The Beatles: Rock Band
Xbox 360, PS3, Wii; £40-£50 (exluding props). Age 12+
No band deserves the Vip treatment more than the Beatles, who are famously reticent about digitising their back catalogue. Rather than make these tracks available to buy as downloads for existing Rock Band games, the maker has cooked up a whole new edition devoted to the group. The premise is that you and up to three friends must combine (in the same room or online) to recreate classic tracks by playing instrument-shaped props along to onscreen prompts. You can either use standard Rock Band props or buy fancy replicas of John Lennon's Rickenbacker guitar and Paul McCartney's Höfner bass. The 45 bundled songs follow the band's career from the Cavern club to their final rooftop concert, and the lads are replicated eerily convincingly in cartoon form, while landmark performances are handled with an eye for period details. A new aspect of gameplay, introduced for this special Beatles edition of Rock Band, is the challenge of recreating those famous three-part vocal harmonies - for which you'll need three microphone props at £40 a pair, plus a deft larynx. Playing through the game focuses attention back onto the Beatles' music as you marvel at McCartney's prowling bassline in Dear Prudence and the restrained elegance of George Harrison's guitar throughout. Although more songs should have been included, the game is smartly designed, well executed and a must-have for Beatlemaniacs. Stuart Andrews
Dissidia: Final Fantasy
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PSP; £30. Age 12+
Fans of the long-running Final Fantasy series of adventure games can finally pit their favourite characters head-to-head in this polished beat-'em-up. You control some of the most recognisable heroes and villains from the saga in a suitably bombastic tale of warring gods. Each battleground is an expansive, multi-levelled 3-D arena in which characters run along walls, grind on rails, or even hover in mid-air. The combat system is mercifully simpler than in many such games and you can unleash some visually impressive setpiece moves. The emphasis is on tactics, rather than the furious button-bashing combos of its rivals. The real power of this game is in the way you can develop your characters. Winning a bout reaps virtual cash to spend on new equipment, weaponry or abilities. Players with persistence are rewarded with nigh-on limitless tweaking, and this lends real weight to the title. In some arenas, the in-game camera works poorly and the plot is, frankly, flimflam. Even so, this is an innovative and feature-rich title that is intelligent as well as visually impressive. Steve O'Rourke
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
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Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, DS; £30-£40. Age 7+
Wannabe wing commanders will wax their taches in anticipation of jumping into the virtual cockpit of dozens of military planes in this game of second world war aerial combat. There are 50 single-player missions across six theatres of war, from the battle of Britain to Stalingrad, and the landscapes are visually highly varied. The ability to turn off many of the flying aids transforms what would be an arcade game into a realistic PC-type flight simulator, but on a console. It's undeniably satisfying flying a Spitfire Mk II low over Dover's white cliffs to send a flaming Luftwaffe bomber to a watery grave. The missions are repetitive, though, and you soon find yourself clock-watching. Online action adds spice, but as all the planes handle exactly the same in these multi-player dogfights, levels of interest soon start to splutter. Steve O'Rourke