But don’t forget we’re gamers, and you can be sure that if we get on two knees and kiss some ass, it’s not because we’re paid to, it’s because we’ve just played the kind of game that reminds us why we’re doing this in the first place.

Grand Theft Auto IV is not a perfect game, but it is fantastic through and through, from start to finish and beyond. It is so massive, vast and impressive that it is almost mind-boggling to imagine how much work must have gone into the game to come up with so much detail.

It’s neither perfect nor as revolutionary as some might make out, but it is one of the most progressive, gripping and downright fun games to hit the market in the last decade.

With something like 30 hours of outstanding single-player gameplay, plus a solid multiplayer mode and even a whole new audience being introduced to one of the greatest game series to have been produced, make no mistake, the release of The Orange Box is An Event.

It’s the game that shows just how powerful and capable the machine is of producing incredible games. It’s the game that at long last tops "Super Mario 64" as the finest platformer of them all. But, most importantly, it’s the game in which we can finally make Mario look like a bee.

It’s neither perfect nor as revolutionary as some might make out, but it is one of the most progressive, gripping and downright fun games to hit the market in the last decade.

Even if you rush through the story you can anticipate spending at least 50 hours to complete it. Rushing through is not as much fun, however, and you should take time to do the extra side quests, hunts, exploration, levelling up, etc.

On the whole, Half-Life 2 manages to be an incredible new game while still retaining that unique Half-Life magic.

It would be impossible to point out one area where it significantly outclasses its brethren, but from the choice of tracks to the game’s competitive spirit, it’s hard to imagine Bizarre Creations ever compiling a better package, or a better advert for racing on the 360.

The game combines the strengths of two fine RPG series, which for Fallout 3 means compelling narrative in a post-apocalyptic setting and immersive gameplay in a huge, open-ended world. All of this just leaves one question to answer: is Fallout 3 a contender for Game of the Year? And the answer: undeniably, yes.

The game combines the strengths of two fine RPG series, which for Fallout 3 means compelling narrative in a post-apocalyptic setting and immersive gameplay in a huge, open-ended world. All of this just leaves one question to answer: is Fallout 3 a contender for Game of the Year? And the answer: undeniably, yes.

It’s a sad state of affairs when games as majestic and perfectly constructed as Okami are ignored and world-class development studios such as Clover find themselves closed down after poor sales of their critically acclaimed titles simply because their games don’t feature enough guns or licensed music.

It’s brutal, beautiful and brilliant. God of War 2 gives gamers more of exactly what’s wanted: unashamedly blood-thirsty combat, an epic storyline and one badass anti-hero who doesn’t say anything without shouting it. You’re doing your PS2 a disservice if you don’t see it out with God of War 2.

We cannot emphasize this enough – if it’s not on your Christmas list, there’s still time. If you don’t get it from Christmas, don’t worry – just buy it your frigging self. If there were ever a game that was worth buying a console purely to play, this is it.

Jade Empire is a beautiful, resounding triumph, much like the strong, highly polished gemstone the game takes its name from.

Project Gotham is still a series plugging away in a league of its own, but this time in every sense. Absolutely astounding.

Much better than most other games on the DS. In particular it puts New Super Mario Bros to shame.

Now that it has arrived however, we can safely say that it's firmly up there as one of the best games released this year.

The astonishing array of imaginative and well implemented characters, along with the hundreds of unlockable items to discover, ensure that SSB Brawl is easily the most definitive Smash Bros yet, and the best game you can buy for the Wii. But forcing you to unlock half of the characters and stages, not to mention the unbelievably botched online options, only serves to frustrate everyone who foresaw the greatness that could have been.

If Colin McRae: DIRT was a sign of Codemasters regaining a foothold in the racing market, the latest Race Driver is evidence of the publisher taking full control. GRID makes the high points of its rivals feel like false dawns, and if what’s on offer here is a sign of things to come, we’re all in for a remarkable ride.

Not only does God of War have great gameplay, but the developers have done an awesome job with the graphics and flourishes of detail, and the sound, speech and music are all of the highest quality too.

If Colin McRae: DIRT was a sign of Codemasters regaining a foothold in the racing market, the latest Race Driver is evidence of the publisher taking full control. GRID makes the high points of its rivals feel like false dawns, and if what’s on offer here is a sign of things to come, we’re all in for a remarkable ride.

If Colin McRae: DIRT was a sign of Codemasters regaining a foothold in the racing market, the latest Race Driver is evidence of the publisher taking full control. GRID makes the high points of its rivals feel like false dawns, and if what’s on offer here is a sign of things to come, we’re all in for a remarkable ride.

It’s hard to describe every facet of Civ IV’s gameplay without writing an epic, but suffice it to say, this is everything Civilization fans could hope for.

It’s not perfect and there’s no real reason to prefer the Wii version over the Gamecube’s, but The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is every bit the masterpiece gamers have been craving for, and proves there’s life in the old wolf yet.

There's only so much we can say to convey the atmosphere that ICO exudes, and to try and communicate the feelings that the game brings about when played but, the truth is, the reality of playing (now there’s a contradiction of sorts, but we’ll stick with it) is largely indescribable.

A refreshing, immersive, massive, satisfying and hugely impressive game.

Subjectivity aside, on a pure bang to buck ratio Chaos Theory comes out tops, but as we're all too aware, there's no accounting for taste (or skill, you light-loving frag-fanatics).