Where Crimson Alliance could have joined the white noise of dungeon crawlers, Certain Affinity has managed to design a solid and - more impressively - distinctive game, regardless of whether the simple, pick-up-and-play approach turns off a few hardcore fans of the genre.

Prince of Persia does away with one of the most fundamental game design rules and is all the better for it.

Few worlds are as well-realised as the one Rockstar has created for Red Dead Redemption 2. Thanks to some wonderful scripting and stellar performances, the characters you randomly meet in the wild are captured as well as the ones you spend most of your days around camp. How do you follow Red Dead Redemption? You make Red Dead Redemption 2.

If you don't have a big interest in bikes or MotoGP, this isn't for you. There's nothing here for casual bike fans or anyone who might be on the look out for something accessible in the bike racing genre. It's an incredibly solid package, though, and one that fans will get a lot out of.

It's not brave, it's not innovative, but neither should it be casually dismissed as 'more of the same'. That winning formula has been prodded and poked and buffed until it gleams, leaving us with a game that is, at the very least, the finest Mario Kart since the original. For some, it might be even more than that.

DmC Definitive Edition's customisation tools that allow the player to tweak gameplay to suit their own style is what makes this an excellent remaster for newcomers and veterans alike.

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.

Make no mistake, this is Gran Turismo as you remember it but on a handheld, and done in a way that betters what I imagined was possible.

You’ll need knowledge, skill, and a smidge of spider-sense. Friends to learn with are a must, and don’t be deceived by the lack of a pricetag: Dota 2 will cost you hundreds of hours.

If you're short on patience or have a nervous disorder, then you should approach Rearmed with caution. If, however, you love the genre and harbor fond memories of the original, then this game will seem like a gift from the Eighties God of Shooty Bang-Bang.

If you've never played the PS2 Prince of Persia trilogy before, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. If you have, play it again; reliving the experience in HD is a glorious reminder of just what great games these are.

The new tracks are excellent, but it's the game modes that offer the real value for money here - they're so good it's no surprise Sony Liverpool was keen to get them into gamers' hands in an expansion rather than having to wait until the release of a completely new game.

Sports Interactive has built on last year's game to produce the best version yet (we must say this every year), so it's easy to recommend FM 2010 to anyone with an interest in taking their team to league and cup glory. If you can't get into the wonder that is Football Manager Live or just prefer the more solitary experience standard FM offers, this will keep you hooked to your PC monitor for months.

The multiplayer and campaign go to great lengths to make themselves more inclusive for new players, and yet the requirement that you already own Wings of Liberty ensures that very few of these people will play it. For a campaign this excellent that’s a huge shame, but the damage is more substantial when you look at the competitive multiplayer.

It's got new game modes, enhanced visuals and multiplayer support. If you love Geometry Wars you'll love this.

Definitely an improvement on its predecessor. The additions from last year have been worked on and sit far more comfortably this time. Developed physicality and complete unpredictability mature proceedings on the pitch.

Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice is one of the best PSP games I've played.

Hotline Miami is a fair game, as much as it is hard, and you always know why you're dead, even if it was a fickle turn of the controls.

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing has all the best qualities that Mario Kart initiated years ago and features controls tailored to the portable iOS devices. As such, this is certainly one of the best iDevice racers you'll play this year.

For now, what we can say unequivocally is that FIFA 10 is the best FIFA ever created. And, maybe, the best football game ever created.

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.

The simple ideas are often the best, and Portal, quite simply, is one of the best ideas for a game we've ever seen. It's fantastically realised, brilliantly executed, and had me wrapped around its computerised finger for two-and-a-half unforgettable hours.

I booted up FIFA 11 to gauge just how much has changed and the differences really are quite striking.

I booted up FIFA 11 to gauge just how much has changed and the differences really are quite striking.

If you love FPS gaming you owe it to yourself to get The Orange Box. Hell, if you love gaming, you owe it to yourself to get it.

Fast, satisfying combat and the most ambitious single player for a fighting game yet, Injustice 2 is a great game elevated further by its attention to detail and Cavill-esque good looks.

If I was wearing a hat, I'd doff it to the DS development team at Nintendo, who for me can do no wrong... or rather I would, except that I need both hands to control DK, so maybe it's best that I'm not wearing one. This is though, another definite winner from the big N.

Easily one of the better mobile games in recent memory, Shadowblade is a shining beacon and a stinging lesson to other developers. This is the bar. Now you try and raise it.