Capcom is in real danger of shooting itself in the foot here. As well as its big-budget re-imagining of Bionic Commando, it is also releasing Bionic Commando Rearmed as a cheaply-priced download. ...

A hefty price tag for Monster Madness might just as well be a toe-tag in a morgue, because this top-down shooter is too basic by far. This certainly isn’t a title you’ll be showing off to your mates. ...

Like the career arcs of many promising first-round draft picks, Madden’s next-generation games have steadily improved from unwatchable embarrassment to veteran excellence. Perhaps, then, we were expecting too much - or (more likely) the short development cycle allotted to Madden 09’s crew didn’t allow enough time for all their ideas to get fully implemented. ...

There weren’t many takers in the office to review this one. After all, it’s a platform game in which the objective is to grow plants by pollinating them. Hardly inspirational stuff when we could be swatting Stormtroopers in The Force Unleashed instead. And true to form, the first couple of minutes left us utterly confused and dismissive before things suddenly clicked. ...

Joint Strike works. The gameplay hasn’t changed since 1984 and this is a good thing, if you’re making a 1942 game. This is a classic vertical shooter, waves of planes swirl and spin from all areas of the screen, red planes offer powerups, bombs and health; standard planes offer points, lots of points. ...

Bashing exotic opponents with gigantic fantasy swords is brilliant. That’s the fundamental thing that sets Soulcalibur apart from other fighting games. Sensibly ditching the logic that says that being hit with a giant, medieval zweihander would cut you in half, its effect is downgraded to just driving you into the floor or knocking you into the sky. ...

They don’t like outsiders in Hanuda. Buried in the mountains of rural Japan, the once-peaceful village has become home to a religious cult attempting to resurrect an ancient demon, and in the process its residents have become Shibito; shrieking, murderous zombies who bleed from the eyes and skewer trespassers with pitchforks. And guess what? You’re there, you’re lost and it’s raining blood. ...

Granted, Hellboy is not a terribly sophisticated comic book character. His super powers are basically just that he's remarkably durable, kinda strong and has a stone hand he uses to punch things. Thus, even though his comics tend to have interesting characters and storylines (not to mention fantastic noir art), we didn't expect his games to be about riddles or gadgets or sorcerous cults or anything else that says "brainy" instead of ...

This effectively kills off the need to buy another Buzz! game ever again. Over 5,000 questions makes it the biggest quiz to date, and you’ll never run out of new trivia thanks to downloadable 500-question quiz packs and user-created quizzes. Writing your own quizzes for family, friends and total strangers to play is a massive draw, though be warned that only a stingy eight questions per quiz are allowed. ...

First, a cautionary note. Beijing 2008 requires some form of protection for your hands. Our right hand is cut to shreds; this despite using various aids, including cartoon plasters, a thick promotional T-shirt lying around the office, and a comedy sponge hand. None of those prevented a seeping welt from appearing on our palm, soon to be joined by a pair of blisters and, most irritatingly, cuts on the skin at the base of our ...