If there's a nit to pick with Gun, it's that it's short. Depending on how much you poke around, you can beat it in anywhere from six to ten hours. To us, that's no problem; we'll take a short amazing game over a long lackluster one any day.

Keeping almost everything that made the original great while taking suitable steps to amp up the fun, Dead Space 2 will please both the series' fans and those just starting with this haunting adventure.

The racing action is peerless, with Codemasters' racers still clearly in a class of their own. But the style has perhaps swung too far from the Americanised festival atmosphere and it's much more sober as a result. Still absolutely worth your money, mind.

Metroid Prime 3 falls into the same category as "Twilight Princess" - the ultimate achievement of the series, yet in desperate need of an evolution.

A few months ago, "Company of Heroes" was a lock for RTS of the year. With Rise of the Witch-king, we're on the verge of flip-flopping. Seriously.

One of the best Wii U games gets a wonderful Switch remaster that brings to life its multiplayer mayhem better than ever before.

Deceptively simple. Don't be fooled by its cute-sy look and playful trappings. This RPG is hard as hell and incredibly addictive. Plus, with the extra post-game modes, it manages to deliver an excellent amount of value for your gaming buck.

An excellent realisation of a brilliant pitch, Dredge nails its core ideas and never strays too far from what makes it great. Progression means that later chapters struggle to maintain the early game's impeccably creepy vibes, but this is still one of the tightest indie creations I've played in a long time.

Forza Motorsport 4 is a big step forward from Forza Motorsport 3 in almost every way. The only flaw is the nonadjustable, overaggressive AI that occasionally makes the game overly frustrating. The pros far outweigh the single con though, and this is the new standard for racing sims.

Gran Turismo 6 rights almost all of the wrongs of its predecessor to deliver one of the most expansive, beautiful and enjoyable racing simulations ever seen. If only the AI and damage modelling were better, this would be the perfect racing game.

Telling Lies is a paragon for storytelling, for character arcs that surprise you and linger on long after the credits – and videos – have ended.

Modern Warfare 2 provides an astounding package of game modes, polish, and thrills. It’s just too bad PC gamers get the shaft with the lack of dedicated servers.

A fantastically designed hack-n-slash RPG. And, because Runic released the full modding toolset it used to create the game, perhaps the best is yet to come once the modding community goes to town. Even without the potentially infinite number of player-made maps, skills, and items, Torchlight II is a worthwhile loot-fueled adventure that will soak up hours of your day without you even noticing.

With solidly rebuilt controls only a little marred by a still-fussy camera, LEGO Star Wars II is even better than last years prequel trilogy-based offering. And, as the first LEGO Star Wars was an amazingly entertaining homage to Lucas's genius, this sequel stands atop the original's shoulders as the pinnacle of LEGO Star Wars fun.

Gears of War 4 is a focused, confident exercise in how to relaunch a franchise. As effective as a direct sequel as it is a soft-reboot, it’s a game crafted of thought, wisdom, and objective calculation blended with a real passion for finding the fun. It may err slightly on the safe side in its campaign, but it does so understandably, in order to strip the series back to what matters, and re-evolve it with a carefully considered outlook.

Bully's still a captivating, cartoonish adventure that packs a ton of activity into its deceptively small world, and it's still a lot of fun to run around dodging prefects and thwacking preppies with a slingshot.

The story soars, but not so often. The dungeons are long and meandering. The gameplay is effective, but not engrossing. It's a staggeringly well-made game that throws more at you than any other RPG on the PS2... but well-made doesn't necessarily mean "fun."

N+ may not look like much, but it’s fun and addictive.

There’s no denying that Neverwinter is derivative. It’s a game of borrowed parts and tweaked ideas that sometimes seems a little behind the times. But each of the game’s systems, from combat to crafting, is expertly crafted--simultaneously offering depth, fun, and accessibility.

A corny, geeky dream come true that's destined to be an underground classic.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection may not supersede the thrills of an action-packed hunt, while other JRPGs have made more significant evolutions in comparison. Nonetheless, it's still an improvement for this sub-series with production values, mechanical depth, and challenge that makes it a worthy companion piece to its mainline apex.

DmC's gameplay speaks for itself. It's challenging, accessible, and experimental in all the right ways, while retaining the top-notch combat that put Dante on the map in the first place. Sure, it's not without its shortcomings, but DmC easily ranks among the action game elite.

For quick-to-play, compelling arcade action - complete with a two-player head to head mode - it's hard to imagine a better package. Don't miss this one.

We’ll happily play all season long, during which we’ll invent a thousand more reasons to love and hate it all at the same time. No matter what, though, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t a tad disappointed that this year’s version didn’t make the same jump we’d gotten accustomed to the last two years.

While hardcore baseball fans may be turned off by its cutesy style, MLB Power Pros is fun, and that's what matters. Give it a swing.

Even with a clumsy progression system, Trials Rising's vibrant tracks, tight controls, and excellent tutorials are some of the best in the series.

Super Mario RPG is legendary for a reason, and that's never been clearer than with this remake. It looks great and smartly evolves the original combat system to make it even more engaging. While the game can't fully escape the limitations of '90s JRPG storytelling, it still offers a zany quest well worth undertaking today.

A licensed fighting game done right, sure to please fans of the brand and the genre. Its accessibility lets casual gamers or avid comic readers enjoy themselves, while retaining all the depth that fighter enthusiasts crave. If you've ever wanted to witness Batman and Superman duke it out in a brutal showdown, there's no better time than now.