There's no denying that this year's edition plays a good game of golf, and the changes to the game's core systems are well-judged - but they're arguably not enough to make it worth buying again for anyone but the most ardent fan of the sport. While the likes of FIFA have made clear progress in recent iterations, it's hard to see what benefit there is to having a Tiger game every year.

Volgarr the Viking is, beneath it all, a very lovely game. Just don't be surprised if it takes you a while to realise it.

American Arcadia isn't as memorable as Call of the Sea, and it has its frustrations, but overall this is a well presented adventure-platform game with an almost irresistible personality.

What's left is the nucleus of a Metroidvania game, mechanically functional and regularly interesting, but a shadow of its inspiration nonetheless.

An intimite, mindful story of journalling what matters hits a few small bumps in the road.

Square Enix's line of retro JRPGs continues with an all-new world and tale for Bravely Default, though some of the old problems persist.

That true panoramic freedom is still missing in action, the campaign's rather undernourished as it rushes you into the final act and the fiction feels increasingly forgettable. There are charms here, though, if you boot up the tactical display and stick to the shadows. There's the silent kill in glorious surroundings; there's the swish of an arrow, the creak of a bow.

Another strong, if understated slab of zombie-smashing from the people who wouldn't be told that a four-player FPS that lasts four hours was commercial suicide. In 24 hours I've already gone through it nearly a dozen times in various modes on Xbox 360, and I don't regret parting with five quid for the privilege (in fact, it was mis-priced at 800 MSP when I bought it, and I don't regret that either).

Rugby 06 finally offers the full range of Premiership, Celtic and Southern Hemisphere club teams, not to mention exhibition sides such as the Barbarians and New Zealand Maoris. That's, like, three times as many sides as "Rugby 2005."

Once described as "a Tetris for the 21st Century", there's a beautiful design simplicity that belies some of the most fiendish block-sliding puzzle design you've ever encountered.

It's a systematically refined game, with superlative combat and intriguing progression that plays the long game. It's beautiful. It's a slow burner, perhaps dangerously so for the skittish console audience, although the prevailing winds in gaming - where social, persistent metagaming is king - are on its side.

The huge time investment required to make anything that resembles progress means that this is hardly the best place for newcomers to start but by stark contrast, there's no better Yu-Gi-Oh! title on the market in terms of card lists, AI and sheer longevity.

It's plodding and lacking in imagination, and it's mostly the great cut-scenes that will get you through. It's certainly not 'rip out your optics' bad - but Transformers: War For Cybertron hasn't got the touch either.

But the true wonder of the game is in its clockwork structure, the way dynamic story and environments that shift with time thread with the permanence of its collectibles and secrets. There is an intricacy of design here as impressive as any of the miniature towns on view at Legoland.

Trouble is, it once again errs far too much towards the arcade style of play, and is not only unrealistic, but makes the game feel too easy.

A short, sweet translation of Gone Home's cosy environmental storytelling into the realm of speculative fiction. [Recommended]

It doesn't have any depth to speak of, but it's unique (for the moment) and has a genuine sense of humour, a quality few games can boast. It's an apt launch title, lacking in polish but rich in character and laughs.

Despite the wealth of options and the addition of infinite continues – which will no doubt lead some to complain that it can be completed in 20 minutes – Guwange makes few concessions to a modern audience, and as such, Cave has almost certainly restricted its game to a niche crowd. But that's an observation, not a criticism.

A glorious spell of island hopping, with some surprisingly nasty moments. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Skald is a propulsive throwback RPG that exudes grisly character, though its commitment to tradition holds it back in a genre rife with competition.

There are such a lot of shooters these days, and so many tend to blur into each other if you're not careful. This one won't, however - and that's quite an achievement.

With its knowing sense of the absurd and finely honed frantic playability, Alien Zombie Death provides the PSP Minis scene a welcome shot in the arm.

While it probably won't get the adrenaline pumping for long, AiRace is certainly high-octane fun while it lasts. (Am I fired yet?)

So, an improvement on the (initially) buggy port that the first GRAW on PC was, but even with the pleasingly significant interface and visual tweaks over the console version, this is still very much a an adequate but not spectacular sequel to an adequate but not spectacular tactical shooter. It's GRAW, but a bit better, and that's it.

This is a full-blooded add-on, and the kind of meaty expansion that Forza 4 sadly never enjoyed. It's not, however, quite the measure of the main dish, and it's something of a shame that the off-road sections couldn't be better integrated into Horizon's existing world rather than being bluntly torn away from it.

This is a new FC, with some genuine differences on- and off-pitch. It's also the exact same FC it's always been.

Treyarch delivers an impressive package considering the circumstances, but Black Ops Cold War feels like a step back from last year.

Folklore powers a heartfelt game of exploration and empathy. [Eurogamer Recommended]