Far too short, but is enough of a thrill ride that we really don't mind. This is one of the best FPS’ available for any console system.

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.

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.

Simply a great game. Even without the supreme visual polish of the 360, this is the uncontested champ.

Those expecting a "Rainbow Six 4" might be disappointed that this title holds little else than more of the same. But when the same is this good, how can anyone complain?

It's crushingly addictive, especially with the fascinating new possibilities offered by having your cities trade with each other for resources. Fix the stability, add some scenarios and we might be looking at a five star game.

With the Titans campaign, Ensemble proves it can make a masterfully varied and well paced single-player RTS campaign, with solid storytelling overall, even if the voice acting has taken a noticeable step backward.

MTS will provide hours of deeply immersive entertainment. Those not seeking that experience are gently urged to look elsewhere.

Its finest qualities are its simplicity, depth, superior graphics and outright compelling gameplay.

Comic book fans will be enthralled with it, and so will anybody else looking for a cheerfully violent action-adventure. It may not be earth-shatteringly original, but it makes up for this by delivering plenty of earth shattering in other areas.

Rife with action and bursting at the seams with bonus content, the title will also go down in history as one of the most intense products ever created for hobbyists' consumption.

It's generous, detailed, and brainy. If you want cheap thrills, there are some great real-time strategy games out there -- this isn't one of them. But if you want something from the other end of the spectrum that plays unlike anything else, this is the game for you.

EA's challenge is not to simplify their simulation or stop adding detail, but to integrate those features so well that players can simply marvel at how advanced the game has become. The Superstar revisions are a step in the right direction, since they allow players to focus on the entire game one player at a time, but otherwise that's just not the case.

The staggering amount of real estate, the intricate combat system, the engaging narrative, and the sheer number of things to do makes it a real JRPG standout. It’s water in a desert for Wii U owners, and a smashing success that will likely be remembered as one of the system’s finest.

Console dogfighting really can't get much better than this.

Great narrative experiences don't come around often, and while SOMA lacks the gameplay oomph to keep you glued to the screen, it handily accomplishes what it sets out to do: freak you out.

This could have been little more than a Flash game done on the cheap to cash in on this nostalgia. Instead, Introversion has created a chilling, thoughtful, and eminently playable real time strategy game, squeezing more atmosphere into 60MBs than most games can manage with 600MBs. Sometimes, less is indeed so much more.

Truly the best NASCAR package for console racing fans. Regardless of your console, NASCAR gamers need look no further.

Graphically, this is the finest game we've experienced on the new handheld console and once you've seen some of the incredible character animations, you won't know whether to laugh or cry in sheer amazement.

Packing serious star power, astounding production values, and surprisingly entertaining gameplay, Everything or Nothing delivers on all relevant counts, providing for a rousing escapade that ranks among the best to feature Her Majesty's finest.

A seamless blending of the computer and real worlds, this is the game that we all dreamed about playing back in 1982. If you've never seen the film, Tron 2.0 still offers plenty to please, but you may miss out on some of the more subtle references.

Some of the best brawling seen in this console generation, as well as slick presentation, varied gameplay, and an unbeatable depiction of gang life pre-gangsta rap.

There's no question that X-Men Legends II is an improvement on its console predecessors -- now it's even better with a PSP version, so you can take your mayhem with you.

Its enthusiasm is infectious and irresistible.

You'll need a high level of tolerance for boneheaded design choices, but there's plenty of fun to be had. Psi-Ops has all the right ideas, but it trips itself up in the execution.

While Battle for Middle Earth 2 has taken a step back from its more avant-garde predecessor, it's a welcome one. If it wasn't for the woefully sub-par AI, this game would earn an easy, unreserved recommendation. But rolling over the AI time and time again in single-player just gets old, and if you don't have the appetite for online play, you'll end up pushing it to the back of the drawer and hoping for a patch.

It doesn't do anything spectacularly new, but it does give you plenty of new content, new units to play with, and enough tweaks to the original title to make it worth another run through.

Although the game pays lip service to the famous -- and feared -- tunnels of the VC, there are no claustrophobic underground chambers and passageways. Perhaps engine limitations are the reason, but it's certainly a missed opportunity.

The level of work that went into this game is way beyond the norm. It's obvious that no expense was spared in making Def Jam Fight For NY a big-time title... It's one the most polished fighting games available.

About the only caveat one should offer when discussing NBA 2K3 is that the game is for the serious basketball fan. To have any fun with it, you have to play like you would in the real NBA.

The AI issues are problematic but don't detract a tremendous amount from the overall experience -- and neither is a problem in multiplayer. There's much to like about Summit Strike, with the best thing being the price.

If you're already a Guild Wars player, Nightfall is worth it for the story, continent, professions, and heroes. If you're new, Nightfall is the best installment so far, and a great place to start with this deservedly ultra successful MMO.

