The Glaive works well and is rather satisfying to use but this is offset by the old school use of ammo crates and parts of levels being sealing off, making it as linear as they come.

I am a patient guy but the extreme repetitiveness will annoy even the most enthusiastic puzzle fans.

But if you’re more discerning about your games and don’t give a crap about the film then you really should be looking elsewhere.

A short-lived, occasionally exciting but overall shallow experience.

A short-lived, occasionally exciting but overall shallow experience.

Crucially, if you stand back and think of what the series could be evolving into with current hardware then you can’t help but look at DW6 as a disappointment.

Crucially, if you stand back and think of what the series could be evolving into with current hardware then you can’t help but look at DW6 as a disappointment.

If you've got kids who you reckon would benefit from an introduction to Japanese RPGs, there are far worse places to start. But for Christ's sake, let them use an FAQ for the indoor sections.

The Minotaur says with his sad cow eyes glistening “Don’t worry guys, everything will be alright”, but the Minotaur knows it’s not going to be alright… it’s not going to be alright at all.

The Minotaur says with his sad cow eyes glistening “Don’t worry guys, everything will be alright”, but the Minotaur knows it’s not going to be alright… it’s not going to be alright at all.

Great character models, professional voice acting and initially enjoyable combat can’t make up for the other graphical and design mistakes.

Some gamers might enjoy this for what it is: a simple hack and slash game, with some annoying design flaws, and frustrating boss fights that will test your patience.

Some gamers might enjoy this for what it is: a simple hack and slash game, with some annoying design flaws, and frustrating boss fights that will test your patience.

While it’s still a way off being a title to remember, it’s a massive improvement on KoD and shows promise for the franchise that appears to be on the up, addressing key areas like the difficulty.

If you are the kind of gamer who likes to learn song layouts, practices all the way to Carnegie Hall, and then uploads a video of a brilliant high score to YouTube, then this one is probably not for you as it will only madden you in the long run.

It’s such a shame that the game’s battle system wasn’t better thought out because it really lets down what could have been a great little game.

To sum up, then, this is an interesting game in the same way that Earth Defence Force is interesting. It’s full of silly faults, but if you look past them it’s fairly competent.

Lips disappoints by lacking in features in almost every area, and although the microphones set a new standard for future singing games to strive towards, the functionality is often worse than games nearly half-a-decade old.

Meanwhile, everyone who’s already played Resi 4 can see that Cursed Mountain is, without a shadow of a doubt, a bit pants.

Combat feels like a badly AI’ed multiplayer game, the type of game that is meant for human players, and an AI system has been pasted on later for people with no friends (see Battlefield 1941).

If you did enjoy Red Alert 3’s single player missions, then Uprising is more of the same and you’ll want to give this a look. Everyone else will be left a little underwhelmed, particularly if you believe the series has gone downhill since the 1996 original.

Blue Dragon Plus is not a bad game. Despite its failings, it manages to be a perfectly competent RPG, but it does nothing to excite the imagination or stimulate the player. If it were a colour, it would be beige.

I will say that I have spent enough time on this game to encompass my two playthroughs of Mass Effect, or both of the Knights of the Old Republic titles. And I can honestly say that, in comparison, I didn’t enjoy one minute of it. Good-day.

Elven Legacy is mercifully conservative in its design, though it does not seem to be executed as smoothly as it should have been. With more time in development, future releases for the series should turn out to be more entertaining.

At the end of the day ABDUCAO have done a good job of scaling down the game without losing the feel of it’s console cousin.

Let us be honest. If this game was released WITHOUT the license, absolutely no one would care about it.

Let us be honest. If this game was released WITHOUT the license, absolutely no one would care about it.

Let us be honest. If this game was released WITHOUT the license, absolutely no one would care about it.

I have no doubt that some people will enjoy the mindless violence and see it as an interesting take on the Dynasty Warriors formula. It makes for a quick pick up and play title because the stages are really short, lasting between 10-20 minutes a chapter. I just wish the overall game had better mechanics.

It can provide some brief frantic fun, and perhaps a glimpse into how repetitive and tiresome the career of a health care worker can be.

