As a Fire Emblem newbie, then, I’m now a fully-fledged convert. Intelligent Systems has never shown a weakness in its strategical prowess, but the fact it also has strong storytelling and characterisation chops came as a pleasant, if not entirely unexpected, treat.

While it lives in danger of being filed away in that section of your brain that stores vague memories of forgotten train timetables, it's a surprisingly clever game that deserves to be played.

Like the best puzzle games, it has a compulsive quality that makes you feel like a genius whenever you work it out.

The core gameplay is solid and the online functionality is excellent, but there is a distinct lack of content compared to other golf games on the market.

This is not gaming perfection or a must have title that will be remembered for decades, but if you like war romps, and you long for the feel of Frontline or Underground, pick up this brilliant war game.

If there's one thing Saints Row does brilliantly, though, it's explosions. Cars literally get blown apart and come crashing back down with debris flying all over the place.

Unplugged manages to bring the band experience to the PSP in a way that works for the system and is highly addictive to boot. The lack of multiplayer is disappointing and we'd have preferred a few more tracks, but for finger tapping fun on the move this comes highly recommended.

Ninja Blade has no right to be as entertaining as it is. It's nowhere near as accomplished as the genre's heavyweights, but anyone able to see it as the roller-coaster ride it is should have a great time.

The key is that you can get a hell of a lot of enjoyment out of Civ Rev without getting completely bogged down by the game's statistics.

Here is a package that represents exceptional value. There's little here to convert non-believers, but then this game is not for them. This is one for the fans, and few who buy it will be left unsatisfied by how the story - their story - ends.

Let's face it: it's unlikely you're going to pick this up instead of FIFA 11, but as an alternative to play when football isn't on your brain, this does the job very well indeed.

While it won't be for everyone, Ninja does exactly what it set out to, with style and humour to boot.

Bionic Commando will frustrate many gamers, but get past the initial swinging learning curve and you'll find a highly entertaining action game that tries to do something a bit different.

With a cast of well-realised characters, and a story that captivates from start-to-finish, Subsurface Circular's robot mystery will have your attention from the moment the train leaves the station.

Soma's slowly-unfolding story, and the choices you live with, make the experience one that will stay with you for some time, the ending hitting all the right notes.

The PSP is a great platform for the SRPG genre, with games such as Final Fantasy: War of the Lions and the Disgaea series being shining examples. Valkyria Chronicles II is - dare I say it - the best of the bunch, and a truly fantastic PSP game in its own right.

The big question hanging over Euro 2008 is if it's worth its price tag, given that it's essential a tweaked FIFA 08 and FIFA 09 is only a few months away? The core gameplay has been tweaked enough to make FIFA 08 feel slightly dated, but chances are FIFA 09 will improve on this even further.

The developer, Insomniac Games, has a similar storytelling confidence to that of Naughty Dog—a natural cinematic ease, bolstered by money and technology, which gives equal weight to ground-level struggles as to those beyond the rooftops.

Spore: Creature Creator tells me a few things: creating new species is great fun, creation tools can be simple yet deep, people will always make the rudest things possible, and Spore is going to be a massively popular PC release.

For hardcore Skate players the new moves, altered city and new features (getting off your board, moving objects) will make Skate 2 essential, but at the same time perhaps not as big a leap over the original as they'd have liked. For everyone else, if you've got time to kill and fancy yourself as the next Tony Hawk, Skate 2 is well worth it. It's hard and often punishing to the point of frustration, but the rewards make up for all the effort.

In an age where most developers are reaching out to embrace casual gamers, ArmA II is something of a refreshing exception. It is unashamedly ambitious in its design and execution, embracing rich complexity at the expense of accessibility.

While the game is not a massive departure from Sonic Adventure, and at £30 it's a tad expensive for the play-time you get, if you're new to the series on DS or love all things Sonic, we heartily recommend it. One of the best games on the system.

It's certainly lacking in the presentation department and features the odd bug and control issue, but snooker fans will still find an awful lot to enjoy. Alone, online or on the same console with a friend, there's months of entertainment to be found here, even if it isn't really a next-gen experience.

On one hand you've got a fiendishly hard single-player game that taxes the mind as much as the reflexes, and on the other there's a more considered two-player game with a slower pace and more tactical play.

Somehow, against the odds, Guitar Hero: Live has given life back to a series thought long dead. I laughed like a pissed hyena when it was announced, but Freestyle has achieved something close to excellence here.

