Despite its shortcomings – even the game-stopper bugs – it simulates almost perfectly the experiences of a typical schoolchild, despite being ridiculously over-the-top in almost every manner.

Even with Scenario Mode taking up far too much time and effort, Tekken 6 is a pleasurable gaming experience and the fighting mechanics are as polished as you could hope.

Ultimately, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is a decent overall package that succeeds more due to the remastering of quiet classic Butcher Bay than the somewhat disappointing more recent episode Dark Athena.

There's really only one word to describe Sid Meier's Pirates! and that's 'charming'. The excellent presentation, clever gameplay design and exquisite pacing mark it out as a unique and well thought out game.

One of the more challenging and satisfying titles I've played all year. It cleverly side-steps the tower-defense bottle neck by throwing things into reverse, creating a wholly unique tactical-strategy experience.

It's a shame the additions to Assassin's Creed: Revelations' single player aren't as impactful as before. Maybe it was inevitable considering the yearly release cycle, but the majority of its improvements are incremental at best, while the rest are disappointingly substandard.

Beyond the surface, you'll find a set of imaginative and extremely well-developed ports of games that did very well in other countries, but didn't get the recognition in this part of the world that they deserved.

Each choice feels incredibly meaningful because it affects everything.

It’s nothing short of joyous, then, that Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 is so much more than a lazily thrown together update of last year’s game.

It’s one of the best single-player games on the DS. Though the story and characters are terrible, it’ll take you several hours to complete the main quest. That aside, you’ll have hundreds of secondary quests, tons of jobs to master, and massive collection of items and abilities to acquire.

It's the mission design that proves most disappointing. Its scale is highly ambitious but Dead Island's population of living dead aren't enough to compensate for its barren lack of variety and an increasingly tedious structure.

Despite the surprising replayability, the amazing brutality of the kills, and the excellent targeting system, Mark of Kri is “only” an above-average game. The blandness of the levels really lessens the worthiness of brave Rau’s quest.

Despite its flaws the platforming and cover-based shooting are on par with its console peers. There is fun to be had with Uncharted: Golden Abyss, regardless of how badly it fumbles with its new technology.

A fun game, a mess, for sure, but a good mess. While it never reaches the scares of the original, or the compelling story and characters, it's still a rollercoaster ride of butchery, blood and out and out violence - violence that never lets up.

The feeling is that Blood Dragon is a straight-to-VHS sequel that occasionally manages to top its blockbuster equivalent due in large part to a sharp wit and an enthusiastic execution on a popular nostalgia.

Simply put, it's consistently fun, never taking itself too seriously, and instead focusing on how enjoyable the act of driving can be when you throw in a supernatural curveball.

Pacific Assault will turn heads because of its fancy graphics and original settings, but inevitably it’ll frustrate you beyond belief for a few game ruining missions.

4A Games’ followup to the remarkable Metro 2033 doesn’t quite hit the high watermark of its predecessor. At times the story and experience feel too constricted and too safe in comparison, but 4A eventually hits the perfect balance of action and atmosphere.

Lights off and headphones on is a must. Allow yourself to fall deep in Red Barrels’ asylum and the reward is a frightening descent into the bowels of man’s search for greatness. The sound design is exceptional – even more so when considering this is a lower budget production – and the weight of the world is tight.

From Dust has a simple concept, executed exceptionally well. It's almost worth the price of entry to see the physics alone, but there's plenty more beyond that to make a purchase worthwhile.

It might lack the brisk sense of mystery that propelled the first half of Daud’s story, but it ends on a far more satisfying and conclusive note that both expands upon the possibilities of the universe and sheds new light onto the events of the main game.

How well this game has aged is truly a testament to the series. It’s only regrettable that we may never get a true sequel to one of the most iconic entries in gaming history.

Renegade Ops is a fairly conservative game, in terms of scope and originality; where it succeeds is in its execution of a well-worn game type and by transporting its players back to a simpler time.

If you’re looking for a fair value and a unique take on two stagnant genres, you can’t do much better than Darwinia+.

The Darkness II is a worthy successor, even if it isn't any better than the original. It takes a story that was already well developed and continues it in stellar form, doing justice enough.

The serious lack of replay value in Freedom Fighters is detrimental, but this is still one of the most exciting action games of recent memory. The level design is impeccable, the storyline is enjoyable, and the strategy elements make this game stand out from the rest of the pack.

It has a learning curve, it rewards those that think a round ahead and has piped my interest in the physical product. Bravo.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is a step in the right direction for flight-sims on consoles. It’s accessible for both newcomers and hardened veterans alike, and its variety of locales and mission types should hold your attention for a good few hours at least.

God of War III introduced the scale and spectacle capable on modern hardware with a massive budget, but without the same wads of cash and sense of purpose Ascension feels like a step back. A safe bet that’s simply going through the motions, padding out the end of the PlayStation 3s lifespan with one last hurrah for its angriest protagonist.

Despite Buzz! Quiz TV’s shortcomings it is a very competent game. It’s not often that a title can appeal to everybody and for it to be easily played by everybody.

