatever it is, there is something lacking that denigrates this game workmanlike and a tad dull.

The single-player mode will probably bore most people with its repetitiveness and tough gameplay. Multiplayer is excellent.

A great concept, brutally funny and accompanied by some beautiful sweeping melodies, but it suffers from some basic technical flaws and dips of interest in gameplay.

It's not particularly gory, but it'll send chills down the most seasoned of horror fans' spines, especially if you play it as it should be played - at night and with the lights out.

Just plain fun - nothing more, nothing less.

[It's] like my relationship with broccoli. Playing it was definitely not love at first fight, but after a while, you warm up to it...an in-depth wargaming experience.

Despite the wondrous graphics, there are times when FFX lacks the sheer emotional punch that we've come to expect for a game of its pedigree.

It's not one you can pick up and play for five minutes at a time or without reading the manual, but is extremely involving once you get into it.

A dull game. Even if you've always wanted to know what managing a casino might be like, Casino Tycoon will likely fail to keep you occupied for more than a couple of days, even counting the game's challenge mode.

Unfortunately, the frequency of the random encounters means the relative simplicity of combat can make it tiresome and repetitive at times.

A slapdash and deeply disappointing GBA makeover that will do nothing to win over new Mortal Kombat fans and will enrage hardened aficionados hoping for handheld heaven.

It seems to be improved for being on a console - third person games have always worked better with a decent gamepad, and this one is no exception.

Scratch below the surface, however, and the game reveals its suspect paint job with the actual degree of variation in gameplay terms proving very limited.

A fantastic game.

It's original, foreboding, action-packed and full of dark humour, uplifting surprises and plenty of serious shooting for you to get to grips with.

One of the most thrilling games to hit PS2 since its launch.