The noticeable improvements aside, there are some very real problems with the core gameplay of PES that aren't easily forgotten. The engine is well past its sell-by-date, its clumsy brand of football is given a real thrashing by FIFA in realism and too many aspects of the package remain disappointingly unrefined.

Mini Ninja's toybox is generously and imaginatively stuffed but, unfortunately, the same can't be said of its playground.

As good as all the new content is, however, veteran Lego game players may find hard to get away from the sensation that Lego Indiana Jones 2 is more of the same it may not appeal to anyone who feels that the core gameplay is in need of an overhaul. However, as family friendly titles go, it's hard to find fault.

Nier is a twisting, turning journey of erratic quality. It's one of the best, worst, most broken, most perfect games I've ever played.

Its core template may be showing its age a little, but the overall package offers enough new content gameplay tweaks to keep the faithful happy.

It still has more charm and character than most and –despite the hiccups- provides a challenging, fun and satisfying puzzle experience for players young, old -and everything in between.

Whilst FM10 tries its hand at all aspects of football management, it isn't entirely successful in all its pursuits and does end up lagging behind its older, slightly more mature brothers.

As a game in the here and now, The Forgotten Sands can feel dated, its hero outshone by glossy new kids on the block like Nathan Drake.

Of course, a totally linear game is nothing without its plot, and The Whispered World doesn't disappoint in that respect. It's a relatively unique take on the 'reluctant hero saves the world' tale, with the kind of memorable ending that'll divide opinion straight down the middle.

The racing experience is zippy and robust, while its gleeful celebration of all things SEGA is wonderfully endearing.

With its varied combat, ridiculous story and outlandish weapons it's a fun and engaging title and it's a real pity that that Activision haven't given it the attention it deserves. If you're willing to overlook its shortcomings and enjoy old school running-and-gunning, Singularity is an immensely satisfying romp.

Crackdown 2 is immense fun, but this is thanks to the fact that its core gameplay remains largely unchanged from its predecessor. In a way, the game feels more like a slightly more evolved version of the original Crackdown than a true sequel.

Sports Champions is really rather good on the whole. Table Tennis is exceptional, Archery is great and games like Gladiator Duel and Bocce are fun while showing off some of Move's potential.

While it may lack the grunt, confidence and sustained excitement to truly compete with the industry's big hitters, H.A.W.X 2's missile-ducking, bogey-outmanoeuvring nonsense is a rare thrill.

The combat, and it's worth noting that this makes up the majority of the game, is superb. It's not particularly deep nor clever, but it's immensely rewarding, as too are the scripted first person sections which exist purely to, yes, let you punch things in the face.

A fascinating, unique take on the action genre bogged down by vapid soliloquising and a stuttering flow. A game that cultivates the past of a series while looking to the future, but perhaps doesn't know when to shut up.

There's a strange juxtaposition between restriction and fun, and I still don't feel they've accurately nailed it.

It's also the most resolutely hard-core Guitar Hero title to come off Activision's assembly line in a while; anyone can breeze through the easy setting on this game, but expert level on Warriors Of Rock turns some of the tracks into visceral finger-bleeders.

But it never crosses the threshold into greatness, either in its visceral thrills or in its sober, but ultimately a little bland, tale of the soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.

Disappointing too is the roster of worlds you visit, and the lack of exploration in each.

It's an experience like no other, if not always for the right reasons. I adored it, but I couldn't tell you in earnest that you will feel the same. But I will tell you this: you absolutely must play it. How else would you ever know?

Really, with the levels of customisation as huge as they are, the player's enjoyment is only held back by their lack of imagination.

Really, with the levels of customisation as huge as they are, the player's enjoyment is only held back by their lack of imagination.

Whether it was time constraint, requirements of the 007 license, or a developer stepping out of their comfort zone you can't shake the the feeling there's a great action game bubbling under at Bizarre, but Blood Stone isn't it, limited by a lack of variety and reliance on the tropes of its genre. But it is a well-constructed, entertaining and wholly-polished blast.

As party games go, Kinect Sports is infectiously good fun. It's highly doubtful that this title will be enough to woo Wii owners over to the Xbox 360 on ts own. But for players who already own Microsoft's console and a Kinect sensor, it's more than worth a look.