If you enjoy shooters then you absolutely must experience Vanquish; just know that you're not going to be getting much more than a weekend's play unless you get addicted to high scores and challenges.

Graphically light years ahead of everything else in the turn-based genre and is easily on a par with the best looking real-time strategy games, such as "Dawn of War."

The Coalition has slightly fiddled with the formula, and whilst some adjustments need to be refined for future entries, Gears 5 is ultimately the gorgeous third-person shooter you want it to be.

Things like the lack of online co-op are undoubtedly more prevalent with each iteration, but Lego Lord of the Rings is still a huge success that's wonderfully adorable and an absolute delight to play.

If you enjoy shooters then you absolutely must experience Vanquish; just know that you're not going to be getting much more than a weekend's play unless you get addicted to high scores and challenges.

Dragon’s Dogma 2's commitment to unscripted monster hunts, visceral combat, and interlinked systems guarantees a story lurking around every corner. By trading modern guardrails for know-it-all handmade companions, it entrusts you with the 'venture' in action-adventure. But weak quests and animation jitters hold it back from excellence.

With Halo Infinite, 343 Industries seems to want to break the cycle and start afresh. The irony is that it has done so by drawing closer to the past.

FIFA 18 is the best FIFA game in years. There are some obvious flaws — some of which are more frustrating than others — but as a complete package, the series is making progress, once again.

The wonderfully designed characters and intriguing plot do just enough to elevate NIER above much of what is coming out of Japan these days. It is, in many ways, the kind of game critics of the Japanese RPG have been calling for: different, fresh, and in parts distinctly un-JRPG. Not all of it works, but it's a commendable effort, and a memorable experience.

It's a solid FPS, with moments of brilliance and some top notch multiplayer modes. It isn't the system seller it could have been though. The campaign is the biggest offender, switching between mediocre and spectacular far too regularly, as does the presentation. The storyline and characters once again fall flat, with Insomniac failing to build anything to really care about into a sci-fi premise that has an awful lot of potential.

A very impressive new slice of Dishonored. With Daud's story left on a cliffhanger, we hope Arkane keeps up this form with the next installment.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey sees the franchise at its strongest and most ambitious yet. With a compelling story, solid RPG mechanics, and heaps of content to soak up, you'll be spending months immersed in its sprawling Greek sandbox.

Minor modifications to Pac-Man's basic gameplay mechanics have resulted in a new pace and intensity that the original lacked.

It’s maybe not as thrilling as the first time you goof about with the animals in an Animal Crossing, a bit like how you never forget your first Katamari, and if you remained unconvinced before you’re not going to change your mind now, but New Leaf is still more fun, more engaging, and will last you longer than pretty much everything that’ll come out this year.

Super Hexagon is hard enough to infuriate, but its competent design makes it inviting as well. This game will invite you to have one more try (taking less than a second to restart), and it'll invite you to immerse yourself and play instinctively too: for a game like this, that's the greatest invitation of all.

Though imperfect and moored to indelible design traditions and gameplay rituals, Assassin's Creed Shadows fizzes with style, intention, and detail, curating the best parts of the series into a confident and deeply enjoyable journey through feudal Japan.

Road Trip is the best snowboarding game we've played in a long while (at least since 2005's Amped 3). It's better than Shaun White on 360 and PS3, too. It's no SSX, or 1080, but it's about as good as it gets for virtual versions of the sport these days.

Providing you can find yourself a dark and secluded enough place to play it, Dark Mirror is the first great shooter for the PSP and, despite its lack of personality and unremarkable story, arguably one the most consistently enjoyable genre entries of the past year.

The whole adventure is bonkers from start to finish, and it's all the better for it. Rabbids Go Home won't be held up alongside true genre classics, but it's one of the best Wii games released this year and is sure to put a smile on your face.

The Bradwell Conspiracy is a quiet exploration of resistance under capitalism, and the repercussions of a 'better' world. The environments are extravagantly detailed and the puzzles become increasingly intricate, towards a denouement that's shocking yet grounded in our own experiences.

Guitar hero 3 should most definitely be praised - for its almost entirely original recording song list, for its attempts to introduce something new into a near perfect formula, and for picking up where Harmonix left off effortlessly. The songs are diverse, hard-rocking and challenging, but in all honesty, these new tracks are the most exciting new thing about GH3.

As a new franchise it does so many things right and should find a place for itself in a massively crowded market. If War was a more engaging character and the combat more refined, Darksiders would stand as one of the contenders for game of the year.

