A fun and life-absorbing game, yes, but a fickle one. In so many ways, it's like the real thing.

And while the previous Skylander titles no doubt drew plenty of inspiration from these legendary releases (the series has its roots in the old Spyro the Dragon adventure platformers after all), it is Swap Force that really re-captures the magic.

The finest Sonic game in years, a riot of ideas that at times approaches the quality of Nintendo EAD's work. It may not provide much insight into where games are heading, but as a Sonic-themed celebration of the past few years, it's a surprising delight.

F1 2013 oozes quality, fully living up to the illustrious nature of its official licence, and the presence of the 1980s and 1990s cars, drivers and tracks gives motorsport nuts a real reason to buy it – which is much-needed for such an annual franchise.

The game's difference-maker is entirely on the pitch – that new movement system. In multiplayer especially, where the absence of an all-knowing AI sees imperfect humans make repeated mistakes, it leads to slightly clumsier, boggier, slower matches. All the same, the change is only incremental, and doesn't ruin the game by any means.

It's a game that's been meticulously crafted to keep you moving. Every jump leads precisely onto the next water-drenched slope which slides down to zip-line before the checkpoint. At times it moves with the agility of a slickly produced Sunday morning cartoon, when in actuality it's a video game. A video game that leaves others looking like dead sharks.

Calling it a simulation doesn't quite feel right, but this captures the look and action of a football match better than anything else I've played.

Like its predecessor, it does an excellent job of staying faithful to the Star Wars universe, right down to the sound effects. Even the way the much-maligned Jar Jar Binks feels like a wry nod to fellow fans.

The genius of GTA V is in the sheer seductive force of its vision. The visuals are astonishing – just astonishing. Surely pushing this ageing hardware to the limits, we get the dense downtown with its soaring skyscrapers and murky, rubbish-strewn back alleys. But then out into the country, we have rolling grasslands and desert stretches, coyotes roaming, the shadows of eagles swooping overhead...The world drags you in. It begs you to explore – and then it rewards you.

Diablo 3 on console is a joy. What some thought a quintessential PC game feels at home in its new format, particularly where stripped of its forebear's annoyances. It may not push the boundaries, but as an old-school action RPG it is unparalleled.

Rome: Total War is one of the most brilliant games I've ever played. Total War: Rome II inverts far more than the name. This does not channel the greatest military empire in history so much as the pale shadow of its ending; a bloated, technically corrupt and unfocused mess.

A bright, shining gem of a game.

There are certainly rough edges aplenty to be picked at, but also a deep love of the source material; everything from the voice-acting to the detail on gun barrels is steeped in that grim 40K atmosphere. The look and feel of this Space Hulk delights the boy in me, who long ago abandoned Games Workshop but never quite lost faith in the Imperium of Man.

The game's tall difficulty belies its accessible aesthetic: make no mistake, this is a far more demanding proposition than its Pikmin cousin. And yet, these are the hallmarks that make Platinum's output some of the most exciting work in contemporary video games: scruffy invention in a playpen that allows for player mastery. In the midst of this riot of ideas and unrefined energy we can perceive some of the Wii U system's idiosyncratic wonder.

It's clear that, like Sam, Ubisoft has a plan. They want a Splinter Cell that builds on Conviction but is truer to the series' heritage – and with Blacklist they've achieved that, albeit imperfectly. If the next game can refine the formula and give it a proper plot, then just maybe Ubisoft can deliver a classic the next time Sam is the man with the plan.

An enthralling, at times near-classic adventure.

It's fun for exactly the same reasons Company of Heroes: Tales of Valour was fun. Many hours of rewarding historical conflict await. Play the original first: it's considerably cheaper.

New Leaf is a world on a cartridge slightly bigger than a stamp, one full of beautiful, wise and hopelessly optimistic observation of humans as social animals. It is a magical creation.

This is a gorgeous, exciting game.

The Last of Us is visually arresting, mechanically solid, maturely written and by turns heart-rending, tense, unnerving and brutal. Check your ammo. Grab your shiv. Just try your best to stay alive.

Like all great detective stories, Gunpoint isn't quick to give up its secrets. And like all great games, its elements build up into a system as alluring as it is surprising. You're left wanting more; which is a small criticism, but much higher praise.

In Blood Dragon the risk-taking, while welcome, is arguably in the wrong place. After 60 minutes' play, the joke wears away to near invisibility, and all that's left are the familiar systems that underpin the game. These remain enjoyable and, after the slow start, most players will be compelled to push through to the end. But there's an undeniable thinness here, the sense of a mild joke that's been eked out for too long, that can't fully wrap around the heft of the underlying game onto which it's been grafted.

This is a nicely contained couple of hours filled with fully aware daft fun. If you go into the game knowing that, you'll find dark slapstick humour that's worth persisting with.

Riptide isn't especially good, but I can't help but feel that it might well be the most accurate depiction of what trying to survive a zombie apocalypse would be like in reality.

This year builds on that quiet evolution but also brings a wealth of new and exciting additions, with its Legends of the Majors mode alone making it a worthwhile purchase.

A cunning combination of word search, Tetris and those kids' puzzles with the slidey tiles, Word Soup is simple enough to grasp on a short commute, but suitably addictive to last a long-haul flight.

BioShock Infinite is a hell of a lot of fun to play. That really should be the only quality it needs to exhibit. The fact that it holds much more feels like an advancement of an art form. Just remember that nothing in BioShock Infinite is an attempt to be cute. Just let it tell you its story.

Lego City Undercover is a joyous thing, filled with life and fun. It took me right back to my first go on the original Lego Star Wars – that pleasure of finding a favourite creative toy rendered so beautifully, faithfully and humorously into video game existence.