LBP3 reaches new highs for the series by delivering some of the best levels and gameplay yet seen, but also disappoints with a fleeting campaign.

Occasionally ambitious but ultimately too afraid to deviate from the genre's well-worn formulas, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier feels like it's stuck in the past.

If you really want to play online though, or the game modes are important to you, the PlayStation 2 game is by far the better choice. This year Konami can just about be forgiven for short-changing Xbox 360 owners, but next year's game better be next-gen.

As it is, though, The Unfinished Swan is little more than a pretty picture.

Yes, the RTS genre has been seen on consoles in the past, but never to this level, and with this much polish.

There's plenty to do, with the core story missions and plenty of optional side activities making Prototype a game that you won't clock in a few sessions, and the upgrades and abilities are plentiful, but it just doesn't quite come together well enough to create a really great game.

A challenging and at times flawed experience - one that serves up plenty of frustration along with the rampant good times. Because no matter how hard you try or how carefully you plan your outings, you're almost certain to hit some kind of wall.

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.

A masterwork of atmosphere and environmental design, Alien: Isolation may be standing on the shoulders of giants, but it's also one of the few franchise games to do so that doesn't topple off disastrously.

It could have done with more franchise crossover moments, but Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is wonderful, warm and fantastic at making you feel clever. Cleverer than you actually are anyway.

It's packed full of features and is well worth a look for anyone wanting some racing thrills while out and about.

This is a game that'll stick in your brain by virtue of originality alone, then, but if Catherine can't take itself seriously then why should we?

House Flipper 2 takes the tedium of everyday chores and successfully turns it into a fun and deeply satisfying experience, with enough variety and modes to make it the ideal game for when you just need to kick back and relax.

Driver San Francisco could have been a one-trick pony, but it has managed to use that trick in a variety of clever and interesting ways, ensuring the driving gameplay never becomes tiresome or generic.

I certainly found more here to enjoy than I expected, and at times it's riveting stuff, but my interest frequently dwindled as turn-based fatigue rose.

Metal: Hellsinger merges rhythm, violence, and the fury-laden chugs of metal to create a unique kind of carnage that's a pleasure to conduct despite, at times, feeling repetitive.

Where Sackboy: A big Adventure proves most winsome isn’t in its play but in the surfeit of its surrounding glitter.

Fusion lives up to its name. Perhaps it wasn’t intended, but as a melding of the established template and something just new enough, RedLynx’s creation is a wonderful thing.

There's only so much the cute presentation can gloss over, meaning some serious changes will need to be made if the game is going to have any real legs.

It's not a watershed for the genre, nor is it a return to the franchise's glory days. This is a game for admirers (however grudging) of Final Fantasy XIII and JRPG fans in general.

Everything is a challenge, everything does something, and there's never a moment when you can't interact with the world around you in some way.

The recently released "ProStroke Golf" demonstrated how a more advanced control system can work on consoles, and playing Tiger Woods 07 does feel like a slight step back. At the same time, the controls have a simplicity to them that makes the game easy to play, and there is level of depth to the control and shot choice for the more serious players.

It isn’t that we miss the mists of Arcadia Bay specifically, or that we long to retread old ground; it’s the slow etching of stories, scattered with care.

Combine a thoroughly entertaining single-player campaign with a stunning and challenging time trial mode and you'll soon forget that you managed to run through the story in six hours or less. There's depth here that you'll only discover hours into time trialling a single stage, and as we said, no other game released this year comes close to being as cool.

It's one of those games that can quickly get stuck in your head if you let it.

It is addictive, intense and packed with detail.

I can't recommend Monolith's sequel highly enough. It might not have the jaw-dropping visuals to rival Killzone 2, but it's a hugely satisfying shooter that'll have you clinging onto that controller or mouse throughout its tension-filled campaign. If you like your combat meaty and with a solid dose of supernatural scares, there's every chance this will rank as one of your favourite games of 2009.

The single-player Career won't take all that long to complete, but with a hugely entertaining multiplayer mode both on and offline, there's a good chance you'll continue playing for a while after.