If you're not having fun, you just plain don't like tactical RPGs.

They've taken id's gorgeous Doom 3 engine and used it to create vast intricate playgrounds for fast and frantic battles between humans and cybernetic alien invaders. Quake Wars are on!

Rife with action and bursting at the seams with bonus content, the title will also go down in history as one of the most intense products ever created for hobbyists' consumption.

Warlords is just the kind of expansion that a game as open-ended and infinitely replayable as Civilization IV needs: one that adds enough new stuff, while also changing up the basics so thoroughly, that you might as well be playing a whole new game.

Quite simply it's very funny, great fun to play, but infuriatingly difficult and obscure in places. It's well animated, really colourful, beautifully voiced, original and lengthy.

Great game, but a bit off from perfect. One of the things that irks me most is the race creation options. Getting to choose from only 4 similar governments is not enough.

Not only does it add dozens of hours to the gameplay of its predecessor, it features some of the most enjoyable and fanciful mission design ever seen in the venerable City Building Series.

While DICE probably should have included a few more maps, and some editing material so that modders could more easily build on what they've been provided (you can release that software developer's kit any time now, EA!), it's hard to argue with this expansion when everything included in it is so good.

The controls and interface for Ghost Recon have been streamlined very well for the console controller.

A fascinating strategy game mixed with a lot of tactical shooter elements. Additional online modes and some gameplay tweaks would have earned the game a higher rating, but as it stands, it's a thoroughly entertaining and involving experience.

It captures the thrills of the original, and spices up a few areas while adding some new things. Unfortunately, space battles drag down the total package; but at least it's trying something different.

Darwinia deserves to be remembered as one of 2005's most creative games on any platform.

With GM mode, arguably the best season mode in wrestling, and expanded online play (four players in one match), it's basically impossible not to recommend Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 to any grappling gamers.

Packing serious star power, astounding production values, and surprisingly entertaining gameplay, Everything or Nothing delivers on all relevant counts, providing for a rousing escapade that ranks among the best to feature Her Majesty's finest.

The undead hordes are as great as they've always been to kill.

Fast and frantic gameplay.

The production values kick demon ass, it's easier to learn (and yet more difficult to master) than the previous game, and it's almost a constant joy to look at.

Compelling and addictive, and far more fun that we'd have expected after slogging through the confounding Jak 2. This is the action platformer refined to perfection.

Possibly one of the best puzzlers ever to grace consoles.

You'll need a high level of tolerance for boneheaded design choices, but there's plenty of fun to be had. Psi-Ops has all the right ideas, but it trips itself up in the execution.

Largely an upgrade on the original, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is still one of the most polished and imaginative escapades we've played. Like a blockbuster movie, the tale delivers on almost every count from dazzling pyrotechnics to deft storytelling.

As great as its predecessor was, but still just a port of last year's game on an older console - and with seemingly worse graphics to boot.

Preserves the original's emphasis on simplicity. It's well suited to the GBA's limited control options, yet it models the physics of tennis so well the depth it achieves is considerable.

As high quality as the series has ever been, with superb dramatic sensibilities, a decent storyline, improved acting, high calibre FMV cutscenes, and some dynamic camera work.

A fun basketball title, but this isn't one of those "must-have" years, unless All-Star Weekend is something you absolutely can't live without. EA just didn't bring its "A"-game for '05.

A wholly successful attempt to create a fully character-based game. It's fun and engrossing, and more than strong enough to stand against darker, more difficult games aimed to please a jaded, older audience.

Packed with atmosphere, accessible gameplay and sweet visuals, Beyond Good & Evil has most definitely reached beyond our expectations. Don't miss it.

The LocoRoco world works perfectly. There are few examples of out of the box game design that are so well put together.

For the most part the commentary is on target and better than most.

Regardless of whether you're online or off, split-screen or undivided, the game looks fantastic.

The most impressive difference between the Xbox and PC versions is that you can play online with up to 15 other players and, with the increased resolution, sniping is much more accurate and fun.

An excellent basketball game. It offers loads of gameplay, solid physics, unparalleled animations, and terrific graphics. It would be a bargain at $50, let alone the $20 it's selling for.

You get to impale, slash, fry, freeze and shatter zombies (all with a reliable and smooth camera that smartly scales and keeps track of the action), stomp on vermin in search of wine and money, watch the barmaid all but fall out of her blouse, and track down the scum-buckets who ripped you off in the first place.

The game is an odyssey, a huge epic that has the ability to swallow your gaming time in a terrifying and seductive manner.

Ideal if you're looking for a game with rather more challenge than other recent RTS offerings. The single-player levels should offer a stiff trial to just about everyone, and the skirmish AI, on the higher difficulty settings, puts up a hell of a fight.

What makes Wardell's game stand out from other recent 4X space empire games is a blend of simplicity and depth.

