Without question a better game than the previous three CoD games and easily the most spectacular in the series.

Dishonored is an evocative game. Even without knowing the pedigree of its key developers, you won't fail to spot similarities to the angular black steel of City 17 in Dunwall's quarantine barriers. The European twist on old London is true to the concept art, and what the textures lack in up-close resolution, the world makes up for in grand complexity and generous options.

A surprise gem, particularly in co-op. Be prepared to put in a bit of learning time, but it's well worth it so you can appreciate the unusual freedom at your fingertips. Also: you can talk to dogs. [Christmas 2015, p.69]

The best ice hockey game yet. [Nov 2009, p.96]

It's indisputably an excellent shooter: intelligent, satisfying, and a tiny bit thought-provoking, with big ideas and big fights that are never as clunky, irritating or unfair as BioShock. You should play it. But you should also know that - and here we'll borrow the game's own central theme of parenthood - it's a prodigy that never quite leaves the shadow of its father.

A great continuation of one of the greatest sports games on 360.

A game with a beautiful world, meticulously crafted missions, and superb stealth. [Jan 2017, p.77]

While the 'tough as nails' shoot-outs won’t see this on everyone’s must buy list, Ubisoft's run of creating stunning showcases for the Xbox 360 remains unbroken.

Finer than a hundred pieces of eight. [Sept 2009, p.90]

So while Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has improved in single-player, it's the leap in multiplayer that makes it worth the reinvestment.

Returning base commanders might want to ponder whether new classes, maps and foes are worth a second investment, but those who slept through the original extra-terrestrial invasion should pick Enemy Within up immediately.

NHL 11 carries on all the good work of last year's game, but its overall gloss...doesn't quite hide some quirky AI decision making and shonky goal tending. [Issue#66, p.94]

Ori and the Blind Forest is a beautiful picture book... that slams shut on your fingers. Get over the initial shock, and this challenging, thoughtful puzzle platformer is an adventure to cherish.

A huge, complex and expertly written RPG that has the capacity to consume weeks, maybe even months of your life. While its roots are on the PC, it's translated effortlessly to the Xbox 360 with no compromises and stacks up well against the prettiest games on the system. It's more hardcore than Skyrim but by no means inaccessible.

Lee is the best protagonist we've seen in years, and his relationship with the group continues to fascinate. Delicate, thoughtful, and unreservedly brutal - The Walking Dead is one of the most mature gaming experiences that money can buy. This is the most exciting game of 2012, and you won't even find it sitting on shelves. Hop onto Xbox Live and buy it immediately, before we're forced to destroy your head and/or brains.

The changes, especially exploit fixes, will please most but annoy those who feel FIFA 10 didn't need to be messed with - but there's a simple solution there: don't buy it. To everyone else, this is a mighty refined football game, just not quite the Earth-mover FIFA 10 was.

Smart, satisfying, brutal: Undoubtedly one of the best shooters of the generation.

It's really bloody good... Take note, other developers wanting to jump on a trend: this is how you do battle royale. [Issue#225, p.82]

Brilliantly charming and consistently entertaining, it's a true XBLA classic.

A funny, thrilling, quietly subversive take on the well-worn Telltale formula - this feels like a genuine step forward for the genre but, more importantly, it’s good fun, almost constantly.

Of the five there's only one genuine dud. Phu Bai Valley is an indistinct, formless and aesthetically muddy mess, made even worse if you play it in Rush mode with its arbitrary barriers. The other four, however, are some of the best Battlefield maps we've seen.

It's not perfect, but Hot Pursuit is still the kind of collision between Criterion and Need For Speed you'd hope for. It pays respect to the classic NFS games, borrows the best bits from Burnout and is a technical masterpiece. The chase to reclaim NFS's once legendary chart topping form is well and truly on.

