It does become kind of mesmerising, but like watching waves on a beach, chances are that pretty soon you'll tire of the lack of variety on offer.

A good game still lurks somewhere under all this garbage. Gothic's approach to the open-ended RPG is a good deal more compelling than Oblivion's, and it surpasses it in other areas too. But if there was ever a game in need of a few more months of development, Gothic 3 is it.

Long load times, poor planetside performance, repetitive grinding gameplay... Galaxies is still in shaky condition, and thanks to the likes of "Everquest II" and "World of Warcraft," the genre has advanced since its release.

A decent game to play if you're obsessed with the adventures of the family Parr, but it could have used a lot more polish and whimsy where it counts.

Gamers who tend to fly solo won't find much to appeal to them in Mario Party 5, nor will the hardcore crowd.

A worthwhile purchase for those new to the series, provided you feel ready to take on the initially steep learning curve.

You shouldn’t be buying Combat Zone for its graphics, or the sound. You should really be getting this one for its gameplay. Thankfully, it does not disappoint in this respect, nor in the sharpness of the AI exhibited therein.

While the game's nod to realism (and somewhat stiff control) are less friendly to racing gamers overall, car-caressers will find much to amuse themselves.

Mindlessly amusing at first, Fistful of Boomstick is ultimately a fistful of monotony and derivative gameplay, saved from gaming's abyss by the humor and life injected from its infamous lead character.

As a guilty pleasure, Tarzan Untamed is actually addictive and fun with some fantastic graphics and incredible sound effects, but the underlying game is rather weak.

Unfortunately, no amount of tweaking will result in a set of buttons replacing an analog stick -- the end result is less than desirable.

Has the same grandiose scale and storytelling style as previous entries, but is hampered by an overabundance of combat and a lack of inspiration.

Yes, the game has its faults, but like the show, Double or Nothing succeeds on the quality of its writing, and complements the TV show very well.

It's not a game that hums with careful design or thoughtful implementation. Nevertheless, if you can cope with its many flaws it'll reward you with a lengthy and addictive experience.

Although it is mindless fun in short bursts, its problems, such as rare restart points, dodgy graphics and the flying stages really overwhelm the good stuff -- weapon selection, general violence and mayhem -- and leaves the overall package as somewhat disappointing.

While not offering anything special, it has the advantage of running on a low spec PC, and does not require the CD to be present while playing, thus making it ideal for laptop wargaming.

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 novelty of the Hulk scenes wears off eventually if you're not a huge fan of the comic books, and the Banner sections are disappointing. Still, it doesn't anger us as much as some movie tie-in mediocrities.

It's just a better-than-okay game with some great dramatic elements, some decent mechanics, and some notable downsides. Only Warhammer aficionados need scramble to the game store for this one.

With such a disappointing new city course, Crazy Taxi 3 is a tough one to recommend if you're tired of the franchise already.

There's a very limited, repetitive number of enemy types (whose quickly depleted voiceovers get annoying), and the core combat is solid, but uninspired (circle-strafe, reload, repeat).

Yet these Gangs of London prove to be more like the Jets and Sharks from "West Side Story;" mildly amusing, to be sure, but potentially only dangerous to an 8-year-old boy who still has accidents when mom forgets to turn on the nightlight.

If you're looking for something that's fun, easy to learn and great to have the odd knock around on, then you might have just found yourself a nice little surprise.

Much like Dante and "Devil May Cry 2," let's hope this is just a sophomore slump, and this series will come back stronger in a future installment. If not, it truly is dead to rights.

There's only so many tricks one can do on a bike cruising at 120mph. Variety is absolutely required, and there's not much in Speed Kings. And the trick control is not responsive enough.

The game's biggest problem is all the filler between the reasonably exciting combat sequences. This New York City consists of two subway stations and about eight neighborhoods separated by long loading screens. You'll get sent back and forth across them all. Get this key. Visit that character. Trigger this sequence. Kill that guy. Along the way, we counted exactly two (2!) optional missions.

Actual play is a letdown. Moving between alleyways and tropical isles, you'll endlessly hack away at zombies, natives, vultures, villagers, and guards, each a carbon copy of the next. Sadly, such brain-dead enemies prove little challenge, overwhelming through sheer numbers, not ingenuity.

One of the biggest drawbacks with this version is the lack of any multiplayer support. Not only is online multiplayer the strongest feature in this sequel, but it's the only claim it has to replayability.

The enemy AI seems to be a mixture of wunderbar and dumkopf - they frequently rumble you when you're convinced you're well concealed, yet sometimes you can swing a punch at them from one foot away and they totally ignore you.

