If you are an ABBA fan then SingStar ABBA should be at the top of your list this Christmas - it's an essential addition to your collection. There hasn't yet been a game in the series that has been this focused and downright fun for people who enjoy the artist in question, and for that ABBA deserves as much praise as a karaoke game can get.

If you look past the fact that Jewel Master: Cradle of Rome isn't as polished as it should be then you've got a reasonably fun puzzle game that's good for short spurts of play, perfect for train rides on red steam engines or big red bus journeys to Redditch.

Despite a few minor quibbles, Chrono Trigger is a triumph; there's a new dungeon to explore for those who are looking for something new and for those who've never played the game, or who've forgotten just how incredible it is, there's a whole world to save and a whole history to rewrite as you see fit.

Age of Empires: Mythologies is a deeply involving strategy with lots of multiplayer options that when mixed with a robust campaign structure and engaging battle mechanics produces a game of real quality.

It is an interactive cookbook and a truly excellent one at that.

It's such a shame then that what could have been an excellent game is thwarted by sloppy design, confusing direction and an abysmally implemented graphics engine.

Get past the irrelevant filler and Sonic Unleashed becomes the game we all wanted - it's just a real shame that we have to work so hard to fully unleash it.

Interestingly, the senatorial concept has also been expanded to the barbarian tribes and other nations allowing you to more effectively subvert them to your cause. Assuming you're willing to get your hands dirty and do some assassination and smear campaigning, then you can sow seeds of malcontent far better than before.

If you're new to the series then Football Manager 2009 is definitely the edition to go for, as the guidance from the wizards and the profusion of tip boxes will help you like never before.

Winter Sports 2009: The Next Challenge is a budget title in every sense of the word. While the cheap price point and promise of numerous events may entice some gamers to give it a go, the repetitive and frustrating control scheme, the complete omission of online gameplay and overall lack of polish will turn most people off before long.

Fun, frantic, fresh, innovative, stylish and addictive, Left 4 Dead is a game that you will enjoy when playing alone and fall in love with when playing with friends. It's what survival horror is all about: teamwork, desperation and endurance - and in terms of crafting an atmospheric, pulse-racing FPS experience, Valve have absolutely outdone even themselves.

A truly monumental achievement, not only for Valve but for the games industry as a whole - this is what the concept of co-operative play is all about and this is the definitive implementation of it thus far.

While the graphics cause you to spend the first ten minutes of Need for Speed: Undercover in a mouth-dropped gaze, it really doesn't get an awful lot better.

Despite some great presentation and a number of nice touches, it's ultimately extremely hard to recommend You're in the Movies to anyone.

The Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack is exactly what its titles suggests; it in no way expands the main game but simply offers you more cosmetic options when it comes to creating the creatures that populate your evolving civilization. It's overpriced, but it still offers a reasonable amount of appealing new content for the Creature Creator and so is worth the investment if that's an aspect of Spore that you really enjoy.

Unfortunately, the whole experience just feels a bit pointless.

The journey through Northrend is one of continuous wonder, where every zone has something new to show and exploration of every detail is something that you feel compelled to partake in.

Mirror's Edge is an intriguing and appealing concept that is wonderfully implemented in some respects and poorly so in others.

How can the same team that produced the outstanding Fight Night Round 3 - which is arguably the best boxing simulation in videogame history - also associate its name with one of the poorest boxing titles every made? I honestly have no idea - and call me stuck in my ways, but I'm off to download Punch-Out!! from the Virtual Console and have myself some actual fun.

Tales of Symphonia isn’t going to change the shape of the RPG genre, but instead sort of shifts itself somewhere in-between the rest of the mediocre games that have laced the Wii since launch.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is distinctively different from the norm - and from what we were expecting - but this is by no means a bad thing. Visually it's stunning, with a cartoon style that's closer to Pixar quality than I've seen in a game before, while Rare's brave move away from traditional, platform-based gameplay is definitely a success and the flexibility and simplicity of the vehicle creator makes it a joy to use.

Hasbro Family Game Night is a great collection of well-translated board games that makes for a fun night in with your family and friends. None of the six games are stinkers and one or two of them are even arguably better than their board-based equivalents (Battleships and Boggle, take a bow).

Perhaps given more development time, Krome Studios could have turned out a fitting tribute to one of science fiction's most enduring franchises. Sadly, however, Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels isn't the game we were all hoping for.

2009 should have been EA's year to finally claim the footballing crown with a solid FIFA game across all systems, but despite the radical changes and improvements to their game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 still manages to score a winning goal with this new one.

Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins isn't particularly amazing and neither is it much of an adventure, but it is an inoffensive and quite absorbing little game of hide and seek that presents a simple premise with stylish and pleasant visuals, an appealing theme and a solid gameplay mechanic, at a modest price to boot.

Its fairly brief but dramatic and adrenaline-fuelled campaign has been greatly enhanced by the excellent co-op mode and XP incentives, while its multiplayer is every bit as good as CoD 4, making this arguably the definitive Call of Duty experience thus far.

The addictive hook that was there at the beginning no longer holds your concentration in the year 2009; even gods aren't immortal and while Populous will always have its place in gaming history, most of its worshippers have long since moved on to the more sophisticated simulations that resulted from Populous's bold and, at the time, groundbreaking design.

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is the best wrestling game to come out in years and easily the best wrestling game available on console at the moment.