Not just an Olympics tie-in but a proper sports game, with the majority of events finding a good balance between realism and enjoyment.

One of the most daring marriages of narrative and action game ever seen, and yet still the end result never fully satisfies as either a game or story.

Not an encouraging start for the first Harvest Moon on the 3DS, with a game that struggles to justify not only its own existence but that of the franchise as a whole.

There have been far more than just three Ratchet & Clank games over the years but it's still a franchise worth celebrating, in one of the better HD collections so far.

The new additions are all positive but, apart from the reintroduction of religion, extremely trivial - which makes this an interesting test of the Civilization faithful.

Its similarities to Portal will be obvious to everyone and in terms of puzzles this is very much its equal, but in terms of script and characters… not so much.

Battlefield 3 does a good impression of Call Of Duty, but this isn't an expansion that plays to the series' strengths or offers much value for money.

The multiplayer options are impressively comprehensive and as Diablo clones go this ticks all the necessary boxes, except the ones for imagination and innovation.

It's still not a full reinvention of the Lego template but it is one of the most enjoyable uses of it so far, with an open world Gotham and a cast of characters to rival Arkham City.

Its heroine may be the only thing that's not rough around the edges, but this is another fascinating mess by Suda51 and a great arcade style actioner.

There's a decent a story to be salvaged here, and one that could happily be adapted for the show, but as a video game this fails miserably.

Its flaws are frustratingly obvious, but this has some of the most enjoyably original gameplay and visuals of any game this year - on the PS Vita or otherwise.

More of the same has rarely been so welcome, with this unusually elaborate, if still obviously reheated, download.

First person shooters clearly do work on the PS Vita, but proving that fact is the only real achievement of this otherwise insipid portable experience.

Another failed Doctor Who tie-in, but one that's especially disappointing because of how much it gets right in terms of the dialogue and visuals.

More content than usual for a Call Of Duty map pack and the new Face Off mode is a neat variation on the usual team-based action.

The idea might offend veteran DiRT fans, but the reality of this arcade style racer is hard to hate - especially when you're smashing your best friend off a jump ramp.

An impressively well balanced shooter that manages to deliver a diverse and innovative feature set that should please almost everyone.

The best non-sports game so far for the PlayStation Move, but there still seems to be plenty of magic left untapped on what is an unnecessarily brief experience.

Despite borrowing so much from so many different games Capcom's new Western style role-player is very much its own game - with plenty of interesting ideas of its own.

A disappointing misstep for Harvest Moon's sister series, where neither monster fighting nor crop planting offers any real entertainment or variety.

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.

It plays a great game of tennis, certainly the best on a Nintendo portable, but the feeble range of on and offline game modes sharply reduces its appeal.

As polished a product as Rockstar has ever produced but the action and storytelling are rigidly one note, and neither is sustained for long enough.

It gets most of the mechanics right, and it certainly looks like Sonic, but this new episode doesn't have the heart or the imagination of the originals.

As pre-order bonuses go this is definitely a cut above, but it's also an addictive and rewarding mini-game in its own right.

It sounds, and to a degree looks, like the movies but this run of the mill graphic adventure lacks the soul and excitement of the film franchise.

Another inspired descent into bullet hell from the masters at Cave, and one that has both an unusual amount of tactical depth and yet remains surprisingly accessible.

Punishingly and infuriatingly hard, but also the best retro-inspired platform puzzler for years, and a very successful port to the 3DS.

The visuals are amazing but the game's moral quandaries are impossible to care about without any context, let alone any decent gameplay or controls.

The amount of missing features is disappointing, but as a first step this is an excellent console version of one of gaming's most open-ended and creative experiences.

As a PS Vita game this is no more than a competent port, but as a restatement of one of gaming's most enduring fighters it's still good, dumb fun.

Survival mode is the only time Starhawk comes together to create a properly entertaining whole. In all the other game modes it's merely a loose collection of bullet points and underdeveloped ideas, ones which never gel together into the multiplayer classic this could so easily have been.

A classic case of a racer that doesn't know whether to be a simulation or arcade game and in the end never ends up a satisfying example of either.

