Too much tinkering means Pure barely feels like football and becomes a chore.

A deep and satisfying racing game that's accessible to all - but the sequel will have a clearer vision.

Undoubtedly the best game of its genre on any system, ever. The punches are even more satisfying, the ground play even more strategic and, yes, the array of burly blokes look even more authentic than before.

Little problems like this, however, barely even make a scratch on this beautifully fun, frantic, deep and deliberately tongue in cheek racer, which manages to deliver all the fundamentals of a world class karting game as well as throwing in a shed load of brilliant features and the odd innovation here and there.

More imaginative, more challenging, more fun... more of the (brilliant) same.

While its not the generation defining game the epic development schedule might've hyped, Alan Wake is still a fantastic, 10-hour-plus play-it-on-the-couch linear action game - with brains required or not depending on your preference.

It's a tremendously detailed and authentic realisation of the Wild West with great stories, characters and inner workings.

Definitely the best Skate effort yet - but more of an update than a truly worthy sequel.

Better than FIFA 10. World Cup manages to strike a balance between the substance of simulation and elaborate frenzies to appreciate with friends.

Conviction moves the series in a couple of new directions, with new elements that are well thought out and polished. It doesn't do anything groundbreaking and sometimes abandons these fresh ideas for much shallower out and out gunning, but it's consistently solid and satisfying throughout.

A solid 2010 upgrade for an excellent multiplayer game and slightly aged solo experience. Worth both a revisit and a new plunge.

An epic, over-sized gorefest unlike any other. Sorry EA, Kratos is still the king of brutal brawlers.

Final Fantasy XIII isn't just a game you merely enjoy. You fall in love with it. It's gorgeous worlds have you stopping to admire them in complete awe, while a graceful soundtrack massages your brain (despite the unfortunate replacement of the original Japanese theme with a song from Leona Lewis).

You have to appreciate Heavy Rain for what it is; a fantastic and absorbing narrative, and a bold new venture in interactive storytelling. Not Shenmue.

Visually stunning high-strategy from the masters of the genre.

On its own, then, BioShock 2 is a brilliant, if not-particularly-brave shooter story. But as a complement to the exciting and iconic original, it's a predictable but technically excellent second chapter to an unmissable FPS pairing.

A copycat, yes, but when it's this thrilling, brutal and frankly, awesome we don't care.

For avid Assassin's Creed fans filling in the story gap might be worth the £3 asking price, otherwise Battle of Forli is an ungenerous and forgettable add-on.

Mass Effect 2 has quality oozing from every facet of its makeup. If you're patient enough to hop from tactical combat to immersive role-playing without a blink, then you'll discover that Mass Effect 2 is a wonderfully engrossing quest that's deep yet suitably streamlined and incredibly cinematic.

A superb quest that doesn't rewrite the rules but delivers another engrossing Zelda adventure. If you own a DS, buy it.

A massive, brilliant sequel that one-ups the original in almost every way.

NSMBW is a stunning game in single-player, and a chaotic barrel of light-hearted laughs in multiplayer, accessible to beginners while truly challenging to long-term fans. Well done, Nintendo.

Loud, epic and incredibly polished, MW2 is this year's biggest must-have shooter.

Unlike Lost and Damned which suffered from an overly familiar missions structure, the second 360 exclusive episode manages to rekindle the highs of GTA IV's greatest missions (we're thinking Four Leaf Clover) and in sheer absurdity leapfrogs them entirely.

Entertaining but lacks the depth of its guitar-based brothers.

Getting your favourite car and modifying like a mentalist is a joy on its own, as is hitting the tarmac in an 800bhp beast and throwing it around with Forza's excellent handling physics - even if you won't ever notice the supposedly massive numbers behind it.

This is a solid game with solid platforming, fun gunplay and well thought-out puzzle design, with bags of character. But it suffers, we think, mainly from the progression that games have made over the past two years.

Overlook-able faults aside, Gearbox has delivered one of meatiest, most wholly satisfying hybrids yet.

Chinatown Wars on PSP was always going to be a port job, and though it soils some of DS original's intuitive mini-games it maintains the inventive, thoroughly entertaining and built-for-handheld mission structure of the original - and that's what we loved most in the first place.

It takes elements from a lot of games - the exploration of Tomb Raider, climbing of Prince of Persia/Assassin's Creed, combat from Gears of War and stealth from Splinter Cell, yet it amalgamates all of these elements perfectly into one package. You can't compare it to any other game.

2007's game in the snow - an accessible, content-filled party game. Take some risks next time Sega.

Superb car handling is the only redeeming factor for GT PSP. It feels great to drive. But that driving needed to be packaged with an actual racing game and that game isn't here.

Powerful and accessible music maker that's NOT a game.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge has got everything its PS3 brother has. Power to the PSP.

