Rage is a game that would have benefitted from being streamlined, with additional FPS levels replacing the awkward driving. It should have been an id game. Instead it occupies this weird halfway-house between Borderlands, Motorstorm and Doom, not quite an RPG, not quite a racer and not quite an FPS.

While this relationship is a triumph rarely seen in video games, the moment-to-moment storytelling is not as well-crafted. Firewatch sets up a smart bait-and-switch by messing with your assumptions about what’s going on, but doesn’t quite deliver on it. The build-up is tremendous, lacing the air with paranoia and tension by dangling different threads. But by the end doesn’t tie together.

A lovingly-crafted update that can happily sit alongside Ocarina of Time 3D as a textbook example of how older games can benefit from a modern makeover.

As ever, the depth of the game is truly breathtaking.

If you're absolutely desperate for a Wii shooter, especially a multiplayer title, then Goldeneye is worth a look.

MadWorld is one of the most eye-catching, stylish and well-made games to land on the Wii in some time. It's also tremendous fun and for players old enough to enjoy its bloody delights, it lands in the essential category effortlessly.

Where it stumbles is in delivering a believable, human world.

The final result is a brilliant alteration of an old friend, shining a new light on a proven structure.

In Super Scribblenauts, 5th Cell have done a fantastic job at refining and expanding upon a fantastically fun toy. However, without a campaign that fully takes advantage of this impressive creative tool, the game remains just shy of true greatness.

Nintendo rightly thought that this form of Zelda had peaked and had to leave much of it behind to foster a new sense of adventure. But that we get to enjoy this brilliant inflection point again, with notable modern trappings, is a delight.

It’s a fantastic, fascinating example of interactive visual storytelling. It would absolutely only work in the form that the developers have created, and it’s a game I’ll no doubt be permanently using as an example in future when I want to illustrate just what can be done in the genre. It’s also an excellent, creepy story which is deftly told, and a game I can recommend without reservation.

Far Cry 5 may not be the biting allegory on the rise of the ‘alt-right’ in Trump’s United States that some envisaged, but it still cuts close to the bone of the culture of God-fearing, gun-toting rural America. And deliberate or not, makes for a fascinating backdrop to a compelling, if conflicted, action romp.

No, it’s not the best Call of Duty ever made, but the sheer volume of content on display largely makes up for its weaknesses in specific areas. A worthwhile story would have added enormous value to the overall package, but its absence doesn’t undermine what is another solid release.

It is a genuine shame. There is a real sense of creative energy crackling at the edges of Watch Dogs and a mechanical aptitude in its systems that make it enjoyable enough to play. Parts of the game irritated me greatly, but I rarely found it less than entertaining, and there were moments that brought a real thrill. Watch Dogs immediate success almost guarantees a sequel, and Ubisoft have plenty of strong points with which to build upon. But I would also like to see more conviction in their own ideas, rather than avoiding difficult questions and settling into a pattern of familiarity.

There's no denying that, as a piece of virtual tourism through the ages, the series has no equal. But today, with endless piles of side-quests, there's also a sense of ennui creeping in, a lack of focus that no amount of micro-improvements can disguise. As such, Revelations is a strong, assured conclusion to Ezio's storyline, but one that begs for a fresh start reboot in whatever comes next.

To blow COD out of the water, they will need a more polished game than this. Perhaps the next-generation will provide it.

On the face of it, an improved core game and a flexible but flawed sandbox mode might not be enough to give Disney the edge over its rivals. On the other hand: Star Wars.

Decent shooting enabled by those twin sticks impress, if perhaps lacking in range, while Vita specific features such as using the touchscreen to pinpoint grenade throws and tilting the device to fine tune your headshots should become Vita shooter staples.

Delivered with wit and panache, Driver San Francisco works because it's daft, rather than in spite of it. And if it proves anything, it's that having conviction in your ideas --any ideas-- can bring a refreshing new twist to an ailing series and genre.

