To consider buying ODST, particularly for full RRP, will feel more or less like value for money depending on whether you already own the multiplayer from Halo 3 and the various expansion packs. If you don’t then the 24 maps, including three new ones and plenty of game modes offers potentially months of gameplay, and value. If it’s just the campaign mode and Firefight multiplayer you’ll be buying for the cash, which I suspect will be a lot of people, then maybe not so much.

Majesty 2 is a fun and addictive fantasy title, combining a familiar setting with some different and innovative game mechanics, but is unfortunately burdened by poor AI and design choices.

This game has its good points, and while enjoyable in places, unfortunately lacks the appeal and polish to make it a long-term favourite.

Lifting an inspiring plot from one of the most popular Marvel graphic novels, Ultimate Alliance 2 just about avoids the pitfall of droll, worn gameplay that can plague most super hero games.

Combining superb atmosphere, setting, and visuals with a learning curve that will appeal to casual gamers and experience simulation pilots means that this is the best all round console flight combat game, bar none.

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.

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.

Favouring the animation series over the movie for setting was an inspired choice, and the depth of detail and maximum use of the source material make this a game that will remembered for a long time.

An engaging single player experience that offers plenty of replay value, and a multiplayer component that has tonnes of upgrades, ranks and the rest, meld together into a AAA title.

For an online multiplayer experience, 1943 is up there with the best of them. With some more add-ons and expansions, which we’d gladly pay for, it can become amazing. But even as it stands, it’s pretty much an essential purchase if you’re a fan of multiplayer combat.

The source material is wasted, with the end result being nothing more than a shoddy runabout broken up by, for the most part, mundane mini-games.

If you’re a fan of the western genre and era but are unsure about investing in Bound in Blood, worry no more. Without a doubt the best game in its genre for now, it’s a worthy investment. Rich single player, functional and enjoyable multiplayer which will be supported with downloadable maps, it ticks all the boxes.

By now, countless games have been made of various Games Workshop franchises, with wildly varying levels of success. As a full-priced game, Blood Bowl might not be for casual gamers, but the devotees are going to have a spike-studded ball. Where another developer might have taken the franchise and turned it another action-packed button-masher, Blood Bowl is the most faithful translation of the board game that you’re ever likely to get.

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.

A lack of polish and some awkward gameplay means that while many of the issues its predecessor suffered from have been removed, there's still just too much wrong with the game to make it stand out as being anything more than mediocre.

Requisite whining about copy protection aside, this is a solid title that offers some fun and addictive game play, with lots to discover and plenty to do. It’s ridiculously easy to sit down with the intention of playing for a few minutes, only to look up and see that two or three hours have gone past. There’s a lot of character in the animations, the voice-acting is superb and the setting is fantastic. Dawn of Discovery deserves to be checked out by anybody who has an interest in exploration and the classic city-building titles of old.

A solid cast added to a recognizable storyline in familiar surroundings will let you almost share and feel the ghost busting experience. Wonderfully created cut scenes and down time in the HQ adds intensity and authenticity to that experience. One for fans and newcomers alike, Ghostbusters is a game that won’t take an age to play, but never takes itself too seriously and as a result was a pleasurable experience. Different from the rest of the herd, it begs to be played and deserves to be enjoyed.

Prototype could have been amazing, and in some ways it is, but it just doesn’t come together in the way we’d hoped. It’s scattered, confusing, and finicky, and lacks a depth of detail to go with its ambitious reach. Yes it is fun for a while, but lacks the sort of replay value we’d hoped for, and that’s a shame.

The Wiimote is designed to let you feel like you’re playing the game, so you need to let it. You also need to spend a lot of time learning the ropes, because you didn’t buy Grand Slam Tennis for it to play like Wii Sports. It may be tough to master it but master it you can, and to be fair the Motion Plus does a remarkably good job of recreating what you want when you know how to use it.

If the massive game world and plethora of races and things to do were housed in something with proper physics and some reference to the real world, we would have loved it. Unfortunately, Codemasters have published a shambles of a game, so we’ll spend our time playing GRiD and waiting for Dirt 2.

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.

The presentation, combat mechanics, visuals, physics, roster, character creation and development, and having a proper matchmaking function are all gold stars. The online lag and saving messages are the only real distractions. It may not have the speed and sense of urgency that the real sport has, but it comes close.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. It’s an insult to anyone who plays games for more than an hour or two a year. Grin should be tarred and feathered in public for this, for failing in so many basic areas, and making some of the most feared machines in the world as impotent as cross-eyed rabbits. Avoid at all costs, and because it lacks any form of incentive to replay, I will, most definitely not, be back.

As a World War II strategy simulation, there really isn’t anything else on the market which compares to the sort of game the Battlestations series puts out. And although as a reviewer it pains me to make it this simple, if you liked the first then you’ll love the second. Everything has been given a coat of paint and has been given a lot more depth.

Sacred 2 may do a lot, but it does it poorly.

It’s no must buy, but in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a half bad slash ‘em up. People uninterested in the story should enjoy the maniacal combat, fans of Wolverine may find that they really enjoy it.

To break up the monotony of smashing hundreds and thousands of the same enemies to bits, interrupted only by the chance to restart levels because of something out of your control, you get to fight some mega mechs. These don’t necessarily require any skill, only speed, because if he latches onto one of your team you have to finish him quick as no doubt it’ll be game over shortly, and your fingers really can’t take 15 minutes of X bashing to get back here to fight him again.

Zeno Clash is what a future cult favourite looks like. With a wickedly brutal melee engine, and some jaw-dropping visual design, this gorgeously demented indie brawler is short but sweet.