. This is a meaty, loud and epic new Halo with a superb new campaign and an awesome co-op multiplayer mode with all the Halo 3 multiplayer shenanigans thrown in for good measure. It may be a little short and it's not a far cry from what Halo fans have seen already. But it's more of the same industry-defining quality you expect from Bungie.

The handling is superb, weighty and satisfying with every last handbrake turn. The crash damage and overall visual detail is of the highest calibre in games today, and there are so many events you'll be busy for hours. Codemasters got it right, this time.

Massively polished, hugely enjoyable single-player game that (finally) does the Batman license justice.

A stunningly-executed, modern-day Super Metroid.

Amazing physics playground with totally engrossing gameplay.

Potentially brilliant multiplayer romp hindered by PSN's lack of communication. Bundled headsets please, Sony.

A great display of how motion-controlled gaming can work. Bigger and better than Wii Sports too.

A generic, below-average first-person shooter experience marginally cushioned by robust online options.

It's a classic case of being sucked in by a license; an average shooter resting heavily on the shoulders of an acclaimed movie license. It's not all bad, just don't expect it to be as good as you're probably expecting it to be.

A solid tennis game but underwhelming in most areas.

Red Faction Guerrilla is a refreshing and very enjoyable sandbox game that offers an alternative to the Saints Rows, GTAs and Godfathers out there. Don't expect anywhere near the insight and polish found in GTA IV, but do expect a rollicking good time.

It has its frustrations and we miss burning around in a car or the rumble of some good old-fashioned gunpowder, plus we think "Crackdown" pips it in the open-world action game league. But that won't stop you having a very amusing 25 hours of gaming (play it through twice, once good and once evil, and it's even longer).

All in, Dark Athena delivers an outstanding FPS bundle for your money.

A clumsy and lifeless last-gen action game.

Too short and too late to be wanted.

It's no platform-defining blockbuster, but if you've got the patience to get along with the controls there's a good few hours to be found. Add on some decent multiplayer and it's a good day to be a PSP owner.

A seriously good, fat-free but surprisingly deep GTA experience - that you can play on the toilet.

It's like Capcom was undecided in what it wanted RE5 to be. It breaks many of the series' traditions, yet tries to hold onto elements of its heritage that are either dated or don't fit with the style.

A bloody, entertaining - but short-lived - action game.

The most playable console RTS yet, but at the expense of some strategy.

Hawx could do with a fair bit of polish before it (inevitably) comes around for a second flight, then - and a sluggish start to the solo campaign doesn't help much either. It's far from perfect, but the ERS formula does provide a small but much needed fresh idea to the tired genre, which means many Clancy and Ace Combat fans alike will be glad they played it.

Spectacular from start to finish. It doesn't innovate (and no co-op is a cop out) but its visual prowess and insane action make Killzone 2 unmissable.

It's just balls-out shooting from start to finish, with 50 Cent tunes to bop along to as you go. It's not too tough and not overly complicated. You just have fun with guns, and that's all there is to it.

Another example of a game that greatly underperforms on a perfectly capable console.

Not all of Dawn of War II's bold changes pay off and fans of traditional RTS games might feel left out. But we're glad it made them because at the single-player game's peaks, its a highly strategic and very satisfying experience.

From the moment you turn the game on and sit through the arty CGI intro, to the moment you chuck your first punch and see the game's incredible visuals, you can feel the amount love poured into making this game.

It's been a difficult task judging the Lost and Damned because really, there's no DLC package like it. The production, scope and sheer amount of content is equal to some full releases and Rockstar could've easily put it in a box and sold it for 20 quid. But it's not on the shelves and it's not more than fifteen quid, which makes it a terrific bargain.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin dresses itself up like an edgy, scary, sinister horror of epic proportions. But under the surface it's a solid FPS with a good weapon set, clever physics, ample gore and Matrix-style slow-motion.

Should be called the "Sega Mega Drive Really Good But Not Quite Ultimate Collection".

A very entertaining game that'll have you sniggering and giggling from start to finish. The main campaign can be beaten in a few hours but you'll come back and play some more to earn cash for all the weapons and upgrades, as well as extra collectible goodies that lie in wait. A warning though - don't play it near anyone that doesn't find repeated use of the F word funny as f**k.

Another brilliant online feature - and by far our favourite - is the hilarious Hall of Meat challenge, which dares you to wipeout around the city causing as much damage to your skater as possible. All this bone snapping is accompanied by an X-ray score sheet showing, yep, your broken bones.

The pairing of large-scale online battle game with the thrill-packed Lord of the Rings series should've been a winner, but as it's turned out, Conquest won't possibly satisfying any Battlefront fan or Lord of the Rings buff at all.

Impressively bumped-up visuals, more multiplayer carnage and a well-built video editor; this is the ultimate version of 2008's premier sandbox game. If you've got the specs to run it.

