Verily, What a great idea for a party game -- jousting, archery and sword fighting against your pals.

Not to mention throwing cows with catapults, pig-trussing, dancing, dragon fighting and puppet duels.

There are 30 games in this collection, showing lots of imagination and wit, and they are gathered together as festivals and tournaments.

The storybook-style graphics work really well and the eight characters' voices are funny.

Those are the good points: it's the pity they're outweighed by one great big bad point. The controls are a nightmare.

In many cases the Wiimote lacks precision and in others it's nigh on impossible to get a response on screen.

Then there's the waiting time between each bout of action, partly caused by the decision to base gameplay around and on-screen board game.

There are four competitors in each tournament: with four human players this might just about the enjoyable, but it's frustrating against computer opponents.

Not only do they invariably beat you, but often you have to wait ages while two of them fight each other.

If you can master the controls Medieval Games does offer some fun at a budget-price -- but it could have been so much better. In our family three of us couldn't handle the frustration, although our 12-year-old surprisingly loves it despite losing every time.

David Knights