Darkest of Days ends up being a mediocre FPS. The production values are severely lacking, but under the hood you can see that the developers really tried. This is only the second game produced by 8monkeylabs, hopefully their future games will have a more polish.

Darkest of Days ends up being a mediocre FPS. The production values are severely lacking, but under the hood you can see that the developers really tried. This is only the second game produced by 8monkeylabs, hopefully their future games will have a more polish.

Crackdown was fun back in 2007, and Crackdown 2 offers a slight update to the core ideas brought to air in the original. Whilst those ideas still may be good however, they no longer feel all that special.

Breach simply doesn't match up to what is on offer in the videogame market today.

Maybe they should give the reins back to Camelot before they think about releasing another Mario Sports title, because Square Enix have proven they have trouble cutting the mustard.

There's no denying it. Star Raiders is bad. It's repetitive, embarrassing, rushed and tedious.

Unless you are a die-hard on-rails shooter fan it's quite hard to recommend Yar's Revenge over some of the much more loved classics on Xbox Live, like the brilliant REZ. Yar's Revenge is the exact opposite of Mizugichi's masterpiece as it lacks the memorable moments and set pieces. This re-imagining of a classic isn't what it could have been.

Dead Mage Studio took on a huge challenge in creating a compelling combat action game. They succeed in picking an interesting and mostly untouched mythology, but it's a shame that it's bogged down with a lack of polish and glitches.

A better journalist might make a little comment here, just to wrap things up, about how you were fighting for freedom in Red Faction: Guerrilla, yet as a gamer you had it all along. Despite liberating Mars at the end of that game, find yourself more restricted than ever in the follow-up. I'm not that guy.

It's not good enough, frankly. The fun zombie-bashing can't sustain itself, and the plot, characters and setting aren't good or memorable enough to justify wading through the 20 odd hours it'll take to finish.

The Lost Shapes is a simple concept that is hampered by poor execution. Whilst the Survival Mode makes for both a relaxing and tactical experience, Shape Mode is let down by poorly implemented scoring and design choices. Sadly, Magic Chess isn't the bewitching experience it could have been.

I applaud UTV for bringing a very niche genre to the PlayStation 3, complete with generous Move support, but I find the title fizzles out too quickly, and hope that their next offering comes out of the PS3 kitchen less underdone.

Ninja Gaiden 3 has all of the telltale signs of a good game. Triple-A branding, fantastic dev team, worldwide support. Unfortunately, what could have been a fairly solid entry is plagued by backwards-innovation [No inventory? Japanese voice option?], absolutely mediocre and over-streamlined combat gameplay, and a predictable plot.

Fans of Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia will doubtlessly find the occasional thrill in I Am Alive's platforming elements, but its shortcomings are nevertheless increasingly glaring. A myriad of baffling design decisions result in a game that can't seem to get out of its own way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a punishing game and rewarding the player for mastering its unforgiving gameplay systems. But you're not wrestling with systems here – you're wrestling with their integrity.

Ultimately, Krater is a somewhat enjoyable action-RPG with some neat ideas and great personality. Sadly, personality doesn't mean it's a great game and some of the design choices make it hard for me to easily recommend this title to anyone who has yet to play any of the other brilliant action-RPGs on the market.

Overall, Glowfish is a mediocre game that I'm sure a handful of people will really enjoy.

Tryst is a title that could have done with some more time in development.

Even though it was developed with the benefit of over twenty years of hindsight, it's a game that ignores fundamental lessons of the brawler genre. Excellent presentation doesn't change the fact that Double Dragon Neon just isn't very satisfying to play.

In conclusion, Realms of War is a title that is on the lower side of average in the genre it exists in.

At its best, it doesn't do anything but supply fun in multiplayer, but at its worse, it is a boring and generic with no redeeming qualities and is something I cannot recommend to anyone looking for a good action RPG on their Vita.

From the initial trailers, Special Forces: Team X showed some promise, but after spending some time with the game I find it hard to recommend it to people, especially with the problems it is faced with at the moment.

