Red Dead Redemption is much easier to describe than the complex predicament of its principal character. "Grand Theft Auto 4 meets Wild West" – and this is it.

GLaDOS sang it best back in 2007: "I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction". Huge success indeed.

Red Dead Redemption is much easier to describe than the complex predicament of its principal character. "Grand Theft Auto 4 meets Wild West" – and this is it.

You will have to spend dozens of hours to fully explore Skyrim. Like any other Bethesda game, it has its share of imperfections and broken promises, but it's exciting and fascinating nevertheless. Wait for a couple of patches to come out, download the best mods, tighten the screws in the SkyrimPrefs.ini file, and you're good to go for a virtual Christmas vacation.

Remove the ho-hum gunplay, and the rest is an interactive action movie that's decent enough for one walkthrough. Don’t go for seconds, though. And if you’re still craving for a space opera fix by the time you’re done with Mass Effect 2, better rent all five seasons of Babylon 5.

If development of multiple bases, careful upgrades planning and intricate micromanagement make your blood boil, you will embrace StarCraft 2. Had it been released 7 years ago, we would have wholeheartedly recommended it to anyone even remotely interested in the RTS genre. But that era is gone now. Today, StarCraft 2 is just a remedy for nostalgia.

The best single-player shooter in the history of Epic Games. If it is going to become a Hollywood movie, it should be directed by no other than Michael Bay.

God of War 3 not only easily overshadows all of its rivals, but casts new light on the abilities of Sony's platform. Don't think that this is a quality product for the connoisseurs of the genre; God of War 3 is an achievement for the whole industry.

Is it possible to tell a deep, touching story about a bunch of emo teens? Yes, and the 30-hour campaign of The World Ends with You is the proof.

The execution is flawless as usual. Backgrounds, animation, lighting, music, sound, visual effects are breathtaking, well-directed cinematics are peppered with snarky dialogue. It's a bona-fide Hollywood blockbuster.

Journey can be a commentary on human life, a story of redemption, a parable on futility of all efforts, or, quite the contrary, perseverance in the face of obstacles – even if you're not into waxing philosophical, you will still discover your own meaning of this three-hour journey.

If it weren't for the amazing Real Racing 2, we would have crowned Reckless Racing 2 the best car-based arcade for iOS.

Dishonored rarely challenges the players, but it doesn't take them for fools, either, so that's an achievement compared to other games in the genre. Just don't expect strokes of genius like the Shalebridge Cradle level from Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Ubisoft has finally realized its darling dream by creating a world where substance and style go together. Virtual tours of Florence, Venice and Tuscany are as captivating as the main story. For once in a way, “open-ended” doesn’t translate to “boring”, “lifeless” or “empty”. The height takes your breath away every time Ezio scales a tall building; the excellent animation makes up for annoying bugs and quirky gameplay conventions. Yes, the final boss fight is borderline silly, but it’s just a smudged line on a last page of a thrilling novel.

Zero - that's how many fresh ideas Killzone 2 brings to the table. Had it been released alongside Soldier of Fortune or Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, it would have made a big fuss. Today, after Call of Duty 4, Gears of War 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, its gameplay looks weak. Very few enemy variations, cliched situations repeat over and over again, and there is not enough story to fill a Saturday morning cartoon.

Halo: Reach is not a breakthrough, yet it's a clear showcase of Bungie's creative growth. The game is hardly a "must buy" – its single-player campaign is way too short and uneven in quality, while multiplayer has very little room for expansion besides map packs and useless character decorations. But with that said, Reach is worthy of your attention for a couple of evenings.

Rocksteady and Paul Dini created a game which is open for both fans and those who never heard of Batman. Arkham Asylum is the middle between animated series and Chris Nolan's movies. But don't let the "Teen" rating push you away: the gloomy hospital/prison where criminals are literally monsters and doctors are crazier than their patients, is more atmospheric than some "horror" flicks.

Street Fighter 4 is definitely the best fighting game on PC since Guilty Gear #XX Reload. (Which is kind of ironic, because other offerings on this platform are shareware titles and certified trash.) However, the stagnation in the genre does not depreciate Capcom’s merits. Street Fighter 4 is a fast, beautiful game with an intricate combat system and a great soundtrack.

Grim post-nuclear romanticism of Fallout 3 is going to be a huge revelation for console owners. Those who spent the last 11 years exploring the nuclear wastelands of America on the PC, will probably see this game as nothing more than Bethesda’s attempt to fix the mistakes of Oblivion.

This game is not unlike Arkham City – easy to get in, almost impossible to get out.

Gears of War 3 is a bit thin in the story department, but it's a great shooter nonetheless.

You don’t need a thousand words to make you fall in love with Dragon Age: Origins. It has everything that is sought by the most jaded fans of the genre: at least 60 hours of adventuring, colorful, lively characters, flexible combat system, complex situations and quests, dialogues that are pleasant to read and even more pleasant to listen to… Dragon Age, like a good storyteller, captivates within minutes. It doesn’t rush the story, relishes in small details, goes into ornate lyrical digressions, and maintains the intrigue, keeping you at the edge of your seat.

Corvo Attano and Agent 47 couldn't possibly have expected that a platformer from the creators of Shank would stab them in the backs and claim the title of this year's best stealth game.

Ubisoft has finally realized its darling dream by creating a world where substance and style go together. Virtual tours of Florence, Venice and Tuscany are as captivating as the main story. For once in a way, “open-ended” doesn’t translate to “boring”, “lifeless” or “empty”. The height takes your breath away every time Ezio scales a tall building; the excellent animation makes up for annoying bugs and quirky gameplay conventions. Yes, the final boss fight is borderline silly, but it’s just a smudged line on a last page of a thrilling novel.

Before its release, The Lost and Damned was pegged as an “epic” expansion, but in reality it is more of a B-sides album - a compilation of songs that will never become runaway hits, but are essential to understanding a musician’s work. The story about Johnny who quarreled with Billy and then duped the Italian Mafia is too weak and clichéd to stand on its own. The dialogue is still witty, the satire is razor-sharp as usual, but TLAD is just a Band-Aid for the gaps in the original story.

Upon premiering on Xbox 360, Braid immediately joined Aquaria, Darwinia, Samorost, and World of Goo in the gold reserve of indie games. Its indie roots show through outdated, but stylish graphics, great music, and original ideas. Braid challenges your gray matter, but it does so in such a subtle and elegant ways that you can’t help but fall in love with it.

Assasssin's Creed: Brotherhood has great atmosphere, beautiful visuals, and overall excellent craftsmanship… Just don't expect anything new beyond the multiplayer.

Chinatown Wars is not an evolution, but a step back. The same city, the same gameplay, the almost forgotten top-down camera angle, cardboard clichés starring as main characters. This is the first GTA game that I didn’t want to explore.