I Am Alive is brutal; gripping; captivating; depressing; miserable; and almost always utterly brilliant. An unforgettable game that reminds you why we all love this medium.

F1 2012 produces an excellent race, but we've seen it all before.

If we were to level any specific criticisms about Borderlands 2 it would be the whole guns thing. Yeah, we get it, the game has all the guns ever, but to be honest a lot of them are pretty samey, with maybe a new adjective or stat change here and there.

The franchise is certainly improving its core mechanics, placing an emphasis on the minor details that will get fans excited. Hardly anything has changed on the surface, but beneath the exterior there's a sturdier, sharper and far tougher posterior to break through.

It's certainly fun for the odd match, definitely different from all the other quick-play multiplayer games out there, but you have been warned. It needs an injection of extra fun, STAT.

We actually worry about Kalypso in general at the moment as well, as few of their games to date have been that well received. We had high hopes for Legends of Pegasus. It pains us to see them dashed once again.

There's the disappointment of no online multiplayer again, yes, but even amongst the occasional frustration and swear words as you try for yet another attempt at completing a level, you'll be keen to see what else is on offer here.

In mechanics though, the game soars, offering awesome new takes on systems that made the original TTT title a must-have PS2 classic whilst also adding a modern flair and polish that makes it a stellar example that fighting games don't have to all be about gaining extended revenue through costume and character DLC - it can be about packing in a great suite of impressive features from the word go.

A fast, slick and beautiful community-driven MMO experience featuring all the content and mechanics you'd expect from a game with a monthly fee, and a good deal more besides. With that in mind, I cannot recommend it enough.

TTT2 offers a lot in terms of features, but its single player offerings in terms of actual gameplay are still largely owed to its arcade roots. It's simple, and while features like customization and in-depth training offer more for console users, that's probably the game's greatest flaw.

Dogfight 1942 is a decent arcade flyer that's ultimately kept grounded by an insubstantial campaign and a lack of anything interesting in the multiplayer department, and while it may pass an afternoon, don't expect much in the way of longevity.

Episode 3 is back up to the quality of Episode 1, and is easily proving to be the best series Telltale's ever put out. If you're not on board the Walking Dead train by this point you're missing out, period.

This is a videogame that deserved a bit more attention, rather than being labelled as simply a fun download only diversion. That said, Papo & Yo is still a remarkable experience, one of the most emotive games of the year so far and one that will stay with you well after the credits have rolled.

Ghost Recon Online has moments of exciting and tense action, but they're fleeting events in an otherwise drab game that's plagued by minor annoyances and a cash shop that adds a pay-to-win element to proceedings.

Despite the lack of co-op Fall of Cybertron is a huge improvement on its predecessor, offering plenty of entertainment for the non-fan and out-and-out geekgasms for the Transformers acolyte.

Most of the missions outstay their welcome with shooting down so many planes each level, quickly becoming tedious and dull.

If Sleeping Dogs started life as an unloved orphan, it's now an adult that can hold its head high.

It's culled the crap, brought new content and tactics to a near-perfect series, and focused on community. It's got an extremely bright future ahead of itself.

Vigil is on to a winner here. By bringing together a host of old-school mechanics, something oddly fresh is created. It would be a crime if this is the last we see of the series, as Death's story indicates the Darksiders universe is only going to get stronger with time.

It's walking down a treacherous path being online only and offering some quite forgettable maps. The lack of bot play means that the 1200 point asking price could end up being all for nothing in the future, which is quite a hefty risk to take.

There's certainly a rich simulation in here for those that do so (and those already in the know), but getting there can be tough.

Instilled with an obvious reverence and applied knowledge of the genre, The Journey Down is an adventure game made by people who love adventure games. The ride's a little bumpy at the moment, but it's surely going interesting places.

Wreckateer is an interesting experiment and certainly one of the more accurate Kinect titles with clear and responsive controls (despite a large space requirement) but it forms an uneven experience.

It's this feeling, the one of crushing disappointment, that riddles this HD update with frustration. Activision killed the series for a reason, and there's nothing here to suggest that decision was a bad one.

There are sparks of inspiration here and a beautifully realised setting, but beneath that veneer of intrigue lies gameplay that just doesn't cut it with the best. There's just about enough to enjoy in this broken version of 80's Seattle, just expect to be frustrated in digging out the treats.

