Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Listening to pundits, parents, and politicians, you'd think that videogames were the worst plague ever visited upon humankind. They make us dumb. They make us violent. They make us perverted. They make us twitchy and impatient. They make us disconnected loners and social misfits.

Here's the antidote to such overblown criticism – seven games that will make you smarter. Next time someone's trying to tell you that your hobby is stupid, show them one of these and see if they can solve even a fraction of its brilliance...

Are video games art? Well, one could argu... screw that. We're not even going to attempt to enter that minefield. Clearly, though, with a bunch of concept drawings from the likes of Dante's Inferno and Jet Set Radio being framed and displayed in a swanky San Francisco hotel this week, some people think they are.

And that got us thinking. What if some of the greatest works of art ever had video game characters crow-barred into

Ever wondered what it would be like to have video game characters in your Pokemon party? Why choose boring old Bulbasaur when you can choose a beautiful Kasumi? Or a level 50 Sackboy?

We've given 21 game characters the Pokemon treatment, with four moves to choose from and some evolutionary states too.

Who would you choose?

So Eidos plans to make Lara Croft more "family-friendly". Turns out despite the huge brand name and near universal critical acclaim, Tomb Raider Underworld just didn't sell as well as they had predicted, so it's time to tap that lucrative family market.

But Eidos don't need to spend thousands on a marketing consultant - we've done all the hard work for them and drawn up new versions of Lara. Indeed, one for every member of the family.

What happened to Snake? With those layered and textured wisps of oh-so-touchable hair, that Rambo-ninja headband, and a perfectly landscaped maze of lovable facial scruff, MGS 2 Snake was downright dreamy. Several years and one blond douchebag later and Snake is back with crow’s feet and the beginnings of a Geraldo Rivera 'stache. If anything is suited for sneaking, it’s the varicose veins crawling up the skin stuffs stretched over his legs.