Best Games

Animal Crossing: Wild World
Nintendo DS

A successful return to one of the Gamecube's finest moments, this is a delightful combination of cutesy arcade adventure and life-sim. Innocent and nearly irresistible in small doses.
MA

Battlefield: 2142
PC

The fourth instalment of the Battlefield series takes a jaunt into the future. 2142 retains many of the great features of Battlefield 2, but cranks them up with weapons, vehicles, oodles of unlock- ables and the great new Titan mode.
RP

Black
PS2, Xbox

Cocking a snoot at the next-gen 360, Black is a technical marvel that allows players to enjoy visceral combat on a level hitherto unseen on the PS2. Brawn, not brain, is all that's needed for this powerful first-person shooter.
GH

Company of Heroes
PC

Second world war strategy games have been done to death. Or so we thought until we played Company of Heroes, which invigorates a flagging sub-genre with both substance and style. Just what the gaming doctor ordered.
RP

Daxter
PS2

Intriguing gameplay meets imaginative design to create a game that looks fantastic and rewards your dedication with lots of secrets.
MA

Gears of War
Xbox 360

Good enough to redefine the shoot-em-up genre, this videogame teaches new techniques, looks amazing, is utterly brilliant when played cooperatively and above all provides one of the most intense and varied gameplay experiences ever. Admittedly, adult devotees of this game will also need to get their hands on Activision's Call of Duty 3, which is a harrowingly realistic depiction of the D-Day push in the second world war.
SB

Mario Kart DS
Nintendo DS

As racing games get more realistic, Nintendo keeps going in the other direction with its offerings. Mario Kart owes nothing to real physics and everything to brilliant gameplay and colourful characters.
MA

Medieval II: Total War
PC

The Total War games just keep getting better: this is the perfect blend of turned-based and real-time gameplay; it's everything a strategy fan could want.
RP

New Super Mario Brothers
Nintendo DS

Yes, the format is more than 30 years old, but nobody does platform games like Nintendo. Featuring elements from just about every Mario title, this is retro-gaming of the highest order.
MA

Nintendogs
Nintendo DS

Not quite the new Tamagotchi, but still a charming and unique cyberpet with a touch of Pokémon. Raise your puppy, teach it tricks, and remember that a dog is not just for Christmas - it's for impressing your friends, too.
MA

Professor Kawashima's Brain Training
Nintendo DS

An inspired twist on the old Mensa-style memory games, perfectly suited to the hardware. Take the tests once a day and see if your scores improve.
MA

Psychonauts
PS2, Xbox

Fantastically warped platform game with an above-average script and story. Psychonauts has the Simpsons-like ability to appeal to adults and children and was much overlooked on release.
GH

Pro Evolution Soccer 6
PS2

Yes, the 360 version looks better but the Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on the PS2 is the real deal, with more options, better animation and a more refined feel to the action. Ignore the amateurish presentation and lack of licences, this is the finest football game ever created.
GH

Tekken: Dark Resurrection
PSP

There were doubts that this would translate well to the small screen. Luckily, Namco crams all the best bits in.
MA

Wait until 2007

Okami
PS2

Gorgeous and evocative, and proof that gaming can reach a higher artistic level,Okami will thrill gamers of all ages. Players control a female wolf in a breathtakingly beautiful world.
GH

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
PC, Mac

New areas, new races, new flying mounts - this will make 7.5m people very happy.
GH

Avoid

Superman Returns
PS2, X360

It's a bit of a mystery why EA delayed this title, and possibly even more of a mystery why they let it out on to the streets at all. Bad gameplay, bad controls, bad everything! And just when we thought that movie tie-in games were actually becoming decent.
RP

The Ant Bully
PC, PS2

This is a slightly better tie-in title than Superman Returns, but nevertheless its lack of polish and depth suggest that the developers may have been temporarily blinded by dollar signs appearing in front of their eyes. It's an all-too- common occurrence.
RP

Gangs of London
PSP

Given the success of the Getaway games, this transition of the genre to the PSP console should have been a shoo-in. Unfortunately, the lacklustre, repetitive and bland gameplay have killed what could have been a neat little spin-off series.
RP