It’s a game that has a core mechanic done decently, but has “generic” written all over it for everything else. Add in the throwaway, barebones multiplayer and there isn’t anything here worthwhile for anyone but hardcore sniper fans.

At the end of the day, the bad points massively outweigh the good ones, and when the credits roll you’ll be left with a feeling that it all could have been so much better. The game also has absolutely no replay value whatsoever, and is consequently terrible value for money.

Regardless of its name, it's still clear to see Haze is a disappointing game based on a weak premise that has been half-heartedly realised.

It should be noted that the idea of terrain deformation is a good one, and one that deserves to be expanded on, but this time around its implementation is significantly below par in execution. So much so, that I’d be hard-pressed to recommend the game to anyone - even as a rental.

It should be noted that the idea of terrain deformation is a good one, and one that deserves to be expanded on, but this time around its implementation is significantly below par in execution. So much so, that I’d be hard-pressed to recommend the game to anyone - even as a rental.

Unfortunately there is so much wrong with it that it doesn’t even manage to reach average status.

Unfortunately there is so much wrong with it that it doesn’t even manage to reach average status.

There is fun to be had here for children who are particularly fond of colouring and puzzles, but if they’re that keen, you can get the real thing for a tiny fraction of the cost of this (as well as being able to look at your work later), and so there’s little reason to buy Crayola Treasure Adventures.

The DS version also uses a 2D isometric view and to be honest isn’t the most pleasing on the eye.

Given that the game only allows the use of the Wii-mote, playing a good old game of football seems a hard concept to imitate. Needless to say, this sport is ridiculously unsatisfying.

Bugs ruin fun.

Bugs ruin fun.

How the developer of Star Wars: Battlefront and the publishers of the Battlefield series let this one out the door in this state I will never understand.

How the developer of Star Wars: Battlefront and the publishers of the Battlefield series let this one out the door in this state I will never understand.

If you’ve never played one and are somewhat interested then you are best of buying Dynasty Warriors 6 instead because Warriors Orochi 2 just doesn’t get past private rank anymore in this world of dynasty wars.

As with most movie licence titles, QoS is an average experience, plagued by problems, that will undoubtedly sell well due to the advertising campaign and corresponding blockbuster.

What Sonic and the Black Knight amounts to is a game that has been polished to within an inch of its life, yet one that sadly misses the point everywhere else.

If you can make it past the horrible audiovisuals and laborious gameplay then there is some fun to be had here, but you really have to work for it.

Despite the tedious missions, wonky controls and piss-poor visuals, it can cast a strange spell over you.

Despite the tedious missions, wonky controls and piss-poor visuals, it can cast a strange spell over you.

With dull events, terrible lip synching in the cut scenes, short story and just not enough to do for a sandbox game the few fun vehicle parts just aren’t enough. If you have some small children who enjoyed the film it’s probably worth picking up just to keep them quiet for a bit, but for anyone else it just isn’t worth it.

With dull events, terrible lip synching in the cut scenes, short story and just not enough to do for a sandbox game the few fun vehicle parts just aren’t enough. If you have some small children who enjoyed the film it’s probably worth picking up just to keep them quiet for a bit, but for anyone else it just isn’t worth it.

Tiberium Twilight is a poor game that removes the things that made the original concept so good. What’s left is a hollow shell that feels irrelevant, given the superior games in the series that came long before it.

Personally I found it a bit on the dull side but perhaps it might make an ideal Christmas present for a more elderly relative, as long as they have a DS that is.

It’s quite hard to recommend Last Rebellion to anyone but some insane hardcore RPG person, certainly after the recent rush of decent titles that have arrived for the genre. The game is full of so many decisions that hamper the experience and fun.

The original Force Unleashed shot for the stars, and fell short, but at least you could commend it for trying. Force Unleashed 2 feels sterile and barren in comparison, refusing to try for anything spectacular, and managing to reuse and recycle its few good ideas countless times over its short run.

The original Force Unleashed shot for the stars, and fell short, but at least you could commend it for trying. Force Unleashed 2 feels sterile and barren in comparison, refusing to try for anything spectacular, and managing to reuse and recycle its few good ideas countless times over its short run.

