Dishonored may not contain the depth of Skyrim or the unrivaled beauty of Uncharted, but it does present something new, innovative and engaging. It makes the player think about the effect their choices, both in terms of narrative and gameplay, may potentially have on the world around them.

The one thing that would have made this game a true gem would have been some online play, but the multiplayer is so entertaining that it’s easy to overlook.

This medium is still in narrative infancy, but Mafia II goes a long to proving that it's not merely literature and film that can tell a tale, but videogames too. Along with it, you get a damn fine game to boot.

It’s an amazing game, easily one of the finest in the Metal Gear family. Even if this weren’t a MGS game, it would still be one of the greatest currently out on any of the consoles.

With the new songs and modes, Guitar Hero III is the party game supreme.

Devil May Cry 4 doesn't concern itself with much outside of fighting, and here the focus and dedication shines through with a solid and ridiculously in-depth battle system, rivalling even that of modern fighting games like Tekken and Soul Calibur.

Despite the incongruous nature of Human Revolution's bosses, they remain a minor – but noticeable – blemish on an otherwise fantastic experience.

Hotline Miami is the rare breed of game that feels as smart as it is bloody. It is unabashedly gratuitous, but there's a context to its mayhem that escapes most ultra-violent operas. There's really nothing quite like it: its unique blend of tactics, tension and a cracked-out fiction bleed together to form a coherent experience that is equal parts cool and disturbing.

The crazy visuals are almost worth the price of admission alone, but the decent gameplay and a great sense of humor also help.

The story feels disconnected and isn’t as strong as its predecessor but the gameplay has been improved upon for a much more enjoyable and fluid combat system.

Certainly the best of the trilogy. It is a highly refined experience, an exceptional showcase of the growing experience of the team at Epic.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time’s likelihood of appealing to you is nearly as infinite as the universe it takes place in, but a few disappointingly expected plot turns and some finicky camera controls will make the universe seem a tad smaller.

Though the overload of features and the hit-the-ground-running pace can be dizzying for some players, this approach is a smart move on Rocksteady's part. There is no better way for gamers to truly understand the Dark Knight unless we're placed in his boots and have the world hoisted on our shoulders.

It's easy to pick up and play with just enough depth and difficulty to become an itch you'll need to scratch on a daily basis for a minute or two.

With a loveable hero, incredibly technical handling, and a truckload of features all wrapped up in a wonderfully stylish presentation, Kirby: Canvas Curse not only brings a breath of fresh air to a seemingly stale handheld gaming world, but it also steals the spotlight with its undeniable quality.

It's easy to see why everyone in Europe was importing this from the US; there is simply nothing else like it.

Whether shockingly real or fiercely dramatized, the experiences of Yakuza 3 are wholly Japanese, completely riveting, and absolutely worth the price of admission.

It creates a creepy, disturbing atmosphere that is often unnerving, and combines that with a deep and engaging combat system that is simply one of a kind.

Devil May Cry might be over six years old and arguably superseded by younger competitors, but if you want a classic, dependable and tough action-adventure with its finger firmly on the trigger then you can’t really go wrong with this awesome adventure.

Evil is performed by men in suits, golden pens in their chest pockets, and stamps in their hands. With a single move with their wrists, they sign death warrants, never seeing the consequences of their actions, maybe not even caring about them.

It reintroduces us to an antihero on a quest for personal salvation, a cast of memorable characters, massive levels, remarkable gameplay, and one of the best presentations that the DS has to offer. It’s that kind of combination that makes for a truly excellent experience.

The pick-up-and-play gameplay appeals to newcomers and veterans alike, with insane speeds and ample opportunities to pull of stylish moves, whereas the detail of the numerous cars and courses is just astounding.

While a bit basic, Bomberman Blast is all you really need at the end of the day to enjoy the series’ signature gameplay.

You might get a little lost on your journey sometimes, but you’ll never feel anything less than totally immersed. EverQuest II comes highly recommended both to MMORPG newbies and to those who might have become jaded with what other MMORPGs have to offer.

