The long road through the game, winding its way towards Central Park, lacks variation, but then it was never intended to be a Bond-style rollercoaster ride around diverse global tourist locations. Rather, this was always intended to be a game about a suit, and what that represents. In almost every way that matters then, Crysis 2 is dressed for success.

Minor quibbles aside, Virtua Tennis World Tour is close to a ten-out-of-ten game on the PSP, and in many respects it deserves top marks for being the best game on the system, and one of our most played games in 25 years of repetitive straining.

IO's final World of Assassination game is closer to a seasonal content update than a sequel, but it's a thrilling endeavour all the same. [Eurogamer Recommended]

But however much positive energy we lavish on FIFA all the areas that EA beats Konami on - bar online - are simply gloss. In a straight tussle between the games, we just don't enjoy playing FIFA as much as we do "PES3," and, for most of you, that's what matters.

The dull gameplay, horrible interface flaws and cringe-worthy political message of the game mark it out as a wasted opportunity, and a very black mark on the copybook of the C&C franchise.

As for its translation to Xbox, it's a revelation. Not only is it as visually faithful as anyone could reasonably expect, with no discernible compromises save for the resolution, but even the controls feel right.

Alongside this stuff you get all the silliness and cute little extras you could hope for. This is a game for zooming in close. A museum curator will be scanning an alien pod with a PKE device. A ghost will be idly checking out the furnishings. A thief will be absconding with a fossil, while a kid then hangs from part of the frame it was once displayed on. In the aquariums, faces press up against the tanks. People clamber on the bigger exhibits and try to climb into them. What's that clown doing? Why are all those people suddenly running?

At the start of the game you're not much more than a lowly Ranger, sneaking through camps and silently slitting Orcish throats in the night. By the end of the game you're boldly strolling through those same camps, as terrified uruks whisper tales of the Ranger-turned-Gravewalker over fortifying gulps of grog.

Sure, SpaceChem is just pseudo-science, but it does capture that mystique of toying with nature's fundamental ingredients.

You just need to invest yourself. If you do, you'll discover Viva Piñata to be a subtle blend of resource management and Origin of Species (albeit mad, wackily named species with cute sound effects).

Kenny Sun's new game is a voguish spin on an Atari classic - and it rules.

Still a classic, but a little of that vital weirdness is gone.

Pokémon returns for a 3DS victory lap in this generous, definitive retelling of the Alolan story. [Recommended]

Intelligent, macabre, scary, superbly directed and perfectly pitched for casual players and more hardcore gamers alike, this game does for survival horror what the influx of Japanese and Korean movies has done for horror cinema in recent years.

As a mix of shooter and MMO, PlanetSide 2 is nothing short of a triumph: not quite the best of both worlds, but certainly the best attempt anyone has ever made to fuse them together. Alone, it's worth checking out just to witness its epic scale for yourself - and with the right friends by your side, PlanetSide 2 is an unforgettable experience.

It's not without its problems, but Planet Coaster is the finest park construction simulator yet. [Recommended]

Its immediate charms are tarnished only by some repetitive level design and some minor control frustrations.

With a depth and longevity that humbles most full-price releases – including five single-player campaigns and online multiplayer – Clash Of Heroes HD demands your immediate and undivided attention.

The polished frankness is one thing, but a neat system that allows you to gradually best your score level by level breaks down the action into sizzling, digestible chunks makes the perfect concession to portable play and less time-rich players.

There's still a fair bit for Konami to sort out, and if you're still happily enjoying the first PES Wii game you might wonder if you need this one at all, but if you like the sound of the things that have changed then you have your answer.

An entertaining and surprisingly effective new story mode heads up an otherwise modest refresh for Codemasters' official series. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Most pleasing of all is the cost. At a time when many downloadable games are sliding up to the 1200 MS Points barrier, the 800-Point price tag for this much-beloved classic shows that a little generosity can go a long way.

Tiny Wings is hideously addictive, supremely cute, and at 59 pence you'll play it for hours and never really know why. Such is the way atop the cloud-hidden peak of the App Store.

When the offline experience is so rich, moaning about the fact that Simbin have capped multiplayer at sixteen is slightly uncharitable.

At less than the price that airports charge for a packet of Extra, Quell is yet another way to make you feel Zen about spending hundreds of pounds on Apple hardware.

Pixel Defenders Puzzle is 69p, less than a chocolate bar, yet it over-delivers - and although it offers in-app purchases, you won't ever need to spend money beyond that purchase price. It's a great game - and also proof, were it needed, that Ken Levine really knows his niche puzzlers.

Cor, this is all lovely. And I need to tell you that outside of the campaign there's a level editor, which is terrifyingly powerful, and a near-endless supply of user-made levels to work through, many of which require thinking that is utterly, hopelessly beyond me. There's also a VR mode, which Ian will be writing about on Sunday. I haven't been able to test it.

Sounds Shapes is not a brilliant game, but it is a bold, often beautiful experiment that stands and sounds apart. And in one of the driest, dreariest periods for console gaming in memory, that's music to my ears.