A highly polished remaster of the almost-classic action role-player, that is still stuck with some of the original flaws but allows the thoughtful, and very humorous, script to shine.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement but this is easily the best Pokémon game for several years and a positive new direction that the mainline games would be wise to follow.

The modern and 8-bit worlds collide again as old school arcade gameplay is given a new twist.

Not the best version of Mass Effect 3, but also not the worst – indeed it's only the lack of the other games and their DLC that makes this difficult to recommend.

The slickest, smoothest and most technologically advanced not-FIFA game ever made, that makes an encouragingly positive start to a new era of football video games.

The best Mario Golf game since the N64 original and while it does have some odd ideas they’re almost all optional, resulting in an impressively comprehensive sporting experience.

A polished and highly competent roguelike deck builder with some neat twists, that can sometimes feel a touch too random for its own good.

The First Word War setting feels a little less daring than you might’ve hoped, but as a complete first person shooter package this is one of the best of the generation so far.

An impressive port of the PS3 original that improves some elements, even if it leaves out multiplayer.

The old style Tomb Raider is never coming back, but this is a more satisfying compromise than the reboot and an impressive technical feat.

Another inspired attempt to modernise old school Japanese role-players, while retaining all the charm and depth of early era Final Fantasies.

There’s little attempt at innovation in Starcraft II’s first expansion, but enough refinement and fine-tuning to please fans both new and old.

Minimalist gaming at its finest, with graphics and presentation out of the Stone Age but evocative sci-fi action that’s tense, tactical and instantly addictive.

There are a few niggling technical issues but this still easily laps any other serious racing game on the iPhone - or any other portable format.

Even without any new content the portability is enough of a draw to enthral veteran players all over again, while anyone new to the series will wonder how they ever did without it.

The sort of expertly orchestrated action you’d expect from a team-up between Nintendo and Platinum, but the lack of innovation is a little disappointing.

Gaming’s ultimate eSport gets a well-considered makeover by the masters at Valve, although new ideas, and fixes for old problems, are currently thin on the ground.

Pacer, aka WipEout: Pacer, is the closest thing to Psygnosis games we've played in recent years. It has evolved a lot since Formula Fusion and although it can improve more, it's a must have for fans of the genre and WipEout fans.

The greyification of gaming continues, but this new age Super Metroid is more fun than it looks.

The best SoulCalibur VI of recent generations, with an accessible but tactically deep combat system. But while the single-player options are much improved they’re still far from perfect.

An ode to pop culture, the joy of toys, and the love of a good mash-up. It’s expensive, and a lot of the gameplay is familiar, but the mix of elements is almost impossible to resist.

It may have little in common with the earlier McRae games but this is still a varied and exciting racer.

A fantastically entertaining action game that combines gameplay, visuals, and audio into an irresistible orgy of violence and… improvisational jazz.

The remake is no longer the technical marvel it once was, but Capcom has done their best to reissue it in a way that maintains all the splendour, scares, and laughs of the original.

Only a minor evolution of Rome II, and with many of the same bugbears, but the stunning visuals and deep strategy bring a fascinating period of history fully to life.

Some unfortunate technical problems distract from what is otherwise a very generous compilation, and an entirely legitimate alternative to Destiny.

Beneath its cute exterior beats the heart of a demandingly difficult brainteaser which rewards invention and persistence, but has no time for trivial puzzles – or gamers.

Another indie classic makes the successful leap from PC to console, in this masterful mix of Minecraft and Metroid.

Great value download, with an excellent capture the flag game that it would be positively rude not to try.

Its mixture of inventive, challenging puzzle-solving and pixel perfect platform hopping works fine using touchscreen controls because interactions are generally undertaken with no time pressure. And if you don’t fancy watching an ad every three continues, removing them will cost you £3.99.

Faithful almost to a fault to the classic original, but still a stunning achievement for the DS and a thoroughly engrossing adventure in its own right.

More a remake than a sequel but still a welcome return for one of the most original and distinctive genre mash-ups of recent years.

One of the best Life Is Strange episodes so far, with more earnest and relatable character work and some impressive branching storytelling.

An excellent remake that makes the game vastly more accessible for newcomers, while still providing plenty of new features, and updated visuals, for existing fans.

