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.

It's a gigantic, beautiful game, but it's one that irreparably hurts itself with an unforgivably slow introduction.

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.

Despite the undeniable quality of the games themselves, for everyone else who's probably played these exact games various times before, the motivation to put your hand in your pocket is probably a lot weaker.

The additional material in Venice gives the impression that it should have been part of really great enhancement patch, rather than a fully featured and fully priced expansion.

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.

Only the truly dedicated RPG player will persist through to the bitter end of Risen, as there's a great deal of perseverance required to even make it through the first section without tearing your hair out. The combat really lets the side down and the 360 visuals leave a lot to be desired, but stick with it and Risen will eventually suck you inexorably into its uniquely absorbing fantasy world.

It's definitely worth a look, if only to have something on the shelf that's gently mesmerising and a very nice break from the norm.

The bottom line with Aliens vs. Predator is that its worth as a dependable first-person shooter is inexplicably linked to the fear and foreboding running through its Marine campaign, which leaves the Alien and Predator missions as surprisingly flat additions that quickly drain the fun meter by granting the player far too much power.

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.

The fact remains that, as cutely appealing as Step & Roll can be, it essentially equates to yet another Wii offering that works in some ways but fails to make the grade because of an inability to fulfil the promise of the console's innovative controls.

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.

Pretty visuals and in-depth character evolution fail to gloss over the disappointment caused by a hackneyed story, an annoyingly flawed real-time battle system, and a shocking lack of difficulty.

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.

What Airtight Games needed was more confidence: their pedigree with the flight sim genre would have probably been better served if they'd kept their game in the skies. Gears of War might be a popular game, but a sloppy imitation with tacked-on flight bits isn't going to win anybody over. Dark Void might want to soar, but it never finds a way to get its feet permanently off the ground.

Silent Hill Shattered Memories will probably feel like a shallow version of the series to veteran players. But as a standalone title it represents a niche that is intelligent, thoughtful and meaningful.

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.

It's a criminally malnourished set of events that never accomplishes anything more than a series of stale time trials that force the player into frustrating cycles of pause and restart. If that's your bag, it's been done far better elsewhere.

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.

An unrivalled showcase of imagination and creativity, Bayonetta is potentially 2010's game of the year before 2009 has even ended. [JPN Import]