Players may occasionally feel like they are going through the motions, but there is a wide variety of challenges include races, turret blasting, hoverboard trickery, arena combat and an exciting sequence escorting an explosives-laden train.

Our favourite move isn't actually documented in the game's manual but if you do a little net search you'll find a way to force your foes to turn their rifles on themselves.

Exploring the labyrinthine citadel is rewarding, although backtracking and frequent deaths can be frustrating.

With deep characters, heaps of interesting narratives you can tackle as you like, constant gratifying upgrades, a stunning look and potentially the greatest sword combat in modern gaming, this is a Samurai adventure I couldn't get enough of, even if I had some niggles with the overall story and a few outdated design choices.

The difficulty level accommodates younger players, thanks to effortless controls, but new Master Thief challenges will test even experienced bandits.

Gloriously cheerful and refreshingly original rock 'n' roll fun.

The modernisation of the visuals, music and customisation options are top notch, but the actual play has managed to resist being brought to the current decade at all. This means casual kart fans might find the game unfairly cruel, but old fans will appreciate the fact that it stays true to the spirit of the original in that regard.

The sprawling levels are brilliantly designed and players have wonderful freedom to create their own skating parks and skaters, graffiti tags, challenging goals and even tricks. Some, may, however, feel like they have seen it all before.

The only thing more fun than watching Hulk cut loose is actually being the one controlling his every outburst. Ultimate Destruction is a rare comic-to-game adaptation that perfectly captures the Marvel comic style.

It was a difficult task translating the refined Xbox controls to mouse and keyboard, but the system works flawlessly. Combat is basic yet fun, demanding timing.

Varied play modes such as tag and survival, plus countless unlockable items, add further appeal. But the lack of new moves or characters is disappointing.

That rock is the rocking arcade rally game "Rallisport Challenge 2," which offers better visuals, a more tangible driving sensation and arguably the best online support ever seen in a racing game. That hard place is "Richard Burns Rally," which has established itself as easily the most realistic (not to mention difficult) rally game. In the wake of these two triple-A titles, Colin McRae 2005 comes off feeling a little too tired to remain the pinnacle of rally gaming.

This is classic Crash, warts and all, updated for 2020. It looks and sounds phenomenal, is a touch more lenient, injects some new mechanics and takes much more care with the delivery of its story and characters. Given how poorly previous attempts to update Crash have turned out, this is a marvellous effort that should please old fans, their kids, and those just looking for a brilliant if potentially gruelling retro platforming adventure.

Exploring the labyrinthine citadel is rewarding, although backtracking and frequent deaths can be frustrating.

Splatoon 2 has a lot of substance, and every bit of it is literally oozing with style. Keeping everything that made the original game great while expanding on modes, fashion, weapons and features, this is a powerfully addictive family-friendly shooter.

And whether you are tooling around with a giant bowling ball or bringing a mob boss to justice in record time, Xbox Live support lets two friends run riot side by side.

An immensely deep role-player.

Far from just a V8 simulation, this is a celebration of all motor sport, featuring an amazing 15 racing styles, 32 championships and 49 tracks from around the globe. It has something for everyone.

A value-packed collection of infinitely replayable and hugely enjoyable classic card and board games.

Delivering yet another fresh twist on Shovel Knight's peerlessly smooth faux-retro brilliance, King of Cards is a challenging, funny, beautiful game that serves not only as the final chapter in the saga but also as proof of how far its creators have come.

With an amazingly addictive battle system, interesting stories and a beautiful world that I wanted to (and was encouraged to) explore inch of, this is a special adventure that feels like playing a classic Final Fantasy for the first time, but with the gameplay and presentation benefits of an extra 20 years or so of progress.

Despite a flimsy storyline that's riddled with cavernous gaps in logic, Prey's rollercoaster ride of gun-toting action delivers the punch of a blockbuster movie.

It's about halfway through Fahrenheit that the wheels start to wobble. The game begins to veer away from its complex murder-mystery beginnings into the realm of pure fantasy, with a final chapter that can be hard to stomach.