It isn't an awful game, by any measure – just a terminally dull one.

It isn't an awful game, by any measure – just a terminally dull one.

I'll admit that I've played games that are technically worse than Homefront, but I have not played a game that irritated me as much as this in a very long time.

This is a game that could have been a lot better than it is. But it is not better. It is exactly as good as it is, and that is not good. It is, in fact, bad.

After you've experienced The Run you'll sadly come to the conclusion that it isn't any good. It's a great idea compromised by poor design and handling.

The Postal games have always been unoriginal by gameplay standards, but have always made up for it with hilarious situations. Unfortunately, this Postal game seems to have taken too much from inspirations like Gears of War. It literally feels like they spent half the time the game was in development watching Jackass, and the other half reading 14 year old boys' Blogspots. They then combined the two and decided to make a clunky game out of it.

Deep Black: Reloaded falls short of its promising use of a predominately-water environment and instead casts that aside to become a below average shooter fest.

Sadly, for me this game was a big disappointment, a bit of a wreck so to speak.

Unless you want to experience a butchered version of Silent Hill 2 and a somewhat decent Silent Hill 3, don't buy this collection.

If you're into mindless bashing, you might somewhat enjoy Bloodforge, but I think most people will be fine with just skipping the title and saving their Microsoft Points for some of the other great stuff coming soon to the marketplace.

Battleship is just another below-par movie license videogame. It features an extremely short campaign that you can blast through in an evening and no multiplayer or incentives to replay once you've finished the game. It isn't worth the full retail asking price for the sheer fact that none of the gameplay is exciting or good. In short, the game is basic, boring, uninspiring and not entertaining. Battleship should be left to sink in the cluttered first-person shooter market.

Call me disappointed in the end for Dungeon Fighter Live. I was hoping to have a nice smoothie of fun, beat-em-up gameplay, RPG elements and loot blended into one, but I came away saddened and frustrated.

Mugen Souls has interesting ideas, but they are badly implemented, causing the game to include too much unwanted junk.

As you can probably tell, I am very disappointed that such an iconic character has been given a below-par game to represent his 50th anniversary. The idea is great, but the execution and lack of respect – or maybe it is effort – to represent all the Bonds with the correct actors and context, is poor.

Check vs. Mate could have been very good if the developers hadn't been lazy with character animations, or if someone had taken the time to write a legitimate story.

There is really nothing astonishing about this game. The anime (and the manga) does it all so much better – go spend a couple of hours watching that instead.

Ultimately, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus is a case study that just because a game can be ported to a handheld doesn’t mean it necessarily should, especially if it suffers from downgraded visuals, spotty framerate and imprecise controls. Newbie players who never played the console versions may end up less frustrated out of ignorance, but a game that originally relied on tight controls and smooth gameplay should not have to endure such drawbacks just for the sake of going portable. It may earn points as a novelty to have the game on the go, but the cost of portability is too much of a disservice for a great action game optimized for consoles.

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge never had much of a chance of matching the quality of its predecessors, but it would have at least sufficed as a decent game. The unforgiving difficulty and poorly-planned gameplay restrictions only bring to light the still-present flaws of the original game rather than cover them up.

Give this game a miss, and get your EXP-grinding gums around Dungeon Siege 2.

It’s just a really bad game, in places unapologetically bad.

It’s just a really bad game, in places unapologetically bad.

Don’t be a sucker. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Don’t be a sucker. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

So, Dark Horizon isn’t a horrible game. It’s just not a very good one, either. While nothing about it is particularly offensive, it still absolutely fails to generate any interest in a genre that, in most people’s eyes, stagnated a long time ago.

In all honesty I fail to see a reason for anyone buy something this. Even if you included the whole game as a mini-game in some other larger title it would still seem limited. It’s honestly a miracle that I wrote this much about a game that offers gamers so little in return.

A simple design idea for controllers created a massive chain reaction in how the game is played, and frankly, it’s for the worst.