If you've been waiting for Ghostbusters 3 or simply a video game that does the classic series justice, Ghostbusters: The Video Game won't disappoint.

Elden Ring Nightreign is a multiplayer game for people who prefer single player games. It’s a celebration of the power of silent connection, of fleeting virtual bonds, of giddy celebratory gesturing between strangers, and of collective, gruelling perseverance. It's a fresh take on the steep challenge of the Souls formula that burrows into you, begging to be repeated. It delivers a frenzied high that’s quite unlike anything FromSoftware has produced so far.

Roll7 has certainly created something engaging, and I can easily see people completely losing themselves in OlliOlli. Personally, though, it fell more into endless runner territory for me. Definitely entertaining, but not something I can sacrifice hours of my life to.

DeathSpank's mishmash of genres is definitely entertaining at first, but it never manages to live up to its appealing concept. It's trying to combine the best parts of two beloved genres, but in doing so it creates a product that's not as good as either.

A sequel is definitely coming (it even says so in the game), and the foundation has been set for a strong series, but as a true contender to the FPS crown Prey falls a fair way short.

It may not pack the same shock and awe as its next-gen cousin (the visual concessions made during multiplayer and occasional bug smack of an engine cracking under pressure), but the top-drawer gameplay makes Battlefield 4 a deeply enjoyable title regardless of platform. As one of the best multiplayer games available on 360 and PS3, DICE’s shooter offers a delightfully destructive send-off to the current-generation.

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.

There are still a few too many gimmicks in Escalation for my tastes - Stockpile's garage doors are very much Escalation's useless ziplines - but there's plenty of variety on offer, and the quintet of new competitive maps will slot extremely nicely into the broader rotation.

If you are looking for a purist's hack and slash that will test you for months, go elsewhere, ideally to Ninja Gaiden Sigma. But if you want a thrilling and cinematic adventure that will give you ample opportunity to show off the muscle of your PlayStation 3 and provide a glimpse of the console's possible future, you could do far worse than pick up this big-budget epic.

Despite the way narrative has been re-structured and the combat made meatier, this sequel follows the old conventions of the genre too literally to develop an individuality beyond them. Two entries down the pipe, and Dragon Age is still experiencing the growing pains of a series that's more dedicated to studying fantasy games than developing its own personality in the genre.

Resident Evil 3 is a play for our imagination as much as our memory. It understands that the fear we felt long ago didn’t fade; it took root in our brains and mutated into myth. And this is what it might look like.

Greed Corp is a fantastic addition to XBLA and the PlayStation Store; a thoughtful and charming title that puts a unique spin on the board-game strategy.

Playing Kirby Air Riders is like learning a new language – it takes a lot of compromise, and it’s not for everyone. It’s those who master the basics who will soon find many new ways to approach each game mode, providing depth and replayability. If you meet Kirby Air Riders on its own terms, you will be rewarded with a gauntlet that’s bursting with thrills, depth, and charm.

Everything is a challenge, everything does something, and there's never a moment when you can't interact with the world around you in some way.

You could argue that Squadrons breaks no fresh ground, that it is merely the latest in a prized patch of genre; but the ground, fresh or otherwise, was left behind long ago, and being the latest is no bad thing.

Arctic Edge is a great achievement on the PSP. The developer has managed to maintain what made the first two games in the series so popular, yet resisted simply giving people a cut down version of what they've already played.

This is old-school gaming, with none of the modern day handholding we're used to, but it's jam-packed with gaming goodness. The campaign can be frustrating due to a lack of direction, but it's still full of great moments, and the multiplayer is as much fun as it ever was.

A solid effort that, in some ways, changes the Gears formula for the better. Whether it will be remembered as anything other than a stopgap is questionable, but small qualms aside, it's a good one.

Micro-transactions aside, NBA 2K25 is one of the best sports games to date. With its variety of game modes and stunning realism, it offers more than its predecessors. This game is a true delight for basketball fans, and if you're willing to overlook a couple of flaws, you're almost guaranteed to get hooked.

The additions and changes might not be a complete success, but the game's gentle rhythm and solid fundamentals are just as oddly compelling as they ever were.