Some of the challenge of the original Zuma is clearly gone.

Hoodwink is true to its title, since it's barely a game.

Endless Space may not push any boundaries or possess much 'wow' factor, but it's a very enjoyable 4X strategy game, set in a rich and diverse science-fiction universe that begs exploration.

The story's fairly competent and ties into the film well, but the lack of Andrew Garfield or even a remote sound-alike ruins its chances of feeling like the movie it's supposed to tie in to.

There are a whole lot of things I want to try over the next few months playing Stronghold Kingdoms, and it's gotten its teeth into me such that I'm ploughing a little time into it at least three times a day and not feeling cheated for any of the money I've spent. For a free-to-play title at the very least, that has to be mission accomplished.

I enjoyed exploring and the missions were always entertaining. You'll probably need at least one friend to buy the game and play some missions with you, but as superbly Funcom allow players to move their characters between servers at will (YES!) and join forces with players of a different faction (hooray!) this becomes very easy.

It's never satisfying to condemn any game but it's hard not to with Inversion. There are glimmers of nice ideas within, but the water is too muddied to see them clearly. All that's left is a bunch of mechanics that we've all seen before, and better implemented elsewhere.

Through a combination of streamlining what is a genuinely complicated game and using a simple but effective presentation, the developers have one of the best downloadable games PS3 has ever seen.

Regardless of its technical shortcomings, CoS provides a superbly engaging story driven experience, that feels uniquely its own. When a story makes you care about its characters, it's a triumph, and in this, Chains of Satinav excels.

Even with those negative points and the fact that it doesn't add much to the series I still like Faith in Destiny. Despite showing its age at times the core game play is still entertaining and somewhat addictive.

Yes the second episode isn't anywhere near as much as a challenge as the first, featuring puzzles that you'll solve by just walking around and clicking on things, but all the choices you'll be deciding and seeing how they turn out still make The Walking Dead a delight to play – and those choices are well-implemented, causing massive changes to the group and how they react to Lee.

Deponia's saved from being worse than Yesterday by at least having a simple understandable storyline and by not taking itself too seriously, but that's not saying much.

Krater presents an intriguing world, a new take on character development and clever design but at the same time the design choices to support its interesting mechanics are the negatives.

If you look at it as an action game, then it falls at almost every hurdle. Aiming is jerky and hard, and the controls are too complex to engage in fast-paced combat. However, if you look at it from a simulation point of view, enthusiasts of mech-games certainly have something to get excited about at being in the cockpit of one without forking out the £200-odd for the previous game.

Even for a budget title, Lollipop Chainsaw has plenty of shortcomings. Repetitive combat, bland levels and an insistence on sexual humour will leave many players disappointed. That said, it does produce a few moments worthy of your time.

Should you buy Spec Ops: The Line? Well, it's the usual yes and no. Yes if you enjoy the setting and like the idea of a descent into the madness of a buried city, but no if you're fed up of cover-based, Unreal 3 engine-powered shooters. If you get it, you can force your way through the carnage to get to the more interesting nuggets of non-shooting. You won't be disappointed if you do stump up the cash, but neither will you be fisting the air with glee at having made an inspired purchase. It's alright, basically.

It's not perfect, with slightly clumsy partner AI and awkward flying mechanics for Superman featuring prominently, but any game that makes you continue to smile long after you've finished it, is a special game indeed.

It's funny, it'll push your mind to breaking point but never go over, and is expertly designed and polished to perfection. Well, at least in its puzzle rooms, which are basically the entire game so we won't worry too much about the repeating filler rooms.

The game feels more like a web browser game than a console feature.

Resonance is undoubtedly a compelling adventure for the majority of the playtime, but it also feels only half of one, and with the rush to the finale even a sequel couldn't fill in the blanks. Most importantly: what the hell was with the mysterious breast-feeding Japanese lady?

Some areas still need more fleshing out, and there's some things that haven't been touched on at all here that could do with some work, but Civilization V is certainly better with Gods & Kings, and there is plenty of new content here to justify the cost.

It doesn't hurt that the gun play is extremely well realised, with each weapon feeling distinctive, and even, dare it be said, approaching realism.

