SINCE 1989 the Prince of Persia franchise has been enthralling video gamers everywhere with its blend of intense action, great graphics and immersive story lines.

Prince of Persia sticks to the formula of intense action, great graphics and immersive story lines but ups the artistic anteThe latest re-imagining of the series, simply titled Prince of Persia, sticks to this formula but ups the artistic ante.Prince of Persia looks phenomenal on the Xbox 360. The fluid graphics and soft colour palette may seem childlike, but they add to the mystique of the in-game environments and narrative.

Couple this with the engrossing storyline – another retelling of an epic battle between good and evil in mythological Persia – and the non-stop acrobatic action, and it’s possible this is the best of the Prince of Persia series. The only let down is its lack of puzzles, an abundance of which has been the hallmark of the series. The game’s ballet-style combat remains top-notch.

Fable II

THIS game takes place 500 years after the original, casting you in the role of a young male or female tasked with avenging your sibling’s death and awakening your inner hero.The richly detailed and vast world of Fable II is as impressive as the epic story that unfolds.

The game greatly expands the scope of the original Fable by adding countless customisable features that are open to hours of random manipulation.Feel like buying a house and moving in with the local wench? Go right ahead. How about dying your hair pink and walking around town naked? You can do that too, but be warned that the local constabulary might nab you for it.By far the most impressive customisation is your morality.Perform enough evil deeds and your appearance will transform you into a mean-looking hoodlum. Conversely, performing good deeds will render you a tall and dashing specimen of morality.

Shaun White

SHAUN White Snowboarding: Road Trip is proof the Wii balance board is not just a gimmick.When the balance board was released with the Wii Fit game earlier this year, there was a danger the board’s potential could be wasted on a collection of gimmicks.However, Ubisoft has married the board’s intuitive balance system with a sport perfectly suited to it: snowboarding.

The basic moves: turning, jumping and spinning, are easy to learn but mastering the tracks takes time and practice.But the rewards of pulling off a 1080, flipping over a rail or carving up Big White speak for themselves.This game will not make you a better snowboarder but it is the next best thing to actually being on the slopes.

Smackdown vs Raw

WRESTLING is high on the list of games perfectly suited to the physical nature of the Nintendo Wii.
It just makes sense that if you’re going to perform The Undertaker’s signature move, you should be moving around.WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009 on the Wii delivers all of this, plus the usual features expected from the world’s most popular wrestling franchise.

You swipe the Wii-mote from side to side as you grind your opponent’s head on the ropes.
You can even help your character showboat in front of thousands of fans by performing some of the actions. Wrestling fans will love it, and even critics of the sport may rethink their stance, after feeling the rush that only comes from pinning your opponent to the mat and seeing them squirm.

WII Music

FANS of Guitar Hero will not like Wii Music. There are only a handful of popular songs and these are only in MIDI.But Wii Music offers something different. It’s as close as you’ll get to being a musician without playing an instrument.The skills required to play more than 60 instruments, including the piano, guitar and violin, have been reduced to simple movements.The various tunes play out as the movements are performed.

Your actions can vary the pitch, rhythm and even the way the instrument is played.It’s this improvisation that differentiates Wii Music from a game in which you hit buttons in time with music to score points.You really feel like a musician and may even be inspired to pull the guitar out of the garage and give it one more strum.

Resistance 2

THIS sci-fi shooter digs deep into the innards of Sony’s PlayStation 3 to produce a smooth-as-butter splatfest that’s also a visual treat.The original Resistance Fall of Man on the PS3 helped to demonstrate how much grunt was locked up in the PS3’s eight-core CPU, by keeping up rock-steady frame rates despite loads of good and bad dudes on the screen at once, solid enemy smarts and storms of tracer fire obeying the laws of physics.The sequel offers more of the same and extends the Resistance story from 1950s England to the US, where main character Nathan Hale must blasts through ranks of nasty, invading Chimera.

Be prepared to die a lot in this linear but challenging game.The backdrops range from open hills to misty swamps to the zombie-filled, truly spooky interiors of ruined hotels in downtown Chicago, which will have you bracing in fear as you move from room to room.