MAG is definitely a fun online action game, with a good amount of depth and challenge to keep players addicted for quite some time. However, while the 256-player battles are impressive, some annoying glitches hold the title back.

Dark Void is perhaps worthy of a rental or a bargain price purchase, but apart from this there's nothing here that's inspired enough to entice you.

If the thought of you and a friend going Chuck Norris on the bad guys sounds like a fun time, you might find pleasure in bunkering down with this game for a few hours.

Despite having its high points, ultimately Vancouver 2010 is nothing but a generic mini-game compilation.

Give it a go if you’re a fan of combat flight-sims or the film, but otherwise, you’re likely to be disappointed.

Divinity 2 proves to be a lacklustre by-the-numbers fantasy title marred by a host of technical hiccups on the Xbox 360.

Darksiders is a fantastic debut for Vigil Games and an addictive adventure destined to spawn a cult of worshipers.

Bayonetta is the new Queen of action games, making other games in the genre feel redundant by comparison. Kratos, Dante and Ryu… eat your heart out because Bayonetta is here.

Great presentation is let down by average gameplay in this black sheep of the Final Fantasy family.

PixelJunk:Shooter is a blast to play through and an addictive game at that, and is sure to please many of the shmup fans out there.

The Saboteur is worth a look for any sandbox game fan, as well as anybody else after a bit of a silly romp around Paris.

Shattered Memories is an uneven, disappointing game which nevertheless shows ample promise of where the series might go from here. Fingers crossed that Climax re-evaluates the abysmal nightmare sequences and ups the fright-factor while maintaining their shrewd emphasis on pared-back, psychological horrors.

The last chapter is also the best, rounding out Telltale's most enjoyable episodic series to date.

Despite not straying far from the proven template, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks has genuine improvements over its predecessor and shows that the series is still the king of adventure puzzlers, console or handheld.

James Cameron's Avatar: The Game had everything it needed to be a great game, but a poor execution leaves us with a bloated fetch quest.

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is no RPG epic, but it certainly offers hours of addictive and entertaining gameplay.

Played it before or not, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter belongs in every shooter's fan library for its brilliant throwback to older days when killing things was all we needed to do.

A vast improvement over the original, Assassin's Creed II is among the most compelling action sandbox titles available.

Despite featuring a number of gameplay improvements and trying to reinvent the LEGO formula, ultimately LEGO Indiana Jones 2 lacks the substance and appeal of previous entries.

Children under 10 who dig the movie will get some decent entertainment out of what is essential GTA for kids. However, the uneven difficulty, technical issues and uninspired story keep this game from being anything other than passable entertainment.

LittleBigPlanet on PSP offers some astonishing opportunities for creativity on a handheld platform, but doesn't quite live up to its bigger brother.

A terrific compilation which gives two of the best games of the previous console generation the tender, loving care they deserve. Utterly essential for everyone with a PlayStation 3.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines is a good title that rides nicely on its predecessor's coat tails, but is let down by a lack of polish and evolution.

A forgettable safari experience due to its dull and unchallenging gameplay. Unless you’re looking at getting this for your child then there’s nothing that will hold your interest for long.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is another wonderfully crafted Mario game that is engaging for both old and new players. Sadly the lack of online multiplayer and innovation, and gimmicky motion controls prevent it from becoming the crown jewel of the series.

While some veteran Buzz fans may be a bit annoyed at having to upgrade so soon, they will realise like everyone else that Buzz!: Quiz World is the ultimate trivia experience on the PlayStation 3, or on any console for that matter. There has never been a better time to Buzz in.

Though not quite living up to its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is undoubtedly one of the best games of the holiday season. With an epic single-player, challenging and entertaining Spec Ops mode and greatly improved multiplayer, Modern Warfare 2 is a call that should not go unanswered.

For the PC, Modern Warfare 2 is a solid shooter with an excellent but very short campaign, and an improved online multiplayer system hurt by the new matchmaking setups.

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, as a recreation of the show works and has plenty to do, though there is no excuse for it being worse than its predecessors.

Do your childhood memories a favour by not playing this.

World Stage is a little too similar to the original Wii title, but for the fans and the newcomers, it's a fun and slick game to try out.

Though let down its by haphazard combat mechanics, there are enough positives to The Lost Frontier to make it worth checking out for both fans of the series and of platforming games in general.

If you play LEGO Rock Band as standalone game and then export the tracks to your hard drive, you’ll get the best value out of this title. Anyone playing this merely as a standalone game without any extra DLC, or using it as a track pack, will have to carefully evaluate the included tunes before they Lego of their cash.

