One of the best looking fighting games ever and the most successful attempt yet to make an interactive anime, even if it is a little lacking in content and new ideas.

Like any good firework display this fun platformer retains its charm even after the novelty runs out.

The definitive version of Tempest and as such one of the best arcade games ever made, even if it’s only a minor improvement on previous versions.

Konami's reinvention of the footy sim still impresses a year later, even if this is largely the same game.

A great remake of an overlooked classic, and one of the few games that can survive close comparison with The Legend Of Zelda and retain a style all of its own.

It's no Angry Birds - because it's not trying to be. Instead, it's a cheerful and attractive twist on an always-popular gameplay mechanic that's already a deserved hit with casual gaming fans. It's more Placid Bird Suffused With A Sense Of Innocent Child-Like Wonder.

Treasure’s cult 2D shooter remains as uniquely entertaining as always, and surprisingly well adapted for a modern PC.

BlazBlue goes out in a blaze of glory, and although it lacks new ideas it certainly isn’t short of characters, game modes, or thrilling action.

The PS Vita finally gets something to sing about with a beautifully conceived mix of platform action, striking visuals, and perfectly orchestrated music.

The attempts to innovate in terms of storytelling and structure feel superficial and ineffective, leaving Gears 5 to survive purely on its increasingly overfamiliar action.

Another great indie detective game that not only makes solving crimes fun and interesting but has some surprisingly good storytelling to tie everything together.

Still the best boxing sim around but the justification for this new sequel is pretty thin, despite a number of minor improvements.

The world’s least realistic golf game is a tour de force in manic invention that values variety, invention, and surrealist humour above all.

An unsatisfying facsimile of Resident Evil 4 with none of the style or excitement, just more bugbears.

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.

If you want a 2D Dark Souls it’s hard to imagine From Software doing much better than this, even if it has too few original ideas of its own.

A mediocre remaster of an all-time classic, but by the mere act of fixing (most of) the frame rate problems this becomes the definitive version of one of the decade’s most influential video games.

The best ever portable Shin Megami Tensei, with an interesting spin on the tactical role-playing genre.

A very promising start to what is mechanically just another Telltale adventure, but where the comedy and characterisation feels very different to their more recent games.

A fabulously detailed racing game with a huge car roster and engrossing single-player modes, slightly marred by forcefully encouraging you to perform practise laps before races.

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.

An excellent multiplayer and the best version of Battlefield ever on a console, but a lesser game than on the PC and with a very poor single-player mode.

The improvements are incremental at best but this still seems like a near perfect MMA game.

More accessible and finally sporting an online mode, but the clumsy combat still limits the hunt's appeal.

A significant improvement on the original and undoubtedly the best 2D Soulslike game so far, with a macabre and imaginative style all of its own.

A hugely successful sequel, that's as surefooted as its hero when it comes to handling its enormous scale and near endless range of features.

It may sound like a copout, but it makes swords and daggers (and combat sandals) viable and maintains the sense of speed without having to repeatedly stab at the screen. It also supports MFI controllers for those preferring the original experience, and remains a defining and hugely addictive piece of entertainment.

Borrowing so obviously, from so many classic games, was always a risk but this stylish platformer pulls off its theft with some élan.