Perhaps most impressive though is the level of polish found here...characters are quick to bounce back if they do happen to get stuck on the destructible environment, and the environmental and level design has been tweaked to perfection, eliminating a lot of the series' problems.

An unashamed definition of its host console; simple, colourful, accessible to all, but with a hidden depth for those who wish to explore it. It’s unlikely to convert many that are lost to the Wii cause, but for those who have already embraced it, a trip to Wuhu Island will be some of the most fun you’ll have all year.

This take on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy puts a premium on character and storytelling, with surprisingly impressive results.

There's a haunting elegance to Oxenfree that's there because each of its constituent parts are working together to create it.

A decent, if somewhat hackneyed, co-op mode offsets the brevity of the main campaign somewhat. And it's to the game's credit that Digital Extremes hasn't crowbarred in a naff competitive multiplayer; something the first game did and suffered for. A well-judged decision that contributes to a game that is, both mechanically and narratively, one of the smartest shooters of recent years.

A fascinating, if somewhat incomplete package, then. Modern Warfare is a game looking to re-carve its identity as the world’s most evocative and recognisable shooter. A tough feat, despite all the resources clearly thrown at its inception. There are clear missteps along the way as Infinity Ward walks its line, but the direction is an exciting one.

It's worth battling through those initial tricky moments with the controls because, as a game, Vice City is still enormously entertaining. Great characters and great stage-setting never lose their lustre and, even ten years on, this is still Grand Theft Auto at its mischievous best.

A highly-accomplished if not completely fulfilling rampage. There’s a base level of quality that hasn’t slipped from the excellent God Of War III – this looks even better, puts things onscreen that are, somehow, even bigger. But this technical muscle isn’t given the best stage on which to oil and flex, thanks to a story that simply idles the roaring engine of death that is Kratos, and keeps the series ticking over until the next, more substantial step forward.

It’s not cheap, but there is a huge amount of value here for families.

It's a difficult, slow burning game that never strays far into the whimsical and overblown. Understanding the mechanics, let alone mastering them, is a slow, difficult, painful crawl from gnarly amateur to diamond champion.

For the most part, though, Artyom’s train journey is a compelling one. The characters you share it with can be overly loquacious and too broadly drawn, but its sense of camaraderie in the face of hardship can’t help but endear to the bittersweet end...But it is at its best tends to be when you are on your own, exploring a beautifully drawn post-nuclear wilderness or creeping through the dark, lighter in hand. That Metro Exodus can do both with equally aplomb is arguably its greatest strength.

It effortlessly switches from tense stealth to tactical but speedy combat, managing to put most games in both genres to shame in the process.

Company of Heroes 2 cruises when it should be sprinting, and when you couple that with the fumbling of the tone and setting it becomes a very difficult game to recommend.

Effortlessly likeable.

Wii Fit Plus is a solid entry in the fitness game genre. Despite its shortcomings it's guaranteed to make the act of exercising enjoyable and if you don't already own a game of this type, but are interested in trying one out, Wii Fit Plus is a no-brainer; as an entry into the genre, it is peerless.

For all its faults and a clumsily handled denouement, Fable III is heavy on the fairydust, charming you enough to forgive such foibles, drawing you back into its wonderful world. So maybe true to form, there are a few unfulfilled promises, but there's that bewitching dose of all-important magic.

For those with the patience, Danganronpa certainly has its moments. And its pitiless, gurning despair-bear will haunt your dreams.

Like any commercial videogame Skylanders Giants asks for a substantial investment from its players, but it rewards this with an experience to match.

For players who want to work up a sweat in front of their consoles it's one of the best titles available.

With its beautiful presentation, well designed levels and two adorable titular characters, A Boy And His Blob is a game that rewards and appeals in equal measure. Would all curmudgeons now kindly leave the room on tiptoe.

There's no denying that, for me at least, it was as fun as it was irritating, as stylish as it was silly. It could've used some tweaking, some more suitable level design in places, and perhaps more thought gone into making the game a cohesive whole. It's not close to Platinum's best, or Kojima's best, but is a game worth checking out, even if just as a rental.

