Times Online

The over-theshoulder style does allow for the seamless integration of glossy scenes to drive on the plot and add a more genuine movie-like feel to the game.

Right from the start in the tree kingdom of Kelethin, you are plunged into hack’n’slash heaven. The graphics are some of the best on the PS2, and there is plenty of variation in the gameplay.

A simple but elegant narrative imbues the experience with considerable inertia. Urgent, funny, frightening and bleak, Half-Life 2 tells its tale of rebellion against a grim European dystopia with ease and vigour.

The level of detail in the various maps and multiplayer levels will have you reeling, while the integration of voice communication software allows you to chat with friends, in real-time, in mid-battle.

This is a chess game of healthy pedigree, using the Perfect Chess engine previously seen in Ubisoft’s Chessmaster. Not only that, but the price is right.

This game will become the benchmark by which all such titles will be measured. The game’s AI is strong enough to present a challenge and the lack of base and harvest management is wonderfully refreshing.

Pandora Tomorrow is a miniature masterpiece. This goodlooking, great-sounding and convincingly voiced espionage thriller delivers two satisfying game outings.

This all-new version adds minute details to the daily rituals of the little inhabitants — you can almost zoom in to see specific ingredients as meals are prepared, or read book titles on shelves. Watching the Sims dance is a triumph of animation.

Doom 3 has its flaws, but remains a graphical, audio and visual tour de force.

The graphics are divine, with vast urban locales and spectacular crashes. The cars handle well, and each vehicle has its own characteristics. Yet this is no easy driving game — one of the reasons why, subject matter aside, it carries a 16+ rating.