Most importantly though is that BioShock Infinite takes the story and uses the gameplay to enhance it. It puts the player firmly in the shoes of Booker, it makes Elizabeth not just your ward but a crucial part of your game. It connects the player and the player character inextricably, and then it tells a story through that connection.

If it were just the campaign with co-op, Judgment would seem difficult to justify for its triple A asking price, but with the addition of the excellent Overrun mode - and a couple of friends - it's a worthwhile purchase.

Multiplayer successfully delivers everything I really want from a new God of War game. If only the singleplayer were as good.

SimCity made me connect with the Sims in my world more than any Sims game ever could - and then it made me wilfully hurt them to further my own agenda. It simultaneously made me uncomfortable with my actions and impelled to win at the same time. That's an odd feeling to get out of a game where you can deliberately unleash a giant fire breathing lizard on an unsuspecting populace.

Crystal Dynamics has exceeded my expectations and crafted one of the most intense, rewarding, surprising and bloody origin stories I’ve had the pleasure of playing through. It’s been a long time since I HAD to finish a game.

Crysis 3 almost knocks it out of the ballpark on so many levels. The controls and visuals are certainly spot on, but the level design and pacing both have sporadic moments that let it, and you, down.

It’s an extremely solid action game, a brutal, crazy ride that fits in nicely with the rest of Platinum’s oeuvre, but one that falls just short of being an instant classic thanks to some finicky controls and muted design choices.

Antichamber will turn your brain inside out and then ask you to reach inside your own head and turn it back the right way. It’s quite unlike anything else I’ve ever played, and it simultaneously made me feel like an idiot and a genius. It’s daring, confident, original and enjoyable, not to mention ridiculously smart. Just make sure you’ve got some paracetamol handy before you start playing.

As a huge fan of both Dead Space 1 and 2 I thought this would be a massive disappointment, but Dead Space 3 successfully illustrates that it's tension I crave from these sorts of games, not fear. Because Dead Space 3 anchors its tension in the challenge the game presents, the player is able to customise how tense an experience they have through the difficulty settings (and it gets pretty bloody difficult). This is a good thing, and both Dead Space fans and sci-fi fans will get a lot out of this sci-fi shooter.

The sense of characters being real emotional beings is far above most other releases, even if the actual emotions being displayed are not particularly new. If you've never played a Devil May Cry game, this is a somewhat lighter but far more entertaining offering. For series devotees, give it a chance - there's humour here plus action and depth if you crave it.

As a multiplayer scrolling platformer, NSMBU successfully ad libs from a well worn Mario script to produce an evolution of the 2D platformer and importantly, a step forward for quality multiplayer games on the Wii U.

Nintendo Land oozes with familiarity and might even alert some of the most ardent players to gems they may have missed. With that in mind I have a number of Pikmin games to acquire and devour.

The gameplay itself is great, and a lot of fun, and I can see myself bringing it out to play when friends who have the game are over, and we'll have a ball with it, but the other areas just feel a bit lacking - online in particular.

It's a game about man's tenuous dominion over nature. It's about thinking for yourself, about adapting or dying and about having fun doing it. It's a reminder of all the bad things people say about Australian wildlife, and you get to see it without getting sand in your boxers. So where the bloody hell are you?

Multiplayer races do capture a bit of that spirit, but the Single Player gameplay is more exploratory in nature - and the true heart of LBP Karting lies in its creation mode. Making tracks and playing them with friends and checking out the awe-inspiring work of others is what LittleBigPlanet has always been about - and LittleBigPlanet Karting is no different.

This is the biggest movement in any direction we've seen from a Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare - but unlike Infinity Ward's game changer, Black Ops 2 lacks a little in both the polish and conviction areas. It's going to be hard to go back to the same corridor shooters after Black Ops 2 - and it's going to be harder still for someone to convince me to play generic Team Deathmatch - but the game still feels like it falls short in some areas.

There are very few games which are able to buck trends with aplomb and do it this gracefully. Pick it up when you can and give it the time it deserves.

Need for Speed Most Wanted does a great job at what it's supposed to - the cars feel good, the game looks pretty and the multiplayer is phenomenal. Some curious decisions hurt more than they help, and I'll never get used to the LSD inspired intro videos, but overall it's evidence that Criterion are getting ever closer to nailing that balance between arcade and simulation racing.

There is a thin line between telling the player a story and letting them experience it, and it's one the previous games parkoured along with only the occasional misstep. Assassin's Creed 3 however, falls flat on the side of telling you its story - and it would be unforgivable if it weren't for the billion other things you can do in the game.

Most importantly, what Skylanders Giants achieves is a superior sequel to a hugely successful first game and demonstrates that developers and publishers are capable of innovation in a period where all we've come to expect are carbon copy sequels.

It's a different beast to its predecessors, but it's incredibly addictive and easy to start playing at 4:00 and only realise you haven't moved since at 11:00. The way Firaxis have used personalisation to give you a sense of attachment to what are otherwise personality free characters is excellent and makes XCOM an excellent addition to any gamer's library.

For an arcade downloadable title Mark of the Ninja brings substantial value for money. A single playthrough will keep you entertained for over a half dozen hours and that's just the tip of the sword.

Dishonored, like Thief, or Deus Ex, is one of those timeless games you'll play a dozen times. The game world is gorgeous - a steampunk City 17, the story is spectacularly written and almost depressingly dark and the gameplay is wonderful - either as a stealthy game, or an action fighter... or anywhere in between. Dishonored is all about giving - it gives you the weapon, it gives you the name, and then it gives you the choice - vengeance is entirely up to you.

It's a fantastic looking game - but more importantly, it's a fantastic feeling game.

A great game. As far as gameplay goes, this is going to bring back memories of the earlier Diablo games. The story is perhaps less interesting, but it certainly doesn't take itself as seriously as Diablo so I'm happy with that. For the price Runic are charging, this is an absolute gem - and I've got an empty socket.

FIFA 13 - by way of first touch control, improved Attacking AI and skill-bridging features - is the best football game on the market...Thanks to a few janky player collision interpretations, some frustrating AI decisions and a sub-par commentary it's not the best football game it can be - but that won't stop me from playing it for hours and hours and hours and...

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a well-made fighting game that is at its best in a room full of friends with a passing interest in Tekken in general. It's a love letter to Tekken fans, and people who want to see a kangaroo beat the **** out of a dinosaur.

It's expertly paced, cleverly written, gorgeously refined and beautifully executed. What surprised me the most is the sheer level of detail involved. Personalised character elements, the duel for loot system and the depth of your skill tree customisation makes playing for yourself more satisfying than ever. Symbiotic AI and meta-challenge systems give you more reason to fight on. And a combination of loot-chasing and story make Borderlands 2 a must own.