Still, it's breezy, colourful presentation and general silliness make Kinect Adventures easy to like.

In Super Scribblenauts, 5th Cell have done a fantastic job at refining and expanding upon a fantastically fun toy. However, without a campaign that fully takes advantage of this impressive creative tool, the game remains just shy of true greatness.

The multiplayer is so much fun that it's almost enough to forgive the game's solo-mode shortcomings.

Another brave and ambitious effort from the consistently inventive Eden Games, then, but another flawed gem. If anything, Test Drive Unlimited 2 teaches us that it's not just the open world you create, but what you do within it that really forms its identity. A shame then, that despite coming across like the coolest guy at the party, deep down, TDU2 is still not really sure who it is.

Limited and occasionally scrappy, Dr Kawashima may not offer the perfect medicine, but its gentle brain teasing and enjoyable body twisting means that the idea of "mathercise" perhaps isn't so scary after all.

uDraw Studio isn't everything it could have been. But as a solid, entry-level art studio, it's a welcoming canvas. Ideal to encourage children to get creative without scribbling on the carpet.

The AI is one of Crysis 2's biggest problems. It's utterly atrocious, to the point of parody at times.

The cats don't have the same level of interaction that the dogs have, generally just sitting around the house with general disinterest, regarding you with mild disdain and plotting world domination. Just like real cats then.

The cats don't have the same level of interaction that the dogs have, generally just sitting around the house with general disinterest, regarding you with mild disdain and plotting world domination. Just like real cats then.

The cats don't have the same level of interaction that the dogs have, generally just sitting around the house with general disinterest, regarding you with mild disdain and plotting world domination. Just like real cats then.

But you'll plow through most of what the game has to offer to a single player pretty quickly. And while multiplayer could have been king here, WWE All Stars is also notably lacking in both online and off...But it does offer a silly, accessible and effortlessly entertaining brawler that will particularly appeal to lapsed WWE fans.

Tiger '12 is the best PGA Tour in years and would be the last Tiger you'd ever need if EA didn't cleverly omit the caddy's off switch.

Wonderland itself, the way it changes visually and the way it changes Alice, is the game's most important feature.

Shadows of the Damned's erratic, slapdash nature leaves you slightly dazed. But despite some alarming dips in quality, despite the game never quite reaching the level of brilliance you hope for, you will be glad you played it.

Cars 2 certainly doesn't lack personality and sheen, then, but there are some irritations that hold it back.

El Shaddai isn't perfect, then, but it's got a lot going for it because of the sheer energy that's gone into its construction: energy you can see in the focused poise of its combat, and in the game's astonishing desire to top itself with each new vista it flings before you.

Space Marine can't compete with the genre leaders in terms of spectacle, budget and direction. And one has to question the wisdom of releasing in such close proximity to Gears of War 3. But for Warhammer 40k fans, or those who just can't wait to engage in a little alien slaughter, Space Marine's solid genre mash-up should prove a satisfying battle ground.

This sensibly-priced curio is one of the best and most original Kinect games to date, and enormously entertaining in the short bursts of play the device is designed for. Perhaps most refreshingly of all, it can be played while seated; couch potatoes discouraged by the activity demanded by most motion-based titles may have just found their ideal Kinect game.

Rage is a game that would have benefitted from being streamlined, with additional FPS levels replacing the awkward driving. It should have been an id game. Instead it occupies this weird halfway-house between Borderlands, Motorstorm and Doom, not quite an RPG, not quite a racer and not quite an FPS.

At its best, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon hits a glorious balance of careful tactical play and explosive bombast. It's frustrating because it comes so close to perfecting the formula, only to throw it away by growing tedious when it has the opportunity to shine.

The improvements in AI and excellent online modes are a solid basis to continue re-building PES to its former glory, but the weird physics and newfound lack of weight are a concern. It still feels like PES just isn't 100% sure where it should be going.

Provides solid entertainment for kids big and small. It's bright, colourful and charmingly presented throughout, and makes smart use of characters that have a wide appeal.