A sensitive portrayal of mental illness and rigorous combat: Hellblade is almost perfect. [June 2018, p.84]

Less a party game than clever learning software, Rocksmith 2014 is a highly personalised, customisable and responsive guitar tutoring tool that improves upon the original in almost every regard.

At 15 hours long, and with the unlockable Son Of Sparta mode upping the difficulty while switching enemies around, Dante’s latest is both stylish and generously stuffed. Though occasionally intimidating and repetitive in places, you’ll still relish making Satan sing.

Monolith might not have the basics quite down, but the Nemesis system is the year's most original game mechanic, and makes for a game that feels - and reacts to your play - unlike any of its peers.

343's attempts at endowing this carefully constructed husk of a protagonist with psychological depth are predictably timid.

A tremendous return for an all-time great. Doom feels so fresh by being so old-school. [July 2016, p.75]

The heart thumping combat you love in a fantastically realised World War I setting. [Christmas 2016, p.81]

FromSoftware have improved and refined an action-RPG series without parallel. Essential. [June 2016, p.77]

The best game in the franchise to date. It's genuinely good enough that it might even convert diehard PES fans if Konami's update this year ends up being as lacklustre as last year's.

An amazing sight to behold. [Apr 2008, p.99]

DiRT 3 is one of those rare games that delivers both quality and quantity. Everything is laser-engineered to improve on the brilliant previous game. The only misstep is the anodyne Career mode interface - lots of people will be baffled by the decision to replace the bustling 3D service area with something stylish yet hollow.

The best AC yet, with finessed game design, gorgeous visuals and great narrative. [Christmas 2018, p.79]

Red Dead's outstanding DLC in a box. Simple as.

All that aside, Forza Motorsport 6 offers the best racing experience you can get on Xbox One, bar none.

When all is said and done, this is the 'proper' Call of Duty fans have been waiting for. [Issue#67, p.84]

Rocket League transcends its chaotic mishmash of sports, racing and fighting to create an elegant and endlessly competitive game for the ages.

The most realistic football simulation yet: PES' depth and control are simply stupendous. [Dec 2016, p.88]

Cleverer and more creative than the first, this truly complete Titanfall is a game-changer. [Christmas 2016, p.71]

Whether chatterbox, lone wolf, newcomer, or old hand, Destiny 2 is unmissable. [Nov 2017, p.70]

Temporary frustrations aside, Runner2 is a simple, lovely jog to the right that slowly builds into a manageably hectic rightward run. The easy difficulty might speed your passage through the world, but it's less fun. So don't rob yourself of a new and entirely needless motor skill. Put it on Rather Hard, and stick at it until the skills lodge in your fingers. It's worth it.

Exceptional racing with brilliant atmosphere.

There's no downside, save an easily-forgiven sense of familiarity and the absence of online co-op. You can't even resort to the usual retro-gaming caveat of high difficulty - the learning curve is perfectly judged, the checkpoints agreeably spaced. This is the year's best platformer without the faintest shadow of a doubt.

Even if you're confined to single player, Spelunky is yet another small but perfectly formed nugget of joy to be unearthed on the Games Marketplace. Like Fez, Joe Danger and Super Meat Boy before it, the charm simply oozes out of the screen and leaves a saccharine sticky patch at the base of your TV. That initial infuriation crystallises into solid determination and 1200MP buys you an endless supply of levels against which to test your wits and skills.

Diablo 3 isn't an experience for the time-poor, though it's surprisingly possible to nip in for half an hour, just to level yourself up. But treat it like a casino: set yourself a limit, and stick to it. Otherwise, you might find yourself wide-eyed on Nephalem Glory at 5am.

A masterpiece - one of best games on Xbox. [Dec 2016, p.74]

One of the most addictive games we've enjoyed in recent years. [Christmas 2007, p.106]

A crisp HD upgrade for one of the finest and most elegant games of its genre. [Issue#160, p.84]

While GRID's a nice game, it's ultimately a new selection of cars and tracks for Colin McRae DiRT. You might want to bear that in mind when it comes to buying it.

