Saints Row IV combines irreverence, comedic genius, and fantastic characterisation with one of the most bizarre and ridiculous storylines you’ll see all year. As a total experience, its got the goods.

With the new (improved) control system and slight increase in visual quality, it would be safe to say that Wii U owners are getting the best experience out of Most Wanted - even if it is six months behind.

Whether you’re a Final Fantasy veteran, or someone who wasn’t even born yet when FFX first came out, you should waste no time in picking these up.

The only question you need to ask yourself is: do I need another addiction?

You won't find an experience quite like this on the iPad (or anywhere, for that matter), and I for one hope we see more games that offer something just a little bit different.

Played through quickly, Patapon is an eight hour game which - when played correctly - can be as long as 15 to 20.

The living, breathing world of Sunset Valley, the town that comes pre-packaged with the game, is a fascinating one.

Unfortunately, it is also evident that 2K Sports bit off more than they can chew, by trying to make the MyCareer mode more compelling with the introduction of Spike Lee’s story.

Titanfall is just so full of things. The world is beautiful and detailed, the maps are detailed and confusing, the giant robots have plenty of places to hide. Take your time to drink it all in as the bullets zing around and into you.

Tomb Raider earns its score for daring to go big and then executing on that goal with considerable aplomb in every important area. It looks great, plays well, and is fun from beginning to end. Even more than that, it does all of those things with more skill and finesse than almost any other game before it.

The mixture of over-the-top action, outrageously powerful weapons and cinematic presentation ensures that the non-stop thrill-ride action keeps the adrenaline flowing throughout.

Just playing through the game won't keep you occupied for a huge amount of time, but trying for top times and tinkering with the level editor will keep more dedicated players busy for absolutely ages.

Radiant Silvergun is a triumph and arguably one of the best (if not the best) game of its type available - on any platform.

Heart of the Swarm is a solid expansion that builds on and refines the Starcraft experience. As a stand-alone game, its campaign is oddly paced, it's got unnecessary bells and whistles, and it lacks strategic complexity. But whatever grumbles gamers might have, Blizzard’s devotion to good storytelling and character development still makes the experience worthwhile.

It's this frustration that turns Crysis 2 from a raging river into a swollen lake. Everything it does well, it does really well. As an overall experience it looks great, feels great and tells a great yarn. Its bells all whistle and its trinkets all sparkle. But this dazzling array of graphical and technical wizardry hides the fact that water has quietly seeped into this title's few cracks. Some of the core gameplay mechanics that you'd expect a tier one developer like Crytek to knock out of the park, are instead a little rusted over.

Brothers is a wonderful piece of storytelling and a fantastic puzzle game that’ll make you want to hug a loved one. Highly recommended.

Like most years, NHL 12 is a mixture of gameplay tweaks, roster updates, and surface polish. Although this year isn't a major upgrade, the changes that have been made make NHL 12 the closest thing to playing professional hockey this side of sharpening up your skates, moving to Canada, and signing up with the Halifax Mooseheads.

While Street Fighter 3: Online Edition is the least beginner-friendly of the series, that's precisely why it's favoured among the series' biggest fans. The parrying, super moves and timing make this a challenging and surprisingly addictive game.

New quality-of-life features elevate the game’s strongest elements, while visual and audio improvements make it more palatable. If you missed Final Fantasy XII the first time, don’t sleep on this.

If you appreciate hilarity and good puzzles, check this out now!

Tomb Raider is a mature experience featuring a young, strong woman who - armed with grit, determination, and intelligence - rescues not only her friends but herself as well. Surely there’s a lesson in that for the rest of us.

AC4 looks beautiful, and just feels more polished, cohesive, and comprehensive than the last title did.

Very similar to its predecessor, but it now comes with a proper two-player mode, an improved Break it Down mode, and lots of other small improvements. If you enjoyed the first game, you will certainly enjoy this one.

Bastion is a fun and engrossing ride, and I highly recommend grabbing the demo to see if it's your kind of thing. Allow the soothing (well, gravelly) voice of the narrator to wash over you, and go find out just what happened to this destroyed, understated, beautiful world.

As long as you know the basics, you’re set to build whatever you can think up, be it a castle with a moat, or a roller-coaster, although at the moment, you might have to shrink it down a size.

It’s fascinating that for all of the 3D, more technologically advanced Sonic games that we’ve seen over the years, this retro approach is still the best in over a decade. It’s mainly thanks to the development team being able to channel the essence of what made Sonic so successful in the first place. The decision by Sega to engage with independent studios Headcannon and PagodaWest Games after their passionate work in the Sonic fan community was a stroke of genius. It’s not perfect and it’s not ground-breaking in the slightest, but it’s still great to see Sonic back in good form after so many years of neglect.

Joe Danger is great fun wrapped around a retro sound track and some clean cartoon graphics. He's a likeable little motorhead with a goofy grin and, as with all daredevils, a rather unhealthy obsession with fame and a charming little death wish.

Its refreshing take on platform-based gaming, humour, variety, challenge and polish are instantly - and enduringly - impressive. Not only is this one of the best games on the Vita, it's one of the best games of the year - period.