A wonderful title that invokes the very best of both the RPG and adventure genres, incorporating exploration, puzzles, narrative and platforming into a extensive and splendidly formed package.

In attempting to ape the triumphs of another medium, it overlooks the triumphs of its own. The result is disappointing game, but an impressive interactive experience.

Right now, DiRT 3 is one of the best racing titles you can buy.

For the most part though, Alice: Madness Returns bazaar setting and imaginative design does a great job of immersing you, and whilst the repetition can grate slightly, its still a unique experience that is well worth your time.

A joy to play. There is no other way to describe it.

The changes certainly shape a more comprehensive golfing experience and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters lives up to its name sake and delivers the best version so far but it does raise the question of where the series will go next.

Boxing may be more of a niche market than it used to be but Fight Night Champion is still a glistening jewel in EA Sport's championship belt.

For the best part of seventeen years consoles have been trying to emulate the unparalleled experience of playing first person shooters on the PC. For the first time Crysis 2 shows console gamers that they can have the PC experience without the massively expensive gaming rig.

Dragon Age II is a bit of a contradiction. It is both open and linear, limiting and filled with choice but these all combine together to produce another very compelling adventure. Some of the battles may be drawn out but there is always ample reward for perseverance. Dragon Age II is yet more proof of Bioware's dominance in RPG development and long may it continue.

Bulletstorm may be a sick, filthy game that you may not want to show to everyone, but at least it knows it is and simply doesn't care. It's much more interested in whether or not you can slam three shotgun shots into that guy you just flung into the air.

It's the most complete Pokemon title yet and a very appropriate way to say goodbye to your DS before the ever tantalising 3DS emerges.

Kirby's Epic Yarn has a wonderful, charming tale to tell with a friend, a boyfriend or girlfriend, or a son or daughter. Whether it's your first game or your hundredth, there'll be something in its world of patterned yarn to plant a big silly smile on your face.

It's a game, then, that so far stops just short of being excellent.

This is a brutally gory and entirely oppressive survival horror title. Dead Space 2 is a truly terrifying and claustrophobic experience and it sets a high bar for all the subsequent triple-A releases due out in 2011.

Bizarrely Mass Effect 2 on the PS3 seems more unstable than its Xbox counterpart with it actually crashing the normally well-behaved PS3 when the Xbox 360 version would keep on going.

Donkey Kong Country Returns definitely has its faults, and we'd wager that the majority of players will never see it all the way through to the end. Yet while the difficulty curve is ridiculous and the multiplayer is quite broken, the game's charm and mystery prevails, giving us some of the same feelings that the original releases did. If you're looking for a serious challenge and don't get frustrated too easily, Donkey Kong Country Returns is worth a look.

In the end though, who would pass up the chance to be like Mike?

Alien Breed 3: Descent is a frantic and entertaining conclusion to the series.

Cataclysm is perhaps not quite as awe inspiring as previous expansion packs considering this is all refinement and a reworking of original content but there's no denying the sense of sheer joy you feel rediscovering old yet familiar areas of Azeroth.

Overlook Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom and you risk missing out on a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

This is a ride you don't want to miss.

There's no doubting that EA Sports MMA is a contender, but is it better than UFC Undisputed? Yes indeed, ladies and gentlemen, we have a new champion!

And thanks to Autolog, you'll definitely be attempting events over and over. Autolog tracks your friend's achievements and lets you know what times they've set. They can even add pictures and text to your in-game wall, cajoling you into beating them by setting challenges.

Gran Turismo 5 is a love letter to racing fanatics, but also the perfect entry point for more casual players. It plays like a dream, and as long as you can forgive the occasional hiccup here and there, you'll find yourself completely enthralled.

Every bit as essential as it's forebear, an outstanding achievement and a magnificent game in its own right.

Undead Nightmare is an immensely enjoyable and compelling alternate story set within the Red Dead universe, that succeeds in making the open-world feel fresh and different. The story is entertaining and engaging, and just as well-written and produced as the main game.

It would have been nice to see consistency in the detail, and the big ideas supported by more well thought out design. Nonetheless, genuinely funny games remain few and far between these days, and the laughs Fable III will inevitably bring you are worth the flaws and failings.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a fantastic journey that you'll be exploring for weeks on end. With tens of hours of content and challenges to overcome, this may well be the epic saga you've been waiting for. If only the experience was slightly condensed down and given just that little bit more focus, we'd be recommending it outright.