PixelJunk Eden is one of the best downloadable games on the PlayStation 3. The gameplay and controls are easy to get a hold of, and once you master the different gameplay techniques you’ll be gliding through the gardens with ease.

Regardless if you choose to make the jump to the Arcade Edition or not, Street Fighter IV is always worth playing.

Strange Journey does its own thing, but boy, does it do it well. If you're looking for an interesting challenge that will keep you rapt from start to finish, this is one adventure you won't want to miss.

Imagine a free-roaming King Kong game, with a main plot line that you can ignore as you run through the jungle, beating the piss out of dinosaurs with tree trunks and rocks. That would have been awesome. Instead, we were given this six to eight hour snooze fest.

If you’d rather play a whimsical, self-deprecating adventure that makes no assumptions and might just be quietly shaping the genre to come, give Trine a shot - it absolutely deserves your attention.

The main story can be completed in a fraction of the time you'll actually end up devoting to the world, and ironically, it's one of the few sandbox games whose sidequests offer substantial rewards. Thus, don't be put off by Sleeping Dogs' troubled development for it's a meaty package you'll struggle to put down. And best of all, it's darn good fun.

The overall approach is fairly simple, but the level design is well thought out and offers a substantial challenge for gamers of all ages. It’s also a meaty package, presenting players with a sizeable single-player experience and both single and multi-card, multiplayer gameplay. Ninjatown weighs in as: highly recommended.

As a benchmark the game shows a lot of promise for the full release which will have significantly more of everything, and hopefully irons out the creases, but as a game it's just disappointing.

Natural Selection 2 is unquestionably a unique title, but its bar to entry is incredibly high for the average FPS player. For the hardcore strategist, it has its appeal, but its complexity severely limits the enjoyment in matches that aren’t significantly populated by experts at the game.

Fable III attempts to radically reinvent the franchise, a reinvention that fans neither wanted nor asked for. Instead of following on the success of the previous entries, Fable III tries to be something other than it is, but I don't think the developers were even sure what this is supposed to be.

Between Rondo of Blood, its beautiful 3D remake and its legendary sequel, there's a lot of quality gaming here.

Need for Speed: Rivals is nothing if not ridiculously dumb fun, but that just makes its multiplayer failings all the more disappointing.

For any PS3 owners craving a game of pinball on the system, this is currently the best (and only) choice, that is if the much older but more dependable likes of Pinball Illusions don’t appeal.

There are still some issues with hideously long loading times and certain impracticalities, particularly when putting survivors into the safe room, but the game design presents an oddly satisfying change from the norm that can be easy to love and hate at the same time.

There’s nothing spectacular about what Virtua Tennis 3 has to offer, it’s very much a case of déjà vu throughout but the game is so accessible and so much fun to play that it doesn’t matter.

Global Offensive is pure Counter-Strike. Hidden Path have made an inoffensive compromise between the best parts of the old versions. Whether it'll be the definitive thing is yet to be seen. However, it's an all-around decent FPS and is likely the most necessary one on PSN.

The 'just one more go' addictiveness is still there. Knowing that, if it wasn't for the hand cramp, you could do better, right? It just requires a little quicker thinking, better planning, more accuracy, risk taking.

Overall it's a very well-developed package with decent offline play and a great overall purchase, and is well worth a buy at the current cheap prices you can pick it up for.

It’s not that SSX On Tour is a bad game. It’s just that the game attempts to improve upon a gameplay formula that doesn’t necessarily need it.

At first glance the lack of direction appears to be a weakness, but in actuality Legendary Heroes requires you to assist it, to give it the direction it needs.

It certainly isn’t greatly superior to its predecessor, but it is an overall better experience and is easily one of the best RPGs on the PS3. I wait patiently for the inevitable third demolition of my home.

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.

The fact that you can hit a decent round without having to rely considerably on spin or other advanced techniques means that new 'uns to the sport can almost pick up and play Links, whereas veterans can revel in more realistic gameplay than that of the competition, and feel right at home going after the number one spot on Xbox Live, whilst handing out helpful tips and strategies to people like me.

Some practical design choices, along with a host of inspired gameplay ideas, make this a title well worth checking out. There are a ton of missions and a local multiplayer option for when the single-player journey comes to an end.

With some more selective content editing and a more carefully crafted balance, 38 Studios could have something unbelievable in their hands. For now, Amalur is an interesting proof of concept, and one to watch.

Papa Sangre is survival-horror, where you're cast into the land of the dead, using 360 degree sound to avoid creatures, save lost souls and avoid being torn apart; intense.

To ignore it for avoiding standard conventions would be a mistake. Put any preconceptions aside and let Ed Key and David Kanaga’s work take you in.

When it plays a game of football so streamlined, so natural - so real, it’s hard to not feel justified in handing over more hard earned money to a company who seem to be learning from past mistakes.

Lazy Raiders is totally worth a try for fans of strange facial hair, Avatar haters, and gamers wondering what Super Monkey Ball on a tight budget looks like.

If you are in the market for a portable brawler, consider this one of the best options currently available.

The iPhone port is far from perfect, but it's Secret of Mana. You can do much worse.

The floodgates have finally been opened and we are starting to see what the console is good for.

