A dark mix of revealing narrative and gun-toting, sword-swinging, demon slaying action that works well with a result that's certainly satisfying.

It does trip up on the lack of impact that a connect punch delivers, and the obvious inclusion of health/stamina bars, but for gamers not yet tainted by the phenomenal experience of Round 3 on Xbox 360, this won't be something that they'll worry about.

Chocked full of insane action and plenty of creative opportunities, and knows that ultimately it's all about having fun. It's a brash, no-brainer experience that gives everything you want from a sandbox game, but lets make sure the combat ramps up a notch in the next title.

It's challenging and immersing (especially if you use the voice communicator) and at the exceptional price tag of £19.99, you really can't go wrong.

Despite our concerns over the lack of a full 3D engine, Sim City 4 is a beautiful game to behold.

The graphics are fresh and the water effects are fantastic. You’ll find it hard to get bored of this title.

Soccer Slam has achieved a very good consistent cartoon style with some very impressive animation that accentuates the excellent characterisation and coupled with the audio provides a memorable experience.

Friends are the key to the fun factor of San Francisco Rush 2049, so don't expect much if you play it alone.

There may be a balancing issue between the Story missions and the free-roaming fun of bounding across the environments, but Hulk is definitely the most impressive interpretation of a comic-book character's adventures yet.

Split/Second is an original concept made irksome by a lack of depth and highly questionable balancing in the gameplay. Nonetheless, we can't help but feel that there's a lot more mileage left in Blackrock's big idea.

Bulletstorm kerb-stomps the dominant FPS orthodoxy, replacing tired old conventions with fresh new mechanics. Its gorgeous sci-fi aesthetic and fluid ultraviolent action make the game almost as fun to watch as it is to play and, although it lacks adversarial deathmatches, Bulletstorm's Echoes and Anarchy modes significantly extend its appeal.

Improvements in the level of detail on offer from the damage modelling to the multi-layered audio, continue to present the game with ever greater realism, and no-one could ever accuse the developers of a lack of variety in the vehicles.

This is a fantastic well crafted adventure with an epic story and plenty of aspects to keep you busy for a long time indeed.

A game that fighter pilot wannabes will love, although it’s not quite as enthralling as perhaps it should be.

Very much in the same vein as last year's effort, Legends II manages to make further improvements especially with the introduction of online functionality though it still fails to offer the level of immersion that perhaps shoudl be expected of an RPG title.

The type of game that could only have come from an independent studio, Defcon presents a distinctive experience that captures the concept flawlessly. The lack of substance however sits at odds with the idea of a boxed release, and there is some questions as to whether there's enough long-term appeal to justify even the budget-price - one if it piques your curiosity.

Offers an intense, action packed experience that ties in a nice selection of varied gameplay aspects to ensure the game never gets tired.

It's both a genre leading racing sim and a mass market EA game at the same time, which is a particularly difficult balancing act to pull off. Shift is easily the best driving game so far this year and will certainly be in amongst the likes of Forza 3 (and possibly GT5, if it emerges) when the brake dust from 2009 settles.

With this fifth full installment in the series, Gran Turismo manages to hold onto its legacy of genre dominating driving sims, but only just. If and when Gran Turismo 6 arrives on the PS3, Polyphony Digital might have to look at bringing more innovation to the series if it wants to pull as far ahead of the chasing pack as it once was.

Rockstar have done exactly what you’d expect them do: break down the movie into it’s core elements, expand upon the origin story, add a range of side-missions that add an extra incentive to progress through the narrative, get the visual and audio ambience of the film, and throw in that special Rockstar polish.

Those who won't look at a game unless it's got big guns and lots of mindless goons to destroy will likely detest Fahrenheit and wonder what the fuss is all about; however those who'd like to glimpse how videogames can become an effective means to telling stories and interacting with them will find one of the surprising contenders for Game of the Year.

A top-notch expansion pack that Medieval fans will love. You get a major new campaign as well as lots of extras for "Medieval Total War" that substantially increases its life.

A really good beat-en-up that really absorbs players. Graphically the game is very well done, and the soundtracks enhance the whole hip-hop underground scene that the title is trying to represent and exaggerate.

With such an emphasis on tactical team play, the fact that additional inroads into the battlefields can't be achieved with - for instance - the strategic placement of an explosive charge on a wall leaves Quake Wars feel slightly dated around the edges.

Valkyrie Profile 2 is a hardcore gamer's game. With 2D gameplay reminiscent of numerous classics from days gone by and a general sense of sophistication and creativity, Square-Enix's latest provides plenty for fans of the original provided you can look past some of the questionable cuts.

Simply the greatest point-and-click adventure game to date, whilst it may seam a little strange at time hang on there you will be rewarded in the end.

One of the smartest and most informed ways we have seen in creating a realistic setting/atmosphere in a game and this offers so much more than you can possibly imagine.

Despite its Master Chief and Marcus Fenix guises, Vanquish is ultimately much more Japanese in its orientation than it is Westernised. Unlike MadWorld and Bayonetta though, it just lacks the poised gameplay balancing that could've made it a much more addictive experience.