Just Dance 2 extends the original's well pitched functionality and style to create another compelling dance experience.

More than just being a family friendly puzzle game, there is something of considerable substance and style here for any gamer. In fact the quality of the story telling and difficulty of some puzzles felt more like playing Uncharted than something on a Nintendo console.

Enslaved is a worthy adventure title that overcomes its own minor shortcomings with an excellent narrative and glorious visuals.

But what it does have it wears on its sleeve - hundreds of hand crafted miniature challenges - and that's what I keep coming back for.

Player likenesses, meanwhile, have received a significant bump in quality. In the more star-studded leagues, at least. Top stars such as Rooney and cover-star Messi measure up to anything FIFA can offer, though in truth, as with many sports titles, there is a touch of the grotesque about some of the models.

Unfortunately, despite many good bits, the idea behind Invizimals promises more than the reality delivers.

It feels and handles unlike any other football game currently available and it's about as close to the beautiful game as you can get.

In bringing Formula One back to HD consoles, the racing veterans have created a robust and at times thrilling game that effortlessly slips into pole position ahead of this generation's other F1 efforts.

Horse racing and Stronghold take some perseverance, but if you're able to get pin down the gameplay, then you'll get more out of the new modes. Get a posse together meanwhile, and you'll find more than enough to enjoy in Liars & Cheats.

Halo: Reach manages to out-deliver Halo 3 - which was itself one of the most over-delivered game's in history. The updated visuals and AI engine combine with the ever more nuanced and varied gameplay, not to mention online modes and other new gadgets, to make this a game not to be missed.

While the World War II setting has been done to death in countless games, RUSE's version is a strangely fresh take, although perhaps the game's biggest success is in crafting an RTS for the console that hasn't been diluted in any apparent way, elegantly transferring all of the PC's complicated commands to just a few buttons.

It's a good few hours of decent, lighthearted action-adventuring, and some of the most brilliant Marvel fan-service you could hope for.

For all the enhanced visuals, it's the activities that really make use of Move's location technology that make sense and are the most fun to play.

Worms Reloaded is a pretty and engaging game that, while light on the single player replayability will charm and endear with its quirky weaponry and unique brand of multiplayer carnage. There is no other game series like it and the gaming world would be diminished without the presence of the endless warfare of Worms.

The setting is what really defines Mafia II, providing a genuinely immersive sense of time and place with an impeccable attention to detail in its architecture, sartorial style and superlative soundtrack.

The replayability is immense and after spending a whole weekend blasting through both single and co-op campaigns, I still went back to perfect my speed and score runs as well as collect up missing upgrades and items.

Ultimately, IO Interactive deserves a big pat on the pack for recognising the shortcomings of the first Kane & Lynch, going back to the drawing board to create something that's not only infinitely better, but also hugely entertaining and enjoyable in spite of its flaws.

Packed with a never-ending stream of variety across 30 single-player missions, StarCraft II certainly ticks all the boxes for those looking to ease themselves into the action against an A.I. opponent.

Extraordinary. It's as if the word were invented for it.

There is only one way to really do justice to DeathSpank and that is to quote one of the game's characters. In the words of Annie the Orphan: "I love you Daddy DeathSpank."

The triple-A quality graphics and slick, speedy multiplayer action brings a new level of polish to Xbox Live Arcade.

Still, it feels like there's something's missing, and that's because Ruffian has opted to produce the safest of safe sequels. It's the exact same city, for a start, and if I was to take off my glasses and squint I could probably fool myself into thinking I was playing the original. But its problems run deeper than just the environment: it often feels like exactly the same game, albeit with dilapidated buildings and a greater reliance on orange and blue hues.

What a waste of a perfectly decent videogame. Activision should hang its corporate head in shame, directly after it offers the development team at Raven a public apology for so savagely shafting its work on Singularity. If there were any justice in this world, and my opinion amounted to anything more than a whisper lost amid a crowd of screaming maniacs, every shooter fan would promptly purchase Singularity in order to drag it back from the depths of hell to which it has been so unfairly consigned.

The sheer imagination at work here, and the attention to detail in the presentation and sound of each location, was more than enough to win me over. Sure, the campaign only lasts a few hours, and yes I know that this is all pretty one dimensional gameplay, but in terms of pure fun I had a great time here.

The problem comes when you factor in the strong focus on the pleasant but unrewarding co-op mode, and start realising how the game never really makes up its mind on whether it's a traditional single-player adventure or a serious contender for the next Monster Hunter.