There's a very limited, repetitive number of enemy types (whose quickly depleted voiceovers get annoying), and the core combat is solid, but uninspired (circle-strafe, reload, repeat).

Mindlessly amusing at first, Fistful of Boomstick is ultimately a fistful of monotony and derivative gameplay, saved from gaming's abyss by the humor and life injected from its infamous lead character.

A one-button action/adventure dress-up simulator.

The series' simplified gameplay takes a step backwards with Total Destruction, and the overall experience is decidedly mediocre. But sometimes, after a hard day of work, you just want to knock over a skyscraper.

The inaccuracy of the swing and shot placement turns into a severe handicap for the game. True Swing Golf is passively entertaining, but won't suck anyone in as quickly or for as long as "Hot Shots" is able to.

If you're trying to decide between "Test Drive: Off-Road" and this game, choose the former for a better racing experience but choose Evo for its wildly inventive courses and creative object-based missions.

There is a big flaw in this Operation, however, and it's control. Simply put, the simplicity and elegance of "Splinter Cell" is not to be found in the IMF.

The quick races, time trails, and drift challenges aren't much incentive to pull your nose out of the career mode. And the multiplayer is hardly worth booting up. You can only play splitscreen, and without AI cars.

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

It is as rough around the edges as its main character and most players will probably be put off after an initial bout of controller frustration. Those who stay with it will find an enjoyable and somewhat satisfying single-player experience, but nothing incredibly memorable.

It's disappointing that Spider-Man 3 goes from exhilarating to budget-ware production levels so quickly and dramatically. Part of the problem down at street level is the combat. It's drawn with terrible character models, bad animation, and inconsistent AI that makes it easy to win fights by spamming a few basic attacks or taking advantage of the fact that bad guys can't figure out how to get around a park bench.

Although there's good ideas under the surface, King Arthur is boring, unpleasant, and just no fun.

If we hadn't spent so much time recently with the superb "Syphon Filter," maybe the deficiencies wouldn't be so glaring. But once you've seen PSP stealth done right, there's no going back.

Even the addition of online multiplayer gaming doesn't do enough to overcome a sense of sameness, continuing problems with the combat system, and the absence of involving mission goals.

There's a very limited, repetitive number of enemy types (whose quickly depleted voiceovers get annoying), and the core combat is solid, but uninspired (circle-strafe, reload, repeat).

The game tends toward actual-world realistic, but in a fancifully dull way.

The hyper-aggressive cops, touchy crashes, and thick traffic all work against the player. They don't heighten the rush. These elements just stop the game dead and make it a chore.

There's a very limited, repetitive number of enemy types (whose quickly depleted voiceovers get annoying), and the core combat is solid, but uninspired (circle-strafe, reload, repeat).

Worth a look if you're desperate for handheld Sim gaming; pass it by if not.

For all its brilliance – and there are undoubtedly some very special moments here – Mafia III never manages to maintain its initial momentum. There are too many other open-world games that do what it does better, smarter, and with more stability. Like its motley cast of gangsters, Mafia III is simultaneously likable and unpleasant, a tempting offer that all but the most dedicated gamers would do well to refuse.

While the cars could use a greater sense of mass, it's smooth racing with a decent framerate even when things on the track get hairy (and this is when they're most fun).

Dawn of Mana looks the part, but fails in most other aspects. If you're hankering for some role-playing on your aging PlayStation 2, pick up "Odin Sphere" -- which released the same day. It's even more beautiful, captures the essence of old-school, and you'll be having too much fun to feel the need to convince yourself that you're having fun.

Its simple, entertaining mix of humour and management is addictive in the short-term, and it'll make a perfect impulse buy for those looking for something a little bit different.

Gameplay is probably the most unremarkable aspect to Kingdom Hearts. The real-time combat consists of mashing the X button repeatedly as your one and only attack move, and also using magic once and a while.

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.

Amped 2's thick, slow riding and terrible controls are simply unforgettable, whether the aim is arcade speed or serious realism.

It plays fine in very brief bursts if you’re accustomed to the arcade, but for anyone else it’ll prove to be source of much anger.

By modern standards, it's decidedly lacking, but it's still a classic.

For a game without a particularly compelling plot, pretty addictive and fun to play.

The missions seem more like replicants from other games, including the original Galactic Battlegrounds, Age of Empires, and just about every other RTS clone on the market.

Unfortunately, there's no true career mode where you can create a player and take him through multiple seasons.

Despite the many little changes, improvements, and false steps, this year's game is still as disappointing as last year's, albeit in different ways, and with more obvious flaws that take less time to annoy the player.

