Sonic Unleashed
Most formats, £35. Age 7+

Sonic, if you didn’t know already, is a harum-scarum hedgehog and one of the best known characters in gaming history. As ever, you must control the spiky blue blur as he races through a cleverly designed world, switching between 3-D and 2-D action. Leaping chasms, racing upside down along corkscrew tracks, then sliding through gaps, he pursues the rings that give him greater speed. It is a welcome return to form for Sega’s speedy critter after some indifferent outings.

The trouble is that Sonic Unleashed is a game of two halves – and the new section is far weaker. After dark, Sonic transforms into a hedgehog-cum-werewolf known as a werehog. The fast-paced racing suddenly transmogrifies into slow-moving, repetitive monster-bashing laced with basic puzzle-solving. You’ll swiftly wish for these monotonous sequences to end. Sonic’s breakneck speed-racing sequences make it worth the price of admission, but you’ll want to leave once the fighting starts. - Steve O’Rourke

Need for Speed: Undercover
Most formats, £30-£50. Age 12+

The Need for Speed series has provided visceral street-racing thrills for years. After last year’s mediocre effort, hopes were high that this instalment would put it back on top. The new game is set in an urban sprawl that you can explore at will, picking races and chases as you go. The distinctive Need for Speed style, all clean lines and vivid lighting, looks cool and has thrilling moments.

Sadly, the good news stops there. The city streets are pitifully empty and the difficulty level is ludicrously forgiving, with computer-controlled racers perceptibly slowing whenever you crash to let you catch up. The game doesn’t even run smoothly. Considering this title’s similarities to its excellent rival, Burnout Paradise, this is not only rubbish but unnecessary too. Give this one a swerve. - Stuart Andrews

Lips
Xbox 360, £50. Age 12+

Are you up for belting out karaoke pop hits among friends? If so, warm up your vocal cords to aim for the correct notes for each song as they are shown on a scrolling bar on your TV screen.

This type of game was pioneered by Sony’s popular SingStar series, and Lips is Microsoft’s attempt to steal the limelight for the Xbox 360. The two bundled microphones are wireless, which is a big slap for its rival, and they are also motion-sensitive. This allows you to clap a virtual tambourine for extra points, although there is an irritating delay.Unlike SingStar, Lips doesn’t punish you for adding Whitney-esque vibrato to a song. The repertoire of 40 tunes ranges from Radiohead to Rihanna and you can download extra tracks for £1.36 a pop. Even though Lips is more gloss than substance, it’s fun with the right crowd. -Stuart Andrews

Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City
Wii, £40. Age 3+

This quirky, free-roaming cartoon adventure game – a bit like Second Life for little ’uns – has now come to the Wii. Once you have set up a character, you arrive in a new town, buy a house and then interact with cutesy animal neighbours. To bag fancy clothing or entertainment, you perform chores – it may not sound gripping but it proves surprisingly addictive. For instance, you can go fishing using the Wii’s motion-sensitive controller.

Fans will be disappointed by the lack of innovations other than a small city you can pop to for a day out. The other novelty is the new Wii Speak function that enables online gamers to talk to one another with a new speaker-phone accessory (typically £20 extra). This works well and the game remains oddly compelling, but its lack of evolution trims its allure. - David Phelan