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Unquestionably the funniest, most subversive television show in history, The Simpsons, to date has produced far less memorable series of games. So far there have been 17 Simpsons games, and none of them have been anything to write home about.

Despite this, Simpsons Wrestling is one of 2001 most highly anticipated PSOne releases, reinforcing the phenomenon that some people value the brand over quality of the product. But even with that anticipation of a new Simpsons game, simply put Simpsons wrestling would be one of the worst games I have ever played if it wasn't for the fact that it is based upon my favourite TV shows.

Simpsons wrestling is crippled by an appalling control system, lacks any depth, is rendered unmatchable by sloppy 3d interpretations of the characters and lacks longevity.

Even with the terrible 3D graphics you will recognise all of your favourite characters from the Simpson family and there show.

The ring arenas are large and themed in various Springfield landmarks from Moe's Tavern to the quick mart car park most of your favourite land marks are here.

If you buy this you are an idiot. But consider yourself with the fact that the people responsible (Fox interactive and big apple productions) are bigger idiots still.

Game play
with a wrestling game you expect at least a minimal of 10 different game types, but with Simpsons wrestling there is not even the option to have a simple tag match. So if you ever wanted to have a four way dance with the simpsons family (ok I know there are five members of the simpsons household but this is an example) you will have to weight for new simpsons wrestling game on a next generation consol, or a wrestling game that has digimask capabilities.

So then, Appalling, travesty, insulting, mess, total garbage.

Audio
Some nice touches from the Simpsons voice cast, but the great sound bytes don't make a great game.

Control System
One of the most important areas of most games, but most of all in wrestling games is the control system. Simpsons Wrestling possible has the worst control system ever dreamed up over a bottle of duff in moes. WWF War zone control system was bad but this is a whole lot worse.

Replay ability
As soon as you have played this you wish you never had.

Best bits.
You can laugh when your friend buys it.

Worst bits.
There are only ''worst bits'' - no good bits. Graphics, controls . . . everything is messed up.

Overall
Fox interactive and big apple productions knew this would sell on the strengths of the Simpsons name alone and so they haven't bothered. Don't give them your money.

Alternatively
Almost any other wrestling game ever made.

American football is a game of four quarters (stage that). Its rough, its' tough and only the fittest survive! Can you make it big on the gridiron? John Madden football is your chance to find out.

On the title screen there are a variety of options that let you choose a side from a list of the sixteen most famous NFL and AFL teams or a John Madden all star team, choose the whether the game is sudden death, a play off or a regular season, select one or two players and set the quarter time.

Once those are chosen its on with the game proper. The action is displayed in 3D, viewed from above and behind the offensive team. As the game progresses the screen scrolls up and down the field and left to right in a realistic multilevel parallax to follow the ball.

There are a huge range of plays available to the player, and are chosen using a series of easy to use menus. First of all the main team is selected (big, fast, hands on and so forth), which gives access to a variety of plays (shotgun, running, pro-form etc.). Once a play is chosen a further set of windows open detailing an assortment of movements. Chose one of those and play begins. When the ball is snapped, the player takes control of the quarterback who then either decides to run or pass the ball. If the ball is passed player control is switched to the player controlling the ball, during the game you can control any player.

Although this seems very complicated at first, it's surprisingly easy to pick up and the sheer number of possible players is staggering giving you huge scope to develop your own playing style and you will need to do this to get all the way to the super bowl.

Music

John Madden's football features some amazing sampled sound effects. Who's responsible for this aural feast? Rob Hubbard, Rob is one of the most well known chip-tune composers. He started making music on his Commodore 64 in the mid 80s and has since made music for a number of consoles and computers like the Amiga, ZX Spectrum and Playstation 2.

Ive never been a fan of American football – after all, any game called football where you carry the ball has got to be wrong. But John madden is simply stunning. The sprites are brilliant – all the moves are there and the players jump, fumble and dive just like the real thing. The sound is staggering and you will be stunned when you hear "Its Good!" when you make an extra point. Despite all its features madden really shines in playability, don't expect to master this game in a few hours you will still be learning after weeks of game time.

Presentation – 4/5

Superbly presented throughout, with easy to use menus, a one or two player games and loads of options.

Graphics – 4/5

Incredible multilevel parallax-scrolling 3d graphics and superbly detailed and animated sprites.

Sound – 4/5

An array of excellent soundtracks and utterly brilliant sound effects.

Playability – 4/5

The controls take some time to get used to but once you can call yourself a master you will be totally hooked. Pro-tip, read the well-written manual.

Last ability – 4/5

With its play-off and two-player options, this is a game that you'll be playing for years to come.

Overall – 4/5

This is the most stunning sports simulation ive ever seen! Its perfectly recreates all the thrills and spills of American football. There are so many amazing touches, I just don't know where to start: the gob-smacking 3d graphics which have to be seen to be believed, the superlative music and sound effects, the incredible amount amount of play options ... I could go on, but im sure you've got the message. John Madden's football is the best mega drive games ever.

A truly superlative sports simulation that's both highly addictive and technically stunning.

Back in the day when games where controlled by joysticks, cds were only used in the medium of music and having a control pad with more that eight buttons on would have sounded crazy, Sensible Soccer ruled the roost when it came to football games.

