While hardcore fans will recognize and love the references to the early novels, everyone else may be underwhelmed with the lackluster story and characters on offer here. In terms of getting its strategy on, Halo Wars won’t wow the space boots off of Command and Conquer veterans, but it is a recommended purchase for anyone seeking to break out of their vicious first person shooter cycle.

If you’ve got the time and patience for it, there’s literally hundreds of hours of gameplay to be found in the single-player portion of the game (specifically, World Domination). This is also a game that rewards various play styles and encourages you to try new things, all the while becoming more and more addictive with each hour that passes.

H.A.W.X feels more like a Top Gun movie than Ace Combat ever did. It mixes in some refreshing new innovations that keep the missions exciting, and the appeal of that four player online co-op mode simply cannot be denied. If you’re an Ace Combat diehard, we recommend deviating from your usual flight pattern to acquire this target. Alternatively, if you’ve been ground-based gamer all these years and you’re looking for an accessible game that looks and plays great, we recommend you grab a copy of H.A.W.X and buzz the counter at your local game store.

Killzone 2 is a stunning game best suited for FPS aficionados, rabid graphics whores, and all proud Ps3 owners in general. Guerrilla Games have stepped up to the plate and delivered very comparable results to “that preview video” that blew our collective minds in 2005. Using Guerrilla’s proprietary ‘deferred rendering engine’ Killzone 2 squeezes a lot more juice out of the Ps3 than anything we’ve seen thus far.

Indeed, Eat Lead is like Domino’s Pizza…satisfying in its initial moments, but after a while it sits in the pit of your stomach leaving you wondering what the hell ever possessed you to indulge in the first place.

We really had an absolute riot playing this bad boy. It was a mesh of the best aspects of a bunch of different titles we dug and a blast to knock out, though the repetitive boss battles irked us a little.

By incorporating gameplay mechanics not because they’re new, but because they work, they have created a game that is different enough to warrant taking notice, and familiar enough that anyone who’s played an RTS in the past 5 years can jump in and play without worrying about the learning curve.

RACE Pro may not have the content to hit the market like a wrecking ball but it has focused its resources on excelling on the road and adding variety.

Street Fighter IV has returned from a nine year hiatus (man, that makes us feel crusty) to successfully wrest back the crown of ‘most awesome fighter on the market’. It is a shining beacon of quality and hope in an otherwise dying, largely forgotten genre of video gaming. Recognising this, Capcom has wisely kept it accessible to newcomers, sufficiently evolved for veterans, and chock full of the chess-like depth that made the series so infinitely playable in the first place.

It tells an intriguing tale, the very definition of value for money, and the environment of Liberty City is just as amazing as ever. That said, if you weren’t a fan of GTA IV in the first place (yes, all three of you), this DLC doesn’t reinvent the wheel enough to win you back to the fold.

F.E.A.R. 2 is just a solid video game: nothing more, nothing less. It won’t blow your mind, and it won’t change your life, but it most certainly won’t disappoint.

Despite a disappointing lack of online multiplayer, Sega Ultimate Megadrive Collection is one of the best old school compilations that money can buy. It’s well presented, sports interesting behind-the-scenes unlockables, and all the games have been converted so that they play as good as we remember them (except for Alex Kidd, which has aged like a 19th century milkshake).

Unlike Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, Overkill doesn't take itself remotely seriously. It harkens back to an age of entertainment that, if not more innocent, was a lot more honest. This is good, dirty fun.

We have no doubt this went gangbusters in Japan, but for those with slightly more discerning tastes, blood and bikinis are simply not enough, regardless of how impressive the jiggle physics are.

It’s exciting to see something that is simultaneously comfortably old school yet refreshingly new school hit our Wii screens.

Perhaps best of all, though, the developer has managed to create a graphically rich and detailed version of 13th Century Japan that’s positively dripping with atmosphere.

There are a lot of creative ideas, and the look, as a whole, is dead sexy, but a bit more spit and polish and a tad more life in the non-combat areas could have really helped put this on the map.

A brilliant game. For the most part it takes the brilliant template laid down in the original and injects it with a smartly integrated new move-set, an exciting world to rip to shreds, and the same addictive, unquestionably stylish gameplay which saw the Tony Hawk series bolt for the hills.

A brilliant game. For the most part it takes the brilliant template laid down in the original and injects it with a smartly integrated new move-set, an exciting world to rip to shreds, and the same addictive, unquestionably stylish gameplay which saw the Tony Hawk series bolt for the hills.

You get a lot of maths for your money in Maths Training. The randomised content across the dozens of different puzzle types should be enough to keep one busy (if not amused) for some time.

While die-hard Tolkienophiles will doubtless find something to go rabid over with Conquest, the average gamer may find themself slightly disappointed with this offering. It just feels too much like "Battlefront" with a new lick of paint, rather than a groundbreaking improvement of an aging formula. If you plan on going into Conquest with single player action on your mind, you may find the plot to be an afterthought, and the gameplay overly repetitive.

Considering that Buccaneers was created by just two individual developers, the end result is quite impressive.

While it may not have the staying power of a New Super Mario Bros or creative juices flowing out of every orifice, it’s enough to put a big smile on most gamers’ faces.

If you’ve already conquered Liberty City on PS3 or Xbox 360, there really isn’t enough extra stuff to demand that you fork out more money for the PC version. But if you have yet to savour the GTA IV experience, this is a must have because of the unforgettable single-player experience and frantically fun multiplayer as well as the extra PC features.

Rest assured, Prince of Persia is every bit the game you wanted – it is the game you were promised and a whole lot more.

The gameplay is refreshing and addictive, the strategic elements have you constantly assessing the situation and working the angles, and it has a decidedly non-Japanese, JRPG feel to it. Slick, fun, intelligent and rewarding, let’s hope this is the direction turn based affairs take in the future.

Like we said, if you look at Skate It as a place to screw around and have a little fun on a skateboard you’ll have a tremendous time. It’s not a particularly complete game in any other sense. One for real skating fans, for sure dudes.

Gripes aside, Left 4 Dead is a well polished experience that is an absolute blast to play co-operatively with mates (or randoms for that matter).