When Battlefield 3 received a set of heavy armour maps and another set of close-quarters infantry maps, that was a revolution. Black Ops 2's Revolution is a step in the right direction, but a small one.

Fun, but far too easily mastered. [Jan 2013, p.97]

Looks like Potter has lost its magic. [Jan 2013, p.97]

One of the finest console strategy games ever. [Jan 2013, p.96]

Sails beneath already low expectations. [Jan 2013, p.91]

Going through the motions. [Jan 2013, p.86]

Retro City Rampage has all the charm, scattershot wit and entertainment value of a drunk, gabbling child. It's shallow, mindless and simple - that's the point.

The three-player co-op could well help with spicing up repeat journeys, though, and with every character's area worth playing (not least for the lovely hidden endings for those who think around the final section), those intent on searching its every inch will find that The Cave runs very deep - and dark - indeed.

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.

The single-player mode offers some spectacular boss battles, but pads out the experience with long-winded slogs against disposable drones. Without humans to fight, the relative rigidity of combat is exposed, though Platinum could never make hitting something anything less than satisfying. Anarchy Reigns is a brash, scrappy runt in a litter of spectacular action games, but in making online brawling just about work it still offers something of its own.

If you never played RAGE, buy it. Then buy this. Play it, love it, and when the "Insert Disc 2" prompt pops up, simply walk away, smiling.

It isn't entirely awful - even dodgy MOBA games can provide a lot of fun - but the myriad flaws suggests that it's badly misunderstood its audience. It's like being handed a love letter that was written by someone who had Googled 'seduction'. The effort they've put in is clearly endearing, but sorry - we're just not interested.

Play is built around evading attack, then countering with frenzied sword stabs or a selection of spells, so it's a shame that the all-important dodge move doesn't quite work.

The pack feels both more adventurous and more complete - a differently styled distillation of the things Skyrim does best which should last you well into Christmas.

All things considered, Sam's been seriously shafted. [Christmas 2012, p.99]

Time to reassess everything about 2001. [Christmas 2012, p.99]

Easy on the pockets and surprisingly fresh. [Christmas 2012, p.97]

Too tough, very cool, not as good as Sine Mora. [Christmas 2012, p.97]

An eccentric but highly enjoyable platformer. [Christmas 2012, p.97]

Warm and inclusive - if you've got the money. [Christmas 2012, p.96]

A race against time with a whole lot of charm. [Christmas 2012, p.93]

Fun for none of the family, sadly. [Christmas 2012, p.93]

Feels empty and faintly depressing. [Christmas 2012, p.93]

Hindsight be damned, these games are still fantastic.

The asking price is a little too steep, but long-term Mass Effect fans will appreciate this return visit. Small-scale stories are what Bioware does best, and we're hoping we'll see more stuff like Omega in the next Mass Effect game.

A light-hearted take on heavy-duty subject matter is no more than what we've come to expect from Travellers' Tales. In adding RPG features without shattering the returning mechanics, however, the LEGO team have arguably outdone themselves. You shall not pass this one up.

Far Cry 3 isn't too much of a departure, once you actually get to grips with the landscape that stretches behind that fidgety, histrionic exterior. It is, however, handily the best game in the series so far, and deserves to hold its head high among this winter's noisy crowd of sandbox offerings. If madness is repetition, this is one reworking of a formula I don't mind losing my mind to.

The Walking Dead offers a level of narrative quality that outshines anything else currently available in gaming. It makes the TV series of the same name look dull, poorly paced, and insignificant. These are the most important games released this year, and we simply can't recommend them enough.

Mickey's world-shaping brush is slightly sexier than Oswald's electro-ray, but both cause Goofy an equal amount of pain, so it's hard to complain. Niche then, but nice.

Fine combat, badly balanced. [Dec 2012, p.103]

Dull-witted and directionless. [Dec 2012, p.103]

Still strong, but starting to show its age. [Dec 2012, p.103]

Frustrating and counter intuitive. [Dec 2012, p.101]

About as basic as a wrestling game can get. [Dec 2012, p.101]

A game so scary, even it doesn't know what it is. [Dec 2012, p.101]

Lobsters should be invited to every party. [Dec 2012, p.7]

We can't wait to see what next year holds. [Dec 2012, p.97]

Enough to make Blackbeard retire. [Dec 2012, p.97]

As a box set it's just over-packaged and over-priced nostalgia. [Dec 2012, p.97]

You'd be mad to buy an electric guitar and not fork out for Rocksmith as well. [Dec 2012, p.95]

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

Indie fun that jumps through all our hoops. [Dec 2012, p.79]

A game that celebrates the HD-era Sega rather than the old, forgotten one. Good job it's such a blast to play, then.