I can almost remember the day when I was first introduced to Sensi, a demo of Sensible Soccer 93/94 was the cover disc with amiga power, the demo featured only Germany vs. England in a 2 minute half of a match. The hours I spent playing the demo to wear out the disc must have been ridiculous, but from that day on I was hooked. I was hooked to such an extent that I can remember going around all my neighbours in the street asking if I could was their car for a fee so I could save up the pennies and pounds to buy Sensible Soccer.

The majority of my early game playing memories are memories of playing Sensible soccer, the pleasure and joy achieved crafting a 20 pass goal routine or bending a 25 yard shot into the top corner is still unsurpassed in my gaming life.

But as the days and years passed along sensible soccer evolved into the greatest football game of all time Sensible World of Soccer or SWOS as it was tagged by the huge number of fans. SWOS introduced one of the best (yet extremely simplistic) football management career options ever created, almost every single football team in existence at the time was in the game, from the mighty Italian teams of Serie a to the lowly part timers in the League of Wales, you could manage them all and attempt to take the to footballing glory. The difficulty curve was outstanding; the game could be as difficult or as hard as you wanted it to be.

Now jump forward 12 years to 2006 and Sensible Soccer 2006. Sensible Soccer 2006 has been sold on the history and legacy of the previous games, like so many other nostalgia products companies are trying to sell out childhood memories back to us in shinny new products. Like other reworking of classic products Sensible Soccer 2006 will sell in the thousands, but like the modern version of the Volkswagen Beetle SS 2006 is a soulless interpretation of the original.

The game shows glimpses of the classic SWOS but these moments are few and far between, the game is full of frustrating bugs that remove even the most hardcore fans enjoyment out of playing the game. There are bugs in this game that I haven't seen in a computer football game since playing kick off 2 on my master system, the goal keeper teleports across the goal to save the ball, collision detection is a joke and at times leads to masses of players laying on the floor holding their heads.

But worse of all is the motion sickness educing screen movements, I have struggled to play this game for longer than one and a half hours with having a pounding head ache, which leads me to ask, who tested this game?

It's fairly easy to pick up and play without extensive knowledge of contemporary football video-games, and while its design involves cartoony big-headed players, its play finds a middle ground between the obsessively "authentic" approach and the goofily casual.

The game does not deserve the right to carry the Sensible Soccer name.

Yes, another game that casts you as a plumber, but this time there aren't any mushrooms in sight. The idea is to lay down section of popes and guide the flow of repulsive substance called Flooz. On the left hand o the screen the plumber's bag which shows the next five segments of pipe as they will appear. The most points are main by attempting to make loops the more complicated the better. Later levels include dead squares, vats and fish with the Flooz increasing in speed all the time. The opportunity for those loops for some monster points are very much decreased.

Pipe dream was very successful conversion of the coin op, which never made the British shore (well not my local arcade). Its very easy at first, becoming progressively more difficult as the game approaches its conclusion. The trick is to rack up high scores through making loops and monstrous bends, so the game can be played all sorts of ways. An Excellent Product that has stood the test of time.

Playability is where the game boy and this game are top notch, game boy games are so addictive that's why it's been almost the most popular gaming format for 2 decades. This game is no different, even now variations of this game are appearing on the Internet with a variety of gimmicks, to rehash an old friend but the original is always the best in my opinion.

Bullfrog have released only fourteen games in their seventeen year career (this is from memory I think it is right), but unlike other more prolific games developers, most of Bullfrog's games have stood the test of time.

The first, Populous, was a strategy game which put you in the mighty shoes of a God, playing with the lives of peasants and armies, creating religions and raising mountains out of the sea with only a click of the mouse. Something about its blatant grandiosity was utterly addictive and the game spawned dozens of copyists (including, of course, Populous 2) but the original outsold them all, eventually topping the 2 million mark.
Populous was like a game of chess in which you could design your own board and watch the pieces come to life but, like a chess game, you felt no compassion or empathy for the pawns you pushed around. What was needed was a personal touch, and that came with Syndicate in 1993, a game which is as exciting and impressive today as it was nine years ago.

You are the team leader of a number of Eurocorp cybernetically enhanced agents, to do with as you please, with a basic supply of weapons to use. You, being the boss, control your agents from a command centre flying in the sky above.

On logging on you get a New Mail note flashing? This is the way you get the next mission, which you accept or reject. This gives various scenarios based in countries around the globe. The missions can have more than one objective, with combinations varying from one or more of the following: - Eliminate, Persuade, and Escort/Protect, Acquire and evacuate.

You have to kit your four agents out with equipment and weapons to aid in the mission, with limitations; you only carry one of any particular weapon, it is the future and you don’t need ammo...this is supplied by the agent’s energy. Weapons and equipment cost’s money. After completing a mission you earn money and also pick things up along the way that you can sell. If you find a weapon not seen before you can put it in to research back at base.... Which costs money, but when your lab guys finish their research you get to use it.

You also increase your agents abilities buy buying.... Better legs, brain, body etc. These makes you aim better, withstand more hits, move faster, You must research these too.

I loved the original, this game has the same feel to it, but brought up to date; the animation, sound and video clips are wicked and the continuity from the original works well, more missions which are hard, the only problem is the agents. They are bigger than the original or should I say that the overall view is taken at a closer shot so you get less surrounding view. The reason I quibble about this is because I played the original, and this makes it harder, Syndicate Wars is not going to gather dust on your shelf because you play it a few times, it has longevity.