This year’s MotoGP cements the foundations laid in titles gone by, without actually building anything of substance upon them.

It’s the interface, audio and visuals that make this an outstanding package, although even here there are things that are not quite right.

Even if EA does use its nefarious in-game advertising system to find your precious information/porn/illegally downloaded music and movies and try to sell you similar items, Battlefield 2142 is undeniably a new and enjoyable step for a franchise that has so far not strayed away from historical or topical content.

As a whole, Bloodlines is, even with its faults, a very high quality product. The game world is well presented, and is immersive to the degree that you could easily lose yourself in it for hours at a time and not even notice.

While Virtua Tennis 3 is undoubtedly a relatively mild updating of what has gone before, which is particularly surprising when the length of time that’s passed since the last full instalment is considered, it still manages to convincingly retain its crown as the king of the tennis roost.

While Virtua Tennis 3 is undoubtedly a relatively mild updating of what has gone before, which is particularly surprising when the length of time that’s passed since the last full instalment is considered, it still manages to convincingly retain its crown as the king of the tennis roost.

The feel of going back for just one more crack at an operation is amazing and there’s always plenty to go back and improve on even after you’ve waded through the six chapters of story.

It’s odd, but Modern Combat is a much better single-player game than it is multiplayer.

Despite the step-down in charm, the game underneath it all is splendid.

Episode Two is still thoroughly ridiculous and amusing, but compared to the first episode it pales, feeling much more like a stop-gap than a fully-fledged follow-up.

The lack of initial on-screen prompts aside, it’s entirely possible for anyone to throw themselves into Tiger’s 2008 outing and have both a rewarding and entertaining time, be they a golf fan or not.

It never quite manages to be an excellent tactical shooter, nor is it the most action-oriented of titles, but by combining thoughtful gameplay with some simply brilliant and explosive set-pieces, Ubisoft has managed to create a compelling single player experience.

Playing the game is fun defined. While Pro Evolution has managed to slowly botch its own previously stellar system with each release, EA’s FIFA has been making steady progress over the last few years, culminating in this climax.

The Suffering is certainly recommendable for its gory/creepy factor, and the shooting action is competently handled if a little lacking in finesse.

Trackmania United doesn’t essentially bring anything new to the table (perhaps the sandpit is a better analogy), but it is yet another example of a developer at the top of its game in a field where it is most certainly in pole position.

It's odd, but Modern Combat is a much better single-player game than it is multiplayer.

Galaxies is certainly a perfectly enjoyable and natural evolution for the Geometry Wars series that’ll provide hundreds of hours of fun to gamers with lightning-fast reactions, but it’s perhaps not enough to make it really worth it.

If you’ve always fancied getting one of those home gym kits that are always in the Argos catalogue and Sunday supplements, then Wii Fit would make an ideal substitute. Without will-power, though, you might want to consider waiting for the inevitable clutch of games to appear that’ll use the potentially excellent balance board in a way that’s just more fun.

Open Warfare 2 is pretty near perfect in terms of presentation, balance and content. That basically means we don’t need to see another Worms game ever, and if we do, it had better be somehow more original and better than this. So that’s it. We’re happy now, thank you very much Team 17.

A robust, well-rounded, highly enjoyable and easily recommendable racer with a twisted sense of humour and a good all-round sense of fun.

For some the cutesy-wutsey graphics, chirpy speech and offers of handholding might be irritating, in which case say hello to the three ghosts of Christmas for us when you see them. For everyone else, this is an enjoyable, well polished game with bags of personality.

Overall the third Strong Bad episode is more of a Homestar Jogger than a Homestar Runner. Baddest of the Bands lacks the novelty of the first episode and the imaginative gameplay elements of the second, settling into a formula that fans will most likely find mildly enjoyable at best.

You’ll have worked out by now that our earlier reference to the quality of the three parts of the game refer to the space battles being pretty good, the campaign map being reasonable, and the ground battles being a bit limp.

Although describing it as the best submarine sim available could quite easily be a backhanded complement considering the genre’s paucity, SH4 is a genuinely absorbing and fun game that manages, largely successfully, to straddle the never-land between hardcore and arcade gaming.

Graphically sublime and with well-paced and refined gameplay throughout, Inafune’s second ode to the 360 is one that cements Capcom’s rightful reputation as the format’s premier publisher right now, as well as adding another title of real quality to the console’s second wave.

The combat has been really well thought out, the exploring is fun thanks to the gorgeous art style and the whole game just comes over as an entertaining way to spend 30-40 hours of your life.

Born of the Blood does exactly what an expansion should do in making an original game bigger and better. The problem is that the balance is way off, leaving it ridiculously challenging to anybody but the most hardened of veterans, and anyone tempted by any original game plus expansion offers in the shops is on a hiding to nothing.

If the idea of hacking through lots (and we mean lots) of monsters, collecting truck loads of loot, customising characters, engaging in diplomacy and ultimately dominating over rival factions doing the same, all without getting too bogged down in things like story or adventure, then Depths of Peril may well be a game for you.