C.O.P.: The Recruit is cynical, mediocre and clunky game, with its raison d'etre being the wholesale emulation of the Grand Theft Auto formula. To say that it fails wholeheartedly is hardly an overstatement.

Dragon Age: Origins is a fantastic and amazingly deep RPG that just keeps on giving. A game that is guaranteed to give you your money’s worth.

Band Hero is essentially just Guitar Hero 5 re-skinned and with a new track-list, but it's still an enjoyable game best enjoyed by its target teenage audience.

Academy of Champions Soccer competent soccer game that will instantly appeal to children. The lengthy story mode and simply gameplay design means it should be enjoyable to some degree for most players.

Nitro does a great job at being an arcade racer for a broader casual audience. It's not perfect and struggles with repetitiveness after long bouts, but it is the best Need for Speed title for the DS yet.

Rabbids Go Home is a humorous adventure that demonstrates the Rabbids are capable of staring in something other than a mini-game compilation. The game is full of wacky scenarios, has a visually appealing art direction and is just plain good fun.

Ghostbusters on PSP doesn't look, sound, or play very well and is best passed up for a home console version.

The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood may not be the funniest episode, but it does have a lot to do, some great puzzles, and Stan.

Despite some niggling imperfections, Tekken 6 is the best entry yet in the series and certainly worth your fighting game dollar.

Sadly the novelty of the game quickly fades, making it painfully obvious that the core drawing mechanic isn't enough to sustain a full-length console title alone. Ultimately, the scribbly shenanigans of Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter are far from picture perfect.

DJ Hero is a very fun music game, with great music and a decent amount of challenge. Personal taste in music may keep some away, but for those that do try it there is plenty to like here.

Forza 3 is close to the complete racing game package. It's got the sheer volume of content in terms of cars, tracks and options, a deep and very lengthy single player mode, a creative, thriving online community, and it successfully balances casual and hardcore appeal. Forza 3 may not look the best or sound the best, but it races the best.

With a few good additions to the solid gameplay, and ignoring the one not-so-good space combat addition, A Crack in Time is a great conclusion to a great trilogy - and possibly the series.

Torchlight is a lovingly crafted and polished action-RPG that is an absolute must for any fans of the genre, and well worth looking into from anyone else even vaguely interested.

Apart from recognition issues and unclear objectives, EyePet is a fascinating little showcase of the potential of interactive technologies.

Trine is an amalgamation of true and tested old-fashioned ideas gussied up with a modern twist, and is never anything less than beautiful, engaging and enjoyable despite its occasional lack of polish.

Borderlands shows just how compelling a mix of shooting and looting can be. And it can be even better with friends.

Improved in almost every way and along with so many levels of customization, it makes this an easy purchase for any wrestling fan, and a serious consideration for everybody else. Fantastic.

In this hectic video game world of killing aliens, zombies and enemy troops, sometimes it's nice to just cook a lasagna instead.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the PSP may be no better and not much different than the DS version, but it's definitely worth a shot for any GTA fan who hasn't played it yet.

Although there are some niggles for both newcomers and pros, Magic: The Gathering is a great card game that translates well into a fun video game.

A brilliantly crafted, imaginatively realised and totally engrossing independent game.

Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space is a hilarious collection of episodic adventure games, that outshines the previous season in variety, gameplay and plot. Visual and control issues in this 360 port are the only things that disappoint.

Melding exemplary artistic merit with uninspiring gameplay, Brutal Legend is by turns captivating and clumsy, and certainly more fun to watch than it is to play.

Uncharted 2 is a masterfully crafted game that not only blurs the lines between game and film, but sets a really, really high benchmark for action games to come.

This is a game faced with the challenge of condensing sports into fun mini-games. Mini-games it delivers, but the fun is too often missing.

An interesting marriage of RPG cultures, while Magnacarta 2 plays well and offers a lot, it suffers from a lot of the usual RPG follies.

Let's Go Tower Defence Play! is the best South Park game out there, not that there was a lot of competition. Fans of the show will get the most out of it.

Demon's Souls is an obsessive title, a masochists dream, and an utterly amazing RPG.

A slight, but well-produced, atmospheric and authentic Saw experience.

NBA Live 10 has made some serious strides to catch up to the competition, giving many fans a reason to return to the NBA Live flock once more.

NBA 2K10 manages to improve many facets of its game over its predecessor, showing that this franchise is not willing to give up its all-star status anytime soon.

Wii Fit Plus is simply the original Wii Fit with some fun extra games and some needed calorie counters and routines. For Wii Fit owners, it's worth the paltry asking price, and for newcomers it's the best version to own.

