Still the best party game on Kinect but the new sports are a mixed bag and the motion controls remain as inconsistent as always.

A surprisingly clever use of the licence, that maintains the charming whimsy of the books and marries it to one of the best 2D platformers of the year.

No longer just an imitation of cinematic blockbusters but an interactive roller-coaster of outstanding ambition, technical ability, and genuine heart.

Superb mix of Tower Defense and action role-player that is one of the year's best and most addictive co-operative games.

Very poor value if you already own last year's version, but even if you don't the console version is still badly compromised compared to the PC.

Still easily the best sports management game around, and although most of this year's changes are fairly trivial they're all extremely welcome.

An inoffensive way to waste a few hours with friends or family, particularly younger ones, but a waste of both Insomniac and Ratchet & Clank's talents.

A genuinely entertaining and imaginative child-friendly dungeon crawler, that's at least as good as the recent Lego games and not nearly as cynical as you might think.

Most British gamers will find it unbearably obtuse and slow-winded but there's a depth of content and gameplay here that will still find its fans.

Far more interested in fixing the flaws of the original than most sequels, this is probably the best, or at least most accurate, use of Kinect so far.

The official World Rally Championship game is looking tired on just its second outing, with very few improvements to the first game and far too many flaws.

Disappointing follow-up to the already lightweight Shattered Dimensions, which seems to go out of its way to waste all the potential of the character(s).

Not just the best superhero game, but one of the greatest action adventures ever made - set in an expansive and engrossing virtual world unlike any other.

Embarrassingly poor medieval brawler that seems completely oblivious to its own absurdity and incompetence.

Technically it's nowhere near as good as Dance Central, but for most people this is going to be a lot more fun - despite the fact that it still barely works properly.

It was always the definitive scrolling beat 'em-up but this Xbox Live Arcade release goes the extra mile with a loving revamp of one of gaming's great co-op experiences.

An interesting attempt at a director's cut, but if anything the passage of time and remaining niggles make the overall experience less entertaining.

New modes such as NBA's Greatest are a welcome inclusion and add longevity to the game. Basketball fans will also be excited by the improvements to Franchise mode, and the overall first class presentation.

A mess of compromises and sops to more casual gamers and yet somehow the game still manages to offer a fun and accessible facsimile of real air combat.

Trying to simulate a sport as complex as rugby on a shoestring budget is a thankless task but in multiplayer mode at least this does a better job than any of its rivals.

The exact opposite of what most fans of the TV show would probably want from A Game Of Thrones tie-in, but there are some interesting strategic ideas here nonetheless.

An excellent port from the PC, which maintains all of the original's innovative open-endedness and most of its graphical prowess.

Achingly beautiful, tyre-shredding action and enough new features to keep the faithful on board. Occasional frustrations, but is easily the most complete racing experience available today.

The X-Men don't have a great history in video games but this is possibly their worst outing yet and offensively poor value for money even for fans.

Disappointingly mundane first person shooter from the creators of the genre, with only a few interesting ideas and far too many overfamiliar ones.

A great Metroid game and a great Aliens tie-in, and only a few rough edges stop this from being a minor classic all of its own.

For a downloadable game with barely a single new idea of its own this is still an entertaining, if rather uneven, platform puzzler.

Dragon Quest meets Pokémon but the resultant synthesis really only inherits the worst of both parents, despite some impressive visuals.

An incredibly assured attempt to rewrite the rules of modern gaming, where even the smallest mistake can cost you dear but the tiniest victory seems like an epic achievement.

A cut price puzzler that almost manages to make the periodic table seem fun and exciting, and is certainly better than recent Super Monkey Balls.

The same euphoric mix of interactive gameplay, visuals and music as the Xbox 360, but while it loses the immersion of Kinect it gains a gorgeous new 3D mode.

A few baby steps forwards for the granddaddy of farming sims, but not enough to deserve a new game or your time and money.

Another disappointing instalment of the once great franchise. Inconsistent level of realism, poor presentation and too few positive innovations.

Easily the worst MMA game yet and also one of the most ineptly designed and ruthlessly un-entertaining fighting games for years.

Resident Evil 4 might get something of a free pass but Code: Veronica was flawed 11 years ago, and none of the issues are fixed in this HD 'update'.

As hardcore as first person shooters get but fascinatingly distinctive as a result - if you have the resolve to endure its rougher edges.

If the Burnout name is to remain alive it'll need something with a bit more fire in its belly than this mediocre destruction derby.

The risk taken with the new defensive system has paid off and all the changes add up to make this the most realistic football experience to date.

Mice seem to have got at the game modes and vehicle selection but despite the paucity of options this is still one of the most original and fun racers on any format.

Still one of the best action games ever made, but this is far from the definitive version and may actually be the worst.

Great value co-op-orientated dual stick shooter that revels in its shallowness and makes a virtue of its one note, but superbly tuned, gameplay.

A hugely imaginative take on a deeply conservative genre, which shows one of 2D gaming's best developers at the very height of their talents.

A worthy successor that is sure to please many and is easily the best option for any Formula One fanatics out there. It's not without its problems, but it has moved the series forward with a vastly improved handling model and a more engrossing race environment that will almost certainly have you believing you really are Lewis Hamilton for a split-second.

As far as we're concerned this is easily the best Gears Of War game, but it's also one that refines and exhausts every gameplay element to such a degree that it seems like a far more final end to the trilogy than Epic probably intended. If there are more games, and we assume there will be, they're going to have to be significantly different to seem worthwhile.

God Of War fans are well served, but these are neither the best entries in the series nor the best example of a Classics HD collection.