A simple design idea for controllers created a massive chain reaction in how the game is played, and frankly, it’s for the worst.

A simple design idea for controllers created a massive chain reaction in how the game is played, and frankly, it’s for the worst.

Ironically, KoD sums itself up in its own lacklustre ‘Yar’ sound effect, which becomes annoying from the very start. That’s just what Pirates: KoD is; lacklustre.

Ultimately, the biggest problem with PDC World Championship Darts 2008 is there is very little reason for it to exist.

There are just four ‘arenas’ to choose from, four factions, with four characters in each, three similar modes and variable numbers of Balls present in each game. It won’t take long to exhaust the possibilities.

Ultimately, Wii Music is the equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci saying he’ll paint the Mona Lisa for you, but then deciding to challenge himself by using a Etch A Sketch. Yes, I am sure the clever old codger could work out something, but you’re sure as hell not going to take a vacation to Paris to view the end result.

Tornado is a title that started with a solid base of fun gameplay mechanics and interesting level design and then buried it under a mound of inexplicably terrible design faults that seem like they were created to generate annoyance.

The game is not criminally poor, and nowhere near as painful as having red hot needles shoved into your eyes, but at times you get an insidious feeling that those involved put as little effort as possible into delivering the final product.

It’s poorly executed and ends up being a boring, generic title that can’t justify a place for itself in your DS collection.

In the end, the very existence of Top Gun is a confusing one, as there was hardly any demand for a modern videogame based on the aged franchise. Strip away the camp value of the movie, and there is nothing left but unimpressive dog fights that have been polished years ago by other jet-based games like the Ace Combat series.

At times it evokes some nostalgic memories from a generation gone, but ultimately it fails to match the standards those titles set back in their heyday.

If only some time and effort went into creating what could be an enjoyable romp. As it turns out this reeks of disappointment.

If only some time and effort went into creating what could be an enjoyable romp. As it turns out this reeks of disappointment.

If you are an X-Men fan, save your money. If you must, give it a rental. But under no circumstances should you waste your money on this. The less people buy it the better, maybe then Activision will get the message that they can't get away with substandard rubbish like this.

Somehow someone somewhere managed to design and create a game that is almost completely devoid of fun and enjoyment.

Somehow someone somewhere managed to design and create a game that is almost completely devoid of fun and enjoyment.

An absolute rotting putrid corpse of a videogame.

As it stands, Kidz Sports Crazy Mini Golf represents everything that is wrong with the Nintendo Wii’s casual market.

Who am I kidding? I’ve tried, but this game is just rubbish. Utter crap. Another steaming pile of movie-based compost to throw on the pile. Avoid this game like your brain depended on it.

Who am I kidding? I’ve tried, but this game is just rubbish. Utter crap. Another steaming pile of movie-based compost to throw on the pile. Avoid this game like your brain depended on it.

It’s only been out for a couple of weeks and it’s already getting heavily discounted by some retailers – and there’s a whole bunch of reasons for that. I don’t care if you’re a fan of the show, it’s just not worth it.

It’s only been out for a couple of weeks and it’s already getting heavily discounted by some retailers – and there’s a whole bunch of reasons for that. I don’t care if you’re a fan of the show, it’s just not worth it.

It’s only been out for a couple of weeks and it’s already getting heavily discounted by some retailers – and there’s a whole bunch of reasons for that. I don’t care if you’re a fan of the show, it’s just not worth it.

I hate the idea of any studio producing a flop and having to close, so I hope this doesn't happen to Version 2. But next time I hope they spend a bit more on polishing whatever game they work on. When it comes to Smash 'N' Survive though, gamers should avoid it like the Austin Allegro, because you'd never buy that car, right?

I said it when I was describing the interface: Clan of Champions is a minimal title. I don't think the people who developed it are bad game designers in any way; I just think they got lazy. They came up with an amazing premise but then didn't put enough effort into it to make it worth playing. Honestly, if you even have a somewhat decent computer, sidestep this game in favor of Dark Souls, Fable, or Kingdoms of Amular. You'll have much more fun.

You’d have to be a real dummy to spend any money on this.