The sheer size of this expansion is staggering.

One of the most refined, polished and compelling takes on the beautiful game – and arguably of any given sport. While this year’s improvements might seem slight on paper, each one is perfectly pitched and works together to create an experience that’s an improvement on last year’s game in every conceivable way.

It's the big Christmas action game with brains and choices, and with an interest in constructing a refreshingly different world from all those austere near-future manshoots that clog up the shelves. In many respects, it's a far better game than Bioshock, most of all because you get the endless choice that promised but didn't deliver. So it's tragic that the often awful production values make a fool of it so regularly.

Despite a few minor chinks in its armour, Empire: Total War is an improvement over Medieval II in every conceivable way. Its campaign is larger, more tactical and engaging, while the improved AI ensures that real-time battles and siege warfare are more challenging and thrilling than in any previous Total War installment.

Invest in Albion, its inhabitants and its history; embrace the power you’re afforded to shape yourself and the world around you and Fable II is an astonishing achievement. It’s not an easily definable, singular vision but an impressive, unparalleled attempt at empowering the player in ways no other game has before.

One of the finest zombie games ever made, and one of the finest co-op games ever made. The potential for everything to go so, so wrong without warning, or conversely to pull off the most spectacular escapes against all odds, means this is an online shooter you can tell your finest anecdotes about without boring everyone else to tears.

One of the finest zombie games ever made, and one of the finest co-op games ever made. The potential for everything to go so, so wrong without warning, or conversely to pull off the most spectacular escapes against all odds, means this is an online shooter you can tell your finest anecdotes about without boring everyone else to tears.

Like The Lost and Damned before it, The Ballad of Gay Tony redefines expectations of downloadable content, but this new episode does so much more beside. It’s the perfect send-off for one of this generation’s definitive titles, it takes the Grand Theft Auto IV experience and injects it with the spirit of the series’ past, resulting in a game that can be mentioned in the same breath as San Andreas or Vice City.

FIFA 11 doesn't redefine the football game, nor does it bring with it bold or surprising ways to play. What it does, however, is refine an already superlative game, taking nearly every aspect and polishing it to help create a whole that's notably superior to its predecessors.

A peerless offering that blows any comparable 'band-only' music title out of the water. Doing justice to the greatest band of all time was always going to be a tough job, but The Beatles: Rock Band offers a beautiful tribute to an enduring act.

A peerless offering that blows any comparable 'band-only' music title out of the water. Doing justice to the greatest band of all time was always going to be a tough job, but The Beatles: Rock Band offers a beautiful tribute to an enduring act.

This second tour of duty with far superior toys is everything it needs to be, though. Familiarity breeds a little contempt, but as, simply, a game in which you shoot monsters in city under the sea, it's better in every respect.

If you're looking for an intelligent rival to Tomb Raider you'll be disappointed. If it's nine hours of giddying high-def, Hollywood-style entertainment you want, Uncharted more than fits the bill.

In spite of its sluggish opening, Battlefield: Bad Company goes on to produce one of the most entertaining first-person shooters since last year’s Call of Duty 4. Bold and bright in tone, it’s blockbuster fare that combines DICE’s first-person expertise with a small sprinkling of innovation that’s enough to ensure it’s a perfect way to shoot the summer breeze.

It's taken a fair amount of time to get there, but Bad Company 2 marks the point DICE finally delivered the full Battlefield package. With a varied and engrossing single player campaign allied to a top-notch multiplayer, this is war gaming at its explosive best.

Indeed, the game's appropriation of real-world themes and issues are at the heart of its success.

This second tour of duty with far superior toys is everything it needs to be, though. Familiarity breeds a little contempt, but as, simply, a game in which you shoot monsters in city under the sea, it's better in every respect.

FIFA 11 doesn't redefine the football game, nor does it bring with it bold or surprising ways to play. What it does, however, is refine an already superlative game, taking nearly every aspect and polishing it to help create a whole that's notably superior to its predecessors.

In short FM2010 isn’t an evolutionary step in the series. Instead it’s merely an incredibly well produced update.

FIFA 09 returns to the pitch full of swagger, and it does it’s very best to deliver on EA Sport’s promise of creating the definitive football title. An exacting game on the pitch and an overwhelmingly comprehensive one off of it.

FIFA 09 returns to the pitch full of swagger, and it does it’s very best to deliver on EA Sport’s promise of creating the definitive football title. An exacting game on the pitch and an overwhelmingly comprehensive one off of it.

Heavy Rain’s undoubtedly a sophisticated, fearless and often remarkable piece of entertainment. As a game it's not always successful but, as an experience, it's absolutely unforgettable.

Delivers riotous entertainment in spades. As a solo experience, it’s up there with Mario’s illustrious platform predecessors; with four players in tow, it’s breathtaking in its constantly hilarious chaos.

Even those who might sniff at the game’s focus on the extreme end of off-road motorsport will find it hard to scoff at its rewarding handling model, its sense of atmosphere and its sumptuous visuals, all of which help make it a highlight of the Colin McRae series.

While WipEout HD is essentially a redressing of the previous PSP games, it's hard to complain when the source material was so good in the first place and the redressing is so assured. As a standalone title, WipEout HD would impress, but as a download title it's nothing short of essential.

Even those who might sniff at the game’s focus on the extreme end of off-road motorsport will find it hard to scoff at its rewarding handling model, its sense of atmosphere and its sumptuous visuals, all of which help make it a highlight of the Colin McRae series.

Forget bullet hell - Treasure has created an awesome slice of bullet heaven.

Though it’s certainly a competent package, the overall feeling engendered by Resistance 2 is underwhelming. For every breathless set-piece that powers the single-player campaign, there’s another moment not far behind that peddles mediocrity, and every glorious vista is offset by sometimes derivative play.