High above a laser-crossed battlefield, a 700 kilo Brown Bear wearing a metal hat floats gently toward Earth, four paws dangling limply from his parachute harness. It’s hard not to like this game. Red Alert’s always been a hardcore strategy series, but a deeply silly one. ...

Nuts & Bolts truly is the return of Rare. Enough with the papery menagerie, let’s get back to N64 basics: the wordplay, the self-deprecating humor (pops are taken at their own distastr-o-game Grabbed by the Ghoulies), the design philosophy that states ‘object + googly eyes = endearing thing’. And in a winter of bleak, dreary games, the lightness of touch is very, very welcome indeed. ...

If there’s one word that sums up World at War for us, it’s ‘brutal’. The latest Call of Duty, developed over the last two years by Treyarch – not series creator Infinity Ward – is a brutal slog through a WWII setting unlike any other. You may think you’ve ‘been there’ and ‘done that’ when it comes to this particular global conflict, but after five minutes in either the blood-soaked single player campaign or the frenzied multiplayer you’ll realise that this is far from your average, tired WWII shooter. ...

To say Mirror’s Edge is about running and jumping is a bit like saying that Call Of Duty 4 is about shooting bullets: about as subtle as a truck in the face and, while undeniably true, missing out the really important things that make it so great. This game is different. How? Well, it’s a first person title that’s not solely focused on guns, for a start. ...

To say Mirror’s Edge is about running and jumping is a bit like saying that Call Of Duty 4 is about shooting bullets: about as subtle as a truck in the face and, while undeniably true, missing out the really important things that make it so great. This game is different. How? Well, it’s a first person title that’s not solely focused on guns, for a start. ...

If you’re interested in making computer music, you’re going to have hours of fun with this little toy. It turns your DS into a software synth with a pattern sequencer and a couple of extras to add a bit of flourish to your recorded tunes or live performances. ...

It looks like competing “tap the buttons as colored gems move across the screen in time with music” games Rock Band and Guitar Hero have started the kind of annual rivalry usually reserved for sports fans. So, despite the fact that the series is still called Guitar Hero, this year’s big innovation is the addition of drummers and singers (and the accompanying $180 bundle pack). ...

It looks like competing “tap the buttons as colored gems move across the screen in time with music” games Rock Band and Guitar Hero have started the kind of annual rivalry usually reserved for sports fans. So, despite the fact that the series is still called Guitar Hero, this year’s big innovation is the addition of drummers and singers (and the accompanying $180 bundle pack). ...

If the first Rock Band was the opening leg of a full-blown concert tour, with four players living the rock and roll dream via color-coded buttons and plastic guitars, drums, and microphone, Rock Band 2 is like the final show of that same tour. ...