Despite its obvious muses, Tunic manages to rise above mere flattery, by paying deeper homage to the medium itself.

EA introduces FIFA's best new mode in years and delivers an excellent game on the pitch. The Journey may well bring back lapsed fans.

Had the first half of the game matched the far more entertaining later sections (where the super powers really come into their own) and the story been a bit more engaging throughout we'd be looking at one of the best open-world action games of all time.

The high-score hunting gameplay makes for an incredibly addictive retro gaming experience, and the sleek presentation gives it a modern appearance and feel.

Not only are the controls and attributes of the gameplay itself consistently representative of the chosen sport, but everything from the gloriously dynamic soundtrack and the competition commentary through to the selection of legendry skaters and the division of challenges into schools of skating hits the nail on the head with prowess.

While Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle may have been the crossover that no one wanted, it's materialised as a really good one with some interesting systems, despite its smattering of shortcomings. It shouldn't work, but it does.

And it's also through experimentation that you'll experience the magic moments you'll not find anywhere else.

Whatever the antic designs of Dr. Tropy, there is a deeper story here, and it’s one that centres on a far sadder subject: it’s about time.

Other than those minor complaints, and the aforementioned issues with some of the less inspired mini-games, Size Matters is a truly brilliant platform game, and while it does nothing new, it does most things very well.

The levels are massive - although there are only seven of them - and the sense of being in a conflict can only currently be matched by CoD4.

A stunning game that doesn't miss a beat from start to finish and includes one of the most feature packed multiplayer components of any game released this year.

In almost all respects, it's a better game than Chaos Rising, and from a campaign perspective, the best since Warcraft III. Heart-pounding, cool, and relentless, Chaos Rising is a must-buy.

Despite the numerous bugs, New Vegas is a magnificent RPG, one that stands head and shoulders above its predecessor. More importantly, it's also the game that Fallout fans have been waiting for.

It looks great, plays smoothly, has decent multiplayer functionality and will keep you in the driving seat for some time. The audio is a letdown, but if you want another quality iDevice racer that isn't reason enough to give this a miss.

Crytek's fourth game is their most confident to date, carefully balancing silliness, seriousness, and spectacle, and despite looking like a laundry list of bad shooter clichés at first glance the end product is surprisingly fresh-faced and triumphant. Switching to New York gives Crytek what it desperately needed: a credible sense of menace to go alongside gorgeous technical fortitude and impressive artistic direction.

Deathsmiles is Cave's most successful iOS port yet, however, and while hardened bullet hell veterans will find the difficulty level far too low for their personal liking, this is the perfect game to sit around on an iDevice for occasional high-score runs.

It seems a bit petty to be moaning when what's here is such incredible value, but we have some titles at their very peak and others simply emulated. The 360 games not being tied in with the same milestones and launching via backwards compatibility seem slightly disconnected from the rest, too, even if a handful of them show Rare at its best.

As much as Hitman III was a pleasure to play, it left me longing for the mood of the old games—for that European concoction of sirens and splashing rain, drenched in Jesper Kyd’s cold scores. I’m as excited as anyone for Project 007, but I wonder how long we will be left looking for 47—a wraith in a red tie, who has proven elusive enough to slip IO’s grasp.

Anno 117 Pax Romana is a structurally sound colony builder set in a Romanized world filled with flair and gravitas. For those who struggle to find joy in expanding their influence, the busy UI may disrupt the experience and confuse. It’s a game designed for risk-takers who won't hesitate to make tough choices to reap the rewards of a tantalizingly broad array of intuitive city-building mechanics.

Whether OlliOlli World charms you or chafes at your patience will depend on your appetite for such whimsy.

GRAW 2 is unquestionably a huge success. A short campaign aside, it does everything GRAW fans would want from a sequel and once again confirms Ubisoft as one of the leading next-gen publishers.

Shadow of Mordor is a triumph, its final irony being that it's arguably the best and most pure Assassin's Creed game to date.

The overriding feeling you'll get from Viva Piñata is one of depth. It's a far more involving and time consuming game than I expected.

Okay, so the main bulk of it is yet another rendition of a game we all know by now, but it's easily the best rendition of that game that we've seen so far. When you factor in the Music Studio and all the creative doors that it opens, it's clear that this is by far and away the best rhythm game available on the market today.

As an experiment and a sequel... Street Fighter X Tekken is still a resounding and admirable success, and further proof than Ono-san is hiding true genius behind those scruffy cords and pudgy cheeks. In this battle of Street Fighter and Tekken, Capcom has landed the first knockout blow. I can't wait to see how Namco responds.

'Splosion Man has come out of nowhere, with little to no hype surrounding its release, but it easily ranks as one of the best XBLA games we've played. It's a remarkably simple idea that's been turned into a truly devilish platform puzzler, and it's full of charm and humour without coming across as cheesy.

While its frantic gameplay is compelling, and the scoring simple, TxK’s initially a confusing beast. It introduces its modes and nuances with a bewildering lack of clarity, frustrating players at the very point it is debuting some terrific ideas...Ultimately, though, TxK is tremendously enjoyable

It's not better than FIFA 09 next-gen, and it'll take a bit of getting used to, but with time and effort you'll find it the most rewarding virtual game of football around.