Exploring the labyrinthine citadel is rewarding, although backtracking and frequent deaths can be frustrating.

A glorified Tamagotchi, but infinitely cuter and more appealing.

Like a playable painting of ink and pigment, GRIS is a powerful and significant game, even if the visual art often overshadows the actual play.

Bonus mini-games have the most long-term appeal, particularly a sublime version of darts.

The changes to gameplay, addition of house rules to kick-off mode and refinements to Ultimate Team make this an improvement on last year, and the third chapter of The Journey is the deepest yet. But fans of the old-fashioned career mode will continue to be disappointed.

A glorified Tamagotchi, but infinitely cuter and more appealing.

With a story of boundless optimism, dozens of huge, living worlds to investigate and one of the most satisfying battle systems seen in a Japanese roleplaying games in years, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a charming and engrossing long-form adventure.

The addition of smart and relentless police pursuers has reinvigorated this popular driving series.

That rock is the rocking arcade rally game "Rallisport Challenge 2," which offers better visuals, a more tangible driving sensation and arguably the best online support ever seen in a racing game. That hard place is "Richard Burns Rally," which has established itself as easily the most realistic (not to mention difficult) rally game. In the wake of these two triple-A titles, Colin McRae 2005 comes off feeling a little too tired to remain the pinnacle of rally gaming.

A shining example of why the Tribes universe is so popular, although fans aren't happy with many of the refinements.

The fact that it's got the deepest story ever seen in a fighter simply adds to the realistic feel of the brutal combat within.

Space conflict complements ground-based action beautifully and jumping into the cockpit of an X-wing or TIE fighter is thrilling.

A glorified Tamagotchi, but infinitely cuter and more appealing.

Exploring the labyrinthine citadel is rewarding, although backtracking and frequent deaths can be frustrating.

Navigating the menus and many options can be seriously intimidating for the uninitiated, thanks to some complicated design features.

In practice the hacking works intuitively and — assuming you suspend your disbelief that you can use the same network to steer a car or explode a sewerage pipe from a phone — it's a huge amount of fun.

Car handling is impressive. You can really feel variations in surfaces and the car losing traction if pushed too hard. Passing in heavy traffic takes skill and patience.

Convincing physics have been brought into play to improve the feel of passing, crossing and shooting - a feature that brings FIFA more in line with the current simulation champ, "Pro Evolution Soccer."

Dark and dirty but also full of fun and discovery, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is rife with jungle mysteries, embellished history, gratifying puzzles and Lara Croft's personal struggles. With more open world exploration, more climbing, more tombs and more options for combat, it's a familiar but improved adventure and a gripping conclusion to the trilogy.

Overall, Madden 18 offers some fun new additions. 'Longshot' isn't perfect, but it's a big step in the right direction. If you buy Madden every year there's enough fresh content to satisfy you, but if you had Madden 17 and only buy the game once every few years, nobody could blame you for holding off.

With a rather abrupt final sequence it does seem to rush to its climax, but despite its brevity, this is an unforgettable trip through the realm of Kong.

The best new addition is a magnetic grappling device that allows Lara to move faraway items and swing across chasms. Puzzles are beautifully integrated into the environment and frustration rare.

Role-playing addicts won't be disappointed by the scope of this fantasy romp but a certain level of perseverance is required if you are unfamiliar with the intricacies of D&D.

With a rather abrupt final sequence it does seem to rush to its climax, but despite its brevity, this is an unforgettable trip through the realm of Kong.

Some locations are dreary trudges through dull space-station corridors, but others show more imagination, such as giant pinball tables and underwater in Atlantis.

A car aficionado's paradise and a novel concept in driving games. Unlimited's online world is certain to be mimicked.

The addition of smart and relentless police pursuers has reinvigorated this popular driving series.

Some locations are dreary trudges through dull space-station corridors, but others show more imagination, such as giant pinball tables and underwater in Atlantis.

While the deeply relatable narrative, sketchy art and evocative music could all conceivably be delivered in a short film, it's the brilliant metaphors of the touchscreen play that make Florence truly special. It's breathtaking and emotionally affirming little game.