A surprisingly ambitious cosmic space adventure that excels the more it diverges from the movies, offering robust action, impressive visuals, and unexpectedly sophisticated storytelling.

If not the best tennis sim ever then certainly the most realistic, and with a training tool that should be the envy of any other game.

It's not much of a sequel but this remains a superior mix of role-player, shooter and survival horror.

An adult video game that is neither exploitative nor pretentious, but instead weaves a fun yet incisive tale about all too human characters.

Despite a few rough edges this is easily the best new graphic adventure since the ‘90s, and a game that can stand toe-to-toe with the rest of the LucasArts pantheon. More importantly, it’s a game who’s focus on dialogue and character has an awful lot to teach modern games when it comes to telling a ripping yarn.

A compelling story well told, and although it’s still not very interactive the variety and artfulness of the presentation feels like something only a video game could do.

It’s highly addictive, and even though it only takes a couple of hours to see everything, there’s a more demanding New Game+ that chops each life down to 40 seconds, and your energy bar down to a single heart.

A hugely entertaining 3D platformer that channels the imagination and unpredictability of older games without becoming a prisoner to the past.

The mechanics are the same as always but this makes a genuine effort to address the flaws of the previous titles and make the best use of Kinect so far.

A brilliantly strange, neon-lit survival horror that mixes 90s style visuals and gameplay with a very modern take on love in the 21st century.

An inspired mix of roguelike and platformer that dares to be fair with its rewards and its penalties for death – although not necessary its random medical conditions.

One of the few slices of DLC that can claim to be better than the parent game, as the gameplay of Frontiers Of Pandora is tightened up and the graphics pushed even further.

A clever mix of World Of Goo and Drawn To Life that makes good use of the Wii and your own imagination.

A worthy follow-up to the original coin-op collection but the selection of games never feels quite as varied or vital, and the continued lack of museum features is a shame.

The way seemingly innocent snippets of data are collated, corroborated, and then grossly misinterpreted in the name of law and order makes for a sobering refresher course in why digital privacy is so vital. It’s also an enticing few hours of drama.

A rare chance to celebrate a developer’s work through three whole decades, and even if some classics are missing what’s left still represents a laudable achievement in gaming.

It’s hard to know which is more impressive here, the complete lack of shame in how much Ubisoft copies Zelda: Breath Of The Wild or the fact that Immortals suffers the comparison so impressively well.

One of the best strategy role-players on any format, especially with the brand new scenario and mountains of content in this new 3DS version.

The best portable Castlevania for years and a more than equal follow-up to Lords Of Shadow – not to mention one of the best-looking games so far on the 3DS.

An inspired reworking of The Sentinel, introducing a new generation to one of the most tense and atmospheric action puzzlers ever made.

Perfectly judged adaptation of the PC series, with just the right level of complexity and challenge.

Everything you could want from a theme park simulator, with a near endless collection of modes and options, and an endearingly cheerful tone and sense of humour.

An excellent follow-up to 999, with a thought-provoking plot, compelling characters, and some of the hardest choices this side of The Walking Dead.

Despite its obvious flaws the reactive story and compelling characters make this one of the best storytelling experiences of the current generation.

A good, solid action role-player and a fantastic South Park tie-in, with the same caustic wit and an unashamed embrace of video game and role-playing obsessions.

An expansion that improves on almost every aspect of the original, fixing obvious flaws and adding a much greater sense of variety to what is now one of the best retro role-players around.

Gradually unlock and research new weapons and armour to support your increasingly testing forays, in a game that takes some getting used to, but rewards dedication with challenging and complex stop motion battles.

Just as charming as the original, but the improved combat and clever new gravity abilities make for a notably better game.

The most entertaining Yakuza game so far, that’s part gangster epic and part surreal Japanese nightlife simulator.

Halo's 10th anniversary certainly deserves celebrating but a HD remake only serves to underline how little the series has moved forward over the years.

A superb multiplayer game with some of the best virtual sword-fighting ever seen, giving you the best reason to crowd round a PC since a kitten did something cute on YouTube.

A stunning work of imagination that turns the shallow spectacle of the original into a gorgeous-looking action game with real depth and replayability.