It plays conservatively and never hits the jackpot.

While the game's nod to realism (and somewhat stiff control) are less friendly to racing gamers overall, car-caressers will find much to amuse themselves.

This isn't the sort of add-on that improves the original, or even changes the core gameplay very much, although it is a nice added chapter that fans will certainly appreciate.

It's not all bad, just needlessly frustrating. Once you get your head around the controls and deal with some of the flawed game mechanics, Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing becomes mildly enjoyable.

An intriguing idea, but it deserves a better game than this.

While this game has some glimpses of the past greatness of the Tomb Raider franchise, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is so full of glitches and other frustrations that it's hard to enjoy.

A trip down memory lane for anyone pining for the original, but without strategic and gameplay enhancements, it's just a poor game by 2003 standards.

It is ironic that Vampire Night should be both toothless and bloodless.

XXX isn't without its charms, although they might best be appreciated in a quick two-day’s borrow from a cash happy friend.

As many improvements as the game's developers have made over its predecessors, I only wish they had gone the extra mile and made this game into the top-notch title it could have been.

Chaos Overlords is good for maybe a couple of days play, especially with the novelty of the whole 'gang war' thing, but after that's worn off, it gets boring fairly quickly. It's not as interesting or fun to play as "Syndicate" or "Civilization"; it's just too limited.

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

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.

The ominous industrial-soundtracked wanderings change from tense to boring and finally kind of infuriating, as you find yourself being forced to visit and visit and re-visit again areas you've already cleaned out.

The game is very pretty, yes, but it's far from pretty enough to warrant punishing yourself with this one-two blow of poor controls and terrible targeting.

There really is just too much here to form one coherent game.

It turns out that pinball controls don't make for a very good platform game.

The volleyball is actually quite good, but it's far too limited and all the other nonsense just gets in the way.

Unfortunately the game is not going to be any kind of a challenge for the more seasoned PS2 owners amongst us.

A trip down memory lane for anyone pining for the original, but without strategic and gameplay enhancements, it's just a poor game by 2003 standards.

There's certainly plenty of action here, but with dull, monotonous settings and boring sound design, it's easy to slump into tedium, bashing away at enemies simply because they are there.

The game is a mess of great touches and attention to detail that's hopelessly mired in critical flaws. One example immediately springs to mind: expect to download and install a patch before you can even begin playing online.

While the new version features revamped graphics and a few new options, gameplay is nearly identical to what it was five years ago.

Loaded with style, what could have easily been a top-tier game suffers from sluggish controls, repetitive gameplay and a hopelessly generic storyline.

A trip down memory lane for anyone pining for the original, but without strategic and gameplay enhancements, it's just a poor game by 2003 standards.

The worst-case scenario is that you pick a fight with the game store clerk who let you buy this title, and get your face punched in. Then you'll be stuck with both a black eye and a crummy game.

If you expect that you'll live in a magical world, casting spells left and right and hanging out with vampires and undead comics within ten hours, then think again.

Pure movie tie-in fodder.

Also aggravating is the half-assed presentation. Cutscenes are crap, and voiceovers are all delivered by stand-ins instead of authentic actors. Even Paulie sounds like he's being voiced by someone's roommate.

Most levels feel more like a carnival duck shoot than a gritty peek into London police work. Enemies stand still no matter how close Mitch is to them and it's often child's play to dive-roll under a gun barrel to slap on the cuffs. This isn't merely unrealistic AI -- it's bad.

If you're the patient type, you may be able to tolerate the poor interface, ignore the sound, and find workarounds for the bugs, but most gamers will just become frustrated. It's a shame, there's obviously a very engaging and interesting game lurking under the mound of minor issues.

A cookie-cutter "Age of Empires" clone...delivers a dose of good, old-fashioned fun.

The few frights it does have lessen considerably once you discern whether the spirit you're dealing with is friendly or not. Repetitive tasks and bland environments keep this one from being an enjoyably unsettling outing.

After the bloodcurdlingly imaginative Resident Evil 4, this add-on to Outbreak barely qualifies as a legitimate expansion of the story's classic mode of play. We screamed for voice chat and better AI after the initial release, but those cries have gone unheard.

If you're looking for a new fighting game, don't mind simplistic controls and having volumes of tedious storyline read to you by a man with about as much vocal intonation as Leonard Nimoy, this is your game.

The only problem with Iridion 3D is that while it looks a million dollars, its gameplay isn't worth a rusty dime.

While it might pass as a cheerfully violent diversion if your copy of "Thief" or "MGS" is on loan to a mate, its innate problems and lack of innovation are going to leave it fighting for attention.