Blood and Wine is an incredible send-off for an excellent game.

It's no incremental upgrade and brings more than just character balancing to the table, managing to improve, fix and surpass the original Street Fighter IV in every way imaginable - and they've done it at less than full price.

As far as 2010 goes, it's mightily difficult to recommend a downloadable title more than Pac-Man Championship Edition DX.

Though there hasn't been much of a technical improvement in the graphics and sound, the whole game feels much more vibrant. The colourful environments of the single player levels extend into the levels from the community too. LittleBigPlanet is just a joyous world to be a part of, even the menu screens have that extra sparkle of creativity poured into them.

Will it have the legs that games like Team Fortress and Counter-Strike have had? No idea, but Blizzard certainly has an impressive track record when it comes to supporting their games over time. For now, though, I can say that this is the most fun I’ve had with a shooter in years, and if you’ve got even a passing interest in team-based shooting, you should absolutely be playing it.

Not only is FIFA 10 the best EA has ever produced, it’s also one of the best football games we’ve played, period. It’s not without its niggles, but setting these aside, FIFA 10 does just about everything else exactly right.

Not only an unreservedly brilliant and compelling follow-up, but one of the finest games we’ve ever played. Boasting a suitably grand soundtrack, majestic aesthetics and masterful level design, Assassin’s Creed II is everything we could have ever wished for and so much more. Forget Modern Warfare 2, Assassin’s Creed II is without a doubt this year’s biggest and best.

It’s no surprise that Forza Horizon puts itself right into the mix with 2021’s Game of the Year contenders. Playground Games has been getting it right for a decade now. This is the definitive experience in the series so far, one that excels both on PC and the Xbox Series X. Minimal issues, such as server connectivity, fail to spoil the party that is just crammed with happiness and adventure. A number of small improvements across the board elevates the racer to being best in class; a huge plus for Microsoft with Sony’s impressive-looking Gran Turismo 7 flashing its headlights not too far in the distance.

Crysis is a truly evolved first person shooter, both in terms of just how photorealistic the whole immersion becomes and the gameplay its highly attuned physics simulation brings to the player.

It’s teeming with new loot, better opportunities to stick it to your fellow players and has even richer music to fit the mood.

Everything has been enhanced and improved so much, that Bungie at least deserve kudos for all the effort they put in. This is definitely the most complete Halo game to date, and well worth the money. Hell, It may even live up to its own hype.

If you’re a fan of Dread Lords, then this expansion should absolutely be on your list to pick up as soon as possible. Go download it, I’ll wait.

It's unreservedly brilliant.

It's faster and more intense than ever before, with tangible improvements to every facet. The word forza is used to cheer competitors at sporting events: it's about enthusiasm and passion. Forza 4 succeeds because it distils automotive passion into a form that anyone- not just petrolheads- will find enthralling.

As much as it remains a numbers-driven grand strategy game, Crusader Kings III masterfully paints a complex medieval world teeming with living characters that have desires and ambitions. Its mixture of familiar and evolved systems enhances its roleplaying and emergent storytelling potential. The actions that you perform always feel like they’re the result of a process or skill your characters have naturally gained and there’s always something to grab your attention. And so it did, as for 70+ hours we were completely absorbed by warfare, realm management and court intrigue, which, it turns out, we haven’t had enough of just yet.

Being a gamer who puts story almost equal to gameplay, personally I was kind of annoyed at the tangent the third game seemed to go off on. Gears 2 asked more than a few questions, and whilst Gears 3 answers some of them - mainly relating to the lambent - it leaves other's painfully un-answered.

Rewarding and engrossing in equal measure, the entire production reeks of quality from the stellar voice work to the jaw-dropping visuals and intuitive control system. Truly this is the Batman game that everybody’s been waiting for.

Although Resident Evil 4 is a superb remake, it still exists in the shadow of what made the original so important. However, the parry system stands out as the most welcome change to the largely familiar proceedings. At its core, the game remains the same stupendous spectacle of action horror it always was, but with arguably even higher intensity.

Without a doubt the best RPG adventure of the decade.

Not only an unreservedly brilliant and compelling follow-up, but one of the finest games we’ve ever played. Boasting a suitably grand soundtrack, majestic aesthetics and masterful level design, Assassin’s Creed II is everything we could have ever wished for and so much more. Forget Modern Warfare 2, Assassin’s Creed II is without a doubt this year’s biggest and best.

The presentation is absolutely sensational, providing a television feel that eclipses anything I've seen before.

Blizzard has been bold and their gamble seems to have paid off - while this latest add-on doesn't achieve a flawless encore it feels pretty darn Zen. Cataclysm fixes up an already deep game with more flair and substance than ever before.

Bayonetta is an assured, impeccably well-crafted game overflowing with enough offbeat ideas to fuel a million action games, and if we were doling out medals of our own, we'd award Platinum Games with the highest possible accolade. Simply put, Bayonetta is worthy of nothing less than pure platinum.

It's very difficult to adequately score or sum up FIFA 12, simply because it's taken such a risk with an established formula, one that's turned out – eventually – well indeed, but also one that requires a lot of effort to learn and get used to, something a lot of people might not want to do.

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.

It's very difficult to adequately score or sum up FIFA 12, simply because it's taken such a risk with an established formula, one that's turned out – eventually – well indeed, but also one that requires a lot of effort to learn and get used to, something a lot of people might not want to do.

Not only is FIFA 10 the best EA has ever produced, it’s also one of the best football games we’ve played, period. It’s not without its niggles, but setting these aside, FIFA 10 does just about everything else exactly right.

This is the finest available version of an excellent, atmospheric game. It's still not perfect, but the Redux version irons out a significant number of weaknesses, adding some of Last Light's improved mechanics while also providing a welcome layer of visual polish.