A fun online experience but I can’t see this continuing to be played long into the future with so many other shooters available. The story may be a little lacklustre but if you simply treat it as a lengthy tutorial, you’ll have a great time online.

Avalanche have managed to make the game feel alive with improved AI, plenty of rounded characters and a smooth learning curve assuming you take early advantage of the flexibility of the game’s key element: the grappling hook. Do so, and you’ll have nothing but fun.

This is your only option if you love the sport and want a console version so it’s lucky that it’s an approachable, realistic and well-realised virtual representation.

The presentation’s nice and there’s certainly a lot of ‘game’ for your money.

The game has basically one trick up its sleeve, but a trick that it executes very smoothly.

With creative freedom, Kratos's latest adventure is staggering in scale, superbly visualised and, for the most part, an absolute joy to play through. And most importantly, where it counts – the action sequences – God of War III is utterly unmatched and unequaled, and therefore absolutely essential for action fans.

Resonance of Fate is definitely for hardcore RPG fans only, but at the same time the map and combat systems make it substantially different from anything you’ll have likely played before.

Visually the game is lovely; distinctly 16-bit era backgrounds with parallax scrolling to add some physicality, nice particle effects and trails when grinding and 3D polygonal ships atop everything.

For fans of traditional RPG games (and especially for fans of the Final Fantasy series) this should be unmissable. However, for those more casual players or newcomers to the genre it may be slightly overwhelming and the repetitive nature and sheer linearity of the early level design might be quite a disappointment for fans hoping for more from this generation’s first Final Fantasy RPG.

As an action game it holds up very well, as an RPG it will keep the average quest junkie enthralled, and as a fishing/karoke/arcade sim, it also manages to tick each of those apparently mutually exclusive boxes with a defiant stroke. As a whole, and, more importantly, as a game, it works.

It’s expertly produced, oozes charisma and energy and the characterisation is sublime.

Greed Corp is a wonderful little title which is highly addictive and quite original in its style of play. It is a tricky game to start with, however if you stick with it then you will begin to appreciate what a great little game it is.

Please bear in mind when considering this game that Echoshift is hard, and it is meant to be hard. If you have a rough time with earlier levels on the likes of Cuboid and Critter Crunch, this may not be for you; for everyone else who are fans of brain bending puzzle games, if you have the patience and stamina, this is an easy recommendation.

It’s flashy, technically stunning but ultimately slightly empty. Characters vary from vapid to engaging, the FBI agent a highlight but lead Ethan tends to look bored rather than desperate. If you’re looking for a decent story with minimal interactivity to occupy a wet weekend, one cut with mystery and suspense, Quantic Dream’s latest might be right up your street, but gamers looking for anything else will be left out in the rain.

There is no doubt that Sonic & SEGA All-Stars borrows from Mario Kart heavily, however in this case that is no bad thing because this game has depth, it works well and most important of all, it’s great fun.

SOCOM has finally opened out onto a new field of battle, with a more set piece designed gameplay which is just perfect for travelling. The only downside is that the game is short, clocking in at around 5 hours, you just start getting into it as the credits roll. But as an experiment, it works and feels so much better than previous titles in the franchise.

Aliens Vs Predator tries to stay faithful to the franchise but in turn creates a mediocre FPS that is over far too quickly. The multiplayer does add some excitement but rage quitters and bad losers will spoil your games until it is fixed. Movie fans will get a little buzz from playing their favourite monsters but the whole experience is dull overall.

A fantastic game and although the progression may be similar to the first, the action feels a lot fresher.

Yes, purists might not appreciate the changes made to the source (and Dante will be turning in his grave) but as a gamer I had a blast.

White Knight Chronicles is a very good game. What you get out of it really depends on what you’re going to put in. It’ll be over in a few days if you just plow through the story, but if you get into the meat of the game and start developing your town and binding new items together to take on those tricky online group quests and grind up your guild rank, this is going to suck up a lot of your time.

You’ll get more out of the game the more you put in, and there’s some challenge here for the dedicated, but if forced I’d rather stick to the iPhone version which is far cheaper.

The challenge of branding MAG with a number (much smaller than its trademarked 256 and between 1 and 10) to denote its quality is akin to rating World of Warcraft after a weekend of gold-farming, long before the full majesty of the game has blossomed and shown its true potential. The best we can do is rate our early impressions, undoubtedly influenced by the game’s prospects for the future.

If you’re interested in a solid, nerve-shredding jaunt through familiar territory with a few curve-balls thrown in to make the experience somewhat novel, however, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories delivers all the chills and uneasiness the series is renown for.

Ultimately, with so many games around at this time brimming with originality and quality, it is easy to overlook this game and the experience left me feeling a little hollow. But if you have time, then pop this in your rental queue and you might be pleasantly surprised.

If you’re a big fan of snow-based sports and don’t mind the dip-in and out feel, then give this a shot.

Like poker and chess, the rules of Aqua Panic are easy to learn, but the art of winning takes a long time to master.

You may have seen a lot of what Darksiders brings to the table elsewhere, but it’s all combined in such a way with sprinkles of new ideas that keeps the game fresh and innovative.

Sure, there’s a decent game here if you can’t wait for the big hitters just around the corner, but if patience isn’t a virtue of yours then perhaps Bayonetta isn’t the one for you anyway, at least unless you’re going for the 360 version. Shame, as Bayonetta has solid principles and a sequel could very well be amazing.