IGN

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 adds in Fusion powers, characters, and a bunch of boosts, but in the end it's not enough to keep this from feeling like extremely well-worn territory. I don't have that spark to see and do everything because I feel like I've seen and done everything before. The Stark Tower hub is nearly identical, the cutscenes don't look good, the audio logs to find aren't interesting, and the presentation of the Civil War really doesn't do the emotional storyline justice.

If you're a fantasy fan or a strategy fan that's looking for a challenge, you should check out Majesty 2. Otherwise, you may want something where you have more impact on the game world.

NHL 2K10 isn't a bad effort, it just feels like the development team spent most of their time on the graphics and forgot about adding a worthwhile game mode. There were subtle additions to the gameplay formula (stick lifts, slightly improved AI, player progression in franchise mode) but there are so many lingering issues from last year's game that the improvements get lost.

Come for the blood, bullets, crude language, seedy characters and piles of dead bodies, but don't expect to find any lasting kind of satisfaction. With overly repetitive enemy encounters and an unsatisfying slice of slow-motion-centric action, Artificial Mind and Movement's WET, like the styles of film it apes, is filled with imperfections.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey has almost all the bases covered. It can be an accessible, forgiving flight combat game for novices, a challenge for veterans, and a true test of will for the ultra hardcore. With some sharp plane models, a number of gigantic and realistic settings, and a flurry of effects onscreen, the game manages to look and sound just as good as it plays. Throughout its campaign and single missions you'll take on huge swarms of fighters in World War II-style dogfights, using your machine guns and tactical knowledge to fly away victorious.

Need for Speed Shift is a glorious return to greatness (and even excellence) for EA's seminal racing franchise. Slightly Mad Studios has delivered a driving experience that, while not completely accurate in terms of its simulation aspects, is practically dead-on in terms of what it's like to race around some of the world's best racing circuits. The career mode could (and should) have been a little better, but the act of driving is basically phenomenal.

It may not be a radically new Resident Evil 5, but the PC version of the game still manages to hold its own with an improved control scheme and extra Mercenaries mode. While the addition of costumes is somewhat minor, and you may require a few upgrades to your computer to take full advantage of what the game has to offer, you're exploring a great story and excellent gameplay.

But it ultimately does little to detract from the core experience and its many successes. Need for Speed Shift gets the most important part of a racing game right and it does so with a flair that's uncommon in a frequently po-faced genre, providing driving that's genuinely thrilling. In one stroke it revitalises the flagging Need for Speed brand, and suggests that with just a little more refinement the series could establish itself as a true contender to Gran Turismo and Forza.

As you can see, I had a ton to say in this review, but that's because there's a ton to this game. LittleBigPlanet is a massive game, one that is essentially two parts intertwined so well that they're practically inseparable. Media Molecule has created a brilliant platformer, and then given you the tools to recreate the whole thing over again, or better yet, to create your own ideas from scratch.

Despite initial reservations over the absence of many of the band's key offerings, it's clear that Harmonix and MTV Games has struck upon the best possible compromise to cater for The Beatles' vast and diverse fan base. Viewed as a piece of fan service for a mass market audience, there's no doubt that The Beatles: Rock Band is a peerless offering that blows any comparable 'band-only' music title out of the water.