With a Metacritic average of 88% on both PC and Xbox 360 formats, there can be no doubting the game’s quality, but then again that’s just a run-of-the-mill score for Valve and its Source engine.

It’s perhaps indicative of how difficult it is to review a game based on a novel concept that relies heavily on the support of online strangers to make it work that almost every review going is either a dead-on 8 or 9, with far fewer outlets than normal exercising the use of the decimal point.

The usually reliable Gamespot has opted for the midway option of a rounded 8.5/10, with the reviewer going to lengths to point out how important it is to play the game with people you can rely on. The review also singles out the excellent level of challenge and the fact that in certain modes being a zombie is just as fun as killing them.

With a more limited range of scores, Eurogamer has swung towards the higher end, awarding Left 4 Dead a 9/10 and calling it ‘deeply professional’. Even with a decimal place, IGN has also gone for a 9.0/10, saying that it’s “one of the most social and exciting multiplayer games we’ve ever played”. And GameSpy has done similar with 4.5/5, suggesting that it may well be the best co-op game of the year.

Despite Edge Magazine also pasting up a 9 out of 10, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the less online oriented magazines have been a source of some lower scores, with the UK’s Official Xbox Magazine and 360 Gamer Magazine handing out 8’s. But the biggest (and so far only) source of dissention comes from down under, with NZGamer awarding a mere 7.0/10 with the warning that despite the re-playability factor, there isn’t that much to play in the first place. Judging by the comments, not many people agree.

Hopefully you won’t have any trouble getting a hold of this version now that the excitement has died down, although it still seems odd to think that seven months on there are still people waiting to experience the game for the first time. And if you’re a fan of the series, you certainly shouldn’t be disappointed, unless, of course, you’re one of the 3% of GTA fans who still can’t let go of Vice City.

Starting with a fresh slate, the current-gen Prince of Persia tells a new story in a new world with new characters and a new art style, but there’s no mistaking the influences of old. So far only IGN UK and IGN have published their reviews, scoring it 9.4/10 and 9.3/10 respectively. The game is releasing simultaneously for PS3 and Xbox 360 this week, and will be closely followed on PC the week after.

Taking some of the biggest websites into account, a trend is more evident. Gamespot has gone from a 7.8/10 to a 7.5/10 to a 7.0/10 for Legend, Anniversary and Underworld respectively, suggesting that the new game does nothing worse but nothing better than the previous ones. Likewise IGN has gone from 8.2/10 to 7.6/10 to 7.4/10 and GameSpy from 4/5 to 3.5/5 to 3/5.

Perhaps owing to a the whims of the reviewers, Eurogamer has skipped from 7/10 to 9/10 and hopped back to 7/10 for the new trilogy, while Game Informer has followed a reverse pattern, going from 8.8/10 to 8.3/10 and back to 8.8/10. In fact almost no publication has stayed a single course, and yet in the end everything has averaged back out again, so it looks like in true Tomb Raider tradition, Underworld is very much a case of more of the same.

To get to the city you need to hop on a bus from your own personal town, and there you can buy furniture, customise your character and check out the entertainment. Other features include the ability to store and transfer data through the DS game as well as a string of seasonal events that take place in real time, so you can celebrate Christmas with your family in a virtual land of Miis and have arguments around your television, just like the real thing.