Poor pacing and the worst celebrity voiceovers of the year mar what could have been the definitive Lego game, but in the end is just another fun but shallow co-op game amongst many.

It may not bring many new ideas to the table but this is a hugely enjoyable open world shooter, with the best co-op options in the genre.

Not the bold new reinvention that Assassin’s Creed needed but instead a rushed, patently unfinished mess whose improvements are minor and failings more obvious than ever.

One of the best ever examples of how to do DLC right, being both good value for money and introducing several new features to the parent game.

As bizarre a mix of genres, art style, and subject matter as you could ever hope to see, especially on the PC. But it all works and absolutely deserves this second shake of the die.

One of the great champions of offline multiplayer returns, and although it brings nothing new to the table at least it lets you race along it once again.

An excellent return to form for the Dragon Age series, and the biggest and most ambitious Western role-player since the new generation began.

A significant improvement on the last generation of Pro Evo games, and for the first time in years PES is more entertaining than the new FIFA.

A no expense spared celebration of the most enduring shooter series of all time, with everything a Halo fan could wish for and more than enough to entertain everyone else.

A far less ambitious sequel than the last two years and most of the headline changes are negative, especially changing your manager into a role-playing character.

Maybe the next gen versions will be better, but on the 360 and PS3 this is a deeply cynical release that’s inferior to last year’s entry in almost every way.

Despite a few pulled punches this is the best Call Of Duty has been in years, and the multiplayer in particular is the most innovative since Modern Warfare began.

A disappointing sequel that only compounds the failures of the original, while also featuring Double Fine’s least amusing script so far.

There’s plenty of potential here, to make a Monster Hunter clone Western gamers can really get behind, but all its best ideas are sacrificed to endless grinding and repetition.

As blatant a clone as has ever been seen, but although it does nothing better than Dark Souls it does do some things almost as well – and is certainly more accessible.

Shallow, simplistic, and never quite as funny as it thinks it is, but there’s still more energy and imagination at work here than most other new next gen franchises.

The worst game Platinum has ever made, and thanks to its sheer incompetence and banality almost the Bizarro World opposite of Bayonetta.

An excellent spin-off that uses the science fiction setting to focus and expand the gameplay in interesting new ways, and yet remains as accessible and thoughtful as ever.

For a game obsessed with OTT violence and knob gags this is a surprisingly charming and likeable shooter, if an unavoidably shallow and repetitive one.

The most powerful game creation tool ever released for a console, but it’s less accessible than it could be and the endless microtransactions leave a predictably sour taste.

Offline multiplayer may be increasingly a thing of the past, but In Space We Brawl isn’t anywhere near interesting enough to reverse that trend.

Moving beyond a mere homage to Dungeon Master this is one of the best dungeon crawlers of recent years, even if the puzzle balance still isn’t quite right.

Even as downloadable content this would seem exploitative, but trying to pass it off as a new game is only a formula for disappointment and resentment.

The greatest offence here is not sexism but simply tedium at the game’s shallow action, although while the one note joke lasts it is a funny one.

Rather than the future of survival horror this is merely a retread of its defining moments, and even then it rarely manages to equal what has gone before – let alone exceed it.

Not necessarily an essential experience, but despite the repetitive elements the game’s co-op thrills and winning humour ensure entertainment for both new fans and old.

A fantastic sequel, whose improvements may be relatively subtle but are more than enough to confirm Bayonetta 2 as one of the greatest action games ever made.

A fantastic little action puzzlers that is one of the best surprises of the year, and a welcome escape from would-be epics and over-hyped blockbusters.