Sure, it's nice to see Gran Turismo eventually materialise and it plays great, but it would have been even nicer for it to have come fully fledged.

It's a soccer trivia game, no more and no less. It's aimed at hardcore soccer fans, but we're pretty sure hardcore soccer fans would rather be playing the likes of FIFA.

Dead Space Extraction is a tense, gorgeous rail-shooter which stays true to its predecessor while advancing its genre of choice. A slender package of notable quality.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is the best arcade racer to hit the PSP platform, and is a fine addition to the already quality franchise that was born on the PS3.

For all the improvements that come into Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, somewhere along the way, the game's vision became blurred.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days is definitely a fun Action-RPG for the DS, that is surprisingly charming. However, it's definitely one for the fans, and they should know that they will be re-treading a lot of old ground.

Too much of the game may be spent back-and-forthing between two locations, but the pace eventually picks up. This combined with the re-appearance of Murray make this episode worth checking out for Monkey Island fans.

Order of War does little to justify a purchase above the likes of the truly great recent RTS efforts out there, giving gamers a short distraction before returning to the big guns of the genre.

While Katamari Forever has enough variety to stay interesting for series veterans, and it's definitely worth checking out for Katamari virgins, the series is starting to get a little stale.

A well done story, large set pieces and a new co-op mode are great, but aren't enough to make Halo 3: ODST as different as it was supposed to be.

A Scooby Doo game that borrows the mechanics of the LEGO titles but forgot to borrow the fun.

While the action is at times shallow and clunky, WET provides gamers with light popcorn entertainment that's an arguably short, but fun ride.

Overall, while Need for Speed Shift appears to be aiming at providing a simulation-racing experience, it obviously hasn't forgotten about the series' core fan-base, making a game that can be enjoyed by just about any kind of racing game fan.

NHL 10 is undoubtedly an absolutely fantastic hockey game - the only question is, is it worth the upgrade over last year's edition? If you're a big hockey fan, definitely. If you aren't, then probably not.

If you're looking for a straightforward World War II-themed aerial combat game, Heroes Over Europe is worth a look. While competent, there are better flying titles worth your attention.

Scribblenauts is about as high-concept as a game comes, and delivers remarkably well on its creative premise. However, some control frustrations and limited level design hold it back just short of true greatness.

Toy Story Mania is a decent home version of the popular Disneyland and Walt Disney World attraction, but ultimately it’s just another lacklustre mini-game compilation for the Wii.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is a wonderful new adventure that takes new directions while also maintaining the foundations set by its predecessors. There are a few minor hiccups here and there, but otherwise it should not be missed by any Mario or RPG fan.

Brimming with quality and class, The Beatles Rock Band is a game worthy of the band it pays tribute to.

Despite a few minor issues such as frame rate drops and occasionally mundane gameplay, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is an engaging title that will appeal to simulation veterans and newcomers.

It's not without some flaws, but Dirt 2 is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor and, perhaps more importantly, a worthy tribute to Mr McRae himself.

While the single-player options may not be very compelling, if you're after a quick portable battle by yourself or with friends, Broken Destiny fits the bill.

Guitar Hero 5 is what one would expect from the franchise; another solid sequel with even more songs to play with, and a whole lot more accessibility to boot.

Champions Online is a fun and accessible MMO that doesn't quite do anything really new, but keeps things enjoyable and dynamic.

Magical Melodies doesn’t foal around. What kernels of entertainment can be extracted from its time-consuming gameplay are let down by lazy aesthetics and an overall confusing design for newcomers to the franchise.

Even with a lack of endearing gameplay advancements and actual frights, Cursed Mountain is the kind of unique experience you want from the Wii and up and coming developers.

Batman: Arkham Asylum successfully blends action, stealth and the Batman universe to create what is arguably the best comic book game ever made. Don't miss it.

Dissidia is a disappointing title that is hard to recommend to anyone but a die hard fan of the Final Fantasy series.

Professor Layton and Pandora's Box is a challenging, charming and unmissable adventure.

The Siege of Spinner Cay is a funnier outing, with a cool plot and some great stumper-puzzles. It also continues to ramp up the action, tension and comedy of the series, making it feel a part of something much greater and more epic.

A well-written love letter to an almost-forgotten style of game, Shadow Complex is quite simply one of the best titles available on Xbox Live Arcade.

Yet another surprise hit for 2009, this could be the game that tides you over until the summer blockbusters arrive. Wolfenstein may not be a Killzone 2 killer, but it's an action-packed romp full of powerful weaponry, bad accents, and Nazi-zombie killing glee.