Prince of Persia (2008) screenshot

Tom Orry, Editor - Prince of Persia, Xbox 360 and PS3
The whole premise of dying in a video game has long been more of a mental thing rather than something that actually happened. In Sonic the Hedgehog on the Mega Drive you could die, run out of lives and it'd be game over. That's proper video game death. Once you hit that game over screen it was back to the start of the game for you. Since save points became the norm death has usually only ever resulted in you loading a prior game save or being returned to a checkpoint. What Ubisoft's Prince of Persia does is remove this re-load game save mentality, and remove death as an obstacle to enjoyment. For some the fact that you can't die might be a turn-off (just take a look at the range of reviews the game's received so far), but being instantly returned to the last place you stood if you happen to leap from a cliff edge into oblivion, instead of having to return to a pre-set point in the level, just makes sense, to me anyway.

Wesley Yin-Poole, Deputy Editor - Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Xbox 360
Yes, yes, I know. Same game as last week. What can I say? I'm addicted. I'm also incredibly depressed. I used to think I was a fairly decent Street Fighter 2 player, that my Guile and my Sagat were strong enough to give pretty much anyone a decent game, but my experience playing online ranked matches on Xbox LIVE has shattered that naïve belief. I win about one in every four matches online nowadays. Usually I lose to Blanka, who seems overpowered somehow, and Honda, who regularly kicks my arse now that he can torpedo through projectiles. Clearly, I'm going to have to step up my game. This weekend I'm going to spend at least 12 hours honing my skills in the excellent training mode, analysing hit boxes, studying combo videos and poring over text-based strategy articles. I will improve. I must improve. The fight is everything.

James Orry. News Editor - Rock Band 2, Xbox 360
I'm no musician, at least not since my days in the primary school orchestra - I was a talented recorder player - but this week I started a rock band. We don't write our own stuff, relying on covers of classic tunes and contemporary anthems, but we've already gained quite a following. We've got well over 10,000 fans and have managed to win the interest of a local band manager who thinks we've got what it takes to reach the big time. However, just when I thought we were ready to move to the next level, fellow band members Coke and Pepsi had a massive falling out over who was best. Me, I think they're both great, but their spat forced them both to quit the band and and we're now just a two-piece - Zero Max. There's a joke in there somewhere if you look hard enough.

Sebastian Ford, Video Producer - Gears of War 2, Xbox 360
Much like a fine brandy I'm truly taking my time on Gears of War 2. Just as I did with the original, I feel oddly compelled to look in every dark corner for all the collectable items and take in everything that the game has to offer in my first play through. I really think the addition of a more emotional and engaging story seems to work well, and at least gives you a much needed breather from the non stop badass-ery of the central campaign. I'm sure this weekend will see the completion of my time with Delta, but with the online multiplayer and horde mode to factor in there really is no telling when I will put this game down.