BioWare really has saved the best till last with a downloadable expansion that not only justifies the expense but your faith in the Mass Effect franchise.

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.

Star Wars and pinball fans are equally well served here, with what are arguably better tables than the actual real machines.

The best Bit.Trip game so far and one of the best ever blends of retro and modern aesthetics, in terms of both presentation and gameplay.

It may be a good quality racer but this is also one of the most offensively cynical video games we’ve ever played, and despite being ‘free’ also one of the most expensive.

One of the best iOS games for several months is a wonderfully disturbing horror story that innovates in terms of everything from visuals and interface to its macabre narrative.

A great cinematic action adventure, with one of gaming’s great lead performances, although its Tomb Raider DNA seems fragmented and even degenerative in parts.

The excellent multiplayer deserves to be the focus here, rather than the repetitive, humourless, and largely artless first person shooting of the single-player campaign.

An admirably imaginative approach to downloadable content that has a better story than the main game, but not quite enough variety in action and missions.

Exactly as entertaining as you’d expect from a collaboration between two of Japan’s most talented developers, and one of the best action games of the generation.

There’s probably no way to make After Burner interesting again without turning it into a completely different game, but there was no need for Sega to prove that fact yet again.

Koei’s scraping of the Dynasty Warriors barrel breaks through the bottom and into the floor below, with a cheap, lazy sequel to an already sub-par game.

The whole idea was probably doomed from the start but this is a disappointingly slipshod effort, with a story campaign that somehow feels more old-fashioned than the decades-old movie it’s based on.

Not so much a poor man’s Gears Of War as a tramp’s, which is perhaps why one of the few distinguishing features is playing it with a loyal canine by your side.

A worthy successor to the Descent legacy, but lacking the depth of gameplay that would’ve made it a classic of equal standing.

A superbly judged revamp of Fire Emblem that final elevates the series to classic status and in the process creates one of the most engrossing and accessible strategy games ever.

Bad movie tie-ins are hardly a new phenomenon but never before has so much potential been wasted on so uninteresting a video game.

This is a sequel afraid of what its predecessors stood for and too timid to focus on and perfect their strengths. It’s a real shame that it’s the game’s creators that seem the most scared in Dead Space 3, rather than the players.

The game’s limitless options and boundless enthusiasm have never been so impressive, but it’s further away than ever from fulfilling its potential as an actual video game.

Frustrating and confusing almost by design, Antichamber is nevertheless one of the most intelligent and imaginative puzzle games for years.

You can see the basis of a good game here but Omerta gets almost everything wrong, from the shallow gameplay to the bland, characterless gangster atmosphere.

A superior Mario Kart clone and certainly the best Sega has ever produced, especially in terms of the teary-eyed nostalgia inspired by its endless retro cameos.

Its attempted revolution of turn-based tactics isn't quite as practical as it first seems but this is still an impressively fun, and funny, strategy game.

Even Absolution's harshest critics may be surprised at how badly some of these games have aged, but warts and all this is still a fascinating collection to play through.

There's nothing even slightly revolutionary here, but five decent new maps – including one for Zombies – is perfectly welcome anyway.

Grotesque and disturbing, and that's not just in terms of the tawdry use of Japanese schoolgirls but the result of a flawed but oddly effective horror game.

A clever mix of Pac-Man and Qix, together with retro modern presentation and an addictive high score challenge.

Not necessarily the best version of the game, but it's definitely the cheapest – and a still superb mix of role-playing, puzzle and strategy action.