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.

Will Boom Blox fill the void when you finish Grand Theft Auto IV? Will it replace your World of Warcraft addiction? No. It’s a budget priced title though, it has hotseat multiplayer (you can pass the remote on to the next person to play) and it’s a great distraction allround.

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx is by far one of the best pieces of DLC out there and will give you a minimum of ten hours of gameplay, significantly more if you want to hit the new level cap, and with more Borderlands DLC on the way, they certainly know what the fans want, and how to deliver the goods.

A flawed masterpiece. It has so much to offer on so many different levels, and while it does fall down in a few places I'd heartily recommend it to anyone.

The other thing hampering this games replayability - and playability - is the repetitive nature of the side missions. While thought has definitely gone into the main story missions, the side missions are taken from a stack of about ten different options - kill 14 of these guys, find 12 of these transmitters - and they tend to get tedious fairly quickly.

Far Cry 2 is what you might call a risky move. In a culture of playing it safe with first person shooters, Ubisoft Montreal has created a title where you have to essentially make your own fun.

Crysis 2 might not be exactly the sequel most people expected after Crysis, but it's definitely an improvement. There's room for more, but the game delivers an absolutely stunning atmosphere - and even if the middle of the game bogs you down the ending will definitely pick you up.

F1 2010 ran the risk of merely being merely a competent racer - fortunately it tried to be something more... and in most cases it succeeded.

If you only listen to Cradle of Filth or Jay-Z you will probably find very little to enjoy about the game. But if you like your music a bit softer and a bit more electronic and if you like the idea of making music and then sharing it with your friends (and the world) I can't imagine a better game for you.

The teammate AI is painfully bad and it will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in video gaming history. To take you back to the painful train analogy from before, Resident Evil 5 is a train where the engineer is retarded and steals all your god damned ammo. Replace that engineer with a human and you'll have fun with the game.

An expertly refined, craftily created fighting game which builds on an already outstanding base to deliver an all-around outstanding experience.

Monster Hunter Tri is well worth a look for JRPG aficionados and a welcome new step in the right direction for the Wii, though casual gamers may not enjoy the opening grind.

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.

At the end of the day Guitar Hero: Metallica offers just enough to justify it not just being another track pack - just barely offering enough to be worth purchasing yet another Guitar Hero game.

A great game for both newcomers and old school players alike. It’s not the perfect Civ experience for either party, but the compromise is well worth your time.

If you can ignore the early level frustrations you’ll feel with the controls and develop a creature which is truly yours Spore is an experience like no other game. A perfect game wouldn’t make you combat clunky controls, but imperfect is still great.

Pretty much exactly how I expected it - epileptic, frantic fun. Sure, it has a few balancing issues (Sentinel) and it might be a little too frantic at times, but at its core it's a great fighter for those who don't have the patience to learn SSFIV's endless move lists.

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.

These minuscule gripes aside, Guerrilla Games has done and outstanding job in crafting, what is easily the best FPS exclusive for the PlayStation 3, and a rollicking ride in it's own right.

Bulletstorm's best gag is that it'd be light years better if it didn't attempt to have any story at all. The story it does have is so clichéd they could almost credit Home Brand, and a large portion of the humour is written for 14 year olds. The skillshot system, the leash and the core game though - it's a fresh and interesting take on the FPS genre. There's genuinely more fun to be had playing through the Echo mode than there is putting up with the half-baked story in singleplayer.

And so it is Fallout: New Vegas is both playable and enjoyable. It's variable too - Hardcore mode, playing a super dumb character, ramping up your charisma and speech from the beginning - all of these will result in a vastly different experience when you play the game.

With the industry taking itself more and more seriously, Volition thumbs its nose at convention and gives you one hell of a ride. Expect that to escalate once you grab a buddy and hit co-op - just take my advice and keep friendly fire off, even if you're a masochist.

It requires a significant investment of time before players will begin to enjoy themselves. It has loading times which are pretty bad at best and unacceptable at worst. Oh and for a lot of the game the only thing you'll be racing is your own PB time.

Skate 2 is an amazing skateboarding game. It's better than skate., the best skateboarding game out there.

As singleplayer experiences go it's still phenomenal - especially for a loot ***** (rhymes with boar) like me. I've racked up 25 hours in the game now on just one of my characters - and I'll absolutely play it more.

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.

This is the best brawler I have played in years, and Fight Night Round 4 is going to have to do something truly special to take this one's championship belt.