Constantly switching between dimensions and characters may turn off those who wanted a more straightforward adventure. On the other hand, the writing, wit, and humor are some of the best stuff that Nintendo has ever come up with.

It’s everything that we could come to expect from a game; it has an excellent storyline, a cast of remarkable characters, intense gameplay melded with style, and a presentation so vivid and brilliantly executed that you’ll feel right at home.

Yes, it is both brief and linear in nature, but the story is presented with such a brilliant combination of style and substance that you'll want to come back and experience it over and over again.

It’s just a shame that the game is so utterly short; even with so much post-game stuff to do, there’s always that lingering feeling that there could have been more. Regardless, Order of Ecclesia is the most engaging Castlevania game in ages. Pick it up if you want something good.

It takes everything that made the previous game so awesome and refines it. It continues the story, but it makes the effort to give more meaning to Kratos's journey and its eventual ending. It takes the previous established combat mechanics and makes them faster, tighter, and more fun than ever.

An underrated gem.

If only every game’s most glaring problem could be that there are too many characters to choose from.

Beyond all of the enhancements and extras, After Burner Climax’s bargain price of 800 Microsoft Points ($9.99) makes it a must own.

It's intelligent, rewarding and challenging and with any luck it will find the audience it deserves.

Dead Nation for all intents and purposes is a top-down Left 4 Dead: it's taut, it's atmospheric and it will certainly get your blood pumping.

A solid, proven shooter, Galaxies is an excellent way to kill time, as well as one of the DS's better shooters, unlike, say, Metroid Prime: Hunters, which tended to feel a bit clunky at times.

A masterclass in game design. Through expert sound, storytelling and gameplay you are enwrapped into the world of Ivalice.

At times it's a struggle to play purely because of how scary it can be, and it's not often you can say that about a video game. Just remember: lights off, headphones on, and try not to go insane.

This is a superb game, one of the finest games that I've personally played in years.

This game is more or less the latest version of a realm that has been long established and already seen. Yes, the story is darker, longer, and more character driven than anything before it. Yes, the dungeons and sidequests are remarkably well crafted. That doesn't mean that both seasoned Zelda fans and newcomers alike will enjoy the lacking difficulty and the other small problems that plague the game.

While Street Fighter IV plays an expectedly brilliant game, the real surprise stems from its direction from a visual point of view that is nothing short of astounding.

With an engaging story, outstanding visuals, and remarkable sound, Chains succeeds on so many levels.

A big game that is worth sinking your teeth into, even if you have to close your eyes and hum every time you're reminded it's called Fallout.

Order Up! serves up as the definitive cooking sim for the times, not just as a single player stress reliever, but one that's great for the family or even with a significant other. With its multiplayer options and high replayability, you'll be sure to find yourself keeping the people fed with a smile.

The vast majority of iPhone fans probably won't get it. People who care about the gaming industry, however, definitely will.

As with all the best expansions, The Old Gods doesn’t just give you more of the same. Instead it takes an excellent core system, and adds a set of rules and changes that give you drastically different ways to play.

It’s great to see that well-made games that are entirely capable of kicking our asses can still be made and here’s to another 20 years of Contra-ing to come... hopefully.

It might be a while before a fighting game emerges with a genuinely amazing story, but for now the plight of Raiden and the representatives of Earthrealm is fascinating enough.

The story wraps up nicely, and it's interesting to see Max in a game with a much darker tone, especially when, for the most part, the grim elements are handled extremely well.

The best superhero game to date. It captures everything that makes Batman who he is with some fluent yet brutal combat and clever stealth action.

Platinum identified that a world subject to infinite player Ginsu-knifing is a world without obstruction. Revengeance revives its signature sword play as the show stopper it was always meant to be, but does it in a calculated manner. The result is an action game that never overstays its welcome.

But if you can work with the game’s difficulty and take the time to learn the characters, you’ll find that Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution is a fighting game second to none.

