The darker and more serious tone won't appeal to everyone, but beneath it is the same great strategy game experience that's made the venerable Advance Wars series such a gem.

For starters, though the game is $10.99 some may feel cheated by there being only two variations of the same level. More content will come available through download, but one level is still only one level.

Though it has the odd rough edge, Mass Effect pushes BioWare's trademark character development, dialogue and storytelling to new levels.

By and large the shooting sections are fun and the enemy AI keeps things interesting by actually trying to flank you.

The game play is fantastic, intuitive and engaging with the best graphics I have ever been witness to in a PC shooter. If you love first-person shooters and are jonesing for something to play on your shiny new rig, this is the game for you.

This is designed as the first game in a new Ubisoft franchise, and I do hope there’s another. The little miscues can be fixed, the stealth tweaked, and I’d be up for free running through the French Revolution next time.

The game is so consistently fresh, it's desperately hard to stop playing.

The single-player campaign is shorter than other games of its kind — I stomped through it in about 8 hours. But it was so action-packed, I didn’t feel cheated at all.

Although it stays true to the Ratchet & Clank formula and doesn't try to get too creative, this is easily one of the best PS3 games so far.

At the end of the day, however, you just can't beat the value being offered here and though it's not perfect, the sum of "The Orange Box" is greater than its parts.

Though it starts off slow, Folklore turns out to be a surprisingly deep and visually lush experience, with novel new twists on familiar gameplay standards.

A few niggling flaws — or maybe just impossibly high expectations — keep Halo 3 from perfection. But on the whole, it’s a heartfelt and worthy conclusion to one of the most beloved video game series of all time.

There's more than just running and gunning, too. Sometimes you'll have to solve puzzles, while other levels are more of a carnival shooting gallery. The overall experience is one of exploration, puzzle-solving and action that kept me wanting to push farther.

Simply put, BioShock is a must for anyone who’s over 17 and has a 360. So far, this is the best game of 2007.

In the end, Persona 3 is a tedious excursion that made me waste hours of my life that I will never get back and left with my right eye bloodshot for staring at the TV screen as my contact lens ran out of moisture and it solidified to my cornea.

"Picross" is an elegant, alluring option that will keep you coming back for more.

Mario Strikers Charged is far from a perfect game, but it truly is fun when played online. For the casual sports fan who doesn't want to spend hours poring over stats, defensive combinations, matchups, and what's inside the vending machines in their virtual team's arena, this game is very much worth a look.

While Guitar Hero is still one of the best games of recent years, this cash grab of a psuedo-sequel does no favours to the franchise or to '80s music.

And on the whole it was a worthwhile experience. Sure, it maybe doesn't measure up in quality and look of the more professional sports title, such as Top Spin.

Sony has included multiplayer and some downloadable songs. The graphics also look remarkably good for a game that’s 10 years old. These features help to elevate the game, but are just not enough to save it.

The controls on the PS3 Sixaxis controller work extremely well.

Though the story mode provides a compelling 12 hour experience, you won’t be rushing out to play through it a second time. Still, these minor gripes aside, The Darkness is one of the best games you’re likely to play this year. I’ve seen the light and it’s dark, very dark.

It’s the little fun touches that end up elevating The Bigs from being just another yearly baseball installment.

But then this freedom is also the game's biggest flaw. Whereas Goblet of Fire is divided into levels, in Order of the Phoenix, you have to complete a number of mini-goals and quests as the story progresses. Hermione and Ron are your companions for most of the game and can sometimes offer advice about what you need to do next.

And that¹s what this rapidly descends into, a series of unappealing tasks.

For a system as powerful as the Xbox 360 – which I’m sure could make a digital sandwich so convincing, it would have gamers around the globe trying to bite their TVs – Fantastic Four is a huge letdown. Character models and environments are boring and lack detail. If anything it all looks like a higher-resolution version of an ugly PS2 game.

One buggy game.

Awkward gameplay makes the repetitive nature of the game even more annoying. I mean, I'm all for killing the legions of the undead, but at least you could change it up a little.