Battlefield 1943 definitely has something for all shooter fans. Old school BF1943 will appreciate the map choices and the new ability to destroy what was once cover. New players will come to appreciate some of the best map designs ever all while immediately finding themselves able to compete against veterans.

If it was a Wii game it would be one of the best on the console - hell if they stripped out the awkward, pain in the ass Land Battles it would be a much better game. Still, is it so much to ask that one 3DS game not be portable, one 3DS game not follow the format of 'pick up and play anywhere'? With the 3DS' currently small catalogue, I think so - but maybe in the future, things will change. I really hope they do.

It's about expansion, trading, economics, boats, and staring at a lot of awfully pretty sci-fi buildings while you do so... which, frankly, is more than an enough for me.

Darksiders 2 "the game" is worth your time. Darksiders 2 the story is a little forgettable - and that's a bit disappointing, considering the first game contains one of my favourite moments in recent video game history.

The core gameplay of ODST is decidedly average - as such it earns a decidedly average score.

I wouldn't suggest purchasing a DS for Ghost Trick - it isn't a system seller. While it's definitely worth experiencing, it is more a story than a game and while I've reread plenty of my favourite books more than once, some time needs to pass before I can.

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.

The more you play Need For Speed: Shift the more you find yourself forgiving the half-arsed attempt at vehicle damage.

If you don't have time for an incredibly long game, don't buy Final Fantasy XIII.

A little more spit and polish could have significantly elevated the title to the ranks of the FPS elite. The old school gameplay was a winner in my book; just don't expect to be wowed by the plot or anything else.

Stealing God of War 3's slightly adjustable camera and a little more imagination with scene dressing could have eliminated my only gripes with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - the fixed camera and invisible walls. Still, with satisfying combat and great puzzles the journey to the end of Castlevania is absolutely worth it - and the destination is spine-chillingly awesome.

Darksiders is an absolute must have game, and the best possible way to start off gaming in 2010. In a year where almost every anticipated game is a sequel, Vigil Games has delivered a brand new IP the only way possible - flawlessly. The combination of action and puzzling is so perfectly calculated it screams 'gamer' - there's a gamer at Vigil with some power and s/he knows exactly what we want in a game.

The addition of UGC, the less angsty - but still serious - storyline and plethora of new abilities make inFAMOUS 2 a much better game than its predecessor.

Overall Call of Duty World at War is a great game with some great ideas, but it feels too familiar to be a real must have title.

Even with the pet and the infinite dungeon, Torchlight is very much the definition of a Diablo clone. If you liked Diablo and you want to play it again, saddle up because you are going to love Torchlight.

So while World Cup South Africa definitely has some improvements, FIFA 10 is the better game.

Hitman Absolution is a mistake. Even if in your mind the plot loops all the way past 'so bad it's bad' and back to 'so bad it's good' again, Hitman Absolution has more bugs than a service station meat pie and less direction than a headless chicken. A genuinely fun mode like Contracts can't save that. IO Interactive needs to restart from the Blood Money checkpoint and try again - they screwed up this run spectacularly.

What Alan Wake is then is an outstanding piece of writing. The replayability will come from your drive to find all the manuscript pages you missed previously - you’ll need to put together each element of the story. You’ll want to just get lost in Alan Wake - and if you decide to pick it up, you’ll find it hard not to.

Valkyria Chronicles II is a great game. While it feels a bit more like a spin off than a sequel to the first Valkyria Chronicles story-wise, the gameplay is even better and much more involving.

All over, F1 2011 is a fantastic simulation of the greatest motorsport in the world. It's sacrificed a little more game in favour of a little more sim this year - but the spirit of F1 is there in oodles, and for any F1 fan this year's game is a must buy.

If you don't need mods and prefer to play on your Xbox 360, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is much better built than its PC partner. Long time fans will no doubt find some of the differences disappointing - for instance the world is limited to 1024x1024 - and while this is small compared to the PC version, with an 8 player multiplayer limit it's still massive. If you are looking to finally see what the fuss is about, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is an excellent purchase.

A huge part of the NBA's appeal is the individuality of its players – 2K Sports has grasped this and more importantly – conveyed it. As a result, we’re damned if we haven’t noticed the maverick souls of Williams, Allen Iverson and Dawkins stirring within the 0s and 1s here - and the game is more "real" for it.

Resident Evil Revelations was a genuine eye-opener and one hell of a thrill-ride. It handles like a dream, looks magnificent, has a completely immersive score, clever sound design and unique gameplay mechanics taking the series leaps and bounds forward.

