It’s a solid entry in a series that’s been far too prolific, and while Syndicate is good, it’s tough to be excited about it.

This game is an interesting take on a well worn piece of history, making it relatable to a wide audience. While learning the game can be a bit frustrating, both puzzle fans and strategy fans will find something to enjoy after you get the basics down.

Despite it's downfalls, El Shaddai is a memorable experience from start to finish. It offers a quirkiness and sense of style that is not only unique, it's surprisingly refreshing.

Despite it's downfalls, El Shaddai is a memorable experience from start to finish. It offers a quirkiness and sense of style that is not only unique, it's surprisingly refreshing.

Gas Guzzlers Extreme is still worth the plunge if you’re at all intrigued by a return to its simple diet of racing carnage however.

It’s not essential, and several of the really game-changing ideas are contained in the accompanying free patch, but if you’re a EUIV fan looking for some interesting new challenges, you won’t regret picking it up.

You won't be buying AvP for its single-player though, and if you are you may find yourself sorely disappointed. Rebellion has built AvP around its multiplayer, which is both well-constructed and surprisingly well-balanced.

All Zombies Must Die is a solid shooter with RPG elements and a decent level of character upgrading. Unfortunately, it's let down a little by the monotonous missions of 'kill that' or 'collect this'. Rachel isn't a particularly likable either - of course, you don't have to use her at all!

Drenched in retro nostalgia, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a straightforward boomer shooter with a 40K skin. Its minimal story is as bog-standard as Warhammer gets, but is enough to justify the on-screen slaughter, while allowing for a pure focus on satisfying action. Crunchy weapon sounds and plenty of pixelated gore make turning enemies into giblets something that doesn’t get old. Its main drawbacks come in the shape of how easy it is to get lost in some of its levels, a handful of frustrating encounters, and its decision to introduce most enemy types during the first part of its campaign. Yet, even so, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun delivers enough awesome action to keep you engaged and eager to make sure the Emperor has a thousand or two fewer Chaos servants to worry about.

One of 2011's best surprises.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is a more measured, relaxed city builder than its predecessor, operating on a smaller scale while reshuffling key elements of the series' well-established formula to varying amounts of success. Both familiar and refreshing, it makes you think differently about how you build your cities. Its two different regions are both gorgeous, equally viable starters, providing their own sets of compelling challenges to solve as you settle islands and watch your cities and settlements grow – and oh, what joy it is to admire the results of your work as its excellent soundtrack plays in the background. Sadly, a short campaign and underwhelming narrative alongside a UI that requires a bit too much clicking and scrolling to navigate sabotage the latest entry in the series. The same can be said about its clunky, unsatisfying RTS-lite naval and land battles that provide too little reward for the attention they demand. Yet, even so, Anno 117: Pax Romana's best parts still outshine these missteps, making a rather compelling argument to don the mantle of governor.

A decent little title, and a testament to just how far you can take your hobby if you but try.

Black Legend isn't perfect, but it brings some really solid pieces to the game as a whole. The town is interesting and is designed well, the class system allows for a good amount of freedom of player choice, and the alchemy system is pretty novel. The writing (or lack thereof) is a stumbling block, along with the difficult healing system... but the atmosphere really draws you in and leaves you wanting more of Grant and its mysteries.

In a year of big-hitters, Space Marine is one hell of a surprise.

Combat is simple but fun, and once the game brings a tameable animal companion in then Primal becomes entertaining enough to last you many hours. Unfortunately stealth gameplay is more problematic as enemies blend into the environment and Hunter Vision is useless, but worse is that the constant need to hunt and gather resources takes up the majority of Primal’s play-time and isn’t fun at all.

It's fair to say Final Fantasy XIII-2 is an appealing return for the much-adhered franchise. It offers some truly unique and intriguing gameplay elements that will invite newcomers whilst challenging series aficionados. This is extremely important after the failings of XIII, as it shows Square Enix are prepared to keep building on the RPG formula they shaped. Serah's adventure is an entertaining and dynamic one, signalling that Final Fantasy is moving in the right direction once again.

Relic’s conservative and surface-level approach to this remaster means Dawn of War – Definitive Edition isn’t quite definitive, but it’s by far the best way to play one of the finest RTS games ever made.

Rebel Galaxy has a ton of style and an incredible atmosphere that captures the weird little subgenre of space western to wonderful effect. But its repetitive combat and focus on trucking across the galaxy means that it’s not as exciting as it could be. There’s a lot to like, but you’ve got to work for it.

An entertaining addition, with a great game engine. Sadly I can’t see it breaking out and drawing a huge following simply because the WWII RTS genre has been done to death.

The games weaknesses - spotty optimization and too much early focus on transporting materials - are overshadowed by its generally solid gameplay.

Whilst the integration of the physics system within the environment in Penumbra is certainly more deeply-ingrained, the puzzles themselves never quite reach the same level of ingenuity as the classic Valve title.

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

Dodgy camera and mildly repetitive dungeon scenery aside, Trinity Universe has a lot going for it. The subtleties of the Fury battle system and the humorous storylines will keep you entertained for hours on end.

Human: Fall Flat might concern the adventures of a floppy limbed chap who ambles about the place, solving puzzles and whatnot but the game itself does anything but, instead raising the bar for a genre that so desperately needed a game to champion its cause and not another half-baked experiment to invite further derision. How nice it is then, to have one of the former and not one more of the latter.

Remnant 2's revamped archetype system and improved world generation breathe new life into what otherwise remains an iterative sequel that sees no need to fix what isn't broken. Great gunplay and creative weapon mods fuel its addictive moment-to-moment gameplay, while offering enough reasons to keep clearing dungeons, grinding materials, and upgrading or trying out new guns...But as much as it's a better game than its predecessor and one whose action scratches that itch for a challenging third-person shooter, less than ideal optimization, forgettable characters, and clumsy writing, alongside a suite of hit-or-miss bosses keep it just shy of greatness.

Cities: Skylines 2 doesn’t rebuild the genre nor its identity, instead choosing to go bigger and deeper without losing sight of what made its predecessor work. With no better alternatives on sight, this will do.

All together it is a gracious effort by The Dragonloft. You can see the inspiration as Final Fantasy Tactics shines through, along with the art direction mimicking Disgaea. The dialogue is cute and the battles are intense. I usually don’t go for games like this, but I was drawn in as I felt myself repeating “just one more try…”

After the massive improvement of last year, we're glad to see the WWE brand is back on track.