The best FIFA game ever made. Over to you Konami.

It's a game with heart.

Stunning vistas paired with a stirring soundtrack and refined combat shoulder Sea of Stars, one of 2023’s most charming RPGs.

Race Driver: GRID is tearing up the tarmac this summer without a challenger in site.

While the main narrative drags a little, wonderfully crafted characters that deal with real-life issues, fill this beautiful Saturday morning cartoon show where the mundanity of life is the backdrop for some wonderful exchanges between Mae and her friends.

It's got the looks, the style, the superb sense of speed, and spot-on handling model that blurs the line between sim and arcade. It also introduces Gymkhana and with it excellent potential for players becoming addicted to going for new high scores. What it doesn't do is innovate in the racing game genre, generally making refinements where needed rather than redefining what's expected in a modern racer.

The physics-based fighting is simply brilliant, the career mode will last you an age and the online functionality is solid. If you're not into boxing Round 4 is simple to learn, so you could still become the next Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali with a little practice. It's not perfect, mainly down to a slightly soulless career mode, but it's still a significant step up over Round 3.

The visual overhaul makes this the best looking Pokémon yet. Naturally, the amount of Pokémon on offer is almost insurmountable and will have you catching them all for quite a while, but be aware, they are a needy lot.

The slick blend of genres and the sheer size of the game make it hard to give an unreserved recommendation: Sins of a Solar Empire will not be everyone's cup of tea. However, if you've been hooked to titles like Galactic Civilizations, experiencing '4X' strategy in a real-time environment may be a revelation for you.

For those of you who can open your minds to the possibility of something genuinely new, this is mana from heaven. Heavy Rain is one of the most exciting things to happen to video games for a long, long time. It's not a threat to the old way of doing things, but it does hint at the possiblity of a whole new genre.

Groove Coaster isn't as ambitious a project as Space Invaders Infinity Gene, but it's certainly more fun while it lasts. Whether it's flying along at juddering right angles, or gently cruising around a relaxing curve, Groove Coaster is a consistently enjoyable audiovisual experience.

This is a game designed for the purist, and this PSP version of Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together is a charming restoration of the classic game. Connoisseurs of the grid will derive much enjoyment looking at a competent snapshot of the past while bridging the gap to the forward-thinking Disgaea 4 later in the year.

Pikmin 4 is an incredibly charming and fun experience for the most part, but its new additions aren't quite revolutionary enough to stave off a feeling of repetitiveness in the later hours.

The base experience of Monkey Island 2 is still as sharp as ever, though, with some of the wittiest dialogue and intelligent puzzles ever seen in an adventure game. It's just a shame the "special edition" part is a bit of a letdown - it's more of an average 2-disc edition than a deluxe Criterion version.

Final Fantasy 16 is a rich, visually arresting spectacle with engrossing set pieces let down by a bloated story and stifled combat.

It is short, at around 4-6 hours depending on ability and difficulty level, but they are 4-6 hours of intense, taught and finely tuned gameplay the like of which you're unlikely to find in many other games. Once you're ensnared by the charms of Episode One you'll be chafing at the bit for Episode Two to arrive.

It might not be too cheap at 800 Microsoft Points, but it's an exciting and cinematic ride while it lasts.

Polyphony has delivered an airtight flight from the everyday, rich in escape yet rooted in anything but fantasy.

It's got the looks, the style, the superb sense of speed, and spot-on handling model that blurs the line between sim and arcade. It also introduces Gymkhana and with it excellent potential for players becoming addicted to going for new high scores. What it doesn't do is innovate in the racing game genre, generally making refinements where needed rather than redefining what's expected in a modern racer.

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.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the best and most welcome surprises of the year.

With HeartGold and SoulSlver the Pokémon series has reached a point where it can't get any better. It's like a level 100 Pikachu; it's as good as it can possibly be, but it's probably about time it evolved already.

Sure, in terms of the core gameplay (that being combat) you don't actually do a whole lot. You swing, dodge and cast the odd spell every now and again, and that's about the crux of it. However, the experience wrapped around these mechanics gives the game an alarmingly addictive nature.

Whether or not you like fighting games or Dragon Ball, extremely dramatic villains and hench dudes with giant hair hurling fireballs at each other (all set to unceasing guitar solos) is kind of inherently enjoyable.

Link’s Awakening is happy to be history, and it defies you not to be, as well.

It's epic; it's grand; it's addictive; it's ridiculously good-looking and it's going to be remembered for a long time to come. A masterpiece.

Overall it's a missed opportunity to provide an already working formula with new ideas.

Aside from the minor issues that I've mentioned, the only real complaint I can level at Undead Nightmare is that it makes the previous two DLC packs - which were on sale at the same price - look a little bit lightweight.