The graphics are some of, if not the, best I've seen on the system, and the variety of racing available ensures that you'll never be bored or wanting more.

Professor Layton is back, and he’s never looked better.

The noise of Earth can be scary. Hectic and pulsing. Enough to make even the bravest of Princes turn to syrup.

Admittedly, PixelJunk Monsters doesn’t offer too much different from many tower defense titles, but what it lacks in originality it more than makes up in polish.

With solid single player and multiplayer components, Call of Duty: Black Ops is easily the best game that Treyarch has ever produced.

Uncharted is a superb but linear action adventure that doesn’t last too long, but anyone with a PS3 or even a soft spot for a grand adventure should definitely check out it.

The sheer amount of unlockables and additional content ensure that you'll have plenty to uncover. Extend might not be original, but it is built upon the best.

The sheer amount of gameplay modes, unlockables, and superb online multiplayer will keep you coming back time and again. If you have any interest in fighting games, get this. BlazBlue is finally back.

Its refined gameplay is at the heart of a title brimming with confidence and its multiple modes will keep you playing for months.

It’s one of the best looking games on the market, has impeccable presentation and wonderfully campy voice acting (this time, intentionally), a strong plot that brings back a handful of classic characters and, most of all, it’s just plain fun. Whether it’s padding slowly down a dim concrete hallway, complete with flickering florescent lights and ominous blood-splattered walls, or running from a horde of crazed, zombie villagers, Resident Evil 5 delivers a truly engrossing survival horror experience.

Super Meat Boy is overflowing with content that no other release can match and I wouldn't be surprised at all if it brings home Game of the Year accolades from many publications.

Borderlands 2 successfully maintains every aspect that made the first game such a surprise hit and improves upon them in all the ways that matter.

Comet Crash certainly isn't the most sophisticated looking tower defense title, but if you pass it up because of its simplistic visuals, you're truly missing out. It's chock full of clever design and great unit/tower balancing, plus it has some of the most generally engaging local multiplayer found on the PlayStation Store. Additionally, it might very well be the best RTS on the PS3.

The pairing of Suda 51's unhinged creativity with Shinji Mikami's sense for distinguished mechanics is enough to make Shadows of the Damned a compelling release in its own right.

I despise most RPGs. I find them long, boring, and tedious. However, Tales of the Abyss is one of the few games in the genre that truly appeal to me. The story is both entertaining and memorable. The characters are well-written and interesting, and nowhere near as cliched and predictable as their Symphonia counterparts were.

It boils down to this: if you have GTAIV on the Xbox 360, buy this expansion. If you don’t have it on the Xbox 360... apologies. In a perfect world, it’d be available on all platforms, but sadly, politics wins out.

Football Manager Live is a wonderful and addictive game and a must have for any armchair manager. The depth of the gameplay is still unrivaled and any little niggles and annoyances the game contains are small fry compared to the successes the game has achieved.

Hustle Kings is one of the most enjoyable and sizeable PSN games in a long time, and quite possibly the finest pool or billiards replication ever committed to a videogame.

A truly great platforming game.

An invigorating blend of old and new, classic puzzle-based adventuring spliced with a user-friendly, touch-screen interface, and finally, a sparkling re-invention to a formula that has been mostly untouched ever since Shigeru Miyamoto’s original recipe came to light twenty long years ago.

Bottom line: Get this game. If you’re a newcomer to the series and have been curious as to what everyone’s raving about, give this a shot. The AI may be brutal in later levels, but the learning curve and well-crafted Practice Mode will serve you well.

The deeper combat mechanics haven't been watered-down in the slightest.

This game was built to appeal to both the veterans of the series and the new folks just itching to give Pokemon a try. It's a fair bet that the fans will get this game without much hesitation.

Thankfully, we have games like Castle Crashers to remind us how fun simplicity used to be. The beat 'em up gameplay and unique presentation go a long way, and for lack of a better explanation, the game is just damn fun.