A wonderful last hurrah though, as expansions go. With the new ships and tech, the internal divisions along with everything else, there's hundreds more hours of fun to eek out of this game.

If you like the series, or enjoy games like Dead or Alive, then this new addition is something that you may enjoy. On the flip side however, the fact that it's very similar to these games might mean that it's not worth the extra cash.

If you've played through The Witcher 2 and are hankering for another similar experience, and don't mind a budget-feeling title, then Game of Thrones is well worth considering.

This one's going to be a bit of a slow burner we imagine – needs more content, more tweaking, and obviously the community needs building upon too. But it's got good tech and good support from Bohemia behind it, and we'd be surprised if this didn't do as well as the realities of this niche allow it to do.

Whatever your experience with the series, if you've ever been fond of alternative racing games and have friends wanting to go for a spin with you then Joy Ride Turbo is a no-brainer. It's a legitimate alternative, perhaps an outright replacement, for the likes of Mario Kart.

Without the nostalgia factor, it's just a very short and dated experience with a glimmer of the wonder that once gripped the arcade world. That's really not enough to compete with what's out there now.

Some of its more unique spin on things do shine through, such as City management, but others like the added adventure/discovery element just get lost amongst the need to survive.

Mad Riders borrows a little too liberally from other titles to truly have its own identity. What is there, however, is an enjoyable enough arcade racer.

There's still a bit of extra polish needed, not to mention, well, the rest of the game. If you like story and want to take yourself through the tale of the Gemini sector, then by all means give this game a go.

With all those dungeon randomisations, boss events, challenging difficulty, co-op play, loot gathering and the general mayhem of monster slaying, Diablo III is a ride that may tire if binged on religiously but one that'll haunt your dreams long-term to get back to it, just like its predecessor.

Reasonably solid Move implementation will appeal to those desperate to try to justify a purchase of the hardware, but nobody else should bother with it.

The likes of Flatout and Motorstorm have provided ample competition in the mud-filled Americana stakes previously, but there's something about the driving model in Showdown that satisfies in a fashion that few other games manage. Whether that's a result of simple expertise or just iteration over a number of titles is something only Codies can answer, but whatever the formula was for the success, you have to be happy they've gotten here.

Future Soldier suffers from a sense of split-personality. It tries to follow in the footsteps of the popular crowd, employing predictable set-pieces and hopelessly manufactured scenes of controversy that lack any intelligence.

It really feels like a lot of effort was put into Starhawk, and that effort has certainly paid off. After dusting off my PS3 to play it, it seems Sony have finally found a new exclusive title to show off and be proud of.

With awesome character customization and the impressively bold approach the pawn system takes to storytelling and online connectivity, that makes this all the more worth exploring, even in spite of its sometimes conspicuous faults.

For a game that can take mere moments to complete, there's an impressive amount of depth to Sniper Challenge.

If I've come across as harsh or bitchy in this review, that's because the game genuinely angered me whilst playing it. Not only was it boring and a chore, badly written and animated, and full of glitches, but it just seems so lazy.

A consistently thrilling and explosive tale that states its case as one of 2012's best. I'd be hard pushed to find a game that has made me scream with excitement on such a regular basis, as the compelling narrative and rewarding gunplay conglomerate into a truly spectacular product.

It's terrific fun and ably demonstrates an exciting new genre for console gamers.

Your level of enjoyment will be almost directly mapped to how entertaining you find the visual spectacle to be, and - for me at least - it was perfectly good fun in short bursts.

A good game. The question is; do you have the patience to play it? Newcomers to the genre probably won't, and even veterans might get easily annoyed at the feeling of helplessness the game can give you when there are so many units but such little control.

If you can get over the relative tedium of the dungeons you'll be trawling through, there's a deep indie RPG adventure here. Certainly it's good enough to recommend to old codgers who remember the likes of Eye of the Beholder or Lands of Lore.

Once the initial 'oooooo' factor wears off, singleplayer does get a bit tiresome if you haven't got a purpose, but then all you need is a couple of online friends or someone in your own house to share the experience with, and it becomes fun again.

Some scenes in this game genuinely moved me.

Dark Scavenger takes an iteration of the RPG genre that is generally thought of as obsolete and breathes fresh life into it. While there's room for improvement, it does what it does very well, and is packed to the brim with colourful characters and desperate situations.