The best inclusion is a compulsive Platform mode requiring death-defying leaps. Trial and error repetition can frustrate but improving your scores by performing perfect jumps is addictive.

It would be easy to ask for more, but as it stands these are the best officially available versions of the some of the greatest 3D platform games of all time. The HD visuals and elegant control adaptations are arguably close to bare minimum, but the charm, craft and imagination on display in these three games is timeless and undeniable.

Navigating the menus and many options can be seriously intimidating for the uninitiated, thanks to some complicated design features.

With more ways to influence the outcomes in your favour, a greater variety of chance-based gambits and a structure that almost (but not quite) eliminates the frustrating repetition of the first Hand of Fate, there's a lot to like here for tabletop devotees and action-adventure fans alike.

With intensely interesting lore and characters, an awe-inspiring aesthetic and one of the most mind-crushingly dull gameplay loops I've ever experienced in a high-budget video game, Hideo Kojima's supernatural epic is pretentious and profound, filled with tedium and terrifying wonder.

Patient players looking for a unique experience ultimately will be rewarded by this atmospheric and ambitious shooter.

Blood Money gives the assassin even more flexibility, with abilities such as climbing, disarming opponents, hiding, using human shields, staging mock accidents and sophisticated distraction techniques.

The best new addition is a magnetic grappling device that allows Lara to move faraway items and swing across chasms. Puzzles are beautifully integrated into the environment and frustration rare.

Single-player is fun, but the game truly shines with four people in the mix. It's a little easier, but there's still about 20 hours of co-operative campaigning to be had.

Exploring as Sonic or new character Blaze the cat is rewarding, even if enemy placement can be stupidly punitive, demanding rote memorisation or lightning use of the dash attack to avoid calamity.

The original NFSU's city was a little repetitive, but now IT'S broken up into five distinct neighbourhoods, each is suitably spectacular. Most of the time you fly through these districts so quickly that everything becomes one big neon blur, but it's worth slowing down to soak up the sights.

This is an immaculate remake of a set of fun, important, though imperfect games, breathing new life in Spyro's early adventures and serving as a reminder that the franchise really was great; worthy of the same fond remembering afforded to Crash Bandicoot and Banjo Kazooie.

Streets of Rage 4 is the rare retro revival that respects and celebrates the originals while also having something of its own to say. The visuals, sounds and mechanics aren't as envelope-pushing in 2020 as the originals were in the early '90s, but the balance between embracing nostalgia and reformulating the brawler for the current decade is struck wonderfully.

Discerning gamers will find that this third excursion to the frontline is enjoyable but a little unpolished. It is, however, the best-looking 360 game to date.

First-person shooter fans might struggle initially with the demanding targeting system, plus a selection of weapons that take into account the accuracy and range of their real-world counterparts.

Sony has accomplished its mission. This is the best shooter yet for the PSP.

Whether or not you feel the mechanical issues will be enough to ruin this sweet, impeccably realised, emotive game is up to you. For me, they're annoying but ephemeral. There were a hundred games released this year that are more fluid and fun to play minute-to-minute, and dozens that perform with a silky smooth frame rate, yet I'll remember this adventure with Trico long after I've forgotten those.

Revelation repeats the formula of breathtaking visuals and oblique puzzles. But despite its success, the game remains an acquired taste - slow-paced and full of obtuse brain teasers.

While the driving action isn't quite as satisfying as the superb "Burnout 3," it's still strong enough to keep you playing through the 150 or so races.

A brilliant expansion of the Metro saga, Exodus connects sections of familiar claustrophobic, immersive horror with a beautiful semi-open world and a new twist on the fantastic and oppressive retro future vibe.

With a kitschy clean presentation and a multicultural theme, Nintendo's 51 Worldwide Classics is a glossy and generous collection of tabletop standards and rainy day time wasters, perfect for a night in with the family.

So addictive it should come with a warning sticker on the box.

The branching track system is brilliantly designed to challenge and thrill in equal measure. Giddy car handling enables skilled drivers to power-slide gracefully around corners at ridiculous speed.

