If you like your football free-flowing and attacking, this game is for you. Lots of chances and goals are a feature with through balls being very damaging and the AI are not afraid to give away penalties - I had 4 in one game. 3-3.5/5

This is roughly 70% third-person shooting and 30% jumping and climbing on walls. The shoot and cover system works well along with the platforming aspects, which might I say is a complete rip off of Prince of Persia games. In saying this, in the earlier POP games, it was easier to make a stupid mistake and jump the wrong way off a wall compared to this. The few puzzles in this are pretty lacklustre compared to similar games though and don't place any stress on the brain. It does what it does well with an interesting enough story and graphics that are pleasant on the eye, but I'll be interested to see if the sequels offer more originality.

I played this on easy difficulty after finishing the first game in the series because I didn't expect the gameplay to change too much, and I was right. There is some added stealth that can be used if the player wishes to do so, improved graphics and some better cool action sequences, but it's really a different adventure of the same game as before. There is probably less platforming in this than the original as well.

As fun and frustrating as ever. If I had a swear jar next to me while attempting to collect all the gold medals to unlock every track, I would be able to finance the US out of the recession. Coming from all of the previous seven environments though, this is probably the least distinctive environment, and the fact that there is only one limits its longevity. Still great though for people who love beating the clock and playing online with its loyal fan base. Gameplay 4.5/5 Graphics 4.5/5 Sound 3.5/5 Difficulty 4.5/5 Originality 3/5

I've been a big fan of the TM series for almost 10 years now. The last couple of environments have lacked the distinctiveness of the previous seven though, gameplay wise and visually, limiting its appeal. This one basically feels like a mixture of Rally and Coast/Canyon, with the handling on dirt feeling too sensitive to me, making it less enjoyable than past environments. While there is still a great track editor and an endless supply of tracks to download and test yourself against what other fans have created, the amount of people playing this online is far less than it has been with previous versions of TM. Lastly, in the solo mode, the goal is to practise on a track, once you acquire a good time-a gold medal-you can then race for an 'official time' to be sent to the master server to be compared to other racers from around the world. Once you complete the race or screw up a turn and give up, you then have to wait five minutes to go for an official time again. This is something that was also in TrackMania Canyon, and what happens is that I minimise the game, do something else for 5 minutes and then try again. I can understand the reasons as to why this was implemented, but at the same time it is an annoyance. Gameplay 4/5 Graphics 4.5/5 Sound 3.5/5 Difficulty 4/5 Originality 2/5