A Heavy Metal comic strip come to life, this is a worthy successor to Golden Axe and a great co-op game – but it stops short of fully revitalising the genre.

New Pokémon games often introduce minor features like this but they often feel like slim justification for a new game, and are abandoned the instant a new sequel comes out. Most of X and Y’s new ideas are more substantial, or at least more fun, and help to cement this as the definitive Pokémon game of the modern age.

The best new Pokémon for a decade and a game of exquisite depth and longevity, with visuals and online options that finally do the series justice.

Impressively unique in terms of both visuals and gameplay but all the most interesting ideas seem to wash away disappointingly quickly.

The best Formula 1 racer by default, although beyond the new retro additions very little has changed in this year’s game.

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.

Despite playing the nostalgia card it’s newer players that will get the most from this streamlined sequel, although even they will be disappointed by the workmanlike script.

Still one of the best survival horror games of the generation and one whose thick atmosphere and surreal sojourns work surprisingly well on the PS Vita.

There are some compelling ideas at work here and probably the closest you’ll ever get to Chromehounds 2 – but only for those already intimately familiar with Armored Core V.

An unfortunate turn to the microtransaction Dark Side causes some unnecessary problems with balancing but gaming’s odd couple remains a surprisingly successful pairing.

It lacks commitment in some areas but there are enough new features and promising new ideas to keep fans busy for another 12 months, even if this is clearly a transitionary sequel.

It has sadly little to do with the original Xbox game but this is still a competent little stealth adventure, even if the Riddick connection is of arguable benefit to it.

The most realistic and versatile soldier sim ever made, but also the most bug-ridden and inscrutable – with an initial release that is missing a lot of promised features.

Ironically the beginning is by far the worst part, but once you’ve got some headway this is the best Harvest Moon for several years and a fun alternative to Animal Crossing.

A rather disappointing end to such a ground-breaking trilogy, where all the bold new ideas seem very much at odds with the core gameplay.

The best Pro Evo has been all generation and, for players looking for a more in-depth and grounded game of football, a genuine alternative to FIFA.

A bad Zelda is still a good game by any other standard but this does frustrating little to improve its standing, beyond making the graphics look even more stunning.

A staggering technical achievement that is matched only by the depth and ambition of its gameplay – this is not only the best-looking GTA ever but by far the most fun to play.

Surreally awful on almost every level, the strangest thing about Farming Simulator is how little effort it makes at… simulating farming.

It was arguably never very good even back in the day, but playing it now The Chaos Engine’s basic action is hopelessly outclassed by any number of retro and contemporary titles.

There’s effort and ambition here but nothing can overcome the limitations of a touchscreen or the doomed efforts to replicate the first person console experience.

Atmospheric storytelling of the highest order, but the game itself is often a chore to play and abandons too much of what made the original so successful.

Repetition and overfamiliarity are always the best ways to nullify fear, but until they set in this is one of the most effectively scary video games ever made.

Possibly the best looking game of all time, mixed with not quite there combat but a great multiplayer.

An incredible work of imagination and one of the best-looking games of the generation. The gameplay can’t quite match the magic of the presentation, but it’s not far behind.

A wonderfully unfashionable mixture of old school aesthetics that doesn’t so much demand your time as steal it away without your permission.

The real test for Mercenary is whether the game would stand out if it was released on a home console, but the answer to that is probably not. The nods to GoldenEye offer some deviance from the norm but overall Mercenary does too little to distinguish itself from the competition. That there is no competition on the PS Vita gives it something of a free pass, but it still seems more like a proof of concept than a standalone game.

Another retro platformer that doesn’t deserve such lavish new presentation, where everything has been improved apart from the gameplay.