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.