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.

For your money you get about 15 hours worth of gameplay in a single playthrough, and while that seems a little light in comparison to Origins, it's a decent price for a stand alone expansion pack on a console.

By and large, PixelJunk Shooter 2 is actually a better game than the first. There are more toys, more variety, online play (in theory) and arguably a better use of colour and sound as well. The drawbacks actually arise out of being a massive fan of the PixelJunk games and expecting more.

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.

If you were like me and worried about Dragon Age II, you can relax. It's not quite the same game, but where it's different it is better.

While Okamiden might not provide a significant challenge, it's still a fantastic game, with an outstanding atmosphere.

I'm a casual metal fan, and I have a pretty decent knowledge of the tropes of the metal universe, so most of the humour and the overall theme of the game wasn't lost on me, but I'd hesitate to play the multiplayer if it's simply more of RTS lite gameplay. If you're big on your metal, Brütal Legend was made for you and you'll learn to deal with the quirks in the gameplay. Alternatively, if you hate metal there isn't much appeal for you here.

It’s one of the must have original titles on the Xbox Live Arcade – go and get it.

Far from perfect, with a slightly unfair multi-player component for the cash or time impaired, Split Second is still tremendously fun and addictive.

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.

Unfortunately, if you’re waiting for the big gameplay twist that really sets this game apart from the rest, it isn’t coming. What we’ve got is a high definition, high budget, tinsel filled version of the last few games that ads more than enough for fans of the series, but will once again fail to convert the non believers.

Though not perfect, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is one hell of a ride.

It's definitely worth your money if you're a fan of arcade racers.

It doesn't match the level of finesse exhibited in their first game, but Injustice is still a stellar example of writing - especially in a fighting game - and with Story mode, Arcade mode, Versus matches and the STARS Labs it offers a ludicrously large amount of value for money.

The only people I wouldn't recommend this game to are people who fly into a homicidal rage over video game glitches.

The gameplay is fun, fresh, exciting and bloody tough. Newcomers, however, will find the switches in difficulty brutal and unforgiving. It doesn't cater all that well to the casual enthusiast and will surely alienate those without fond franchise memories to sustain them.

Just Cause 2 is one of the best sandbox games I've ever played. The action is absolutely insane, the plot ludicrous, the scenery breathtaking, and though there is a slight learning curve to get your funky fresh moves down pat, it's well worth the investment, as you find yourself drawn back to it again and again just to round out that last village as you edge closer to the massive task of 100% completion.

I love the new "adult" tack Sega are taking with their current Wii line-up and I hope it continues. What MadWorld needs is more complexity, but a lot of what makes it great is the fact that it's so easy.

If you like racing games and customising your car get Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Apart from the fact that the AI difficulty setting is locked on "Nightmare" it's a flawless street racing experience. Just be prepared to scream at your TV a couple of times until you come to grips with the fact that You. Will. Never. Win.

There’s some promising and concerning things about Age of Conan. For starters, there’s no shortage of punters running around whinging that higher level content is very thin on the ground. It’s a common complaint that by the time you get past level 40 you better be prepared to get your grinding shoes on, as the quests get scattered and slaughtering loads of beasts for experience is the main form of progression.

Even with the despicable lack of Old Salty Crab content in Sleeping Dogs, it is definitely worth your time. It's fun to run about beating people up, sing Karaoke and jump from car to car and it is made even better by Sleeping Dogs' excellent story and characters.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a fantastic game and while it will be good to move onto a new person and a new story in the next game, fans of the series will feel at least a twinge of regret at their last encounter with Ezio.

If the user-generated content goes well it will continue to be a worthwhile purchase months after it comes out - if you're a fan of ridiculous storylines and overblown characters you can't pass up WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010.

Frustration and lack of tension aside, Osmos is an excellent game. I would only hesitate to recommend this to the most diehard ambient music hater, and I imagine such a person would be too angry for video games anyway.

Dead Island is ambitious - even ignoring the technical aspects, Techland attempted to make a game which would cater to people who wanted visceral combat and decent enemies, people who wanted an immersive game with dozens of hours of gameplay and people who just wanted somewhere to drive over zombies and blow stuff up. Dead Island accomplishes all of that and while it has some issues, for the most part it does it with style.

Action gamers who found their way to Uncharted via God of War and similar bombastic franchises will only have their itches scratched in the cutscenes. Whereas if your main enjoyment comes from the character interaction and cute dialogue these games seem to do better than so many others, you won't be disappointed at all.