The track list is certainly strong enough to recommend the game for even the most casual of Green Day fans, but Rock Band virgins and those that detest the pop-punk trio will undoubtedly be better served by Rock Band 2 or the forthcoming Rock Band 3 and its keytars, due later in the year.

For serious golfers though, the high fidelity visuals and deeper pool of players online is enough to keep Tiger viable on the Xbox 360.

For the fans, especially the ones who've strayed away in the last couple of months, Infinity Ward's latest collection is more than enough for them to welcome the game back with open arms. Tango sucker!

Blur has plenty of the Project Gotham spirit in it, as well as a slew of impressive new ideas. But it all feels quite tame next to the competition.

But fight fans beware - this isn't Street Fighter IV or Tekken. This is as real as it gets.

Playing through the game you can't help but be aware of the minds behind this marvel. This is not just ingenious, but also well balanced, always fair and never inconsistent. You know where you are with Super Mario Galaxy 2 because you are spending time with some old friends. Not really the characters themselves - familiar and cute as they are - but the creative talents behind it all.

Alan Wake is a good game. But as well as a recommendation, I'd suggest you take your time with the first play through, because it's a game you can also only really experience once properly. You will most likely play it more than once - but that first time is the real charm of the thing.

Perhaps not only the best game Rockstar has made thus far, but it's one of the best games we've ever played - an unreserved work of genius. It has its flaws and is by no means perfect, but Red Dead Redemption is to the Western what GTA is to the crime genre and should be held up as a definitive example of how open-world games are supposed to be made.

I find myself strangely drawn to its slightly old school re-imagining on the arcade racer. You might be tempted to wait for a fleshed out sequel, but I suspect that in hindsight this will be the version to play - before it feels the need to grow up or add more complexity.

With a fairly engaging storyline and compelling gameplay, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a worthy addition to the series. It is nonetheless dragged down by short-lived narrative with few extras and the nagging feeling that the franchise is taking a backwards step rather than a stride forward with this instalment.

Skate 3 doesn't deviate much from the series' winning formula, but by heavily focusing on the multiplayer it ignores some of what made the first two games so unique. Still, the subtle changes all work for the better and the underlying design mechanics are still as entertaining as ever.

The only potential upset for those fond of Picross DS is that there are no nods to other Nintendo properties, so that means no more Mario-themed objects to be carefully unearthed. That's the smallest of minor quibbles, though, and it's silly to be anything other than delighted by the sheer glut of perplexing content available here.

The Second Encounter was (and is) arguably the best entry into the Serious Sam series, juggling the right balance between flippant colourful whimsy and pelleting grubby monsters so hard they turn into a crimson paste.

It's a big game, and one that requires a serious amount of dedication and commitment. You can't just dabble in Street Fighter, but you shouldn't really want to: spend a few hours trying to learn it and you'll be hooked for life. This is the epitome of hardcore gaming, a masterclass of competition that demands the u[t]most in technical proficiency and mental clarity.

2010 FIFA World Cup is a brilliant football game and a perfect example of how to build a proper game around a one-off tournament. It's hands-down the best football game out there at the moment until FIFA 11 at least.

Monster Hunter isn't the most difficult game of all time, of course, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a contemporary title that places such rigorous demands on its players' dedication and skill. In the same respect, it tends to either terrify its audience off within a couple of hours or engulf them completely.

A game that more than makes up for the protracted wait, with both a fantastic single player campaign and brilliantly worthwhile multiplayer component to boot.

It accomplishes what it sets out to do, but the Stimulus Package feels closer to a shot of caffeine than it does adrenaline.

More than most games your personal level of satisfaction with WarioWare DIY will be directly proportional to what you expect out of it.

You're effectively getting two games for the price of one with Just Cause 2. The first is a creative but flaky action game with a criminally stupid story. But the second is a budget-priced holiday to the most remarkable and culturally diverse nations in the world, one where hilarious cartoon violence is just a part of everyday life.

Red Steel 2 is a series of hugely entertaining combat skirmishes linked by some slightly formulaic level design. It's a lot of fun to play, with the steady rhythm of combat proving hugely satisfying, and it's great to see the Wii MotionPlus being used outside of Wii Sports Resort.

Settlers 7, may not be to everyone's taste but it does offer a great opportunity to settle down, kick back and enjoy a more cerebral and regally-paced gaming experience.

