Dead Space is a pearler of a horror ride. For fans that love gory adventure and classic flicks like the Alien series, Predator, or any other marriage of gore and suspense, this must be played. Just be sure to book in a recuperating massage for when it’s over.

Pro Evo, for me, is a better single-player game. FIFA is a better multiplayer game, and also, this year, a better football game overall.

Generic space marines fighting upon a generic future landscape will be tough to sell, terrain deformation or otherwise. The proof will be in the pudding, we guess – but we’ll be surprised if this moves the Earth.

Generic space marines fighting upon a generic future landscape will be tough to sell, terrain deformation or otherwise. The proof will be in the pudding, we guess – but we’ll be surprised if this moves the Earth.

If you like either Sonic, or RPGs, you have to buy The Dark Brotherhood. It’s as perfect a handheld RPG as we’ve ever played.

If you’re after something dramatic that makes good use of Wii controls, Disaster is well worth a look.

Intuitive team controls, fantastic presentation, superb sound and impressive visuals (particularly the paratrooper models) make Hell’s Highway far better than we ever would have guessed. That said, it’s going to be divisive for all manner of reasons.

It looks gorgeous, it has an addictive ‘one more turn’ feel to it, and it has a truly awesome soundtrack packed full of some seriously phat beats. At the end of the day, Pure is a shinning example of an arcade experience done right and it delivers on this with big air, big thrills, and a whole lotta dirt.

On a format where there’s plenty of rhythm-action competition, Samba still has enough to make you jump around like a toddler on Refreshers.

From the get go, Elfman’s score immediately sets the tone and puts you in a familiar place.

A thoroughly entertaining game that has a wide appeal for young and old. The low level of violence and simplicity of challenge makes it easy to play. A good solid family game that we highly recommend.

A thoroughly entertaining game that has a wide appeal for young and old. The low level of violence and simplicity of challenge makes it easy to play. A good solid family game that we highly recommend.

BAJA is a real wolf in sheep’s clothing – a robust, addictive and unique racer that handles better than DiRT and sounds better than Forza disguised as unassuming release schedule filler. It even supports up to four-player split-screen, which is great considering split-screen of any type is a real rarity these days. It’ll probably vanish without a trace, but right now we’re turning off the driving aids and screaming off into the sunset.

With such complete attention to the teensiest of details, it’s obvious that de Blob was more than just another project for all those involved; it captured their imaginations and became a labour of love.

So while it’s a nice nostalgia trip and makes for an interesting twist on the Meier formula, it’s people who have either never played Civlization IV before (we’ve been told they do exist) or those who have played it to death and want a bit of a change who will get the most out of this title.

Exudes a certain endearing charm that makes it quite a playable game.

The graphics in Multiwinia have a certain retro functional aesthetic that fits in perfectly with both the theme of the game and the style of play – simple and elegant, with very little to distract you from the gameplay at hand. Little has changed from Darwinia and system specs are kept comfortably low as a result. The game is quick to load and quick to play, which is all that a game like this should be.

We’d usually advise waiting a month or two with MMO titles, for major patches to fix any foibles, but WAR actually feels very stable and polished at launch.

The truth of the matter is that Star Wars: The Forced Unleashed is an enormously fun game, which will suck you in with its story, frequently blow your mind with its visuals and, perhaps most importantly, will fulfil your Jedi fantasies like never before. And that, Star Wars fans, is worth the price of admission alone.

A solid title that manages to be a helluva lot of fun, despite the lack of an abundance of new stuff.

Fans of the original Stalker will love Clear Sky – without a doubt, it’s everything the original was, but with a fresh take on the world of the Zone and an engine that impresses rather than just scrapes by.

Yes, several radically different gameplay styles are presented in Spore, but it would be unfair to call the game a Jack of All Trades — it's closer to a Queen or a King of All Trades.

It’s not about mastering strings worth of combinations or sussing out whether your right hook does more damage than your left, it’s about goofy fun – plain and simple.

It’s not for everyone, and it’s certainly not Game of the Year material, but if you do pick it up and manage to overlook its flaws, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

We really wanted to like Infinite Undiscovery, but it was too much of a case of been there, done that (or more the case of been there, done that, and done it better). It has some cool concepts, yet they never really felt fully hashed out.

Unfortunately the final experience feels exclusively created for folk stuck in a confined area with a lot of spare time on their hands and few other recreational options. Like, say, in prison.

Small gripes aside, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is a title for anyone who’s ever stomped on a sand castle, mashed together Tonka trucks, or blown something up. It’s big, it’s bad, and the thrill of demolishing everything in sight never gets old.

Beyond those minor disappointments, Tiger Woods 09 has proven itself to be a very decent sequel that manages to bring some meaningful upgrades to the table – most notably the performance coach, the Club Tuner, and the faster multiplayer.