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.

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.

Story limitations and a few failed mission experiments cement our statement that it's not Assassin's Creed 3 - but with a lick of paint it would've come dangerously close.

Can it improve on last year's version? The answer is most definitely yes, but like any successful team, you're going to have to work hard to achieve results.

But when you find yourself contesting an LDV Vans tie at six in the morning, you have to concede that they've got it right. Quite simply the most addictive thing I've ever tried. And I've tried the lot. [PC Zone]

The sheer accessible quality of Jade will grab the huge portion of mainstream gamers introduced to the role-playing genre by KOTOR, and drag them kicking and screaming into a sumptuous, surreal world of elephant demons and ancient lore - a considerable achievement for a new franchise. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

The perfect example of how updates of existing titles should be done. Every single area has been improved way beyond what we would have been content with. Sports games don't get much more polished. [Xbox Gamer]

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.

Minish Cap is a miracle. It constantly thrills and surprises you and the difficulty is perfectly judged. There's an absolute mountain of bonuses to discover thanks to the Kinstone system and you can get lost for hours just doing that. There certainly hasn't been a better GBA game released all year.

Guild Wars is all about the gaming experience and that experience is one of absolute pleasure from moment to moment. [PC Zone]

Even if I'd never played the game before and found the prospect bewildering, I could have used the extensive in-game tutorial to get to grips with it. Or, as an experienced player, I could have noticed how the new features subtly present themselves over the course of several weeks, inexorably sucking you in to a parallel universe. [PC Zone]

It's more inventive, and more entertaining, than "Doom." I know they've had long enough to get it right (but so have many others, who've tried and failed). [PC Zone]

A bona-fide classic: a technological marvel that's as rewarding as it is beautiful. For the time being at least, it's the beating heart of the first-person shooter. [PC Zone]

Battlefield 3 then, from a campaign perspective, delivers the goods and then some. It's not perfect, but it's bloody close... infinitely more impressive than Bad Company 2 and irrefutable proof that DICE have now firmly stepped into the hallowed ranks of the absolute top-tier developers. COD or not, this deserves a place in your collection - not to mention a place in your heart.

Are we too battle-hardened to sense the full impact of Vin's Xbox debut? More likely the game isn't packing quite the dynamite as its potential suggested.

The greatest driving game ever. On any console, computer, or arcade cabinet, ever. Even with all the problems, nothing even comes close to matching the sheer adrenaline GT4 offers when you're chucking a 700bhp beast around one of the game's beautifully crafted courses. As a game, GT4 is staggeringly huge, looks and sounds amazing, and features so many cars you're unlikely to ever see them all. [JPN Import]

An impeccably presented hour gobbler and we love it all the more for that.

A disappointing level of freedom then, a choice of either hand-holding or hardcore clue hunting and a typical Rockstar lull in the middle is what holds L.A Noire back from being absolute genius. Thankfully the experience, the story and the characters do more than enough to entertain during the simpler gameplay points in a way that no game has previously.

It's a finely-crafted slice of the Mario as you know and love it, with so many extra superb bells and whistles, it'd still scare the pants of the hard-of-hearing. If that's not recommendation enough, then we don't know what is.

A stunningly-executed, modern-day Super Metroid.

Modern Warfare has always relied on smoke and mirrors. What surprises us is how ably the conjurers perform despite the much publicised Infinity Ward departures. After many months of doom-mongering it's great to find a game as confident and capable as those that preceded it.

Gearbox's refusal to arm us with anything other than historically accurate kit is also incentive to take it slow and think. Medi-pacs are non-existent and no, you don't miraculously heal over time or stumble across a BFG. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Grumpier gamers will find fodder to gnaw upon, but the fact remains that it's a prima donna of a game that more than succeeds in its attempts to scare and scintillate. Despite everything, I adore it - and strongly suspect you will too. [PC Zone]

Dazzlingly clever and way left of field - if you want a platformer where collecting 99 gems for an extra life actually means drilling through someone's psyche to their darkest secrets, you're in for a treat. Bizarre, but beautiful. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

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.

Things really rumble in two-player mode, where bouts evolve into ridiculously tense face-offs more like chess than a messy scrap outside the pub. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

It's not quite the untouchable dream game we were hoping for, but it's still the best Xbox 360 racer you can buy right now. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Fog, rain and lightning effects not only look nice, but also affect how you play - especially when you try your first grenade attack in the middle of a thunderstorm.