The most fun you'll have behind the wheel this year. It feels different from anything you've ever played before and you'll find yourself itching to complete every single task it asks of you. After knocking it out I'm still eager to take it for another spin and you can't give a game a better endorsement than that now, can you?

From Dust needs a mouse, at the very least. It's hard enough to draw with a mouse - but most people can manage it to some extent. Painting mountains on the world with an Xbox Controller is utterly horrible. Worse still, the game suffers from the same sort of problems many RTS games do - scrolling around the game world isn't as intuitive as it should be.

The characterisation, acting and story are all spectacular - and the way it works to create connections between the player and the characters within should be taught in schools, if such schools existed. The gunplay is frantic but at the same time you feel powerful, and the art style doesn't strive towards realism because it doesn't need to.

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

It’s definitely not worth buying a PS3 over, but it’s definitely a must have title if you’re the kind of person who likes to have friends around to goof around with video games.

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.

Absolutely get Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning if you're looking for a deep fantasy world - but if you can't handle the MMO flavour, you might want to give it a pass. KOA:R shines when it is being creative or original - when you get lost in the depth of the combat, or the wealth of backstory - and falters when it apes other games. And seriously - it's 2012... lose the invisible walls already.

Call of Pripyat is definitely the best STALKER game yet. It's a much tighter package, but for a budget title there is still a hell of a lot to do and The Zone still seems intent on killing you or scaring you senseless.

If you're the kind that relishes a challenge and has understanding neighbours (for when you swear loudly), Dustforce is a low cost yet deep title that can keep you mercilessly addicted for hours.

Walk a mile in the Yakuza's shoes and buckle up for a wild, weird and wacky experience only Japan can deliver.

Soon I found myself scouring the hub world obsessively looking for cool new bits to add to my machines; larger engines, lighter wings, better weapons.

The only thing holding back Scribblenauts is the DS. The reliance on the touchscreen hampers what would otherwise be the best new games franchise this year.

A fitting sequel and takes several important strides forward for the franchise. The strengthening of the multiplayer adds some much needed replayability, the sense of scope and scale is impressive and allowing you to see the climactic battle through the eyes of a smorgasbord of Autobots and Decepticons, each with wildly differing play styles was a definite step in the right direction.

The graphics are fantastic, the gameplay is tight and - while lacking the customisation introduced in Wipeout Pulse - the soundtrack is good. It's let down by long loading times and a short-ish campaign, but Cross-Play gives it both a little added longevity and makes it into a bit of a 'feature highlight' game. It's a must-have Vita game - just make sure you set aside time to play it.

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.

For the people who know what to expect, Dead Rising 2 will be a fantastic zombie slaying experience. It's full of humour, satire and atmosphere and as long as you play by its rules it's also full of fun. Those who go in expecting a free-for-all genocidal rampage will be disappointed - at least they will until they realise what they're supposed to do.

if you're a fan of the eccentricity of Japanese culture, like a mental challenge and reckon you have fingers dextrous enough to take the job on it will test your mettle and push your sanity to breaking point. It's equal parts frustration and exhilaration, completely intoxicating, almost impossible to walk away from and stays with you. If you're after something a little outside the box Catherine's the game for you.

Final Fantasy XIII wanted you to love it for who it was, but Final Fantasy XIII-2 wants you to love it for who it's like. And compared to Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XII and Chrono Trigger it falters significantly, with a ridiculous and convoluted story, some awful voice acting and the worst music I've heard in a video game. If you're a fan of JRPGs you'll probably enjoy it, but it's in no way the best game on the market - not by a long shot.

The game has oodles of charm however, so it won't feel like a chore for long - TT Games have done an excellent job melding the fun and cute Lego universe with the Harry Potter universe.

There's not a lot to redeem Mirror's Edge beyond its immersive atmosphere. The clipping is probably the worst thing about the game - it's simply inexcusable to have a game rely on something so much only to have it not work when it should.

The threadbare story is filled with pointless motivations, poorly realised characters and bad dialogue - so cross out 'wanting to know what happens at the end'. The way the game challenges you is by simply sending more of the same at you and hoping you run out of ammo. It doesn't have story, it doesn't have gameplay - so why would you keep playing?

Its remarkable graphics and well thought out and voiced characters mark it as a definite achievement, and the sheer length and breadth of it means dozens of hours of entertainment. Plus there is a dog smoking a pipe.