UK

Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider, GoldenEye, Wild Metal Country - great games all, and each one of them developed here at home. However, as polished and playable as they may be, each lacks either the quirky weirdness of their Japanese brethren or the blockbuster Hollywood values of American games. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does typify the sensible British approach to gaming.

Likewise, British games players approach games purchasing in a sensible fashion. Despite a hardcore contingent of import buyers with money to burn, most gamers in this country save their pennies for the safest bets: sequels, big-name titles and guaranteed winners in established genres. Parappa The Rappa was hailed in the games press but made little impact in the charts. The FIFA series is frequently chided for being over-familiar, yet each new FIFA title rockets to number one. The same goes for Lara 'Insert Thinly-Veiled Innuendo' Croft and her never-ending, play-a-like Tomb Raider sequels.

Nine times out of 10, if a game is British, it's a good game. The percentage of good-to-bad British games is weighted far more towards the former than in other countries. For every one Final Fantasy VII or Quake II, there are a dozen Extreme Paintbrawls or Super Horse Racing Brothers. As a result, our games are respected throughout the world. Buy British if you want quality assured, and God bless the Queen and that!