It’s definitely a worthwhile Live Arcade download for Oblivion fans, rejuvenating it and giving your character some wonderful new tricks. Frankly, you’d have to be mad to miss it.

Without question the best rally sim ever made. Reality without the whiplash.

Ironically, Fight Night Round 4 may be the best argument for banning boxing yet. After all, when a game can get this close to the fluid, organic technicality of the real thing, why does anyone need to get hit in the face?... Solid, satisfying and totally revolutionary. [July 2009, p.81]

Intuitively designed and thrilling, Civilization makes a brilliant move over to console. [Issue#186, p.78]

Killer Instinct has grown into a real contender. An essential part of any Xbox library. [June 2016, p.80]

A gripping platformer that cajoles you into platforming amazing feats of dexterity. [July 2015, p.76]

An unexpected Xbox One knockout and a year-on-year improvement in every respect - but its spectacular visuals make the clunkier elements painfully obvious.

For those who fancy something different. [Apr 2010, p.102]

This is how re-releases should be done – Ninja Theory has put a lot of love into emphasising what was great about DmC, and fixing all the niggles that could realistically be fixed. Thoroughly recommended.

It's difficult to describe a game with so many choices and different paths, but making them all feel meaningful is what Dragon's Age excels at. Complex it may be, but it's more focused than Fable II, better in combat than Mass Effect, and richer than The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. If you've got the patience, it's a cracker.

Incremental changes in all the right places on the court, coupled with a comprehensive dynasty mode, make this the sports game to beat for the foreseeable future. [Dec 2015, p.82]

An imperfect but utterly unmissable tour de force of multiplayer design, bustling with so many new ideas that it's a wonder it doesn't fly apart in mid-air.

An excellent game that, while paying tribute to Lara Croft's heritage, certainly feels like a new beginning - mechanically as well as thematically. It's visually dazzling, narratively affecting, dangerously near best-in-class when it comes to solid shooting, vertiginous platforming and ballsy set plays... and bodes fantastically for any future instalments.

It all works together to make this the funniest and most thoughtful expansion of the Season Pass. Whether you've got the energy to go back and blow the cobwebs off your old gun hoard is up to you. We'd definitely recommend it.

With such layered and near-endless challenges, not to mention the addition of a remarkably powerful level creator, you'll be firing this up for a quick blast for years to come. We don't say this often, deeply cynical as we are, but if for some ludicrous self-abusing reason you only buy one XBLA game this year, make it Trials HD. [R. King]

Technically superior in every way to plain Diablo III and still as ruinous to your everyday life as ever before. The hearty challenge remains beyond the credits, making it definitely worth your time.

A leaner, meaner breed of Resi that, despite flaws, puts the series back on track...Resi VII has carved itself a seedy, resolutely icky place in our cold, blackened hearts. [March 2017, p.73]

It's a blood-soaked love letter to the original series but hauls everything else up to date, making it a tasty treat for newcomers and a nine-course medieval banquet for fans.

Despite some slight technical let downs, and a few underwhelming aesthetics, Brothers is a rather beautiful tale of love and loss, of fables and fairy tales, and of family most of all. [July 2013, p.78]

Street Fighter nuts will already have bought this without a second thought; if you remember the good old days of 2D fighters, this is the pinnacle.

The combat system is deep, satisfying, and just welcoming enough to let you in, before losing the smile, slapping your face and making you pay attention. Ninja Theory has bottled Danté's soul, and given him an excellent new life.

A stupidly fun fighter: fast, aggressive and oozing with love. [March 2018, p.74]

Where Assassin's Creed 3 kept players at arm's length for hours, refusing to let you make your own way, Assassin's Creed 4 spreads those arms wide. We don't miss Connor, so much, but somebody should get this new guy a trilogy.

