An astounding technical achievement. It's one of the best-looking games ever, and it knows how to bring the spectacle. Its single-player provides a playground for the joyous nanosuit powers, although some buggy AI and generic aliens keep the campaign from soaring as high as it could have. The multiplayer, meanwhile, is a fantastic buffet of playstyles that rewards the creative player.

If not for the ability to man the gas guns or anti-air cannons yourself, Toy Soldiers would merely be another enjoyable, but just satisfactory, addition to a stagnating genre we admittedly can’t get enough of. Because of its innovation, however, and because it works as well as most shooters with similar ideas, Toy Soldiers easily earns its worth.

Its handful of setbacks are just about evenly balanced with its improvements, so Galactrix still offers an addictive, puzzle-meets-RPG experience that won’t disappoint most fans of the original PQ, as well as anyone looking for an accessible game that still packs plenty of substance.

There's little doubt that The Division understands how to be a persistent MMO-shooter, but it perhaps lacks that understanding of why players continue to log-in to its competitors months and years after they start playing. Even the end-game, which is technically sound, lacks the variety or substance to entertain long-term.

Rift needs to prove it can offer far more beyond 50. Trion's baby already shows some promise of being the most successful MMO release since World of Warcraft, but the endgame currently stands as a looming question mark that overshadows everything else.

It's fair to say that Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol is simply Karaoke Revolution with a layer of American Idol paint. That's not a bad thing at all. The karaoke gameplay is tried and true, while the popularity of the show will help the game reach a new audience.

Pragmata is nostalgia wrapped in a shiny new spacesuit with plenty of cool tricks up its pressurized sleeve. It's good to see Capcom returning to its quirky action beat, with an impressive host of weaponry, upgrades, combat hacks, and base-building as the sci-fi adventure moves through beautifully-conceptualized biomes. The visual and stylistic elements definitely give me deja-vu at times, and I could do without its heavy-handed themes battering me over the head, but beneath all that polished titanium sits a profound tale of humanity I'll not soon forget.

A thrilling, authentic recreation of Star Trek that brings out the team player in everyone. Just a shame it's such a pain to set-up.

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.

Evolving arcadey mechanics that have already been perfected is a tough challenge that Once Upon a Katamari rises to meet. Time travel and set pieces across Edo Japan, cowboy escapades, and more make this the most inventive evolution of the series yet. Katamari is on a roll.

Nailing its low-poly aesthetic, smart visual and audio choices combine to create luxurious moments of tension. While a lack of friction makes action a bit straightforward, the well-crafted vibes make for an experience you won’t forget anytime soon.

FIFA 13 on the Wii U is an exceptionally strong launch title for Nintendo's new console. Its smart and innovative use of the controls, silky smooth gameplay, and exquisite array of real-world football make it a winner.

MLB The Show 21 is strong in so many areas, yet also an opportunity missed – and not only in relation to Jackie Robinson.

There's also no denying that Liverpool has overextended itself just a bit with Wipeout 2048. At its best, it's incredibly fast and beautiful; breathless, even. The little compromises chip away at the experience though, from the framerate to the slightly chunkier handling. It's a tremendous racer as always; but as far as grand ambitions go, Liverpool has fallen a tiny bit short.

MercurySteam follow up the career high point of Metroid Dread with a dark fantasy soulslike full of neat ideas. Blades of Fire dares to make the case for weapon degradation being a good thing and succeeds. The fun characters, secret-stuffed level design, and terrific combat don’t hurt either. A really pleasant surprise.

The Outlast Trials is a diabolical parade of terrors, riffing off the cult series to provide a chilling online multiplayer PvE experience that doubles as a prequel. With new maps and missions added as it leaves Early Access, Red Barrels makes a strong opening case for its live service horror game – but has yet to prove how this nightmare will keep us coming back for more than a one-off dose of shock therapy.

The amount of content is staggering, the art direction is stunning for a PS2 game, the oddball cast is likable and this might be the first RPG we've ever played in which the gameplay was way more interesting than the story. The flat, formulaic plot and mostly monotone voice acting drag it down a little, but overall Rogue Galaxy is a stellar effort.

An astounding technical achievement. It's one of the best-looking games ever, and it knows how to bring the spectacle. Its single-player provides a playground for the joyous nanosuit powers, although some buggy AI and generic aliens keep the campaign from soaring as high as it could have. The multiplayer, meanwhile, is a fantastic buffet of playstyles that rewards the creative player.

But this is straightforward run-and-gun, and it's bloodless, one-player run-and-gun at that. It's worth playing for its grueling gunfights and beautiful, combustible environments; just don't expect anything earth-shattering.

With its twisted tale of murder and high school gone wrong, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc weaves a devilishly addictive tale you'll want to see through to the end.

If you don't have the nurturing gene or the attention span to keep a virtual animal alive, steer clear - but if you're looking for something that's totally nonviolent and uses all your DS's whistles and bells, Nintendogs is it.

With a unique gameplay premise that is explored to its logical ends, both in terms of the problems you’ll be solving and the narrative wrapped around them, and a stunningly atmospheric backdrop, The Swapper proves to be a satisfying and thought-provoking adventure that all puzzle fans will enjoy.

The passing has been given an overhaul to eliminate the ping-pong passing that plagued online games and made EA sad as it didn't represent a real game of football. But I fancy they've gone too far in the opposite direction.

Ubisoft Bordeaux has delivered exactly what it promised. Assassin's Creed Mirage is a compact, stealth-focused adventure that punishes anyone trying to go in loud, and it does so in a world that's always a delight to explore (and be chased through).

Tomodachi Life finds fun in the most mundane of activities, thanks to quirky style that makes hanging out with digital friends surprisingly engrossing.

There's a real attention to quality and portability that Zipper has put into Unit 13. From gameplay that combines the Vita's new touchscreen tech with the tight controls and solid gameplay of the best games in the SOCOM series to missions time-designed around commuting gamers and airport dwellers alike.

Despite occasionally falling victim to its own scale, this is a highly polished product that is charming and entertaining in equal measures. The dream-based plot gives Nintendo license to be as creative and insane as they like, which adds up to one of the most inviting game worlds on 3DS so far.

This is easily the best-playing version of Tiger this year. It's just a shame that so much content had to be left out of the bag in order to land this year's shot on the green.