Ultimately, the majority of Pokémon Let’s Go is unlikely to be the challenge competitive players are looking for, particularly those who are well-versed in Yellow’s familiar rhythm. Though a spectacularly demanding end-game, asking you to train up one of each of the 150 species of Kanto-region Pokémon to battle Master trainers of the same type, will certainly keep the dedicated busy. This could be where the game’s online trading and battling features could come into their own.

It's just slightly too bogged down in filler, slightly held back by some cumbersome and awkward systems, and just doesn't quite hit the mark all the time. When it does, though, it's a fun, hilarious experience, worth checking out if you own a Wii U, but not quite on par with the best TT has to offer.

The acid test will be if Telltale then carry these decisions through the remainder of the season...Which, fortunately, is set up terrifically by this second episode. A House Divided does occasionally suffer from its position as a bridge, rattling exposition off in order to set up the subsequent episodes, but it performs its role with real élan.

The journey to finding out what it means to you is certainly one worth taking.

It’s enormously frustrating. Second Son feels so close yet so far to being the PlayStation hero Sucker Punch and Sony want it to be. It’s likeable, fizzy and nearly always moderately entertaining, but is held back by the mundanity of its missions and a lack of the ambition needed to make it great. A diverting superhero adventure that just isn't adventurous enough.

The commitment to its ideas makes Live a confident, bold and stylish game.

This is a compelling experience, the inspired outgrowth of a new complexity in the environmental design of videogames.

For our money, it's the best portable eight-track available and one of the best reasons to put your PSP in your bag before the commute to work.

Players who are prepared to forego closure for intrigue are in for a treat.

FM15’s changes tend to contribute to gentle improvement rather than startling disruption, but should do enough to tempt you into starting that managerial journey all over again.

True, its slower pace may mean it’s more fun to play as Pirlo than Messi these days, but if PES has lost a little of its former flamboyance, it’s a more robust, complete game as a result.

For a game built around the shallow need for incremental improvements, there is a surprising amount of depth when you dig into character and gear statistic tweaking, too, which only makes the tight squad action of the minute-to-minute gameplay even stronger.

The result is a handsome, clever and genuinely funny game that is likely to confound expectations, for better or worse. Veterans expecting a return to classic RPG Paper Mario may be disappointed and not everyone will buy into the puzzle elements. But those who take to its charms will find a game that folds in both smarts and heart.

Its vast environments, spine-tinglingly satisfying movement and combat, and its deep and engaging Nemesis system all come together to make a game that manages to blow its almost-perfect predecessor out of the water. Even if you have no prior experience of Lord of the Rings (I sure don’t), you owe it to yourself to spend a bit of time knee-deep in Orc entrails.

Hitman Absolution is a fascinating case of an error of judgment costing a game its heart. For Absolution, that mistake was placing a focus on a story that didn't need to be told and nobody wanted to hear.

Imaginators captures a magic that I’ve rarely felt since my late childhood, playing the aforementioned N64 platformers on a Winter’s afternoon. This is how you do games for younger people, this is how you do Toys to Life, this is how you do action platformers in general.

MachineGames haven’t exactly reinvented the FPS or even Wolfenstein here, but they have put together a consistently enjoyable, well-crafted action game and given you the motivation to blast your way through its stringier bits. If this is the New Order for Wolfenstein, then this is a promising start.

Essentially, Point Lookout feels more like an organic extension of Fallout 3 rather than a collection of missions bolted onto a new environment. A couple of technical glitches aside, this DLC is sure delight players who want to test their mettle in a great new locale.

Those who can look past such things and embrace Yakuza's very Japanese brand of oddity will find a game to make them laugh, make them cry.

There are some truly great games that can transcend the universe they are set in to appeal to fans and non-converts alike. Fallen Order doesn't do that. There is nothing new or radical here. But as comforting popcorn gaming to indulge in while you wait for your trip to the pictures? Job done.

