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.

PlanetSide's exciting mix of action and strategy is a breath of fresh FPS air.

Seems to split its aim between hardcore "Matrix" fans and experienced gamers; if you find yourself with a foot in both camps, you may well find this one of the most faithful movie-to-game experiences in recent memory.

Seems to split its aim between hardcore "Matrix" fans and experienced gamers; if you find yourself with a foot in both camps, you may well find this one of the most faithful movie-to-game experiences in recent memory.

Seems to split its aim between hardcore "Matrix" fans and experienced gamers; if you find yourself with a foot in both camps, you may well find this one of the most faithful movie-to-game experiences in recent memory.

Its longevity is a wonderful thing, since a sequel is still some time away, and this is one game that you really don't want to stop playing. Even after you've gotten tired of the carnage, it's fun to load it up and just cruise around Vice City listening to the radio.

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.

The Dot-hack universe's mysterious unfolding plot really leaves one with a desire to explore, to learn the increasingly strange (and perhaps sinister) truth behind the game's thick stew of metaphysics and technical mumbo-jumbo.

Hardcore opportunists and lone-wolf types have a vast cosmos to win here, but more casual gamers are advised to tread cautiously... to research, manufacture and carry a big stick.

The problem is that it cannot escape its mod roots, looking very dated and feeling rather uninspired - ironic considering many of its features were the inspiration for the successful WWII titles that followed it.

Exactly what we've come to expect of this steadily improving franchise - the same formulaic design conventions balanced with just enough new stuff to keep fans from getting bored.

While single-player is slightly lacking in innovation, its release still marks one of the best entrants in Xbox's first-person shooter line-up, and an absolute must-buy for any action gamer or Live fanatics that haven't yet experienced it on PC.

The sequel is a better game in every way, but the original was so successful at combining extreme sports stunts with real basketball that there was little room left for improvement.

The sequel is a better game in every way, but the original was so successful at combining extreme sports stunts with real basketball that there was little room left for improvement.

Although the single-player game is mixed, Xbox Live addicts will find much to enjoy with Clone Wars - enough that it'll probably justify its purchase price alone.

A simple joy to play. There's little about it that isn't excellent, polished, authentic rallying of the highest standard, with the graphics, sound, and above all handling to back up its well-respected license.

As disturbing, shocking and distrustful as it may seem, the cinematic cuts and their dramatic content are actually well written, directed and acted. There's just enough competent drama going on here that you can take your race driver's odyssey halfway seriously.

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.

This unique and head-bangingly challenging game is really not at all suited for the non-hardcore, and if you don't like games that require your entire mind and body as a sacrifice, you're likely to loathe and fear Ikaruga.

A fair third-person action beat 'em up, like countless others in the genre, but if you take away all the X-Men trappings you'd be left with something much weaker.

It just cries out for multiplayer, particularly when you can lay down a snaking path of gasoline for half a block and light it up; what a way to trap and kill your local or online friends! Alas, it's not there.

A good, solid RPG that's right in step with the classic formula, sometimes to its own detriment.

When Midnight Club II frustrates, you'll want to snap the disc in half and feed the pieces to the nearby watchers... But when Midnight Club II is fun, it takes you by the throat in such a manner it's impossible to stop playing.

There's plenty of depth to the gameplay, and there's tons of scenarios to play, plus the sandbox mode, so it ought to keep you going for ages.

So catchy that the hours will fly by as you get hooked on working your way up the ladder, visiting new fight clubs, and acquiring ever-more-attractive girlfriends.

Perhaps the best thing that Def Jam Vendetta has going for it, though, is its attitude. The developers took this idea and ran with it, a tactic that makes story mode as engaging as a B movie.

One of the best hand-held games currently going... If an action-puzzle game with old-school sensibilities sounds like your cup of grog, The Lost Vikings is definitely worth a raid on your local games shoppe.

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