Never boring and often exhilarating, The Old Blood is another polished love letter to an older breed of shooter. While not as deep or interesting as The New Order, this standalone expansion provides enough visceral entertainment and interesting story beats to keep players more than engaged for its 6-8 hour running time.

Although it won't be met with the slack-jawed amazement of its predecessor, Crysis 2 offers a very stylish and entertaining single and multiplayer experience with an engaging point of differentiation in the range of tactical options open to the player.

The Gunstringer spins a familiar yarn – a double-crossed outlaw is back from the grave and out for revenge – but the conceit that it's all a play (complete with cuts to a live audience whooping and hollering a victory or booing the introduction of a corrupt banker) works brilliantly, and it's impossible to participate without a grin mysteriously emerging where a player's game-face scowl normally resides. Fun and funny, it shows that perhaps Kinect has a use beyond dance and exercise games after all.

Shadow of the Colossus is available on three generations of PlayStation hardware, but this latest version is the best. The splendid facelift here can't disguise some of its creakier gameplay, but if you've never played it, there's never been a better time to tackle Team Ico's signature game.

Farpoint is the best realised and executed VR experience I have played – one that gives me hope that we have just begun to scratch the surface of what can be achieved in the medium. It’s unfortunate that the ending of the game and the resolution of the PSVR hold it back, but regardless, it's an enjoyable shooter with a great story.

A Bunnylord, gruesome pixellated deaths, politics by force, and sliding while shooting...After reading that, you already know if Not A Hero is for you.

This is not Gran Turismo, but nor does it claim to be. A solid racing title for fans of the prancing horse, and those that simply like to admire from afar. Think simulation rather than arcade and you'll have a ball.

The experience of playing a game like this on the handheld mode of a Switch is also a joyous one and has lent to me having more fun with these games than I ever have before.

Boasting some clever innovations and generally smooth execution, Civilization: Beyond Earth is a sure bet for fans of the long-running series.

As movie tie-in games go, this is actually rather good. It flows well, is visually impressive and maintains sufficient pace and excitement to keep the young player tuned in for many hours.

It's still an exciting, tough fighting game, and it's infinitely preferable to some of the attempts at shaking things up that we saw in the past.

Birth By Sleep is an epic PSP title that provides an excellent (if a little belated) entry point for the series. The original Kingdom Hearts was a bit convoluted for the uninitiated (like myself) and Birth By Sleep has piqued my interest in all things Square Enix once again.

Shadow Warrior 2 is much like its predecessor: a gore-spattered first person kill-fest interspersed with lowest-rung lowest brow humour. Both of these elements are executed to excess, giving us a game that is equal parts head and eye-rolling. Still, it never stops entertaining if you have a taste for it.

Episode 2 contains all the elements we've come to expect and deeply admire from a Telltale series, but it's too thinly spread to achieve top marks.

UNO Rush is a new take on the traditional UNO concept. Making the game faster and more intense will definitely appeal to some players who found the original too slow. A well rounded and well made title that is sure to be enjoyed by many, though the fast paced gameplay won't suit all players and all skill levels.

But if you're not playing a kart racer with friends either online or split screen, you're not experiencing the best the genre has to offer. Against other players, the field is leveled and ModNation holds its own.

Yooka-Laylee is an unabashedly old-school platformer with modern presentation. It is challenging and occasionally infuriating, but it’s also extremely rewarding. Playtonic have proven that just because something is old, that doesn’t mean it should die.

Warhammer 40,000: Regicide is what every kid who played Battle Chess back in the day wished it could have been. It enthralls, but a lack of content and variety may see the majority of players move on far sooner than the game deserves.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is a paradox: it's both disappointing and excellent. A mammoth title, it delivers tons of great content, but hamstrings itself with a poor first few hours, a few horrible systems, and some uninspired scenarios. Even so, it's pretty great.

Even if gamers may have to wait for something truly definitive, Mortal Kombat represents significant, praiseworthy progress for the series. A joyful respite for long-battered fans and a highly entertaining, bloodied distraction for the rest.

While a disaster on the PC, this game shines on the next-gen consoles. It's a back-to-basics title that allows you to destroy pretty much everything around you, and you'll have no end of fun doing so.

Shadowkeep is taking its first steps in a newly focused Destiny that might not offer a lot, but strongly delivers on what it does. While it's hard to say whether Bungie can maintain this promised trajectory for the course of the expansion, the signs so far are encouraging.

Amusing characters and some pretty graphics make for an entertaining game of golf, and the online play is an added bonus.

More in-depth than its predecessor, Box Office Smash updates the Xbox 360-dedicated franchise with a ton of new questions, a couple of new puzzle modes and online play. Still a great way to entertain the family on those long winter nights ahead.

Hustle Kings is an easy to pick up pool title accessible to the masses on PSN. Despite a few shortcomings, it'll keep fans entertained for some time to come. It is an excellent virtual pool game, nothing more, nothing less.

There's certainly no shortage of racing titles vying for your attention this year, arcade or otherwise. Blur however combines the thrill of high-speed racing with well considered combat, and can easily be regarded as one of the better examples of the arcade racing genre.

Rain won't tax players the way other puzzle-platformers might, but what it lacks in challenge it more makes up for in atmosphere and story. An aching, moody title, it will nonetheless charm those who brave its inclement climes.

BioWare has largely delivered and will have answered many of its critics, but there is not much in the way of innovation here. The Force alignment structure may be systemically unsalvageable, and with little end-game content currently available for those characters who have reached level 50, one wonders whether BioWare will be able to hold on to the more serious gamers and guilds who yearn for a variety of large-scale challenges.