Everything about the world revolves around entertaining you, whether it's the wide scope of murder-options or the amazing dialogue in between. Whatever kind of killer you decide you want to be, Absolution is an unmissable hit. [Dec 2012, p.68]

A title that feels like it's gripped by identity crisis, unable to let go of its F1 origins to the degree required to be a great karting game. Instead, we get a curious hybrid that's fun, but not essential for either end of the market.

As a multiplayer game, Black Ops 2 is one of the best shooters around - sprawling and sagging under the weight of interesting systems. Offline, however, it's merely adequate. Despite some commendable ambition, Black Ops 2 isn't quite the match-stealing assault on Infinity Ward's turf we hoped it would be.

Angry Birds Trilogy just feels like simple cash-raking from a franchise that's displayed little-to-no creativity since the first bird was fired.

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

What its "half-modern, half-Attitude" roster might do, however, is appeal to lapsed wrestling fans - those who stopped watching in the early noughties. This is a reminder of why their era was so great and offers a great nostalgia-bomb through a flaming table of joy.

A compelling argument not just for Criterion's continued stewardship of Need for Speed - assuming Hot Pursuit left you in any doubt on that front - but for the reproduction of those inescapable, irresistible online features across rival genres.

The strongest aspect of ACIII is the more mature moral tone.

The whole time you're playing Warfighter, just behind the sofa, there's a camouflaged Call of Duty-sized elephant sitting in the room - busying itself by practicing scope kills with its trunk. To go up against that beast Warfighter needed to impress on its own terms, and really deliver something new and exhilarating. Instead we got a cloning experiment that went badly awry.

Artorias of the Abyss successfully revitalizes your initial wonder through Dark Souls' world, and for that it's worth every Microsoft Point.

At times, the experience of play manages to feel even more dated than the camp innuendo of the movies...It becomes a begrudging joke, particularly in the stealth sections.

id Software's take on hell might be a little two-dimensional, but if you don't have the patience for the likes of Dead Space, this should scratch your diabolical itch.

Lone players need not apply: an offline campaign proves useful for learning the maps and the nuances of play, but the focus is firmly with the online game. And either way, we'd advise spending a little extra buying Awesomenauts instead.

Without any visible reinvention or revolution, WRC 3 is left looking embarrassingly dated. The WRC license has been recreated with impressive accuracy, and there's a serviceable sim underneath the awkward handling, but the entire package is painfully weak compared to its competition. If this is rally, feel free to count us out

As a street-legal version of a purebred racer, Horizon is something that anybody with an interest in cars can pick up quickly and play for ages. And if you don't like cars already, well, it might just persuade you.

Being the weakest episode in a series that's been so consistently amazing is hardly massive criticism, though. We'd felt quietly confident about it for a while, but the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 4 leaves us in no doubt: the final episode of is going to be an absolute corker. If you've not started playing, it's time to catch up.

There's no doubt that there's a push towards narrative and mechanical innovation at its heart. This won't earn plaudits for what it achieves, but what it attempts is another matter - it might be destined for the bargain bucket, but it's worth picking up once it gets there.

Strong characters entertain throughout the game's uncharacteristically involving story, with sheer imagination turning those limited core systems into something just that little bit more magical. There are tears, laughter - and most importantly, the first successful stab at Kinect-enhanced immersion - as Fable: The Journey gallops toward its epic conclusion.

Sophisticated, unnerving and reliably unforgiving, XCOM: Enemy Unknown isn't just Xbox 360's finest strategy experience - it's also a strategy game which changes how you think about strategy games. Go into it expecting a deadening flow of unlocks and build queues, and you'll get a nasty surprise. Approach the game as you would an odd noise in the basement, and the Earth might just have a fighting chance.

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.

At around five-plus hours of fun, Hell Yeah! doesn't outstay its welcome. From that first negative reaction to the title, we never expected to be saying this: Hell Yeah! is a fast, smooth and intelligently designed platformer with boundless enthusiasm, a winning imagination and stellar production values.

A disaster even by movie-game standards. [Nov 2012, p.107]

An accomplished shooter on the whole, and a fittingly thunderous send-off for current gen Resident Evil. The next instalment needs to tighten the focus, deciding which ideas are worth sticking with, but this could be the definitive videogame blockbuster - huge, colourful and surprising.

