Mini Ninjas £11.73
03 Jan
Although initially made because the developers wanted to make a game that they could "play with their kids", Mini Ninjas has actually become very popular with older gamers as well – mainly down to a combination of a tongue-in-cheek script and some oddly relaxing gameplay.
Playing as Hiro you embark on a quest to restore harmony to a world on the brink of chaos. Harness the power of your Kuji magic and utilise the special skills of your friends as you travel to a confrontation with the Evil Samurai Warlord in his Fortress of Doom.
Click here to buy the PlayStation 3 release, or click here to buy the XBox 360 version – both of which are £11.73 each at The Hut. Either one of these cheap games gets the highest recommendation from me (you'll soon agree once you pick up a copy!).
25 years after his debut and six years since he last appeared, Matt Hazard is back in Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard. Of course, this is a load of old tosh created by the publishers – however, it does at least make a difference from the standard "here's a new game with guns in it" approach.
This parody of action-gaming clichés certainly isn't the best title you'll play this year, but I'm sure you'll get a chuckle or two out of some of the over-the-top gameplay – the voice talent provided by Neil Patrick Harris and Will Arnett is also hilarious at times.
To get this XBox 360 game for £4.73 from The Hut, click here.
TNA: iMPACT! From £3.97
30 Dec
In all honesty, TNA: iMPACT! isn't very good. Those used to the glitz and glamour of the WWE video games will be disappointed with the limited and repetitive movesets, poor entrances, lack of Championship belts, and poor computer opposition.
Fans of the company will definitely at least want to take a look, as everyone you'd expect is included. The graphics are pretty good too, and the controls are very easy which makes it simple to pick up and play straight away.
If you fancy the PlayStation 3 version, click here to buy it for £3.97 from Tesco. PlayStation 2 gamers can click here to buy their release for £4.98 from Game, or XBox 360 owners can click here to buy their version for £5.95 from ShopTo.
Up From £9.93
29 Dec
Based on the recent Pixar film of the same name, Up follows the storyline of the movie and features all of the main characters in playable roles – meaning that kids, who are really the target market for this game, will enjoy it a great deal more than older gamers…probably.
Two players can go through the campaigns together, which might extend the gameplay value somewhat, but there isn't a lot more to say than that. If you've played one game based on a Pixar film, they are all pretty similar style-wise (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Click here to get the PlayStation 3 release for £9.93 from The Hut. XBox 360 owners can click here to get their version for the same price from the same retailer, whilst both the PSP (click here) and Wii (click here) releases are £9.99 each at Amazon.
Pangya! Golf With Style is known as Super Swing Golf in the U.S., and is a Wii version of the online golf game Pangya. Except that this version doesn't have an online mode, which is a bit stupid.
The single-player story mode, where you must defeat all opponents in match play, comes complete with an anime-inspired storyline and lets you unlock extra goodies. There is a multiplayer mode as well, but as I mentioned before it seems rather odd that a title known for its online style can't be played online!
Click here to buy this game for £3.97 from Tesco.
Rock Band 2 From £16.95
28 Dec
After the massive success that was Rock Band, absolutely nobody was surprised when Rock Band 2 appeared. With 84 new songs included on the disc, plus 20 free downloadable tracks and a whopping 550 additional titles available to buy, all those amateur rockers out there should be busy for quite some time.
One disappointment you might have with this is the fact that it is pretty much identical to the original – not so much a problem, more an obvious case of developers being a bit lazy!
ShopTo have the Wii release available for £16.95 – for more information, click here. PlayStation 3 owners can click here to get their version for £29.99 from Amazon.
Although it's fair to say that FIFA has managed the seemingly impossible (up until a couple of years ago at least, anyway) feat of becoming th best football game on the market, PES 2010: Pro Evolution Soccer is still a very good interpretation of the beautiful game.
The AI has been improve greatly over last year's version, plus the referees now give more balanced decisions during matches. Goalkeepers have also gotten a lot better than before, being that are much more versatile and not quite as prone to making stupid mistakes.
Click here to get the PlayStation 2 version for £15.47 from Tesco, click here to get the XBox 360 release for £18.94 delivered from Sainsbury's, or click here to get the Wii version for £19.39 from Argos.
Originally released as WSC Real 08: World Snooker Championship on the Wii, WSC Real 09: World Snooker Championship is quite probably the best snooker game on the PlayStation 3 – although this isn't saying much, as it's near enough the only one still available!
12 players are yours to control, from Ronnie O'Sullivan through to Ding Junhui, at all of the major events from the 2009 season. Once you've mastered the single player mode, why not take it online and compete with others from across the globe via the PlayStation Network and beat them too?
Click here to get this title for £5.95 from ShopTo.
Guitar Hero: Metallica is the second title in the music series to focus on the career and songs of one band – in this case it's the mighty Metallica, surprisingly enough! Next up will be Van Halen, which promises to be just as good as well (and I wouldn't be shocked if "Beat It" will be included in that one as a mini-tribute to Michael Jackson).
Many of the same features from Guitar Hero: World Tour are present and correct here, along with a brand-new "Expert+" difficulty for drums which uses a second bass drum pedal to match the drumming of Metallica's Lars Ulrich. 28 of their songs are available to play along to, with a further 21 additional tracks selected by members of the group.
HMV are selling both the XBox 360 (click here) and Wii (click here) versions of Guitar Hero: Metallica, with a guitar, for £29.99 each. PlayStation 3 owners can click here to buy their release for the much higher price of £59 from CoolShop.
It's quite fitting that the world's best golfer lends his name to the world's best golf video game – I am, of course, talking about Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08. Putting aside any extra curricular activity that he's been indulging in recently, it's still a very true statement (he is human as well, you know).
There's everything you'd come to expect with a Tiger Woods title, along with a brand new feature – the EA Sports GamerNet. Here you can post your best moments and challenge other players around the planet to try and beat you. Bring it on!
To get the XBox 360 version for just £2.96 from ShopTo, click here. The same retailer has the PSP release (click here) for £4.46 and the PlayStation 2 version (click here) for £7.82, whilst the Wii release (click here) is £22.51.
