The smart trade-off between rollicking action and exploration makes for a cohesive, confident and satisfying adventure. Where Lara Croft goes from here will be fascinating, but rarely has a game's title been so apt.

Every single aspect of Hyrule Warriors is great fun and utterly compelling. I've easily been losing hours at a time to it. Everything it tries to do, it pulls off with aplomb; there's not a single aspect I've disliked, or found to be a misstep.

Modern Warfare 2 crosses into the must-have category of video games effortlessly. It offers an unmatched shooter experience, a compelling story mode, a slick package of mini missions and a multiplayer which is pretty much unparalleled in depth.

That a Resident Evil 4 remake is expectedly brilliant is a tough stick to beat it with. But while it might not have that extraordinary sense of upgrade that Resident Evil 2 did, it is important to realise what it represents. Resi 4 was the main driver of the third-person action revolution - the moderniser-in-chief. That its influence has come full circle into its own remake should be no surprise. What does shock, perhaps, is that even after all these years and all its myriad versions is that Resident Evil 4 still hasn’t been bettered. A smartly-executed upgrade has only thrown that into sharper focus. And, particularly for those that haven’t played it before, this is as essential as video games get.

Super Mario Maker’s chaotic smorgasbord is part of its appeal. Wild, unbridled and even inspiring, Super Mario Maker achieves the envious feat of making both Play and Creation a joy. And all it had to do was remove the barrier between the two.

God of War: Ragnarok manages to wrangle the best of blockbuster gaming under its muscular control. Spectacle. Excitement. Empowerment. And, well, we all know how that feels, don’t we?

It is one of the most fascinating games you’ll play this year, or any other, a high-profile game that still dares to go against the grain despite its ever growing popularity.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Fallout 3 is how effortlessly it combines so many gameplay mechanics, storylines, characters, expansive environments and complex in-game intricacies into one fluid package.

With a game this broad and lengthy, there’s more to discuss than I could fit in one review, but suffice it to say, this a game that Nintendo have clearly worked incredibly hard to get right. It shines at every moment, from the wind rustling through the trees, to the sunset glinting off the water to the jaunty tunes at the start of the day fading into more relaxing melodies in the evening. Add dozens of much needed quality of life features (hello player customisation, autosave, couch co-op, and eight-player online play) and it all adds up to the perfect DIY recipe for the most chilled out, relaxing, and engaging life simulator ever.

Destiny 2 is more accomplished, more rewarding and more fun than its predecessor ever was and that’s a hugely impressive achievement. Years ago, when Bungie first announced the series, they promised a 10 year journey. The first game failed to deliver that dream, but with Destiny 2 we have moved a hell of a lot closer.

There were no doubts that Doom would play fast, look stunning, or be gory; the surprise is that Doom is as relevant, smart and self-aware as it is; merging old ideas with new ones; injecting its near-flawless shooter mechanics into a campaign that’s impeccably refined, hilariously dumb and fiendishly moreish.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that The Last of Us is immune from blockbuster video game excess --the total number of kills at the final stats page will still run into the many hundreds-- but it’s one of the few games to try and make some kind of sense of it without compromising its quality of action...In that, and so many other things, The Last of Us is a triumph.

A brilliant touch is the option to turn on a feature that allows Live/PSN players to challenge you even when you’re playing the singleplayer modes. In this era of home entertainment, it’s the closest you can get to someone coming up to challenging you in an arcade. The competition is likely to be ferocious and the fight for online supremacy is likely to continue for many, many years.

Every choice, every death and every shot feels like it counts in XCOM 2 and it is this feeling of real consequence that makes for a truly remarkable strategy game - one that goes beyond its clever design decisions and the odd technical hiccup to create a tangible sense purpose and real emotion to your squad’s story. As an experience that puts you in control, lets you relish victories, forces you to truly mourn mistakes, and allows you to grow as a tactician against insurmountable odds, XCOM 2 is near faultless.

On the surface, Horizon seems like a jumble of influences but, just like the murderous machina wandering its lands, the game is far more than its component parts, delivering a gripping story, satisfying combat, and the most gorgeous video game environments I’ve ever seen. Horizon confidently carves out an identity of its own in an overpopulated genre.

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

A brilliantly solid, popcorn, sci-fi shooter with you behind the visor. This is, for our future space credits, the best Call of Duty package in years.

It's probably the most brilliantly conceived and well-executed expansion pack of its type and it sets the bar amazingly high for all future DLC. The sheer volume of content is staggering, and while cynics may argue about whether it was worth $50 million, we are delighted to report that it's a steal at the paltry 1600 (£13.60) points required to download it from Xbox Live.

However you choose to approach Dishonored, it's a game that asks you to think, plan, be smart. It's a wonderfully empowering game because of this, as you lurk in the shadows knowing the powers you possess and the options you have. It's elegantly designed to make the most of those tools, but isn't afraid of changing the rules in order to keep its (admittedly quite predictable) story bubbling along.

The charm, inventiveness and knowing nods to Mario heritage bring constant smiles, and it's not only a superb Mario game but a fantastic advert for the hardware it appears on. A perfect starting point for newcomers to the series, or a nostalgic throwback for Mario die-hards that still manages to be incredibly contemporary. Whichever category you fall into, one thing's for sure; handheld platforming simply does not get better than this.

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.

This is a game unlike any other. Incomparable, yet instantly accessible. The best Nintendo games have a marvelous knack of building the perfect worlds for the perfect heroes and this is the foundation on which Luigi's Mansion is built. Cracking.

It's [a] tough and punishing game, but in the best way possible. Every loss compels you onward in the war and the story. Where most games are frustratingly punishing, XCOM delivers a masterclass in challenge and escalation.

Year Walk is a small but perfectly formed piece of digital entertainment that shows there’s much more to iOS than endless runners and free-to-play timewasters. A game this distinctive, this different, this thrillingly new is the best possible demonstration of the format’s versatility; indeed, of the narrative power of the interactive medium.

Generations refines and perfects the Monster Hunter formula, and presents us with comfortably the best title in the series' history.

No video game released this Christmas runs contrary to prevailing fashion as hard or fast as Dark Souls. And no video game is quite so exciting or exhilarating.

Every time you open your 3DS to play New Leaf, you know you’re almost certain to experience something new or surprising. And how many games can you say that about?

Whether you're new to this unique pairing or you've played one or both before, this splendid collection is pretty much a compulsory purchase.