At its heart, Red Alert 3 is classic Command & Conquer. The art style is fantastic, the presentation is silky smooth and the core gameplay is as satisfying as it was over ten years ago. The game dances so close to being quintessential, but consistently falls short of the mark, and that's almost entirely because of the abhorrent decision of including the co-commander system.

Bethesda's apocalyptical Fallout 3 belies its own jaw-dropping desolation by delivering a near-faultless action RPG that manages to not only execute compelling first-person gameplay but also provides an influential and in-depth character evolution system that's supported by an intriguing storyline and a mind-boggling game world that screams "Game of the Year" at every turn.

Ambiguity aside this is a fairly middle of the road follow-on to an ace series that'll still amuse endlessly.

Where it excels, and where it innovates, all is rosy, and occasionally exceptional - but where it falls down it can chafe, and it still isn't as balanced and polished as it might be. That being said, Evolution do more than enough to make this a good purchase for fans of the genre.

The title suggests that all can play, and that's certainly true - what it fails to tell you is that this is a game that no-one will truly master either.

LittleBigPlanet is one of the most inviting game world's ever imagined, the concept is a masterstroke, the implementation slick.

It's still a beautiful, engaging title; it just might not be enough of a revolution. Because we've all seen it before, it doesn't quite have the sublime whizz of the original.

If you're looking for a crowd pleasing game for those Christmas parties that will still entertain long into the new year then you can't go far wrong with this; just don't blame us if you've can't get a go yourself.

Celebrity Sports Showdown is not the worst game on the Wii, but its not a long way off. Only the SouthPeak Interactive crime against humanity Pool Party stands out as much worse than this, but by a lot narrower margin than any game should.

Whilst Fable 2 is not exactly flaw-free, the bulk of the game is splendidly entertaining. Lionhead consistently bite off more than they can chew with their games, so the scope and ambition of Fable 2 is both unmatched by other development studios and occasionally unrealisable in a current-gen video game.

This is still the Big Daddy of action games, the benchmark by which stories and environments will be measured. An essential purchase.

Technically its a marvel, especially when it comes to the creation of a realistic and highly immersive world. The story too is a bold and well-executed step into unfamiliar territory for gaming. But the meat of the gameplay has its failings, and every so often it just doesn't quite live up to its epic billing.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles captures an unmatched sense of speed coupled with a fantastic representation of a real-life city, and a stylish veneer which is observed all the way from the game's slick intro sequence to the final race you drive. The very challenging difficulty will not go unnoticed by casual gamers, and perhaps a handicap would have alleviated this problem. Still, as far as action-packed racing goes, it doesn't get much better than this.

This kind of open-ended, creative gameplay is theoretically what people want "these days", but I think many gamers will be disappointed and not really know what to do with the game. Wii Music has been crippled by a disappointing song selection (mostly nursery rhymes or Nintendo theme tunes) and will probably only appeal to much younger gamers or really musical types.

Unfortunately the main gimmick of the game is pointless at best and frustrating at worst. There are challenge modes available after the game is completed and extra costumes to unlock, but nothing to offer real replay value.

SOCOM Confrontation is a game that will get a select few very excited indeed; the unforgiving nature of its hardcore multiplayer action will prove to be exactly what they've been looking forward to. The rest of the gaming masses however can cite the near vertical learning curve, lack of any real multiplayer originality, drab visuals and unfriendly interface as reason not to join the party.

Like a bullet to the face, Saints Row 2 is a brash, over the top, occasionally childish but actually quite lovable foil to the convention-breaking seriousness of GTA. It isn't perfect, technical glitches and imperfections abound in places, but Volition score big with the explosive, water-tight action, the user-customisation elements and in offering such an incredible amount of content allowing players to spend tens of hours immersing themselves in Stilwater's many attractions. Bling bling.

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.

The fact is there's nothing really here. The gameplay is too repetitive, the slow variation in what's asked of you is as minimal as it is uninteresting - you're asked to mix up the order of certain buttons are pressed in order to further progress your character's ability and score, but it simply begs the question...why? When I could be playing anything else, why would I bother with Prey the Stars?

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.

In a gaming world populated by companies able to throw millions of pounds at tired franchises that sell on their name alone and where genuine innovation and fresh ideas should be welcomed with open arms, there's no better game to throw your weight behind than World of Goo. If more titles were made with this much passion the gaming world would be a much nicer, although possibly gooier, place.

If the creative forces behind Fracture had been willing to truly believe in its inventive gameplay mechanic then the end result could have reached well into the gaming industry's higher echelons. As it is, the rather languid presentation, rinse and repeat battle formula, and lack of A.I. variety mean that the appealing deformation elements come off as cobbled gimmickry designed to add a little gloss to a solid but staid third-person shooter.

Compared to the great strides forward made by most of EA's other sports titles this year, NBA Live is an embarrassment.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Silent Hill: Homecoming a great deal. Probably more than the game itself deserved. Its main problems are not related to any initial suspicions that the series would be weaker due to its westernization, and whilst its approach is clearly more striking and shocking than the tense subtleties of its forebears, its engaging storyline and well thought out settings help allay any frustrations towards games shortcomings.

This game could only really be suitable for Sonic fans and younger gamers. Sonic aficionados will love a change of pace and a slight return to form for the blue spikey wonder. It also forms a fantastic introduction to the RPG world for kids as it is lightweight enough that they won't get bogged down by statistics yet it'll still introduce them to the basic concepts of RPGs before they move onto some of the true favourites on the DS (such as the Final Fantasys and the forthcoming Chrono Trigger).

The most depressing part of the game, presentation aside, is in the way that it always backs off from its potentially challenging, thought-provoking route and pitches you a rather rudimentary series of multiple-choice answers.

Okay, so it's not got much new under the bonnet and you can probably find loads of very similar free browser-based games if you feel the need. But the fact its portable, is sporting an attractive budget price, and doesn't charge you by the hour or leave you without hot water for days means it still seems like a bargain to me.

All in all, considering that the overall gameplay mechanic is a rinse and repeat exercise of duck and cover shooting coupled with a partially fractured command interface, it's hard to recommend Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway to anyone other than hardened series fanatics.