The big question hanging over Euro 2008 is if it's worth its price tag, given that it's essential a tweaked FIFA 08 and FIFA 09 is only a few months away? The core gameplay has been tweaked enough to make FIFA 08 feel slightly dated, but chances are FIFA 09 will improve on this even further.

In an industry that moves forward with such pace, it's refreshing to find a series that is content to stay right where it is.

This is where Stray succeeds. It offers us delectable opportunities to act out the behaviour that so bewilders us, in very celebration of that bewilderment.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a great looking title which should thrill younger gamers no end, particularly if they're fans of the film.

Look past Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s dull story and you’ll find spectacle and freedom lurking in its Na’vi customs and breathtaking ecosystems.

A game with visuals this simple really doesn't have any right to look this good. It might be a trickier experience than fans are used to, but it's still a joy to play. It's not as good as the previous two games, but at a budget price it's still a game few PSP owners will be disappointed by.

Reigns: Her Majesty manages to defy a lot of your expectations, and will keep adding more surprising cards into its deck as you play.

While all of these positives remain a huge plus, though, Tomb Raider still has plenty of flaws, the story being its biggest misstep. Incredibly obvious and packed full of cliches, you can't help but cringe at some of the dialogue as people speak to each other as if they were reciting a GCSE play. The Last of Us would laugh Tomb Raider out of the playground.

The vibrant, retro look reinforces the game's charm even further.

A stunning looking, slick and polished FPS that every competitive PS3 gamer should add to their collection.

The Civilization series is one of the biggest names in strategy for a very good reason, and Beyond Earth adds some wonderful ideas on top of all that, but the underlying systems have remained largely untouched.

Telltale’s entry to The Expanse feels like an obvious move. A world rife with conflict, character and violence is reimagined through the snarky and laser-focused lens of Camina Drummer - and it’s brimming with life and excitement. This carefully spun narrative buries the arbitrary action gameplay, and is totally worth the few hours you’ll need spare to sink this game.

It's easy to lump all military online shooters together and cast them aside if they're not your bag, but going back into the Battlefield is as rewarding an experience as I've had online this silly season.

FC 25 is the first genuinely good FC game in years. A complete tactical overhaul underpins the game’s quality, with sweeping and much-needed changes to Career Mode backing it up, unfortunately, somewhat at the expense of Clubs and Ultimate Team.

Despite the game's myriad achievements, Dishonored never really rises up to the greatness of its potential. Arkane Studios' effort isn't quite as clever as it needs to be: it doesn't really build up to anything momentous, or have anything special to say, and it's particularly galling to see a world that's been so painstakingly created not live up to its potential when it comes to narrative and context.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale is bound to the template set forth by The Legend of Zelda, but, rather than offering reflexive glibness, or inking the affair with irony, its critique wraps warmly around its subject, like a scarf.

While some of the antiquated trappings of open world games from years gone-by are present, Spider-Man manages to remain a delight through great acting performances, a compelling story, terrific combat, and joyous swinging.

College Football 25 is exactly the return to the series that fans will have wanted. The gameplay is solid, and sets itself apart from Madden in a way that rewards dedicated players, and the Dynasty mode will alone will keep you engaged endlessly. A lack of depth in the other modes and some fiddly UI pull the experience down a bit, but never by enough to hinder what the game does best.

Combining simple magic tricks with the DS is a great idea and young kids will get a real thrill out of performing in front of their friends.

Even with a number of sloppy audio problems and an overall game that feels strikingly similar to Top Spin on the Xbox, it's still hugely addictive.

It’s a beautiful, gritty and spectacular strategy game, and while it doesn’t do much particularly new, it doesn’t have to.

Unbelievably fun once you settle in to the drift-focussed arcade racing, and at 800 MS Points/£7.99 it feels like good value for money, but it's not the perfect version of the game we hoped it would be.

Just Cause 2 is a gorgeous, fun, rollercoaster of a game. It's far from perfect, but its best qualities shine through, leaving the lacklustre gunplay as more of a mildly unpleasant aftertaste than a meal ruining disaster.

Need For Speed: Shift is a brilliant new start for the franchise and has clearly been built by a team that loves racing.

The subtle improvements are almost invisible to an untrained eye, but F1 nuts will find immeasurable satisfaction in taming and tuning this year's cars to performance perfection.

Assault Horizon can be a frustrating experience at times, but when things are going to plan - when you've waited to the very last second to pull off an evasive manoeuvre or taken out two bogeys at once with a few well placed missiles - you'll be left with an intense feeling of satisfaction.