Nearly everything it sets out to do it does remarkably well, and in many ways, Runner2 feels like the pinnacle of the fledgling genre its predecessor helped create.

This game has it all; it’s got a wonderful story, wonderfully memorable characters, fast-paced and fluid combat with a wide variety of demonic foes, hours of dungeon exploration, puzzle solving, various item collecting, a few lengthy sidequests, a slew of people and animals to help, and even a mildly annoying sidekick to point you in the right direction.

It’s the depth and flawless execution of this vision, matched only by Capybyra Games’ majestic Superbrothers: Swords and Swocery, that makes Year Walk something of a rare treasure within the realms of iOS gaming. It’s a simple, beautiful, if sometimes confusing puzzler, whose original premise and disturbing atmosphere will linger in your mind long after its brilliantly suggestive end-sequence.

The graphics may not be of the same caliber of other AAA titles, and the story may falter from time to time, but those are paltry excuses not to experience one of the best current generation games around.

Ultimately, Final Fantasy IV successfully proves that remakes can be an honest business.

Xbox Live is where Full Auto really comes into its own. Without access to Microsoft’s online world this title becomes more like Half or even Quarter Auto, such is the rather uneventful single player mode or the glaringly overlooked multiplayer.

Team play innovations, graphical supremacy and the thundering roar of enemy jets combined with persistent stats all work together to really put you There. There being any one of the varied, immaculately crafted maps, each available in 16, 32 and 64 player sizes.

The real jewel shining within Virtua Tennis: World Tour is the multiplayer, via a wireless connection. Remember coming home from the pub with 3 drunken mates, loading up the tennis on the PS2 and playing until you passed out? Just imagine sitting, well, anywhere really, drunk or sober, with 3 mates within a few metres of each other, playing tennis. Insane? Absolutely! Fun? Hell yeah!

Superb storytelling, a very human cast, and visuals that will change your life, there is nothing to stop anyone from enjoying what this adventure has to offer.

At $3, Rayman Jungle Run hits a nice middle ground in terms of price, but it's the quality of its content that makes this an invaluable gem.

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes is a superb title that offers players a deep campaign, addictive turn-based gameplay and a multiplayer suite that only makes one misstep.

With an engaging story, impressive presentation and voice acting, and a variety of multiplayer game modes, Conviction has a lot of quality worth experiencing.

To take a game that was supposedly complete and yet seamlessly expand it in such a way is laudable, and overall, this is a bravura performance.

It may not be for hardcore fans of the series who are attuned to a particular playstyle, but for everyone else DmC: Devil May Cry is a highly accomplished character action game with a lot to love. It’s a different type of game than its predecessors but one that’s wholly successful at what it does, bringing relevancy back to the Devil May Cry name.

Without a doubt, FF7 is one of the top Final Fantasy games out there. It is also one of the best RPG adventures of all time.

You know what the weird thing is? I hate RPGs with a passion. Yet there’s something about this game that just works.

Its Story mode is distinctly improved, brought together by a plot which is well acted out and never ceases to amuse. The Arcade component returns with more refinements and online play, cleverly engineered to reduce undue frustration.

The vastly improved graphics are a joy to behold, the new punishment stations add a dimension to gameplay and the various modes will keep you playing 'til doomsday and beyond. It's almost perfect atmosphere-wise, and I could not have wished for anything more.

A port that respects its platform and audience, and was clearly crafted as carefully as possible.

With the improved visuals, increased song count and the crucial addition of friend-bating online leaderboards, the 360 version is the best yet.

Picross DS isn't really a traditional video game. Despite this, if you like puzzle games, Picross DS is one of the best non-games you can pick up.

With the added bells and whistles of achievements and an online leader board it's an attractive offer for Sonic fans and people interested in platformers alike.

It has the right blend of intense gameplay, an intricate place to explore, several hours of gameplay, a great selection of 80’s era music, a wonderful (if not a little cliched) story, and one of the most memorable antiheroes to ever set foot on the gaming scene.