Much of the complexity of other real-time strategy titles has been stripped away to keep the game approachable and the pace lively, but it is disappointing that computer opponents are suicidally dim.

The addition of smart and relentless police pursuers has reinvigorated this popular driving series.

The various combatants are well-balanced and there is a huge variety of vehicles and aircraft to pilot, including X-wings, TIE fighters, speeder bikes and hulking AT-STs.

As far as the multiplayer goes, it's nothing much more than Quake 3 with a fresh slap of paint, which is probably the biggest disappointment of all.

Frights are common as disturbingly psychopathic vagrants lunge at you from the shadows. The violence is raw, barbaric and unsettling.

There are more trick-based challenges than ever, but aside from the new slow-motion control, Tony Hawk is skating through the same old territory.

For a system that prides itself on interactivity, WarioWare: Touched! is a notable complement. It's a shallow, inconsistent experience, though, and one I suspect will wear on you after a while.

Saints Row lacks the clever subtlety and fun-loving sense of mischief of GTA, with much of its humour falling flat. But there's plenty of fun to be had while waiting for the real deal ("GTA IV") to be released in October next year.

If you wore out your copy of the bewitching original you may need to question whether new songs are enough to get you playing the same game again.

Veterans may feel it is overly familiar but Gladiator is a quality action game.

A wonderful game that rewards experimentation and co-operation.

Summerset follows Morrowind's lead of excellent writing, good voice acting and interesting characters, with a main storyline tackling surprisingly contemporary issues and focusing more on the plights of individual characters than the protagonist becoming a wizard god. Though the multiplayer structure still keeps the storytelling here from reaching the heights of the single-player games, it's about as good as it gets in the MMO space.

Fallen Order offers both an enthralling look at a shadowy time in the Star Wars continuum and a gameplay design that kept me hooked. From force pushing an astromech through the air and hearing it emit the exact panicked yowling sound it's supposed to make, to tracking down and defeating a giant albino spider that just killed me to restore my experience points (and dignity), it's been a long time since I've had this much fun in a galaxy far, far away.

Offering more of the same delicious, diabolical co-operative cooking that made 2016's Overcooked so amazing, the sequel adds new kitchens, new dishes, new chefs and a whole lot of new reasons to do that thing where you scream in frustration and laughter at the same time. With even more friendship-testing challenges and hilarious culinary cock-ups, this is a welcome second course, even if it doesn't stray very far from the original game's recipe.

Unfortunately, the emphasis on economic management and the lack of precise unit control means combat lacks finesse. Like real-time strategy games of old, the best tactic is usually to simply amass a huge force and crudely rush at overwhelmed opponents.

Valentia's old-meets-new approach is an interesting twist on the series, with the juggling between two parties, free exploration sections and simplified combat balancing out the lack of relationship options and the occasional killer difficulty spike. While the next mainline Fire Emblem game will no doubt return to the more fantastical, romantic themes of recent games, Valentia has me hoping Nintendo continues to dig into the series' back catalogue for more modernised versions of unfamiliar classics.

But while there's little appeal in tackling Phoenix Wright's cases again, this is a unique, lengthy, deep and absolutely gripping game. Highly recommended.

With a rather abrupt final sequence it does seem to rush to its climax, but despite its brevity, this is an unforgettable trip through the realm of Kong.

Computer-controlled opponents offer a solid challenge and matches are often tense and exciting.

Table Tennis offers surprising depth. Games against accomplished opponents are intensely gripping.

The deceptively cute presentation belies a comprehensive golf simulation with terrific depth. As the title suggests, anyone can tee off and have a ball, but expert command of the golf ball is possible.

Half-Genie Hero is a masterclass in small-scale game design, packing hours of gorgeous, hilarious, brilliantly-crafted jumping and hair-whipping into just a handful of stages. The series has changed a lot in the past 15 years but this latest entry, which seems designed as a soft reboot to attract new fans on new platforms, has only strengthened my belief that it's one of the best and most under-appreciated there is.

Yoshi's Island is a paradise of platforming pleasure and the perfect holiday destination this summer.