A fascinating, unique take on the action genre bogged down by vapid soliloquising and a stuttering flow. A game that cultivates the past of a series while looking to the future, but perhaps doesn't know when to shut up.

Provides solid entertainment for kids big and small. It's bright, colourful and charmingly presented throughout, and makes smart use of characters that have a wide appeal.

All the charm in the world can’t hide the fact that Nuts & Bolts is a wasted opportunity. In the building there is the seed of a classic title here, but skittish handling and tedious tasks means that , disappointingly, Nuts & Bolts fails to blossom as it should have.

It takes a special game to make you appreciate losing just as much as winning. EA MMA does it every time you step into the ring. Now that's a knockout.

While the notion of ‘maybe you are the Little Nightmares after all’ is hardly revolutionary, it is executed with enough odious style to be effective and affecting. A level of skill in horror-making that runs through Little Nightmares’ brisk descent into darkness.

Where a great narrative drives forward a game with beautiful crafting and insightful detail, occasional repeat conversations and low-lit confusion make it a little disjointed in places and can break the otherwise powerful immersion.

At its core, Temple Run is still a breathlessly exciting game. Equally, however, it's hard not to feel a little cheated by a decidedly unambitious follow-up that has its eye firmly trained on your wallet.

Sonic Colours is truly a highlight of this year's DS releases, and a much-demanded return to form for Sonic. The quick-fire nature means it's perfect for its hand-held platform, and if you're only going to pick up one Sonic title this year, Sonic Colours DS is definitely your best bet.

I spent a lot of my time waiting, begging, willing the game to spread its wings and fly. But it never left the ground. A real shame.

Chime as a whole is utterly mesmerising in the way that only puzzlers of its kind are. An aural treat for the mind.

It doesn’t bring anything new to gaming, or even the South Park series of RPGs. It refines and improves, changes and updates, but generally speaking it just gets things right, plays a fun game and keeps you engaged from start to finish. The fact it made me laugh a surprising amount throughout is just a bonus.

While some may be horrified to discover that the gurning Lego figures now come fully voiced, in context it makes perfect sense.

While grown-up gaming is dominated by dark and brooding fantasies, Kirby makes the case for sweetness and light among families.

Crucially, it left me wanting more. If Telltale can mix their own identity in with the old Monkey Island magic they've conjured up, we're going to be in for a real treat over the coming months.

If you are put off by some of Nintendo’s more saccharine output, it certainly isn’t the game for you, but kids of all ages looking for a breezy, wholesome distraction will find a lot to like.

Tiger '12 is the best PGA Tour in years and would be the last Tiger you'd ever need if EA didn't cleverly omit the caddy's off switch.

Despite these niggles, I was left feeling satisfied after the post-credits scene. I’m already planning on diving back in and fixing the mistakes of my first run. Prey makes you feel clever, excites, intrigues and, at least once, can be absolutely terrifying. But, hey, at least you can turn into a toilet roll now. If you’re looking for one of the most interesting triple-A video games this year, it’s over here disguised as a sci-fi shooter.

The horror movie the game reminds me most of is Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods. Not from a narrative sense, you understand, but in the way it lampoons the genre, while never losing sight of what bloody good fun it can be.

The game plays at just the right speed so that you’re desperate to try again to get the perfect snap, but without it feeling overwhelming and absurdly complex. I will admit that for those who aren’t so big on replaying levels, it may get tiring. Still, it helps that the personalities of the Pokémon really shine through, the cheeky Scorbunny, the cheerful Grookey, the bouncy Pichu; why wouldn’t you want to go and spend more time with them?

DeathSpank may not be perfect, and it may take many of its gameplay cues from other titles, but it's a fun and entertaining romp which is well worth a look.

There are a lot of good ideas here, but they haven't found a way of comfortably sharing a bed together.