A clever spin on the MOBA genre that strips away the complications and nerdy presentation to create a fast-paced but deceptively complex action strategy game.

There's plenty of potential and good ideas here but very little fun, in a game that tries to make a pirate's life seem as frustrating and repetitive as possible.

There are moments of brilliance, but also frustrating inconsistencies and technical limitations that ruin what could have been the ultimate sniper game.

Utterly pointless and almost completely boring, this soulless scrapper has little to do with Fable and even less to do with having a good time.

Charming, clever and attractive; Botanicula is the perfect antidote to angst-ridden gaming and a fine graphic adventure in its own right.

Nobody can have been expecting much from a film tie-in like this but Battleship's first person action still manages to sink well below the bottom of the barrel.

It's a lot more wordy than you might expect from a survival horror, and there's fewer puzzles than a true graphic adventure, but this is the best zombie game for years.

A good recreation of the UEFA Euro competition but the lack of new options means this footy download is not value for money.

A Celtic take on God Of War sounds like a great idea, especially with these graphics, but Bloodforge's only triumph is making its inspiration look even better by comparison.

The action requires little real skill to control and although gaining new powers is a strong impetuous for continuing it's all extremely shallow and inconsequential. In small doses Prototype 2 is a perfectly enjoyable game but in the end, because Heller and Mercer don't care about anyone else you never end up caring about them.

It's not the best the series has to offer, and it's clearly just a PlayStation 3 port, but Disgaea was made for portables and has never worked better than on the PS Vita.

Another excellent portable Shin Megami Tensei title and one of the best strategy role-players on any format.

Dungeon Master is finally reborn, as a role-playing game that mixes the best conventions of old and new in a refreshingly different kind of first person adventure.

A masterpiece in physics-based destruction and one of the most entertaining ways to fall out with friends ever devised.

The third round of Dynasty Warriors vs. Samurai Warriors is almost identical to the first two, with more characters, more options, but even less innovation.

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 difficultly curve and arcane interface and mechanics will still sadly limit the game's appeal, but CD Projekt has never given the impression that they're chasing a mainstream audience. And that's probably the attitude that is needed in order to create one of the few adult video games that doesn't feel like it was made purely for teenagers.

It certainly won't be troubling Angry Birds in terms of the number of downloads but this is an amiable, if derivative and repetitive, action puzzler all the same.

The overall experience though is hypnotically beautiful, both visually and in terms of its almost transcendent ability to make you think and care about its virtual world. Forget the labels of it being an indie game or download, this is a great work of imagination and well worth the wait.

The art and character design is likely to put off as many as it attracts, but underneath is one of the most forwarding-thinking new fighting games of the generation.

There are some clever ideas at work here, particularly the hero's primary weapon, but a lack of gameplay refinement and bland storytelling fail to make the most of it.

It's a great idea, and filled with some top grade Suda51 weirdness, but Kinect is nowhere near accurate enough to make even such a simple game work properly.

Professor Layton may offer a more cerebral challenge but Rhythm Thief has more than enough charm and imagination to waltz its way into your affections.

It's been a long time since we've had a decent Star Wars game though and this miserable misfire is very much more Attack Of The Clones than it is Empire Strikes Back.

At last an HD collection that seems at least somewhat complete, and manages to recapture the magic of what made the original games so influential.

It's not quite the return to glory Mashed and Micro Machines fans would've hoped for, but despite its flaws this is still a great party game.

South Park already has a poor track record in video game tie-ins, but this is easily the worst yet and a terrible 2D platformer in its own right.

It's not really Ridge Racer, but whether you consider it a reboot or a spin-off this is the best arcade racer since Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit.

The best Tiger Woods game this generation and also the most obnoxiously cynical use of downloadable content.

The laziest HD collection yet, with just two titles from an eight game franchise, neither of which have been recreated with anything like the effort and care they deserve.

With every low rent sequel it becomes that much harder to remember why Silent Hill was so successful in the first place, as the series continues its descent into franchise hell.