There's very little new in Dead or Alive 5. It's built on tried, true and perhaps tepid fighting game foundations, but given the depth it's difficult to fault it for that. Fighting game players in search of something completely new might be better off holding out for Persona 4 Arena. But if it's just a solid, technical fighter you're after, Dead or Alive fits the bill.

The production values are consistently impressive, and we've learned at least six new things about bears. You can't say that about Gears of War 3.

Dribbling's expanded, players are fallible, and online modes complement the real world unlike any sports title before it.

The words "awesome" and "badass" are used a lot in this game, but Gearbox has earned the right. When you gunzerk into a crowd of bandits, get killed, and your shield's nova kicks in, wiping everyone out and bringing you back to life, you'll think so too.

There's no denying that PES 2013 is a huge improvement over the last few offerings. However, the years spent fixing the football side of things have allowed FIFA to eclipse it in terms of game modes, so that's what Konami should now focus on evolving for next year's edition.

Codemasters has tweaked the driving physics to work surprisingly well with a stock Xbox 360 controller.

More wet slap than knockout blow. [Oct 2012, p.101]

Like the goblins - it swings and misses. [Oct 2012, p.101]

An average party game regurgitation. Not at this price. [Oct 2012, p.101]

Don't mourn this roadkill. [Oct 2012, p.99]

A cheap and cheerful sim at a luxury price. [Oct 2012, p.97]

Jet Set Radio may have lost the graphical novelty that made it the jaw-dropper it was back in 2000, but it still has the warm attitude, inexplicable storyline, and outstanding soundtrack that make it such a lovable bastard.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 doesn't offer quite enough over its predecessor to warrant any sort of classic status, but it's unquestionably another masterful piece of work from a team who have been doing this sort of thing forever.

This ninja is marked for greatness.

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.

Optional extras for your home include a garden, livestock, and even a live-in bard if you're suitably masochistic, and if you manage to build in all three available holds you get an Achievement. However, despite being a very nicely made, commendably affordable bit of DLC, Hearthfire is little more than a quirky cosmetic bolt-on that doesn't add anything exciting to the game. It does give a pretty good approximation of the frustration actual homeowners feel during the building process, though.

It's just a shame that such an admirable piece of Mass Effect DLC, the best so far behind Lair of the Shadow Broker, is undermined by the way the trilogy finishes.

Transformers have a great line in banter, and the dialogue is perfect - Saturday morning black and white cartoon morality.

It's a delightfully tricky exercise in plate-spinning, complicated further by the need to keep every instrument up to speed to maximise your score.

A very balanced, very precise game: you can see how it's managed to endure for 12 years. It's also a basic game, and one that offers no reward beyond the inner glow of self-improvement.

A pretty delightful distraction, and at a reasonable 800MP, I'd be a joyless, churlish curmudgeon with a greasy curdled soul not to recommend it.

It's time to stop pedalling this game. [Sept 2012, p.95]

Dust will see you past ten hours easily, and may last you past 15 if you're serious about completing all the fetch quests and finding all the hidden goodies. It doesn't quite have the repertoire to justify the second figure, to my mind, but the 1200 MP outlay shouldn't give you pause. This is a labour of love for a bygone era that will be remembered just as fondly.

There's wonderful art direction, fun combat, a great range of quests and some cute cutscenes. But it's the video game equivalent of a variety show. In offering everything, Darksiders II never once achieves greatness. Which is a shame, because if there is a Darksiders III at some point in the future the odds are it's going to be even broader.

Just enough to justify. [Sept 2012, p.115]

Why punish yourself? [Sept 2012, p.105]

It's Virtua Fighter 5, only tarted up. [Sept 2012, p.105]

Bang goes the potential. [Sept 2012, p.103]

A tragically neutered experience. [Sept 2012, p.103]

A better way to learn how to play. [Sept 2012, p.102]

Sure, the levels are all much of a muchness, and despite the variety of game modes, it can get samey. But the persistent online game - a fight for Dark Matter between Paladins (humans) and Valiants (aliens) - adds long-term appeal, and once you've mastered its quirks, it's an absolute blast in small doses.

A game of rich variety and strong personality that never gets boring over its ten essential hours - many more if you stop to check out the full and entertaining world... It's shorter than GTA IV, for sure, but it's also much sweeter. [Sept 2012, p.82]