There's a great deal of content here for the money, and a set of high-level weapon unlocks, combined with challenges to complete on every mission, should keep you coming back to the single-player or co-op games as to the online versus modes. Dismal story aside, this is a solid, professional, deeply enjoyable product. Like the Ghosts themselves, it's so good at what it does that you run the real risk of not noticing how superbly it's doing it.

While those opening hours can feel like a languid tutorial, Game Freak know that the challenge will need to climb. And if anything there is a sudden spike that might come a little hard for newcomers, given the breeziness of the early game.

There's a strange juxtaposition between restriction and fun, and I still don't feel they've accurately nailed it.

it’s a touching and satisfying finale, with a lovely coda that brings a smile to the face. It’s that type of game, a warm-hearted collaboration’s of the DS’s most moral, smart and determined heroes. On this evidence, no-one could object if their paths crossed again.

Where it counts, F1 22 is right on track.

And yet that monomaniacal approach is both a blessing and a curse. Devotees will doubtless spend enjoyable hours perfecting their runs but those not so enamoured with Metal: Hellsinger’s central conceit might find the whole thing a little… one note.

Mario Vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is the sort of title Nintendo does very well. It's charming, fun and cleverly constructed. And even if it's not what I expected, it's a reminder that I should endeavour to make the portly plumber more of a fixture on my gaming landscape.

OlliOlli is, at its heart, a blissfully simple game. A focus on four wheels and a plank of wood, and not planting your face into tarmac. But for all of its channelled simplicity, it is a markedly clever piece of work, melding the best of trick-based sports games and twitch 2D platforming and executing it with poise.

A fragmented kaleidoscope of elements that finally form a rich, if imperfect, vision once everything is aligned. Some may find the apparent simplification disagreeable, but it's more a concentration of focus that allows BioWare to tell the more personal story of Hawke, and add polish to the world they have built around him. And noone builds a world like BioWare.

It’s as compelling a ‘pure’ single-player shooter we have had in many years. What is perhaps most surprising, and welcome, is how well an FPS controls on the Switch in handheld mode. It isn’t as naturally suited as other controllers, perhaps, but after a little adjustment I found myself tearing around hell blasting demons with no problems at all. A great game worth the technical compromise if you want to play it on the go, and a promising sign that FPS can find a home on Switch.

Dirt 5 is not a complicated game. And while racing purists may want a game with more meat on its bones, that is to its credit. It is almost old-school in its focus on delivering a breathless parade of rough-and-ready racing. And if you have a next-gen console to show off its extra bells and whistles, then all the better.

"Hmm, I was thinking probably an eight." I reply. "It's great fun and beautifully made, but it can be a bit awkward at times." / "I think eight is a bit stingy." Vikki says, curtly. "I mean, it's the best Lego game yet isn't it? You should give it a nine."

Each new locale is seemingly more rich and detailed than the last, and I regularly felt compelled to stop looking for the next path forward and instead just take in the magical realism of my surroundings.

It’s Gears at its very best, fierce gunplay mixing with a fabulous ebb and flow across smartly designed maps. It’s nothing revolutionary, rather existing elements melded into a satisfying whole. It’s the kind of thing that makes Judgment a more long-term investment than its campaign demands, but even the single-player’s familiarity and conservatism can’t take away from the base thrill of pulling the trigger or revving that chainsaw.

It’s a fascinating, if flawed game and this Switch version isn’t a rush job either. It runs well on the console (even if it’s so big you will need an extra SD card) and takes advantage of some its unique features. Playing LA Noire on the go in handheld mode is tempting enough, but it also brings in motion controls for investigation when playing at home.

While the new features are certainly interesting, the series hasn't moved on significantly enough to make it a must-have title. That having been said, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 is the best Tiger Woods game to date.

The most ingenious/insidious (delete according to taste) addition is the confusingly titled Season Objectives, which have nothing to do with the football calendar and instead are a version of Fortnite’s Battle Pass. Pretty much every action in the mode, from playing games to listing items on the transfer market, now accrues XP which in turn unlocks rewards, ranging from new stadium decorations to coins, packs and, ultimately limited edition players.