The amazing single player installation improves on the original game in nearly every way imaginable - without breaking anything what has gone before. Even for players who have never hurled a 20-sided die in anger, Neverwinter Nights 2 is not to be missed.

Radically revamped graphics, a new adventure, an old adventure, unlimited challenge, and the amazing Construction mode add up to one very compelling package.

NBA 2K9 is the closest thing yet we’ve seen to a total hoops package. Other than a few minor quibbles – the visuals get choppy during the cutscenes between play and the Blacktop mode is a throwaway collection of uninteresting minigames – we’re utterly delighted with 2K’s latest ode to the hardwood.

But attempting the single-player campaign mode as the Roman Empire, especially the West, will present the greatest challenge to experienced players.

It's a well-made game that you can try again and again with numerous heroes and their plethora of powers. If you're a comic-book fan, this is probably the most satisfying videogame ever made for you.

An absolutely killer tennis sim.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 is a delightful skateboarding title that series fans can't afford to miss out on. It brings welcome visual updates to classic maps, and the level creator brings plenty of new challenges. While the product placement and lack of evolution from the previous entry scuffs the overall experience, there's still a lot more ups than downs.

It ain't perfect – and we're more convinced than ever that perfection in an HD sports game is an impossibility – but it is another soaring triumph that has something for just about everyone.

While we loathe its draconian just-one-save system, it's a stunning achievement that'll keep you riveted from its startlingly realistic opening car chase to its final, epic massacre. It's enthralling, darkly comic, shockingly visceral and able to bring you close to its characters in a way that few games do.

Eastward might fumble the ending, but that doesn't stop it from delivering a fantastic journey.

Don’t make this the third time you passed on Disgaea. NIS is running out of systems to port to.

Even though the game's pacing and long-winded conversations don't always make for the most ideal portable gaming experience, this is still a really solid adventure.

Though players looking for straightforward, hardcore racing might be let down by TDU 's laid back attitude, the instant online world and impressive attention to detail make this tropical driving game unique and enjoyable.

It's a shame that the multiplayer options don't include a cop pursuit mode, but that's a minor omission in a one-game-fits-all package.

Sins of a Solar Empire may be showing signs of age, but it continues to stand out as one of the best tactical space combat sims around. While it doesn't shake up the status quo much, Rebellion isn't lacking in polish or extra content.

In spite of lifting nearly every gameplay element from other, often better games, Darksiders still succeeds at bringing these disparate threads together into a brutally satisfying whole. It’s also a blast to explore even at its low points, and if the idea of a Zelda with a more “mature” bent and better combat catches your interest, you’ll want to check this out.

A first-person survival shooter that's as engrossing as it is unnerving, Metro Exodus tells a powerfully human story in a world that's equal parts style and substance.

World of Warcraft: Midnight is a smart expansion that builds upon The War Within and improves on strong MMORPG foundations. As before, this is an evolution rather than revolution, but I'm excited to see this icon still has room to grow. Small improvements really add up, making me want to spend far more time returning to this world than I expected.

It’s just as much fun today as it was back then.

A great game just like its predecessor, but be prepared for a significantly greater challenge. The unique vibe is as cool as ever, with possibly even more head-thumping music than before and simple, eye-pleasing visuals to round out the aesthetic package.

Super Mario 3D All Stars' package of three of the best 3D Mario games are just enhanced and tweaked enough to be an enjoyable revisiting, but without removing the classic charm.

If you’ve got a room full of buddies and a handful of controllers, Sportsfriends is a delightful party game that will have everyone smiling and elbowing each other in the ribs.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is an exceptional, larger than life shooter that raises the bar for all Warhammer adaptations. A dizzying sense of scale, along with some of the slickest combat around, will leave you often breathless but always grinning.

The purist, PC-RPG crowd will hate it for "dumbing down" one of the last remaining hardcore RPGs, while the console clan will love it for making a fantastic series more accessible. Everyone should cotton to the clever, twisty story and fully fledged characters.

The revolutionary shooter has been adapted to the Xbox 360 in all its archaic glory and, amazingly, is still as fun and visceral as it was all those years ago.

Trauma Team isn't quite as focused or challenging as its predecessors, but even though the faces have changed and the scenarios have evolved, Atlus has proven that it still knows how to create a compelling and engagingly tense medical drama.

The quirks of what seem to be a last-minute rush out the door development strategy don’t detract from the fact that each Hitman 2 level is wonderfully crafted and full of potential for inventiveness… and silliness.

A Plague Tale: Requiem doesn't drastically alter the foundation set by Innocence, but by iterating on its strengths as a character-driven fable within an oft-ignored historical setting, tells yet another tale to remember.