Some might still feel that this is severely lacking in the challenge department though, so approach with caution.

It's clear that EA are onto something with their new-age C&C formula but, as it stands, the core needs a little work. The series, once the most explosive game of the medium, looks like it's going out with a whimper.

On a very basic level it's little more than a conventional corridor shooter, however, it's draped in such atmospheric finery you'll hardly notice.

Some of the most engrossing combat and visceral action the PS3 has to offer - presented expertly.

Quite simply one of the best games you'll never play.

If you are a fan of this genre then you will love Shatter to bits (bad joke, I know), but even if you don't like these 'break out' type affairs, giving Shatter a go would really be worth your time.

Starcraft II might be looming on the horizon, but for now I'm more than satisfied - both online and off - with my troop of grisly Space Marines. I'll also be very surprised if even Blizzard can manage to top Relic at single-player.

Yakuza 3 excels thanks to an irresistibly likeable hero, a world pulsing with life, brutally fulfilling battles, and a good 30 hours of core story missions and secondary character tasks.

These minor shortcomings aside however, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is pure gaming gold and as such has more than a fair shout in eclipsing Modern Warfare 2.

Those of you willing to concede a degree of control, and embrace the game world, its characters, its ambience, will find that Heavy Rain is a slice of entertainment that stays with you between plays and compels you forward. It isn't perfect, but there's no questioning the gripping endeavour here. Meanwhile outside, in the night, the rain keeps falling, and time is of the essence get to it.

New features help give the game a little extra spice. I especially like being able to force other nations into becoming protectorate states and demand they fight in my wars with everyone else.

The most impressive thing here is the restraint shown in the amount of Sega branded bedlam and power-ups. What results is a kart racer that offers something unique on 360 and PS3 and a strong alternative to Mario fatigued Wii players.

As a package Darwinia+ is darned near perfect. It packages addictive original gameplay in a charmingly retro aesthetic, making me both wonder why the game took so long to make it to XBLA and glad that Introversion took the time to make it work the way it does.

It may lack the narrative impact of its predecessor - BioShock's jaw-loosening plot twist is one of gaming's finest - and the art deco wonder of Rapture may have lost some of its artistic wow factor, but there's still plenty to applaud here. Instilled with the same graphical beauty, eerie atmosphere and depth of character that made the first visit to Rapture such a discomforting yet immersive pleasure, it's the fluid dual-wielding gameplay, tense tactical set-piece battles, and the truly terrifying shriek of the Big Sisters that convincingly propel BioShock 2 towards greatness.

It's clear this is Visceral's first jab at the genre, though, and with a bit more confidence (or time and money, perhaps) they could have definitely made more of their excellent core mechanics and the well-implemented license. It might be an unashamed God of War clone, but there are certainly worse games to try and imitate.

Good science fiction looks past the wondrous and makes you care about its characters. Star Ocean: The Last Hope completely fails in this regard.

No other titles weave their magic in quite the same way, and you almost suspect Call of Pripyat's foibles are an integral part of how that magic works. This is a brave, brutal and often beautiful experience - not quite FPS, not quite RPG, not quite survival horror. It is Stalker. Importantly, few other games are.

Mass Effect 2 is a work of unreserved genius that not only surpasses its predecessor in almost every conceivable department, but also deserves to be listed alongside the greatest science-fiction properties in any medium. The perfect blend of rich, lustrous visuals, an evocative soundtrack and pure gameplay quality make Mass Effect 2 without question one of the best games of this or any generation, and anyone who believes otherwise, is just plain wrong.

It's a boon to Nintendo's device.

The control system might misfire and it might whiff of 'been there, done that', but when the FPS action is as accomplished and solid as MAG's is, there's plenty of enjoyment to be had especially if you're fortunate enough to assemble a crack team of mates to play with. 255 mates though? That's a bit of a stretch. Better get on Facebook now.

Anyone who found themselves enjoying the original, or any pair of gamers who fancy another fairly entertaining co-op shooter to get them through the first half of 2010, will find themselves suitably smitten by EA Montreal's competent return to the franchise: it's far more than an ersatz Gears of War, but is hardly an essential purchase.

Despite the default motion controls not being quite as wonderful as you'd hope and the question mark over longevity, Sky Crawlers still manages to be a hugely enjoyable ride.

Ultimately, Vigil Games and Joe Madureira have spread themselves too thin with Darksiders, which is, though I'm loathed to say it, largely style and scant little substance.