The story mode is rather short, and can comfortably be beaten within 5 hours, but the coop mode adds a considerable amount of length to the game.

There are enough clever ideas here to mitigate for its shallowness.

It's gorgeous, wonderfully polished and a fascinating cast of misfits drag you through a mire of gameplay foibles that make that off switch look ever so tempting. There is some fun and satisfaction to be had in the beautiful and bloody combat, too, but we wish the gameplay was lavished with as much care and attention as the presentation.

It's the overall lack of challenge and depth which proves to be the major sticking point.

All the charm in the world can't hide the fact that Nuts & Bolts is a wasted opportunity. In the building there is the seed of a classic title here, but skittish handling and tedious tasks means that , disappointingly, Nuts & Bolts fails to blossom as it should have.

Eventually, Bolt uses up its charm and can slip into repetition. there are a few attempts to mix things up at the climax which produce mixed results, but there's a fair chance that even young players will lose interest before the denouement. With that said, Bolt is a more than serviceable movie tie-in.

Due to its shortness of length, repetitive (and at times annoying) gameplay and non-existent re-play value, its hard to justify paying the full recommended retail price for it.

Due to its shortness of length, repetitive (and at times annoying) gameplay and non-existent re-play value, its hard to justify paying the full recommended retail price for it.

Just Cause 2 is not without its flaws, but it offers a highly satisfying, if hardly unique, open-world adventure in which players are encouraged to indulge in as much mayhem as possible.

Ultimately, it lacks the action set pieces that helped to push the FPS genre to where it is today.

Ultimately, it lacks the action set pieces that helped to push the FPS genre to where it is today.

Fans of the film series may find the video game adaptation of Jigsaw's latest round of lethal morality tests diverting, but true blue console horror fans are better off waiting for something with a bit more bite.

But these hopes were dashed in the final third where poor design, repetitive waves of enemies and button-bashing gameplay took all that my enjoyment and curdled into a numbing disappointment.

It's just a pity that when compared to the franchise's most recent successes, Band Hero comes across as both a bit of a cash-in and more than a little soulless.

Polly could use a new bow.

Its controls are a little ropy and its depth severely lacking, but these aren't concerns that will trouble the audience it's aimed at. Not only that, but it's tremendous entertainment value. Just ask my other half. She hasn't laughed this much in ages.

Alan Wake fans will want to check it out, if only for the morsels of story it gives them.

These flashes of inspiration can't stop Start the Party from being an extremely fleeting experience.

If you're absolutely desperate for a Wii shooter, especially a multiplayer title, then Goldeneye is worth a look.

Unrewarding then, but never frustrating.

On the whole, Splatterhouse achieves what it sets out to do, even if it is spoiled in parts by some sloppy execution and technical niggles. It's mindless, tasteless and ultimately throwaway, but as the mask often intones: "I could say I wasn't enjoying this ... but that would be a lie."

It's initially quite fun, but truth be told, steering with an invisible wheel gets a bit old after a couple of hours and the game has few pleasures to offer besides.

The voice acting is generally solid, and Laurence Fishburne is excellent. And there's optional Facebook connectivity if you're into that kind of thing, with the game posting a single-entry summary of the in-game achievements you've earned every time you finish a session.

Outside the lacklustre story, I can't help but feel that some of its shortcomings are down to the ageing DS hardware that has never really excelled at producing fully functioning 3D environments.

So will I be renewing my subscription this month? Probably not. But my month in Metropolis and Gotham was an extremely enjoyable one.

It's a shame that Homefront's gameplay is so blunt and creatively barren, as the world Kaos has built around their (ludicrous) premise is superb.

A game that keeps you strangely grounded, when it should be making you soar.

It's a decent enough game to play through, but certainly one you'll forget in a hurry. It's the kind of game perfect for a lull in gaming when there's nothing else left, and you fancy something disposable but enjoyable.

A good game that, on a few occasions, desperately feels like it's trying to be better than it is, but lacks the juice to succeed.

The most disappointing aspect of Rugby World Cup, however, is just how threadbare it is in terms of modes.

