18 cert, Ubisoft, Xbox ***

I Am Alivestarts out with a good idea – a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with a main character in search of his lost family – but loses its way a little with gameplay mechanics that fall just a little bit short. A year after an apocalypse has destroyed cities and wiped out much of the population, what's left of civilisation is choked by a toxic dust and threatened by the survivors, who are willing to do anything to protect what little they have. You're initially armed with nothing but an empty gun – at most, all you can do is threaten people and hope they aren't armed themselves. However, if you scavenge around the desolate, abandoned buildings, you can find a few useful items. While there is plenty to like about this game – its ability to stretch your nerves to breaking point at times, the moral dilemmas you'll be faced with, the fact that it doesn't make it too easy for you by supplying you with conveniently placed ammo or health stores – there are a few flaws that drag it down. The control system wasn't the easiest to work with, there's a lot of repetition, and the AI can be a little dim at times. Still,

I Am Aliveworth a shot, if only to test your nerve.