Fighters Uncaged is an appalling, joyless makeweight trying to grab some of the Kinect pie before a fighting game that actually works comes along. Avoid it at all costs.

It took the best part of two decades to find room for innovation in so elegant a formula, but Hot Pursuit does it – bending it as far as it would go without breaking what made it great in the first place.

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

The most triumphant comeback you could hope for.

For anyone else interested in or already on board with RTS games, Starcraft II isn't just an amazing, it's required reading.

Brotherhood is the franchise's best entry to date and one of the best games of 2010.

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.

Still, it's breezy, colourful presentation and general silliness make Kinect Adventures easy to like.

As party games go, Kinect Sports is infectiously good fun. It's highly doubtful that this title will be enough to woo Wii owners over to the Xbox 360 on ts own. But for players who already own Microsoft's console and a Kinect sensor, it's more than worth a look.

But while I wouldn't have minded a bit more MC Hammer, Dance Central has managed to get me to wave my hands in the air like I just don't care. No mean feat. And it keeps the wife laughing, and whatever makes her happy, makes me happy. Sort of.

As much as the red-blooded manly man who exists inside me (however fleetingly) wants to pigeonhole Kinectimals in the casual-core-for-kids category, I just can't do it. This is because, in the interests of journalistic integrity, I have to admit to having been completely disarmed and won over by the experience of interacting with the cute cuddly, virtual cubs in the game.

A long overdue return to form, with a focus on what made Sonic fun in the first place. He's always been fast, but it's good to finally see him speeding in the right direction.

Whether it was time constraint, requirements of the 007 license, or a developer stepping out of their comfort zone you can't shake the the feeling there's a great action game bubbling under at Bizarre, but Blood Stone isn't it, limited by a lack of variety and reliance on the tropes of its genre. But it is a well-constructed, entertaining and wholly-polished blast.

Really, with the levels of customisation as huge as they are, the player's enjoyment is only held back by their lack of imagination.

Really, with the levels of customisation as huge as they are, the player's enjoyment is only held back by their lack of imagination.

It's cowboys and zombies; what could go wrong? Answer; very little, and while Mr Bleszinski's tweet contains a kernel of truth that the undead can be a "go-to" for lazy developers, the quality of Undead Nightmare puts it out of the firing range of such criticism.

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.

This is a game with plenty to recommend it, and even if a lot of its best aspects are holdovers from its predecessor, the game's engrossing new story, gargantuan new map and plethora of new quests combine to form an experience that will appeal to most core gamers.

It's an experience like no other, if not always for the right reasons. I adored it, but I couldn't tell you in earnest that you will feel the same. But I will tell you this: you absolutely must play it. How else would you ever know?

An absolute delight.

Disappointing too is the roster of worlds you visit, and the lack of exploration in each.

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.

So what we have is a game that should be kitsch, daft fun but instead is dull, broken and mildly sexist.

But it never crosses the threshold into greatness, either in its visceral thrills or in its sober, but ultimately a little bland, tale of the soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.

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

It's a rollicking adventure and a story well-told, held back by limited mechanics.

One of the best looking games released all year and in terms of sheer specatacle, there are few titles that can match it. This is a fast-paced, high-octane and resolutely hard-core shooter, which makes no concessions to casual gamers. It also happens to be one of the best games of 2010.

But it's the first title in years to rekindle a passion I had for the series,the one I had back when I were a lad and Pro Evolution Soccer ruled the football landscape with an iron fist and cheeky grin. Now it's finally back on track.