It may not have that many genuinely new ideas but Dead Space is still a thing of beauty. It has successfully taken all the best bits from the survival horror genre, perfected them, and mixed them in with a whole array of Hollywood influences to create an experience that's still completely it's own.

With a wider variety of tasks and environments and an engine that someone has at least taken a stab at optimising this could have been a true classic (a free pair of fresh pants would have helped as well).

The new features make it a better game than its predecessors, but just not enough to warrant a sure-fire, full-priced purchase. Unless you just can't bring yourself to wait, the shrewd move is to keep playing NHL 09 until you can pick up a copy on the cheap - although by then we'll probably be starring at a fresh new copy of NHL 11.

This is a game you could think of as real 'summer blockbuster', although this is meant in the best possible way.

The controls are simple, the graphics pretty, and the game fluffy enough to forgive its essential repetitiveness.

I don't often get the chance to say this, but here we have the combination of a development team at the top of their game, a technology that matches their requirements and a console in the perfect demographic. Out of this perfect storm comes the first game on the Wii I can whole heartedly endorse to anyone regardless of their age or gaming persuasion.

Just about the most involving and exciting arcade-sim racing experience yet. Its amazing graphics and sound show off the true power of the Xbox 360. So is it perfect? Not quite. The one problem with PGR3 is the length of its single player Gotham Career.

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.

All that said, this is a game that doesn't pander to the casual gamer. Those that persevere will however find a very accessible experience bubbling under the teen angst.

This is a good game, unquestionably, but I want more and have come to expect more, it is as simple as that.

The cop response isn't quite as overwhelming as in the console GTA's, but overall GTA Liberty City Stories is not only an amazing technical achievement but an awesome portable game worth any PSP owner's £35.

A wonderful achievement both technically and, more importantly, in the level of historical detail that it contains.

The content on offer is frighteningly good, and even more so because Namco-Bandai didn't simply scale the portable modes down along with the screen sizing.

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 also bountifully endowed with that certain something that Meir sprinkles into his games that makes them so hard to stop playing.

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.

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.

In the end it's this lack of additional play modes that lets Ridge Racers down a bit, but that shouldn't detract from the fact that what is offered is extremely entertaining, remarkably solid and technically incredible.

Plants Vs Zombies is clearly a labour of love and on top of that it's what you might call the perfection of simplistic budget gaming. The game stimulates the emotional mind from start to finish, providing the kind of spontaneous quick-fire stimulation that our minds have come to expect from 21st century lifestyles.

This sort of incidental fun has historically been the preserve of childhood matchbox cars and track, and it's therefore great to find a videogame that encourages such imaginative play. For me this more than compensates for any shortfall in 'directed' experience, and I'd suggest is an opportunity for the gamer to play a greater part in creating their own fun.

There are some great firefights where the odds are so heavily stacked against you that victory, when it comes, is an emotional event.

No matter how you look at it though, FM 2010 is the finest football management sim available today. It's not without its problems but, in the long run, these are far outweighed by new features and gameplay refinements that further the level of immersion and help make you feel more like the gaffer than ever before.

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.

FIFA 09 is more than just an update; its another huge leap forward for EA. It is the marzipan on a Battenberg, and the designer dress on a super model. How they're going to top this I don't know, so enjoy this near-perfection while you can. Yes, this is simply the best football game ever made.

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.

The ever flirtatious relationship between Gordon and Alyx is communicated with beautiful clarity by the astonishing amount detail and expression on Alyx's face.

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

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.