An excellent expansion that focuses on a fascinating period in history, and helps to make the perfect toe-dipping experience for strategy newcomers.

One of the best Kinect games so far and also one of the most successful Pixar tie-ins. Kids will love it and it'd take a seriously cynical adult not to feel the same way.

Probably the best-looking 2D shooter ever made and an excellent genre introduction for the uninitiated. Not to mention a great advertisement for East/West collaborations.

It's not as significant a departure from the original games as it first appears but the gravity gimmicks help ensure a series best for the world's most successful video game.

It's still not the game that will make giant robot sims mainstream, but it does have some innovative ideas in terms of both combat and online play.

Occasional flashes of mediocrity are as good as this lacklustre shooter gets, in a tedious jamboree of technical ineptitude and bland co-op action.

One of the worst introductions to Pokémon - and gaming in general - a small child could suffer. The video games equivalent of corporal punishment.

Far more than meets the eye, the triumph here isn't the successful return of Kid Icarus but Nintendo's most involved and nuanced shooter of recent years.

An impressively courageous reboot that channels the hard-edged heart of the series while discarding its more antagonistic baggage.

It's as gritty as a corporate luncheon, but this is a worthwhile, if lightweight, alternative to FIFA 12 - even if it still doesn't fulfil the potential of the concept.

It's not quite as fully-featured as its Wii equivalent but this is still an excellent compilation of some of the best indie games of this generation.

A justifiably indulgent celebration of some of indie gaming's greatest triumphs, and one that deserves to be experienced by every Wii owner - and beyond.

Borderlands 2D sounds like a good idea on paper, and this certainly looks the part, but it's an experience as vacuous and unrefined as its protagonists.

An amusing enough side story but the novelty of pitting serious criminals against Resident Evil monsters don't last nearly as long as the running time.

The best combat flight sim ever on a console, with a huge range of aircraft and locations - as well as difficultly settings to suit every kind of gamer.

One of the more reprehensible examples of withheld content in recent months, although you aren't really missing much from the mission or character.

A wonderfully imaginative and beautifully presented interactive anime, but one that cannot maintain a regular enough supply of surprises to justify even its short running time.

A disappointing version of a (mostly) great game, brought low by both technical and control problems - and the general sense that the game doesn't fit the format.

Not just a great crossover game but a highly distinctive fighter in its own right, with some of the most innovative - and accessible - ideas to hit the genre in years.

Competent but personality-free third person shooter that's another good demonstration of the Vita's ability, but an instantly forgettable playing experience.

One of the most successfully depressing survival games ever made, and a fascinating portrayal of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.

A great ending to a landmark trilogy. A near perfect mix of action and storytelling, where the personal drama is as engrossing as the galaxy-spanning battles.

It's now the only game keeping vehicular combat alive, but even fans will be disappointed at the lack of change and ambition - in what is more a remake than a reboot.

An unbearably bland arena-based shooter that only manages to make the Quake-style action seem more old-fashioned and irrelevant than ever.

Less is most definitely more in this beautifully understated co-op adventure, that dares you to make sense of its enigmatic voyage.

The games are historical touchstones more than they are all-time classics, but nostalgic fans will still enjoy these entertaining riffs on the work of Rare and Rockstar.

A successful reboot for a franchise that still has a lot to give in terms of uniting gamers, and non-gamers, around its uncomplicated but endearing charms.

Masterful reboot of the old snowboarding racer, with just the right mix of retro appeal, modern presentation, and brand new ideas.

Very familiar dual stick shooter, in more ways than one, but still a great little Asteroids clone, with graphics that are nicely flattered by the PS Vita's screen.

The production values seem to justify the high price but this is an annoyingly awkward mix of third person action and Tower Defence, which never really gels.

The most enjoyable MotorStorm game by far and arguably the best game on the PS Vita - or at the very least the best value for money.

A downloadable spin-off that, while reasonably good value for money, manages only to underline how shallow and repetitive the combat was from the first game.

One of the best Japanese-made third person shooters of the generation, and one that doesn't just seek to copy the West but offer interesting new ideas of its own.