A clear improvement on its already-excellent predecessor and is now absolutely the dance game that Kinect deserves. Those who can't stomach the more narrow selection of musical genres will be upset, but this is still the slickest, sexiest dance game around.

But if you want a staggering multiplayer fight game that looks better than anything else on Xbox 360, get this.

Beneath the visuals and the voice-over, Bastion is actually a fairly standard action RPG, but the abundance of different challenges and puzzles, combined with that beguiling narration, makes it something rather special.

The oddest thing about Oddworld is that nobody's managed to do this kind of game better. An accomplished update of a grotesquely sophisticated platformer that'll turn the stomach of any carnivore.

Once you've turned off the gesture and voice control, you've got a product that's a simple facelift to a game that scarcely needed it. It's the better of the two, but the game doesn't really stand up to a full replay this soon.

In some ways there are only marginal and cosmetic differences from Mortal Kombat XL. That’s no bad thing, as fans of the series as well as fans of NetherRealm’s last fighter, Injustice 2, will be comfortable with the feel and mechanics, but those tweaks and enhancements, as well as the excellent story mode, mean that with MK11, Mortal Kombat has pretty much now been perfected. [Issue#178, p.75]

Quite simply, GRAW2 is the game the original Advanced Warfighter should have been. It’s GRAW with a proper running time, GRAW without feeling penned in by invisible walls and the endless and constraining "You’re leaving the battlefield!" warnings. GRAW2 promised to be bigger, better and more – and it’s delivered all three.

The repetitive action might be reminiscent of the original games, but it's still repetition, and ultimately that causes things to drag. Fortunately just like Max himself it's also difficult to dislike - the plot isn't something you'll be able to leave alone for long, bullet time still has the capacity to thrill and the multiplayer provides the variety and unpredictability required for genuine longevity.

By far the best skate game on any console. [Nov 2007, p.88]

Better is good, but it isn't great. [Nov 2011, p.110]

Not quite the evolutionary leap we’d hoped for, but this beautiful and bombastic adventure remains one of the most purely entertaining things you can put in your Xbox One this Christmas.

A triumph in so many respects that lets itself down with some technical issues and a world that needed more variety in the way it looks. That, however, shouldn't stop you from picking this up and loving it until the end of this console generation. Forza Horizon 2 is an accomplishment, and a showcase for what open-world racers can do.

More time-travel sci-fi needs heel kicks. [Dec 2012, p.87]

The main reason you'll keep returning to DJ Hero 2 is for a love of the music. Simply playing along with any of the tunes in the game is a thoroughly entertaining experience - particularly when you get the chance to commandeer the crossfader or perform some freestyle scratching and sampling.

Innovation or execution? We'll take the latter so long as Techland are behind the wheel. A gloriously entertaining, blood-soaked country drive.

Superbly tactile, and with that track generator this is the sign of a racer done right. [Sept 2017, p.76]

If you've had your fill of Killer Instinct and are looking for another rad fighter on the Xbox One, look no further. Great characters, solid online play and loads of content make this a bit of a kracker.

Exacting and exhilarating, this slightly fugly remaster remains a challenging classic. [Aug 2018, p.76]

Splinter Cell Conviction might not have the longest or greatest single-player campaign, but it makes up for this with a substantial selection of alternative modes.

The presentation, the career game, the online stuff, the load times...everything's better. And with streets packed with spectators, signs and flags, it's a much more vibrant lace than Gotham's sterile cities of old. We simply have no alternative but to crown Gotham 4 the best racing game on Xbox 360. [Nov 2007, p.102]

Fast, realistic, and cool as ice. [Nov 2007, p.98]

The proof is in the songs, better balanced and offering enough range to please everybody. Here's to another six months of hard rock heaven.

Consistently brilliant - the best Hitman game, and one of the best games of the year. [Jan 2017, p.84]

A charming and atmospheric RPG, with varied by underwhelming card battles.

Champion Mode's story makes you care more about the fights. [Apr 2011, p.102]