We'd have liked the editing interface to be more intuitive and the tutorials to hold us by the hand more tightly, but Blast Works isn't really for the masses. It's a hard game designed for shmup fans who want to show other players what they're capable of.

The core driving is never anything but exhilarating, visually it's almost flawless and the Autolog features are genre leading. There's still something missing, though. While the high-speed pursuits are up there with the best gaming experiences of the year, the game needs more than that: car tuning, a resemblance of a story - complete with cheesy acting - and a reason to explore the open world.

Despite being less than perfect technically, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is easy to recommend. It's the best way to experience two great titles if you don't have a gaming PC, has more (good) content than most people will ever play and features new local multiplayer support.

PES 2013 manages to do something only the best arcade experiences achieve. It offers playability to those who want to dip their toes in and hardcore techniques for the serious gamer.

Assault Horizon can be a frustrating experience at times, but when things are going to plan - when you've waited to the very last second to pull off an evasive manoeuvre or taken out two bogeys at once with a few well placed missiles - you'll be left with an intense feeling of satisfaction.

It will please fans of all things Japanese the most and probably alienate others, but there's something about TWEWY that makes it just a little bit special.

Finding matches and dating is complicated enough to need effort and finesse on your part. While the look and UI weren't designed for console, this campy dating sim will leave you both satisfied and wanting more. That's what she said.

An outstanding little game, and one that's well suited to the handheld. I fully intend to while away many hours of travelling engrossed in this little gem, and I can heartily recommend it to puzzle game fans everywhere as an example of what video games can be when someone puts a little thought into trying to come up with something original as opposed to churning out just another sequel or licence.

The snowboarding itself is solid, if lacking some of the skill required in previous titles, but it's everything surrounding it - RiderNet, Geo Tags and Harmony - that make the game such an involving experience. Its connected features take the genre to the logical next step, setting the benchmark for future extreme sports titles to follow.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more customization, and it's unfortunate that the grab tricks got the shaft this time around, but those minor blemishes hardly prevent SSX Blur from being one of the Wii's first must-have titles of the year.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a great looking title which should thrill younger gamers no end, particularly if they're fans of the film.

It's a confident, assured, and rather more intelligent game than it first appears, and a strong end to the series.

Bar the jarring Action Camera, there's not a lot wrong with Hell's Highway. Rather, there's a lot good with it. It's an intelligent game made by adults for adults.

Hopefully the quality of Rayman Jungle Run will herald a wave of developers rethinking how to transition their titles to mobile, hopefully making it so we can all live in a world free of dodgy virtual d-pads. I imagine, though, that natural simplicity and finesse of Rayman Jungle Run will just lead to loads more games that are a lot like Rayman Jungle Run.

If it gets patched out, then PES 2015 will go from being the best football game of this generation to one of the all-time greats. Until then it'll be agonisingly short.

While far from revolutionary it is a solid and balanced football game on a handheld generally lacking in technical muscle and raw power.

It’s no doubt the most authentic. The biggest problem is how inaccessible it is. As a Brit who understands how the sport works, and who played Madden back in 2000, the game can still be a mind-bending, frustrating exercise in trial and error.

SoulCalibur VI is an addictive and satisfying fighter, and more importantly the strongest the series has been in years.

Buzz! Quiz TV isn't quite the brilliant PS3 debut we wanted it to be, but it's still one of the best quiz games on the market. Its superb production values and impressive online functionality, including user created quizzes, make it a must own for anyone who watches quiz shows on a regular basis or anyone who fancies themselves as a bit of an egghead.

This is a game of strict and deflating challenges, then, and while Spelunky is a fine addition to the growing library of masochistic titles it doesn't always quite manage to elicit the right response from its players. There are occasional moments of intense euphoria to be found here, but all too often Spelunky just makes you feel crap.

It's also a far smarter game in terms of presentation, with Triumph able to bring the game world into the modern era very successfully.

It's got a great look and can be played without causing too much stress. The DS is the perfect console for casual gaming and Contact fits that bill perfectly.

The changes are quite slight, but the putting is vastly improved and the new features make for a better game than before, so if you like the sound of those you won't be disappointed.

With some impressive combat mechanics, an excellent game world, some of the most disturbing enemies ever seen and tight production values, Dante's Inferno delivers the goods.

LEGO Batman 3 starts slow and then gets a lot better, and then overwhelms with so much content it's hard to be disappointed.