Improves vastly on a lot of the formula that made the first outing good; better and sexier powers, more stuff on screen to play with, addictive collectibles and fun bonus objectives, rewarding and pip-boy-esque mutations and, frankly, a better all-round character in James Heller.

It might not have the longevity of a full action-RPG or the combat depth of the best side-scrolling beat-em-ups, but the balance that Lionhead has struck between accessibility and quick 10-15 minute bursts of fun is hard to resist.

If you can pull yourself away from killing things for a few hours to play a sweet, adorable, bizarre, funny, joyful game, you owe it to yourself to buy Botanicula. It's not massively challenging and it only really lasts four hours, but you'll have a smile on your face for the entire time – and often a good laugh too.

Even relatively minor things like the inability to jump will grate, let alone more major concerns such as the control system. What could have been something rather special is simply a scattering of nice ideas, awkwardly actioned.

Evolution's main strength comes from ambition. It's definitely a fully-fledged, weighty sequel. With a superb array of courses, newly-introduced multiplayer and a limitless track editor, 1200 MSP remains an absolute steal.

There's a great game in here, and people who buy Risen 2 will probably be quite content with their purchase if they can get past the infuriating first few hours (and that sugar quest in the giant termite cave, shudder).

What this game does really well is appeal to those nostalgic fans of old-school fighters, whilst providing a new, refreshing aesthetic.

It's an absolute must-buy and, despite it still being early in 2012, a strong contender for indie game of the year.

Those who've played the first game will either not want to touch another AZMD or be supremely disappointed at the sheer amount of regurgitated content here. Newcomers will likely get frustrated with the emphasis on grinding and repetitive game play.

We don't want to say Naval War was disappointing, because it wasn't really – the preview stage showed us a simple, yet well-made title that does exactly what it says on the tin – we still couldn't help but find the game surprising over all though, and not in the good way.

The Witcher 2 itself is still an incredible title that really makes you feel that you're having an impact on the people and politics of this world, and the Enhanced Edition only makes it better.

There are small issues with the HD conversion – especially in the menus – but this still feels like one of the more accomplished HD collections this generation.

Even without comparing it to previous games, it's still mediocre at best. If I had one word to describe Wrecked, it would be unnecessary. There are enough arcade racers out there, and some of them are actually pretty decent. This one; is not.

There were times when Unbounded crept into frustration territory that almost saw it as a complete write-off, but perseverance eventually unlocked something special indeed.

All-in-all, the game can be a lot of fun, but basic gameplay controls and mechanics stifle its ability to really make a lasting impact on you other than one of untimely-rage quitting and frustration.

The problem with Kinect Star Wars is down to the use of the Kinect Sensor itself – while the package is a well constructed and well thought out one, it's all too often that the sensor misreads something and it becomes frustrating.

Blades of Time never matches up to the well-executed time mechanic it so readily deploys.

Sine Mora is not only a breath of fresh air from a developmental perspective, adding new ideas to a old, yet ofter over-used genre, but it's also fun. Few games nowadays manage to look good, play well, and still offer a level of enjoyment on par with games that haven't existed since the Nintendo 64 era, but Sine Mora manages it.

And there isn't even any beach soccer in here, disappointingly.

Going into Yakuza: Dead Souls I had some reservations, but after playing it, I'm happy to say that this works surprisingly well.

Other than the acting side of things, which is always an issue with smaller budget titles, there's little 'wrong' with J.U.L.I.A, it's just more of a case of what's right isn't right enough.

I'm confident that Silent Hill 2 will be held up as one of the greatest games of all time in years to come, and you owe it to yourself to (re)visit those deserted streets.

I had hopes for Yesterday, but they were beaten out of me during its absurdly short playing time. I got actively angry at the game at several occasions just because of the leaps of non-logic I was supposed to take.

There is no denying that fans of the series can and will appreciate the options available and will spend hours customizing and creating the ultimate robot. With a stronger story and more attention to detail as well as a simplified difficulty level this mech could have been the ultimate warrior.

It's a decent stab at resurrecting the atmosphere and sense of foreboding that the series was once known for, and if it wasn't for those frequent technical hitches, it could well have been one of the best in the series. As it stands, it's a very, very good survival horror title.

The rhythmic chants of bygone planes is something that easily get your juices flowing.