It's addictive, well executed, has a degree of charm which is difficult to pin down and has a pulsing, electro soundtrack that'll leave you itching to hit the clubs.

Annihilation is more than a simple map pack, of course.

Tanglewood presents you with a beautiful world to platform and puzzle through, and delivers a potent rush of nostalgia, but it's merit is tied inseparably to its hardware, and risks gimmickry.

While the game insists on holding your hand a little too tightly and the time limits can cause a lot of unnecessary stress, de Blob 2 remains a solid platform game with an interesting mechanic at its core.

Special mention must go to the game's audio work, with the musical score through to the superb minion voices fitting the tone perfectly.

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.

It's a game that comes across more as GH with a different musical focus, rather than as a new IP in its own right. Band Hero is far from being a bad game, but somewhere along the line it seems the new franchise's focus became a little confused.

It might not have the jaw-dropping visuals to rival Killzone 2, but it's a hugely satisfying shooter that'll have you clinging onto that controller or mouse throughout its tension-filled campaign. If you like your combat meaty and with a solid dose of supernatural scares, there's every chance this will rank as one of your favourite games of 2009.

For gamers looking for something more substantial or impressive it has little to offer, but Spider-Man 3 DS betters the Wii, PS3 and 360 versions, without any need for their technical muscle and big-budget gloss.

Forget about the Nightmare sequences; just sink into the ambiance, furrow your brow over the great puzzles, and marvel at the beautiful bleakness of it all. If you've been looking for something genuinely engaging to play on your Wii, your search is at an end.

PES 2011 is a good game. It's the best version of PES I've played on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and it's a step in the right direction - but it isn't a FIFA beater.

F1 Manager 2023 improves on its predecessor in every way possible, with new driver development attributes, sprint races, more depth in car part development, more driver tactics, realistic tyre degradation, a whole new mode full of real-life scenarios, and more. The downtime between races is still a little dull, but it's finally a worthy pickup for every Formula One fan.

Settlers 7 is a fabulous game. It's unique, challenging, refreshing, and all sorts of beautiful.

F1 2013 is the franchise’s most complete, versatile and thoughtful iteration yet. Fans of the sport will lap up what is an extremely rewarding product. For everyone else, Codemasters’ lone residency atop the podium ensures the upgrade over last year’s game is minimal, especially if you don’t know the difference between Gerhard Berger and the Nurburgring’s fast-food stand.

Combine a thoroughly entertaining single-player campaign with a stunning and challenging time trial mode and you'll soon forget that you managed to run through the story in six hours or less. There's depth here that you'll only discover hours into time trialling a single stage, and as we said, no other game released this year comes close to being as cool.

I can't recommend Final Fight enough. It's the perfect port of a retro classic; the original game buckles under the pressure of the fan service that's been added to it. But it's also got online co-op, making it a hugely enjoyable beat-em-up even by modern day standards.

If you approach the game with the mentality that Charged Football is going to be football in the Mario universe you'll find a game that is hard to get on with. If you accept that the emphasis is on flashy moves and fun over skill and precision, you'll find a game that has a place in your collection, even if it's only brought out every now and again.

Digimon Story Time Stranger is a spirited, if occasionally ropey, JRPG adventure with buckets of heart and a sinewy monster taming system. Fans of the franchise will feel right at home amongst its luscious environments and intense set-piece battles. However, those wary of simplistic, earnest anime melodrama may find the narrative grating.

A strong return for The Walking Dead, and proves that Clementine was a fantastic choice for this season's protagonist.

The additions and changes might not be a complete success, but the game's gentle rhythm and solid fundamentals are just as oddly compelling as they ever were.

It's often gorgeous to look at and the story is worth experiencing, but the multiplayer is nothing more than a slight distraction and the lack of co-op is a missed opportunity. Bound in Blood is worth a look, but as a sequel it doesn't take the series on enough.

Detroit: Become Human wants to move you. It wants to elicit an emotional response through its story. The thing is, it really doesn't. The flowchart is a nice inclusion and adds some variance, but when the narrative is as cringey and ham-fisted as it is you won't want to play through it multiple times.