Newcomers will get a kick out of it, but old fans will find the new Prince unchallenging and slightly shallow compared to the rest of the series.

An inviting but subtly deep singing game - but it needs to grow its song library to take on SingStar.

Not your average gaming experience - Mirror's Edge takes the FPS format and flips it on its head. A brilliant and unique experience, even if the small shooting parts aren't quite up to scratch.

While falling short of hand-break turning, spring-bouncing and rocketing the series into a whole better direction, Nuts & Bolts will be remembered as a unique and enjoyable - if sometimes repetitive - spin-off to Banjo's platforming routes. It'll be interesting to see where Rare takes him next.

The short-lived campaign doesn't quite reach the highs of Modern Warfare, but the ever-solid shooting and multiplayer mechanics make this a great shooter.

Gears of War 2 helps to change the perception of the 'angry space marine' shooter by thanks to a compelling story at its core. There are points in Gears of War 2's ridiculous and explosive Brumack set-pieces that you'll wonder how you'll ever be able to go back to the original game without being under-whelmed.

Resistance 2's single-player is a patchy mix of some rather spectacular set pieces with otherwise underwhelming, run-of-the-mill shooting action that just doesn't rise to the standards set by today's best shooters. But it has to be commended for its massive multiplayer games and efforts in co-op.

You'll look for inspiration for levels, mechanical dilemmas or puzzles in every corner of your life. And in your sleep. It will take over your conversations with fellow players. You will become obsessed. You have been warned.

It's still not the revolutionary piece of software Mr. M lauded it to be, but Fable II finally sees Lionhead's original concept realised, and all round it's clearly the developer's best game to date.

Sticks to the Silent Hill formula like glue. But Homecoming feels clunky and looks old compared to today's horror games.

Great package for the price but the feeling that it's all been toned down leaves a sour taste in our mouths. If you never played the original though, that won't matter, because you'll love this to bits.

The sequel packs the same punch as the original but it's just not different enough.

Coming back to our original conundrum, GTA IV has its flaws as a game, like the sometimes problematic auto-aim shooting or the massive difficulty jump when you get to the final ten missions. But as an all-round experience it's truly, hype aside, a standout experience of gaming in 2008.

Vertical shooting at its best. A must-buy for fans of the dying shoot-'em-up genre but only if you can handle extreme difficulty levels.

A classic slice of arcade action. While it's a crying shame the first and fourth games are absent, Return is still a brilliant Zapper title with plenty to offer.

The polygon boost isn't enough to stop Bully looking dated. But there's still plenty of fun to be had here if you didn't play the original.

DMC4 kicks DW's face off all night long. But, for strategy fans, this could be worth a night's rental.

New Zealand Story Revolution is a hard unforgiving platform game dressed up like a child's game. Think very carefully before splashing out. We used to love it but playing it again only brings back all the frustrations we thought we'd forgot about.

Turn the speakers up for a shortlived but standout shooter full of genuinely awesome gaming moments. Unplug the sub and the magic's lost to the silence.

A short but challenging and surprisingly addictive score-based bash. It's great for the price, but proper multiplayer and online scoreboards would have made all the difference.

Questionable stealth elements and repetition prevent Assassin's from achieving greatness, but the free-running system and beautiful playgrounds mean Creed is still worth your attention.

Galaxy's real success is in its ability to surprise, which it does consistently from start to finish. Just when you think Nintendo's out of ideas you're blasted off to another world that's even crazier and more creative than the last.

Not a massive improvement on the PS2 games, but Beautiful retains all the humour and joy you'd expect. For 360 owners, especially, Beautiful Katamari is a refreshing change of pace.

A fantastic test of skill and patience and a huge package that'll keep you going for ages. Essentially the same as the PS2 game, and no multiplayer is a shocker.

More great story blended with improved AI and better firefights. It's starting to retread old ground though.

A classic-style Sega arcade racer - no complications, just the open road and a fast car. The AI can be a bit too tough, but master the handling and there's loads of fun to be had with Sega Rally.

Any tedium is overcome by the beauty of the game. It seems like PlayStation 3 has its first gem.

Exciting, carnage-fueled, arcade racer with great track design. But wonky difficulty balancing and N64-era rubber-band AI hold it back from greatness.

Not without its issues, but they're so minor they don't stop it from being the best racing experience on Xbox 360. Or of the current generation.

There are many excellent games on the DS but few masterpieces. This one, though, is a masterpiece. And worth every penny you'll pay for it. [JPN Import]

Halo 3 is the gaming equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster. It's not going to revolutionise the genre - it's not meant to - it's meant to be great fun, which it is. Never lose sight of that. The visuals, guns, vehicles, enemies, set-pieces, musical score... they've all been cranked up to 11 to create an experience up there with the best sci-fi properties.