A superb mix of action and strategy that should be enough to convince everyone that turn-based doesn’t have to mean slow or serious.

The true successor to the SimCity legacy, and even though it only restates what was great about the original it still does a better job than the last decade or so of official games.

It may be the third time round, but the best ever strategy role-player works very well on dual screens.

After decades of miserable failure, Sonic Team has finally made a good 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game, and it’s one of the best open world platformers ever seen.

The gameplay and graphics are as enjoyable as ever, but this spin-off feels more like a rerun of Uncharted 4 than a genuinely new experience.

An impressively complex action role-player, where every problem has multiple solutions, but it’s not always quite as smart as it thinks it is.

One of the best 3D Metroidvanias ever made, with the same endearing sense of humour as the original but several welcome improvements and a more substantial adventure.

A great VR experience that is more than just a simple sniper simulation, with some impressively replayable missions and a great marriage of VR and motion controls.

A useful expansion that puts an appreciably different spin on the original gameplay, to the point where many are likely to prefer this tour of duty.

Clever, taxing, and graphically elegant, the short-form ads you have to watch before and after each level are thoroughly inoffensive and can be removed for a one-off payment of £3.99, which also unlocks hats for your worm.

One of Steam's best kept secrets and a cracking indie title that both pokes fun at and celebrates the charming absurdity of role-playing games.

The granddaddy of all shoot 'em-ups returns in one of the most accomplished retro updates ever seen.

It bears little resemblance to any of its predecessors, but The Lost Crown is one of the best Metroidvania games of recent years and a highly enjoyable challenge.

A boldly inventive 2D shooter that asks a lot of its players but rewards them with one of the most versatile action games of recent months.

A delightful, humour-infused, and very British university management simulator with Nintendo-esque levels of polish and depth that’s introduced so gently you barely notice it.

The best Far Cry yet and one of the best open world shooters of any kind, with an impressive variety of missions and non-linear structure.

Despite its many and obvious influences this is an impressively unique vision that offers excellent value for money and one of the best surprises on the 3DS’s eShop.

It's a mystery why Mitchell has allowed Pang to remain dormant for so long given this consistently clever, if slightly cheap looking, revival.

The name and anime aesthetic may seem off-putting, but combined with the original this is some of the most engaging interactive storytelling of recent years.

A fantastically original racer that goes out of its way to offer unique play modes without alienating anyone that just wants a fun arcade experience.

The Definitive Edition changes nothing, but Dishonored is still bravely uncompromising in terms of the freedom it offers the player and its willingness to treat them as an adult.

The old style Tomb Raider is never coming back, but this is a more satisfying compromise than the reboot and a fun alternative to the Uncharted series.

The best version of Harvest Moon, or indeed any farming sim, ever made – even if it doesn’t move the concept on quite as far as you’d hope.

A well executed VR port of Hitman World of Assassination, that brings motion control and higher resolution visuals to Agent 47’s lightly comedic sandbox of global contract killing.

An engrossing look at pre-digital gaming entertainment that offers an attractive way to play familiar classics and introduce yourself to new ones.

You'd never believe this was actually a PS3 game, but apart from the graphics this is the best Disgaea yet.

Still the best looking fighting game around, and although this isn’t a full sequel its new features and extra fighters still make it a welcome update.

It may have been over a decade since the last official Commandos game, but this smart new mix of stealth and strategy continues the legacy with great aplomb.

The increased role-playing elements add another interesting angle to an already accomplished franchise, but the cynical attempts to fleece parents’ wallets are hard to defend.

A welcome reminder of the origins of Pokémon and while the game’s age is obvious in more than just its graphics the unbounded sense of exploration and experimentation remains as compelling as always.

Tribes: Ascend is not just an excellent first person shooter in its own right but it's a well-orchestrated revival of a franchise that has never got the recognition it deserves. Whether it'll be more lucky this time we couldn't say but just give this a go and you won't have lost anything, literally.

The details may have changed but this is still fundamentally the same game as the 1996 original. But that's kind of the point. Diablo isn't interested in innovation or subtlety; it's interested in empowerment and cheap thrills. It knows that clicking on monsters to bash their brains in with an axe is fun and its only concern is ensuring it stays that way no matter how, and with whom, you play it.