The FIFA series has been stuck somewhere around Division Two for the last few years, but the 09 version is the best yet.

Ultimately, the technical issues tainted the experience beyond what I’m prepared to take, which is a terrible shame considering the level of effort that has been put in to craft an engaging and thrilling storyline. Offering a multitude of endings is redundant if I don’t want to go back and play through the game again, and I had a strong desire to see this work. In a way, I still enjoyed my time with it and can definitely see myself returning to any similar games that come along, and with smoother controls and no technical issues, there is every chance that future titles could become masterpieces.

Although it follows exactly the same formula as most other Mario games, that's exactly why we love it. Adding four player co-op is just the icing on an already amazing cake.

With plenty of other driving games either fresh on the market or soon to drop, it would appear that Colin McRae DiRT 2 has the off-road side of the fence stitched up. If you’re a fan of racing through mud and dust, you’re not going to find a title out there that’s better than this.

The biggest ever multiplayer for a console game, coupled with a simply massive storyline, means that despite its faults, Resistance 2 is worth a look for anyone after a hardcore shooter on the PS3.

The gaming equivalent of watching Saturday morning cartoons, this is an easy-going marriage of puzzle solving and shooting in a game that never tries to box above its weight class, and it never has to.

EA's Fight Night 4 is the best looking boxing game ever made, and it also handles brilliantly. Unfortunately, we couldn't load it up without pulling out our network adapter, and found some inherent flaws in the career mode. But for boxing action online or with friends, this is an essential purchase.

Although there may be other games in this genre on the shelf, I don’t think any of them come close to doing what Dragon Age Origins does. There are times when you really wish you had a mouse and keyboard but all in all, this is about as functional as it can get.

Whether you’ve never played an MMORPG before or you are an avid fan, this game is an absolute must play. It took me a few weeks to come to this decision and a fair amount of game time. In that time I turned from being completely underwhelmed at the start, massively frustrated with game glitches in the middle to relishing logging back in for another session of all out war.

Splinter Cell: Conviction is a fun game to play for most of the time, frustratingly disappointing at others. It’s far too easy, has some poor AI, but above all it’s just not expressive enough. Cool as it may be, visually and conceptually, you can only get excited about infiltrating another warehouse or mansion in the dead of night so often.

This game is about brutally beating your opponents into unconsciousness with your fists and feet, shooting them, burning them and electrocuting them, over and over and over again. The title music sounds just like my little sister’s 10th birthday party. We’re in for some fun here.

Relic’s last few titles have been a triumph, and there were high hopes for Dawn of War II. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t quite measure up to the previous iterations of the series or Company of Heroes. Relic are capable as ever at implementing some thoughtful and well-designed game mechanics, but the campaign design and multiplayer balance are both severely lacking.

It really comes down to this: if you are going to buy a band kit, which do you buy, Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour? I say the latter. Better drums is the big thing if you’re getting the whole kit, because if you’re not, the Rock Band has more songs to play, if you have the money to download them. But if you are after drums, there’s only one answer: and this game is it.

Pure exploded into the limelight by stealing the Best Driving Game award at E3 this year, and only weeks later it’s on the shelf. And, you know what? It’s an awful lot of fun.

It’s hard to recommend this to people who aren’t fans though, because the single player is completely underrepresented and I see no value in it for someone new. Online play will give it some legs with the fans but really, I think this is a case of fanboy love gone too far.

A diverse tracklist means there really is something for everyone, and sticking it on Party Mode to play random songs is great with friends. New competitive modes are also well executed, meaning there’s enjoyment to be dragged from it everywhere.

A sandbox game that turns you into a superhero, maybe, is a surprisingly entertaining jaunt despite it not immediately capturing our imagination. inFamous does a lot of things right.

A picturesque, open world environment and some simply brilliant fire physics make up for incompetent AI and a lot of repetitiveness in the missions.

However, the new approach to World War II adds a surprise at every turn and World at War delivers a good single-player experience, and even manages to hold its own against some of the toughest multiplayer competition out there.

If Dawn of War II was Relic’s attempt to reinvent the genre, Chaos Rising is an evolution of the ideas they previously put forward. It’s fun, atmospheric and over-the-top in all the right ways. Those with reservations about the first title would do well to check this one out – it does everything the previous game did, and does it better.

Just remember: when possible, aim for the head (if it has one); don’t be afraid to run like a little girl; and this being a Resident Evil game, expect everything living to mutate horribly with the expressed purpose of using your internal organs as a hat. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Despite the irritations, the fighting is still immensely emotive. You get a great feeling when you pull off a complicated move, and your heart rate increases dramatically when trying to get your character out of a clinch or submission attempt. If you love everything UFC, there is a lot to like here, but unless some improvements are made in the next installment, this franchise might not be able to go the distance.

We’re not here for the story, we’re here to be wowed, challenged, infuriated, awed, and rewarded for our brute strength and cunning. In spite of the technical limitations of the Wii, Monster Hunter Tri does all this, minus the pretension, and it does it in spades.

As something built for the fans, you can’t really fault it. It’s the best guitar game out there at the moment, and anything coming after this in terms of band specific titles has a high benchmark to be measured against.

This is a game to be played with one eyebrow raised, because that's how the game's looking at you. But for all its snide Gen-X affectations, its often puerile humour, its sarcasm, and insults to gaming and gamers alike, it never insults your intelligence. That's a precious, rare thing in games.

Spore is a mishmash of many existing game concepts held together by the innovative creature evolution process. It must be aimed at a younger and less cynical audience than I, or one than has a lot of free time to spend in the model designer.

Still one of the prettiest games ever, Crysis: Warhead improves on its predecessor in every way. It's just a pity that there isn't more of it.

There is wonderful groundwork here, a lot of things are handled well and it will appeal to all ages, but until players can pick the songs they want to mix then it really is nothing more than a glorified prompt-reaction exercise. Should the personalisation be upped – and that’s not going to be an easy thing to do – then the potential for this is pretty high.