Few games warrant the HD treatment as much as these two – on both a technical and artistic level – in what remain towering examples of the art of interactive entertainment.

One of the best and most original driving experiences on the iPhone, especially given the price and the instantly addictive multiplayer.

Never has so promising a game been ruined by such a perversely high difficultly level, which is a crying shame given the gorgeous 2D art.

The one note action might be pitch perfect, but the lack of variety or any real tactical depth soon drowns it out.

Punishingly and infuriatingly hard, but also the best retro-inspired platform puzzler for years.

Derivative, shallow and ruthlessly unambitious, but as Diablo clones go this is still one of the best and most addictive on consoles.

An admirable attempt to create a 'real' game for Kinect, but despite the simple arcade style gameplay the technology just can't keep up.

One of the most beautiful video games ever made and if the gameplay isn't quite as angelic it's perfectly righteous in its own way.

Good graphics, solid controls and a large open world city - the only thing missing is a challenge that lasts more than a couple of hours.

Although this is a considerably more interesting and accomplished game than any of its predecessors it's still nowhere near the cutting edge of the first person shooter genre. And we say that not just because of its abandonment of all that Halo introduced to the concept a decade ago.

The excitement and flow of rugby is there, but the numerous technical and budgetary limitations see the game's aim go wide.

Still one of the best on-the-rails shooters ever made and vastly superior to the modern sequels, despite some minor issues with the remake.

Nothing like the game implied by the trailer and an only occasionally interesting, and obviously low budget, attempt to marry Dead Rising with Fallout.

An excellent update of an almost forgotten British classic, and a promising start to the Gremlin Presents series.

Indie gaming at its retro-loving best, with some of the most cunningly-designed and purposefully infuriating 2D gameplay of the year.

More an interactive hint at what could've been than a proper game, but more engrossing than the flat out disaster it first appears to be.

Horribly inconsistent but also daringly imaginative, but even with its faults this is one of the most innovative racers for years.

A football sim and role-playing game may be one of the oddest genre mix-ups ever attempted but this shoots and scores with surprising accuracy.

A pointless rehash for series regulars, but if you've never experienced the joys of being a totalitarian dictator this is still good clean city-building fun.

Cheaply shovelled ports of four classic games, plus two awful new exclusives that do both their franchises and the 3DS an enormous disservice.

A great version of one of the best fighting games, and therefore one of the best multiplayer games, of all time - assuming you have the dedication for it.

There's an awful lot of recycled content here, but if you like Zombies mode this is still an essential, if potentially expensive, download.

A serious game for serious minds or a fun and surprisingly accessible stealth shooter. Just as it should be, the choice is always yours.

Real-time strategy for the FarmVille generation, and yet it still owes too much to the past - and offers far less than it pretends for free.

The best Japanese role-player of the current generation and a big step forwards for the genre in terms of accessibility and ambition.

A surprisingly competent 2D fighter, but one whose presentation and muted combat will restrict it only to hardcore fans.

There are some clever ideas in this strategy role-player but they're suffocated beneath a weight of banal storytelling and tedious battles.

One of Cave's finest moments loses surprisingly little in its move to the iPhone, with excellent controls and plenty of extras.

One of the best marriages of gameplay, graphics and music ever seen on a portable and a triumphant return to the roots of rhythm action.

Still a loving remake of the influential strategy role-player, but not quite as good as the PSP version and actually slightly more expensive.

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

It copies and borrows from the best - and often very well - but competence is no substitute for character in this forgettable 2D adventure.

If you want to waste a minute or two, wasting hundreds of zombies, then this is one download that will do exactly what it says on the tin.

An interesting and original shooter, but one that never has enough ideas or challenge to justify the price of admission.

Jeff Minter rides again, but in a considerably more laidback and accessible action puzzler that's very well suited to the iPhone.

Another great movie tie-in from the creators of Toy Story 3 and one of the best Mario Kart clones for years.

Achingly beautiful god sim that struggles at times over structure and difficultly curve, but never in terms of spectacle or vision.

At last a Fallout download that's genuinely worth the bandwidth, with a sparkling script that's better than either of the main games.

The combat might never feel as clever as the visuals and narration but this is still an engrossing and distinctive action role-player.

There are number of clever concepts here, but they're left drowning in a sea of mediocre first person shooting and action movie clichés.

All its best bits are clearly stolen from Batman: Arkham Asylum, but for a movie tie-in this still counts as above average.

Simplistic to a fault, but considering it's little more than an interactive ad for Space Marine there are a lot worse ways to spend your money on Xbox Live Arcade.

An almost classic just misses out for a second time, but this is still a successful attempt to show that real-time strategy can be done differently.

Horribly disappointing spin-off that replicates the formula but not the soul of the low budget rentakill shooter.

Harry's film tie-in career ends with an inappropriately bland third person shooter, that is severely lacking in any kind of magic.

Not a sequel that seemed desperately necessary, and it's arguable if the end result is any real improvement, but still an enjoyable - if quickly disposable - download.

A silly premise with some very clever ideas, but unfortunately none of them are implemented well enough to help this one-on-one fighter make history.

Turn-based tactical combat has never seemed so accessible and exciting, in this ground-breaking new indie classic.

For a Dynasty Warriors game this features some useful innovations, but compared to any other series it remains as irredeemably shallow and repetitive as ever.

Consistently surprising, technically accomplished and instantly likeable, this portable adventure has more good ideas than it seems to know what to do with.

A useful fine-tuning of an already solid retro remake, that's more than a rival for Geometry Wars and other downloadable shooters.

A loving, and genuinely funny, homage to old school role-players and the people that play them.

Another highly competent map pack, with no stinkers and a few potential classics - particularly the new Zombies level.