For those looking for the complete reinvention of the wheel will have to wait a bit longer. But Mario Party 9 has had enough tweaked in it to breathe some much-needed life back into the series.

Sakurai has done the impossible - resurrected a franchise long thought dead, given it some fresh new kicks and produced something glorious. Irreverent, self-referential comedy has rarely fit a Nintendo game so snugly.

It's a Tekken game, but stripped bare. That's all anyone ever really needs to know.

After a decade of development, and thousands of years of bloodshed and territorial domination, it seems the Total War series has come full circle. Fall of the Samurai is the resounding conclusion, a well-thought out, well-crafted game that puts comparable expansions to shame.

Yakuza: Dead Souls is a strange fruit sitting between the Yakuza that fans love and the zombie horde gameplay so overused in recent game development. While it doesn't really do either perfectly, there is enough here to keep players entertained. Fans of the series will enjoy seeing their characters in this new role but newcomers could easily be put off by the clunky control system and watered down gun-play, while zombie fans will enjoy the varied killing methods, but will be disappointed in the lack of challenge the aiming system allows.

It's a shame because Raccoon City is not entirely unpalatable, most of its flaws seem as though they could have been ironed out, but it's doubtful whether it can seriously compete on its own merits with comparable titles currently on offer.

In Unit 13, there's no confrontation. There's no challenge. There's pointless bloodshed, but it doesn't ask the player why they did it, why they wanted it; it just assumes that's what gamers want and moves on to the next setpiece.

Mass Effect 3 is an utterly brilliant bookend for an outstanding franchise.

SSX's first foray since 2008 is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the core game is as addictive as it ever was. In lieu of any other serious contenders on the horizon, there's enough of it here to keep the groms happy until the next run.

However, as a long awaited cross-over of two of the most important fighting titles in gaming history, it ultimately feels like an opportunity missed - the whole being nowhere near the sum of its parts.

Considering three games in a single package makes for a difficult reviewing process. Those who consider themselves fans of the previous games, but who missed an installment, or those who sold or lost the games ought to consider this collection closely. Similarly, gamers who enjoy 3D platformers will find something to love in these PlayStation 2 pillars of the genre.

Look past certain design flaws - and certain mechanical issues – however, and you'll find a highly enjoyable, highly addictive golf game that's accessible to all types of player, from the kid in the back seat during a car ride to the most dedicated gamer.

Starbreeze's Syndicate may be a far cry from the isometric squad-based tactical shooter of yestercentury, but it delivers a solid campaign and great co-op. Sadly, civilians cannot be gathered for use as meat shields using a persuadertron, and there are no comical car-related deaths to be found, but what is on offer here is - for the most part - slick, violent and most entertaining.

It's a shame that so much of Little Deviants is so difficult and (literally) painful to play. There's a handful of games in it that really work, and a further set of minigame concepts that could have been pulled off if they hadn't been bogged down in unnecessary control complications.

Asura's Wrath has a great story, and manages to offer genuinely enjoyable entertainment despite being light on real gaming substance. As a full price game though, it is hard to justify the cost. For those who can get it on special, it is something worth playing simply as a new experience.

WipEout 2048 may not have a particularly challenging multiplayer campaign, and it may have particularly challenging loading times, but that's not to say it's a failure. The singleplayer component alone is worth the time and money, easy to access, difficult to master, and deeply satisfying to play; combined with stunning graphics and the surprising presence of a pervasive artistic statement – rare in video-games generally, let alone racing games – 2048 is a fascinating and entertaining beast.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss gets most of the way there; it is a stunning exhibition piece for the Vita's power and graphical capabilities (and a more subtle exhibition piece for its gimmicks), and it's a smart, modern take on treasure-hunting fantasies with enjoyable characters and classical themes.

A largely uninteresting game populated by awful characters that is a chore to play, NeverDead deserves to spend eternity alongside those infamous Atari 2600 ET cartridges, or perhaps digesting forever in the belly of The Biggest Loser's loser.

Undisputed 3 is a hearty revival of a franchise that has successfully managed to bottle the essence of a sport rapidly growing in popularity, and the brutal strategy contained within offers a little bit of everything for stalwarts and newcomers alike.

Despite some issues, Resident Evil: Revelations is a damn fine demonstration of what the 3DS is capable of, and can be acknowledged as the best action game currently available on the handheld. However, where it falters slightly is as an ambassador for a return to former glories for the Resident Evil franchise.

SoulCalibur V is meant to be played with people; anybody expecting a rich experience from the singleplayer, like that found in earlier entries in the series, will be disappointed. Play with friends or online and it's easy to quickly discover a deep and rich fighting system that can be a lot of fun.

It's not doing anything revolutionary on it's own, but serves the loyal audience with the best offering Nintendo can muster – and that's pretty good indeed.

The Darkness II's less dour, more fantastical take on the shooter is a welcome change of pace to the string of samey combat scenarios publishers have assured us we can't get enough of over the past five years.

Catherine is very challenging, even on normal difficulty, and the waking life segments aren't for everybody. It is, however, extremely rewarding to finally make it to that next landing after 30-odd heartbreaking attempts, and the controls are seldom to blame for an errant death. At Catherine's centre is a sharp, cel-shaded look, but the periphery is a soft-focus blur, reflecting Vincent's uncertainty and the slippery nature of his reality.

Much will no doubt be made of the similarity between Reckoning and Skyrim, but both offer sufficiently different experiences to keep all RPG fans attentive. Those growing weary of Skyrim can certainly look to Reckoning to provide another world in which to become wholly absorbed, and although not professing quite the sophistication or polish of Bethesda's juggernaut, there's plenty here to cause Hallmark to run out of "I'm Sorry, Please Forgive Me" Valentines cards this year.

A fair instalment in the series that should leave fans happy enough but eager to move on.

An also-ran in a stacked genre that somehow further lowers the stock of the most overused enemy type of the past decade, All Zombies Must Die! makes both a bad case for its title and as a game in general.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe lacks anything beyond the main campaign, save an arena mode DLC available for an additional 240 MSP that really should have been included in the main game. It is also too short.