On the Wii, Shadow of the Templars: Director's Cut was a great game slightly marred by a few minor flaws; on the DS it's a great game that makes the best of its platform.

Doesn't quite live up to its Star Wars cousins, mainly due to the fact that Star Wars is simply a more memorable series, but it's still a brilliant adventure and great fun.

Sims 3 for console is the first time the franchise has been presented as a near-match to its PC counterpart.

Excellent occasionally, good in parts and downright dull in others, Yoshi's Woolly World is a disappointment.

As long as you're not offended by strong language and an extreme amount of blood (trust us, there's been nothing like this on any console before) Overkill should be added to your collection as soon as possible. For a lightgun shooter you'll get a great deal of time from the main campaigns, and there are plenty of unlockables and multiplayer modes to keep you coming back.

If anything can be said against the Battle Mode, it is that by modern standards, it feels a little slight.

The shmup is a genre that's struggled to find a place in gaming's mainstream, and we doubt Big Bang Mini on the DS will change that fact. But it's an impressive effort with an interesting control scheme that, for the most part, works well.

WWE 13 is far more fun than its predecessor, but this is largely down to some slight improvements to the core mechanics and the addition of hero-era nostalgia.

PES 2010 is simply not good enough to challenge FIFA's dominance. It's an improvement on last year's effort, and fans of the more arcadey virtual football will find plenty to enjoy, but as a simulation it pales in comparison. PES 2010 is a return to form, but it is not a return to past glories.

Some would say the puzzles are a touch easy at times, though there certainly are some corkers. If you are looking for action then try elsewhere, but if you fancy the old-fashioned pleasures of a great point 'n' click, then snap this up now, and enjoy one of the sharpest, coolest worlds seen in gaming for a long time.

There's plenty to do, with the core story missions and plenty of optional side activities making Prototype a game that you won't clock in a few sessions, and the upgrades and abilities are plentiful, but it just doesn't quite come together well enough to create a really great game.

Best enjoyed at a breezy remove, Borderlands 3 provides a punchy shooting experience, a massive open world, and some eye-rolling, adolescent humour.

As this is the last episode in the season, it does feel like you’re finally being given some freedom to make impactful decisions.

If you've never fought with The End, eaten a rotting crab or climbed the tallest ladder in gaming, and if the 3DS is the only console you own, you really should acquire this game as soon as you can. When everyone said that you'd love it, they really weren't lying.

With simple controls and an easy to understand premise, anyone can turn their hand to it with ease, then partake in some truly stressful yet fun multiplayer cooking action.

If you're a fan of the X-Men Legends games that have appeared over the last few years you'll know what to expect from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, but you'll probably still be surprised at how polished and lengthy the game is.

For Honor's multiplayer is special, but as a whole it's let down by the less good single player, sometimes dodgy matchmaking, and a surfeit of microtransactions. The combat, though, is fantastic — it's gutsy and weighty, and you feel like a badass.

Though held back from greatness by gameplay flaws and performance issues, System Shock still presents a fascinating world and interesting story that'll be more than worth the effort for dedicated players.

Of all the Vita launch titles, MotorStorm RC is the most natural fit for short gaming sessions. It's ideal to jump into for a few minutes, but that doesn't prevent it from being a huge timesink once its hooks are in.

Theatrhythm's real star is undoubtedly its music, however, which appeals far more than its cumbersome RPG elements.

Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals feels like an evolution of its predecessor. It presents us with a new perspective of both Edward’s Island and Camena that both add to the overall mystery of the paranormal world they reside in but also keep to the series’ down-to-earth storytelling.

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.

Could The Movies live without Stunts & Effects? Probably, but it's more entertaining thanks to the additions found in the expansion.

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.

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.

It captures the spirit of Star Wars, but will feel very familiar if you've played a Lego game recently.

Whichever version of Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing you choose you're going to get a well produced, fun arcade racer, with enough tracks and unlockables to keep you playing for a long time.

A platformer that makes great use of shadows and light. You'll get emotionally attached to the candle as he burns through some lovely environments and tough platforming, but the ending is a bit of a damp squib.