Even though many of these titles can be hunted down for free online or downloaded for a small wedge of cash, Sega have rounded up their proudest moments and presented them to a willing audience who can now appreciate the glory days of the mega-company.

A mechanically solid, visually luxuriant package and one of the strongest results of Steam Greenlight so far.

If you played Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS these new features probably aren’t enough to make you want to pick it up again, and they shouldn’t be. This is a game meant for new players, especially those disillusioned with the series’ recent direction.

The "endless running" genre consists of many excellent titles, with the likes of Tiny Wings, DoodleJump and Grim Joggers receiving high acclaim. Temple Run goes above and beyond, offering gamers a superb, addictive experience throughout.

Though not flawless, Capsized combines a unique style with classic gameplay to produce a unique and memorable experience.

The whole production feels like it could do with a little more depth - outside of the narrative, it feels like there's nothing going on below the surface - but this is still a fun, awe-inspiring and lavish eight hours of game that delivers plenty of its own style and flavour and is a fine addition to a busy genre.

Although the game has minor flaws, it is largely an exciting racer that offers huge thrills and spills.

Sega have succeeded in adding just enough tweaks and extras to convert the unconvinced.

Its premise of acrobatic janitors versus the forces of dust and debris is ridiculous, barely managing to tie together a series of levels that demand complete mastery to overcome. Only the strongest of will can hope to see their way to the end of this game.

This is still a thrilling shooter with a refreshing fondness for its old school roots, but it’s the characters, storytelling and the horrifying themes it explores – ambitions that far exceed anyone’s expectations – that makes it such a memorable experience.

There’s no compelling reason to download this episode by itself—and this limp-wristed return to horror leaves a lot to be desired.

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

There are numerous moments of creative genius, which are all too rare in today’s cookie cutter games. The moving music, clever character designs and topnotch production values overshadow some of the gameplay elements, but it never stops the game from being fun.

If you don’t like The Path, then you only spent ten dollars. And if you do like it, then it could well be one of your favorite games of the year.

If you want to relive the good old days of the pinball era, try tracking down a copy of this game. And if you're itching to smack around a few more zombies, look no further than Pinball of the Dead.

But despite its benefits, the plot is bland, predictable, and utterly cliche. By limiting Samus in such a nonsensical way, the game goes against everything the series is about. The exploration aspects are severely limited, and the linear designs are watered down versions of the stuff you'd find in the previous games.

The game's a well-oiled, spit-polished masterpiece of casual gaming that needs to be on your iOS device.

I will easily endure the boring bits in a quest to unlock my now third favourite ship, from R-Type Leo. I will continue to work at Final's most elusive ending and its more elusive unlockable campaign 'awards'. Indeed, after ten hours of play, there's still plenty of game left.

s much as I really do want to love this title, even with arena mode, I just can’t help but feel completely bored by it.

Nobody is suggesting that such a marriage of styles and boundary pushing storytelling shouldn’t be attempted in gaming, and in that Hell’s Highway is incredibly brave, but arguably any effort to be both an enjoyable first person shooter and stony-faced anti-war tale is doomed from the outset. Something must be compromised, it’s just a shame that in this case it happens to be the whole package.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and I feel like it could be forgotten in the winter rush, but Nuts & Bolts is an excellent game - and original as well, even for a sequel.

This is a very well realised first attempt by EA and one that won't require much tweaking should there be any subsequent additions to the series.

Regardless of its flaws, Scribblenauts is a fine title. It may be over-hyped, but it’s still worth playing.

Dead or Alive: Dimensions has some great things going for it, but neglects everything else.

Whilst the tediously poor storyline, rather linear levels and repetitive gameplay stop this latest release from reaching triple-A status, it’s certainly something you should see the year in with as despite the glaring faults, hanging from a grapple hook whilst blasting away with a machine gun is something every gamer should sample.

The Knife of Dunwall can be finished quickly, in a couple of hours, but this isn’t how Dishonored is intended to be experienced. Players who take their time and thoroughly investigate each location will find over six hours of enchanting gameplay to sink their blade into.

An extremely engrossing, in-depth civilisation and military game with simple yet effective visuals and very smooth gameplay.

The match engine is a return to form and it feels somewhat relieving knowing I’ll have a football game to enjoy this year, but the entire thing looks thrown together and basic when compared to what a certain other developer is getting out of the same development kit.

This unpredictable tale will have players engaged until the excellent finale.

A fast-moving experience that will be quickly finished by even the most novice gamers. I was able to get through the game in about seven hours and that's including the time I spent on side-quests (several completed to 100%).

As an online game my apprehension is that if friends can't play together without hassle then soon they won't bother.

Although Worms Reloaded has its share of rare but notable problems, it is without a doubt the pinnacle of the franchise, the single best and most complete version of Worms to date.

One the best turn-based strategy RPG I’ve ever played. It combines so many great elements to come together to create a very friendly game that anyone can enjoy.

It's great to have an old friend back in the spotlight where it belongs.

It certainly won’t grab your eye like the aesthetic found in echochrome, but it’s far more content to play things safe and be a ton more fun.

There is one ball that this game dropped, one feature that is very missed from the whole experience: co-op.