With a couple of dozen characters to master, tons of action, great music, amazingly good graphics (why the hell didn't Soul Calibur II look this good on the PS2?), three extra Tekken games, and the character customization mode, Tekken 5 gives you a lot of value for your money.

The difference is that "HL2" was given the effort to keep it going throughout the final product, whereas FEAR shows its brilliance intermittently. In this sense it’s a disappointment, but a game hardly needs to be perfect to be playable.

Was the return to Rapture worth it? Absolutely. Although the odds seemed stacked against the developers, having to do without both Ryan and Levine, they have delivered a rich, awesome trip through one the most fantastic video game environments ever built.

Included in this very good expansion pack is what amounts to a patch for AOE2. Their 'you want us to clean up some gameplay issues for AOE2, you've got to buy the expansion pack' attitude gripes my cookies.

Redefines the team-based warfare genre with its vehicle combat, high-adrenaline missions, and mind-blowing graphics that will have you drooling over your keyboard, while dodging spinfusor discs. Shazbot, this game kicks ass!

It’s one of the most consistently, thematically dark games of this console generation. This isn’t something you plug in to cheer up at the end of a long day. Yoko Taro is the closest thing that video games have to an Ingmar Bergman, and you should only jump on this ride if you’re in a mood to grapple with some heavy questions about life, death, sacrifice, and humanity.

With it’s stunning graphical presentation and Indiana-Jones-ish-1930s-serial storyline, players will be compelled to complete the entire experience.

Rainbow Six Vegas represents a return to glory for the franchise, with a renewed emphasis on tactics, a brilliant cover system, new high-tech gadgets, challenging missions and a multiplayer component that’ll keep you coming back for more.

The standard that expansion packs for RTS titles will be judged by. Not only did it advance and improve the story of Warcraft, but it also introduced an innovative campaign for one of gaming’s most respected factions. What’s more, the sheer number of enhancements makes each mission enjoyable to play from the first building placed to the last enemy destroyed.

If you spent any time at all on SF2 as a kid, on your SNES or Genesis or down at your arcade, this is a must-have nostalgia bomb.

The inclusion of GameFace II, Tour Difficulty mode and Tiger Proofing provides plenty of player customization options that fans of the sport will enjoy. Plus, the inclusion of Tiger Vision allows people who've never picked up a club to feel like a golf pro.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is the pirate-themed open-world action adventure that I’ve always wanted. While the meta-story is little more than filler and Captain Kenway’s story could have been better focused, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with these pirates, privateers and buccaneers.

From the new modes and vehicles to the expanded level of destruction and rewarding progression system, it all lends to an open warfare experience that will have you returning to the battlefield for months to come.

If this is the last piece of story we get from The Last of Us and the franchise ends with one installment, it’s a good way to go out.

After an iffy PS4 entry, Rift Apart delivers the full-on next generation experience for series fans and newcomers alike. It’s the best showcase game the PS5 has had yet and makes the on-board SSD shine in ways that truly impress when you take a step back to soak in just what’s happening in real-time.

The inclusion of the cutman mini-game between rounds is a great addition, and the Haymaker provides a phenomenal sense of drama with punches that can knock boxers out at any time. I personally can't wait to see next year's version.

No matter what price you pay, you'll get one of the best platformers of the past half-decade, and the best game in the series as well.

From the new modes and vehicles to the expanded level of destruction and rewarding progression system, it all lends to an open warfare experience that will have you returning to the battlefield for months to come.

I had been looking forward to this game for some time, and I’m not disappointed with the result. It fixes some of the niggles I had about the previous game while holding the core gameplay that I loved solidly.

This is one of those sequels that feels like a mission pack for the original. There’s a distinct feeling, as you go through Dishonored 2, that we’ve been here before, which even the characters themselves remark upon from time to time. That doesn’t make it a bad game, but it’s a slight sour note in what’s otherwise just as dense, manipulable, and customizable an experience as the original Dishonored.

Revamping the action platformer genre with plenty of action, wacky, impressive gadgets and an interesting storyline, this is what the future of action games should be.

The inclusion of Home Field Advantage is a great feature, and really strengthens the strategy of the game when coupled with the Match-Up Stick. Unfortunately, these two things aside, too much of the game plays, looks and sounds like "NCAA Football 2004."

One feature I really loved about this game was the way terrain was handled... This is something that I felt was missing from most other games of this genre, and is a welcome feature that really brings the game to another level, especially in multiplayer.

With an improved story mode, loads of additional features and easy to learn controls, TimeSplitters 2 moves you past the trouble of having to learn complex rules and gets you right to the heart of the matter: fragging your enemies.

As a whole, Horizon Forbidden West tops the original game even if it doesn’t reinvent the wheel in quite the same way. Much like how The Last of Us 2 had a lot to live up to and struggled to do so, but was a superior game technically, the same holds true here. The gameplay here is more exciting as is the moment-to-moment storytelling. The pacing is faster and with that comes a bit less time for the story to breathe at points. However, it’s still a great story overall and one that keeps the player engaged from start to finish. Forbidden West is a fantastic looking, sounding and playing experience that benefits from the addition of motion controls in way that few AAA-level games have showcased before. If you enjoyed the original game, be sure to pick up the sequel – although newcomers can enjoy the action just as much, as the story can be easy to get lost in without knowing the cast and the world.

Even without competition to drive them forward, EA has created an immersive and enjoyable hockey experience that any fan of the game will appreciate.

Well-polished and just plain fun to play. It also held, for me at least, a warm dose of nostalgia that left me feeling all gooey inside.

Ori and the Blind Forest is a must-own for anyone who loves Metroidvania games.