It's all a bit laboured, a bit tedious, and it's the kind of co-op game that's more fun based on who you're playing with, than on what you're playing. It sits in this awkward middle ground between Borderlands and Left 4 Dead, never remotely matching either but never quite crossing into the territory where you should be avoiding it.

The fact that Okabu is the work of just five people is remarkable: this is an ambitious undertaking for such a small team, but there's no denying that on occasion here it feels that Hand Circus has bitten off more than it can chew.

A game we wanted to like more than we did. Its retro sci-fi concept is so appealing it initially makes it tempting to excuse some of the game's rougher edges. In the end, however, no amount of nostalgia can absolve the game of its ropy gameplay, patchy plot, substandard production, generic (and sometimes poor) level design and thin content; the campaign takes around eight hours to complete and that's the only mode on offer.

The game is marred by badly implemented controls, poor design and a highly forgettable plot.

Whilst deep down I will always carry a torch for Guitar Hero, I just can't recommend the weakest offering in the series to date.

As much fun as there is to be had in the multiplayer, it doesn't include any new developments or references to the game's main plot and suffers from the absence of its titular characters. The fact that the campaign only takes around five hours to compelete further fuels the sense Dog Days is an incomplete and flawed package.

The Shoot is hard to dislike, hard to like, and hard to care about in any way.

I spent a lot of my time waiting, begging, willing the game to spread its wings and fly. But it never left the ground. A real shame.

It professes to be a reaction to overblown, scripted rollercoaster FPSes, but never manages to bring a whole lot to the table for itself. Bodycount even makes a fuss over destructible cover, which was done better by Battlefield Bad Company. Bodycount is not a poor game, just a confused and unremarkable one, even if those instant restarts really are wonderful.

It's a harrowing tale of ambition which far exceeds its boundaries, of broken promises and broken game mechanics.

As nice as it all looks and sounds, however, one can't help coming back to how lightweight this game is.

How disappointing to see such potential wasted. What a shame to see a developer so clearly uninterested in their own project. Such is the lack of invention and variety on offer, The Force Unleashed II can't help feel like a cursory cash-grab, more akin to DLC than a fully fledged retail product.

While it has some nice ideas, Dood's Big Adventure is far too basic and scrappy to be worth your time.

Beyond the poor dialogue, patchwork visuals and ridiculous interface of the console version, there is an interesting adventure game buried here.

Sadly we'll have to do with this for now, a bland, unimaginative shooting gallery that lacks the thing that matters most: magic.

Much worse than a pipe in the face, though, is the fact that Shattered Dimensions' excellent structure also appears to have been a victim of cost-cutting.

It's uglier than Gollum and twice as annoying as that whiny Frodo chap. Even brutalising fat hobbitses as Sauron himself can do little to alleviate the feeling that Conquest is a cheap, lazy and regressive game that is the very worst kind of franchise cash-in.

Perhaps the biggest misstep Ju-on makes is that it ignores one of the most crucial elements in creating a horror title; the audience needs to have sympathy for the protagonist.

Fun for about an hour. It's not good, the virtually identical sections are hardly exciting, and there's a lot less variety in the mayhem than you might be led to believe, but it is an enjoyable, compulsive score-chaser. But it's deceptive. It lures you in with promises of something it never delivers.

Short, disappointing, and certainly not worth spending £40 on.

The Cartel is a calamity; an unfinished, unpleasant piece of dreck that even developer Techland got bored of before hoisting it out of the door. The Cartel's list of misdemeanours is lengthy and depressing, but the worst is how either Techland or Ubisoft can have the nerve to put this on the shelves and ask people to pay money --real money-- to play it.

No matter how big a Prison Break fan you are, no matter how forgiving you can be, The Conspiracy is an abject failure on all counts.

There's a temptation to end this review with a play on Jigsaw's famous 'I want to play a game' line, but to call Flesh & Blood a game would be doing a disservice to games, and 'I want to play a train wreck' doesn't have the same ring to it.

There's a temptation to end this review with a play on Jigsaw's famous 'I want to play a game' line, but to call Flesh & Blood a game would be doing a disservice to games, and 'I want to play a train wreck' doesn't have the same ring to it.

So what we have is a game that should be kitsch, daft fun but instead is dull, broken and mildly sexist.