Victoria 2 is one of those games where it's easy to expect more from it than it can actually give. Giving its dedication to history, depth, strategy etc... fans can get a bit carried away.

Get yourself a good team, and you're in for a lot of fun.

This is a must have for both fans and newcomers a like, but don't expect the second coming. This is a solid and improved version of East India Company, nothing more.

If you're looking for a fun arcade-style racer that you don't have to plop a disc into your machine to play, Hydro Thunder Hurricane is definitely a more than worthy candidate.

In the end StarCraft II didn't go changing on us in the fundamentals, and that's perhaps the greatest feature Blizzard could ever have included. What works, works and StarCraft nailed it back in 1998 and StarCraft II: Wings if Liberty nails it here and now in 2010.

Limbo is a fine example of how you can create a masterpiece, yet sell it through the Xbox Live arcade at a budget price. It may not be the longest game, but to capture the imagination of any player is something that is a rarity in gaming.

Blacklight: Tango Down turns out to be too much fun for the slowness of the matchmaking system to prove too much of an obstacle.

None of the single pieces of Darkstar are particularly shoddy (voicework aside), but mixed together they form an experience that's largely devoid of anything memorable, but also one that remains hypnotically sedate until eventual boredom sets in.

For all its faults though, Disciples is certainly something unique, and the quality of the overworld sections and general strategising may well be enough for a crowd that will inevitably seek it out anyway.

It's gets a tad dull by the end of the game, and as your character levels up, it becomes less of a challenge as well (unless you're on harder difficulties, naturally).

While it is clearly a nice game, Ancients of Ooga doesn't really do anything interesting enough to get beyond being a nice game into being a must have.

Did they hope people wouldn't notice its shortcomings? Where they conducting some kind of experiment? Did they always plan to do this overhaul?

On the one hand it brings more of what we love about Bohemia's games, gritty combat on an immense scale, with an entirely new setting, a decent campaign and some short but sweet single missions. Yet the expansion doesn't improve on the original and doesn't fix any of the problems ArmA 2 had.

What Singularity is is a AAA title masked behind a lack of commercialism, which is completely out of style for Activision, and not nearly enough time to polish the game. With another two-three months, Singularity could probably have been the best shooter of the year.

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.

Reign isn't a bad game at all, and it's surprisingly well-balanced given the tremendous scope and ambition on show; but that's a breadth that comes at a price, as none of the various elements in your kingdom ever feels completely well realised, leading to a lack of personality and ultimately forgoing that familiar Civdrive to play long into the night. If you want to test your management skills in one of the deepest strategy games of the year however, delve right in.

Had the core gameplay been better polished then Naughty Bear would have been able to get away with having only a few solitary environments to explore, but as it stands it's a hell of a lot of fun for a couple of hours, but that's your lot.

Had the core gameplay been better polished then Naughty Bear would have been able to get away with having only a few solitary environments to explore, but as it stands it's a hell of a lot of fun for a couple of hours, but that's your lot.

What little positive elements it has going for it are marred by its problems.

If there's any one thing that can be stated about Transformers: War for Cybertron, it's that you should buy this game. The single player campaign is good, and the multiplayer portion is a surprise hit.

If there's any one thing that can be stated about Transformers: War for Cybertron, it's that you should buy this game. The single player campaign is good, and the multiplayer portion is a surprise hit.

Space Ark is a decent kids game, and it will probably hold the attention of an adult for a good couple of hours, but eventually the repetition begins to grate, and staring into the hypnotic disney-eyes of the Arkonauts becomes slightly disturbing as you begin to wonder whether they can see into your soul.

Everything is competently implemented without excelling in any individual direction, but the combination and sheer variety of content and fan service has to be commended, and for once it's nice to play through a kids game that doesn't just shoehorn the cinematic action sequences into an average procession of linear levels.

Everything is competently implemented without excelling in any individual direction, but the combination and sheer variety of content and fan service has to be commended, and for once it's nice to play through a kids game that doesn't just shoehorn the cinematic action sequences into an average procession of linear levels.

Everything is competently implemented without excelling in any individual direction, but the combination and sheer variety of content and fan service has to be commended, and for once it's nice to play through a kids game that doesn't just shoehorn the cinematic action sequences into an average procession of linear levels.

Green Day Rock Band is an enjoyable distraction but wholly unnecessary especially when you look at the features announced for Rock Band 3.

Green Day Rock Band is an enjoyable distraction but wholly unnecessary especially when you look at the features announced for Rock Band 3.

All of the problems are irksome rather than game-breaking, and don't have a significant impact on what is a surprisingly deep and engaging rendition of Mark Twain's "good walk spoiled".