IGN

Noby Noby Boy is going to provoke arguments for months between people who claim to Get It and people who don't, which is ridiculous because - in truth - there is nothing to get. Once you've accepted that, Noby Noby Boy becomes one of the most soothing, effortlessly playable things you've ever likely had the pleasure to experience.

Instead it's just one five-hour "Fiddy." There's no mistaking that this is a fun game to play -- particularly with a buddy -- but it's in no way excellent. Though I'd love nothing more than for people to put some coin in Fiddy's piggy bank, I'd recommend renting rather than buying.

As a strict racing simulation program, Race Pro does a stellar job. The cars handle with brutal realism, the physics are precisely implemented and the tracks have been painstakingly modeled after their real-life counterparts. If you have the patience to run lap after lap refining your driving technique to chase those tenths, you'll be rewarded with a real sense of accomplishment.

There's certainly a lot of content and characters here so from a purely quantitative point of view, it's well worth the investment. The fact that it looks and sounds good makes it an even easier decision. On the other hand, the medieval setting and overall atmosphere is fairly predictable and the rules system isn't presented in a clear enough format to make the rewards worthwhile.

Noby Noby Boy is going to provoke arguments for months between people who claim to Get It and people who don't, which is ridiculous because - in truth - there is nothing to get. Once you've accepted that, Noby Noby Boy becomes one of the most soothing, effortlessly playable things you've ever likely had the pleasure to experience.

Its gunplay is solid and backed up by a plethora of neat ideas, its co-op is strong and there's an undercurrent of savvy humour that helps to negate the heavy posturing and more dubious elements of the paper thin plot. Ultimately, the pattern of play becomes too familiar too quickly, but while it lasts Blood on the Sand is a smile-inducing blast.

The FPS that made its name with bright primary colours, bouncy gravity and over-earnest military theatrics? Halo Wars isn't rocket science, and it isn't perfect either, but it'll satisfy Halo fanatics to the exact same degree as anyone hankering for a decent console game where you tell a large piece of rolling ordinance which direction it should be rolling in. And that, when you think about it, is quite an achievement in itself.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is not an RPG for the ages, but it is a lot of fun to play. The way the story is delivered, through awkward dialogue and drawn out cutscenes, could be a lot better. The strong points of The Last Hope, namely the combat and level progression, keep things lively and engaging and help make this one a good way to kick off your JRPG gaming for 2009.

As unwelcoming as its front end may be, as underwhelming as it may look and as bare as its feature set is, when Race Pro hits the track it reveals its colours as a top tier racer. No other game has managed to capture the thrill of going bumper to bumper in pure-bred machinery quite so brilliantly as this, and if you can see through its shortcomings it's one of the very best available on the 360.

Relic has made a lot of bold decisions with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, some of which are sure to turn off parts of the RTS hardcore base, the most obvious being the elimination of base building. Yet as players we can't continue to accept the same kinds of games, complain about stagnation, and then turn our backs when somebody does something different. In the campaign portion of the game Relic blended elements of action-RPGs and real-time strategy games and succeeded in producing a new and entertaining kind of experience.