Wakeboarding Unleashed may have a few rough edges, but it is a franchise that is destined for greatness. Incredibly playable and lots of fun

It might seem spare when you consider it consists mainly of tweaks and minor additions, but it makes Command & Conquer: Generals play like a new and much better game.

Despite a few glitches and omissions (no multiplayer or online options, although there is a map editor), expect Silent Storm to receive a noisily positive reception from the tactical strategy crowd.

Fans of flight simulation should be rolling in joy at the accuracy of the presentation of the racing, and there's the added bonus of being able to light up the skies in the excellent free-flight combat mode.

Although it seems likely most people will end up playing the traditional modes, the additions are interesting, and voice chat is worth the price of admission on its own.

That break-the-mold game that longtime players of the franchise have been waiting for. And if you're already a street-rag reader, you have permission and reason to drool - just keep it off the AirFlow controller, please.

A sign that the series is grinding along nicely in a comfortable rut, biding its time with the same old technology and some minor gameplay changes.

Comic book fans will be enthralled with it, and so will anybody else looking for a cheerfully violent action-adventure. It may not be earth-shatteringly original, but it makes up for this by delivering plenty of earth shattering in other areas.

Graphically it's a generation behind its peers, and the control system betrays its Xbox roots, but if you can put up with that you're pretty much guaranteed a good time.

There's an awful lot of gaming to be had here. While the updated version of the first Dead or Alive is only worthwhile for nostalgia's sake, the revamped DOA2 is a graphical masterpiece, and a blast to play online.

The current-gen NBA 2K7 is a really good basketball title that looks great and plays even better. At $30, it's well worth picking up, even if it isn't a huge step up from last year's title.

It's a fast-paced online deathmatch game with few bells and fewer whistles, featuring essentially the same weapon lineup it's had for ten years.

The gameplay is solid and fun for any skill level, but what's really amazing is just how good this game looks. The faces are scarily accurate.

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.

Along with the AI issues, the handling between autos is a little suspect. Despite the fact that the game is loaded with exotic cars -- 36 to be exact -- they all seem to handle very much like one another. If there are differences, they're extremely subtle.

Every aspect of the game feels polished and ready to go, whether it's the single-player story, the online multiplayer, the numerous unlockables, or the custom mapmaker. This is one of those rare Jack-of-all-trades that has actually mastered them all.

Every bit as good as you’d hope... If any criticism can be found with Icewind Dale II, it's that it may be more than a little inaccessible to the non-"hardcore" role-player.

That break-the-mold game that longtime players of the franchise have been waiting for. And if you're already a street-rag reader, you have permission and reason to drool - just keep it off the AirFlow controller, please.

The AI is surprisingly excellent - if you send a batch of troops out to scout, they will take up careful positions, scale machine gun positions, engage the enemy, and redeploy defensively without any more commands having to be issued.

Largely an upgrade on the original, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is still one of the most polished and imaginative escapades we've played. Like a blockbuster movie, the tale delivers on almost every count from dazzling pyrotechnics to deft storytelling.

Imaginative players will find all kinds of ways to extend the game, and there's a virtual certainty of downloadable extras too.

All of these details get wound into a very straightforward game world that is absolutely packed with quests and other things to do. In most MMOs, characters spend their first 10 or 20 levels looking for enough things to do to earn better powers and weapons. Here, a ceaseless barrage of possible tasks begins with the orientation area (on the Isle of Refuge) and continues deep into the game.

With the slightly worn graphics engine and the advances of EA's "NCAA" -- notably the analog throwing and batting -- it's impossible to call The Show the best baseball title on the market. It is, however, a wonderfully well-built game that has all manner of detail to please every conceivable baseball fan.

In Picross DS, you get a real sense of accomplishment, while still being just as enthralled as with the Tetrises and Meteoses of the world. It rewards intelligence over reflexes, broadening its target audience immensely. Play it for 10 minutes, or five hours; either way, you'll have a smile on your face the entire time.

A stronger, smarter fighter than it was during its Xbox 360 battle.

Offers players the biggest, uninterrupted, free-roaming modern urban environment that console gamers have ever seen...Here is a game that manages to make even the most basic tooling-around-town a rewarding, engaging experience.

An incredible technical achievement in visuals, depth and realism. CFS2 is a technically excellent game, though somewhat lacking in heart.

Match-up restrictions aside, Raven Shield is not only a great multiplayer game, but a welcome next step in the Rainbow Six series for gamers that should meet, if not exceed, many of its fans expectations.

If you are the kind of gamer who generally wants to button through game cinematics anyway because you think they're a pain in the ass, you should avoid Xenosaga like it was a proctologist with a history of methamphetamine psychosis.

Not only did the game offer the same turn-based battles and strategies that I love, it even sports the same 2D sprites that I remember playing while slurping down HI-C juice boxes and eating Dunkaroos. Needless to say, I was instantly hooked.