Funny and miserable, disgusting and endearing, the end result is a game that's smart enough to have things both ways, offering an often brutal critique of certain religious sacraments, while wallowing comfortably inside the rituals of one of gaming's oldest genres.

Generous, polished and charmingly eccentric, Magnetic Billiards proves the benefits of deliberation - though if this is indicative of the quality the Pickfords can bring to iOS, here's hoping their next isn't quite so long in the making.

A great marriage of presentation and design, spun with ravishing verve.

Goat Up isn't the most challenging game Llamasoft has ever made, but it's certainly one of its most imaginative and lovely: meanness would seem out of place. No other developer could, or would, turn the twitch platformer into a farmyard idyll.

Rage is a stunningly rendered FPS, but one that seems caught between a desire to innovate and the desire to be true to the template its creators defined.

Dark Souls beckons the masochistic with its chilly indifference. If you steel your nerves and persevere, the loot you'll uncover is an adventure so exquisitely morose and far-ranging that it will tug at your mind insistently during the hours you spend apart.

As an interim project, it's good to see Criterion still interested in its most beloved IP, but it's just a shame there's so little of interest in the game itself.

Renegade Ops sees Avalanche successfully putting a thoroughly modern spin - and more than a few spin-outs - on well-worn mechanics. If you're reading, EA, we know just the team for that Strike reboot.

So despite the winner podiums and big sponsorship contracts and – yes – even the hours you'll spend in this askew universe, Grand Prix Story feels more like deja vu than entertainment. The formula is rapidly palling.

It has flashes of brilliance, but then you get stuck on some cover and get killed because of it, and that moment is shattered.

In music, bad tribute acts play pubs and weddings: in games, they sit at the top of the charts.

When the cards become familiar enough to make zooming a thing of the past, Ascension flowers thanks to its speedy and unfussy online integration. A simple game to learn, it's one that builds into rich and complex battles, big and small. It probably won't impress the airhead in your life, unfortunately – but that's what iPint's for.

The best pleasure in Tiny Invaders isn't really the white-knuckle action. It's those moments spent mentally sketching its levels out before launching into them and executing perfectly - or getting smooshed. Infesting humans slowly and inexorably with an army of cheerful germs – Tiny Invaders isn't perfect, but it definitely brings a smile to your face.

Fans of TrackMania Nations and its Stadium course, in particular, will have a hard time adjusting to the heavy, drifty handling that is, for the moment, the only way to race in TrackMania 2.

You can see things worth admiring here. The promise of sandbox combat emerging from the interplay between environment and gun-modes never comes good, instead devolving into a repetitive, gruelling bedlam - but that promise alone is more than many shooters offer. To make anything of it, however, Hard Reset would need to go right back to the drawing board.

MotoHeroz is a cuddly toy you hug to your face, only to realise a second too late it's in fact a surly porcupine.

The degree of refinement and technical polish across every facet of Gears 3 is enough to make most other games look tatty.

The Gunstringer's biggest problem, however, is that it's a score-based shooter with little incentive to return. With only one weapon type available at any given time, there's none of the tactical interplay between attacks that makes aiming for high scores in Child Of Eden so tempting.

It's done enough to shake a shambling wraith out of its coffin and render it an elegant, challenging treat.

The Baconing is undoubtedly a solid, entertaining addition to the series, but over-saturation has made this once brash and energetic adventure feel slightly predictable.

The Baconing is undoubtedly a solid, entertaining addition to the series, but over-saturation has made this once brash and energetic adventure feel slightly predictable.

The bottom line is that Rise Of Nightmares isn't as engaging or exciting as AM1's established brand. It's also too adult in its content to appeal to the younger users who might enjoy its gimmicky use of Kinect.

Beneath the drab visuals, then, Taito's unlikely classic remains a game of skill and wit, as well as proof that no-frills fun can still be found in the strangest of places.

Despite the air of brutality Space Marine tries to cultivate, it's ultimately defined by convenience; by linear levels where you follow the green lights of unlocked doors from one corridor to the next, while the gentle trickle of upgrades and new weapons does just enough to keep you playing. The result is sometimes casually enjoyable, but never vivid, or memorable, or truly involving.

Brutal and rather short, VVVVVV's also devious and darkly funny. It's a pedantic classic, and a game for watch-makers as much as speed-runners.

As with Ocarina, at first there is a rush of nostalgia. As it fades, it's replaced by the realisation that, in many ways, the original was the playable prototype and this is the true final product, a fantastic fit both for the hardware's portability and feature set.

Like a kaleidoscope, El Shaddai offers a constant variety – sometimes confusing and out of focus, but often sparkling brilliantly. So long as you're not looking for any deeper meaning, you'll find plenty of novelty and beauty here, if not quite an eternity.

Despite the odd misstep, Infinity Field is a great dual-stick shooter that moves into essential territory with its controls.