There's difficult, and then there's maddening, and sometimes Ethan Carter tips too far towards the former.

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.

It's the audio that steals the show though.

It's a fairly simple adventure with equally basic RPG combat, but that's exactly why it works.

Even with its previous-gen roots, Burnout Revenge is a brilliant Xbox 360 title that deserves a place in your collection. If you own or have played a lot of the Xbox or PlayStation 2 version, it's a much harder decision to make.

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.

Minor gripes aside, Homecourt is a deliciously addictive baller and a commendable next-gen Street effort on EA's part.

It's a game that expertly sustains a feeling of dread, and knows when to ratchet up the feeling of being utterly overwhelmed, first slowly then suddenly in a way that induces sheer panic, much like Resi 4 before it. But detective Sebastian Castellanos is no Leon S. Kennedy.

Neat ideas like the inclusion of actual world records, and the option to gamble the potential points you could win from an event round off this tidy compilation.

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

Strike Suit Zero is a wonderful reintroduction. Though its obviously-not-AAA budget is betrayed by the lo-fi storytelling device of dishing out exposition via radio chatter, and it has an obsession with making you take out turrets on things, it’s pretty fantastic, and one of the best titles on next-gen right now.

Depth way beyond that of any other action game released this year, sleek presentation and some of the best levels ever created in a video game.

It's still an excellent football game that is perfect for newcomers to the series, but just don't expect it to be all that different to PES 6.

Hard-hitting, fact-paced, and action-packed. NHL 24 has hit the sweet spot between challenging and enjoyable.

Yet another supremely playable title with oodles of replay value.

What is without doubt the biggest disappointment of all is the online implementation. It's currently woefully behind what we've got in Forza 2 and PGR4, lacking even basic support for custom races. Support for up to 16 players is excellent, but without a friends list or any proper match making you're left to pick from the 35 events currently listed.

Sleeping Dogs may not offer anything particularly new and certainly nothing groundbreaking, but what it does do is deliver sharp, thrilling and just downright enjoyable action to savour. Other open-worlders have tried to veer from Rockstar's path, some have even tried to lampoon it, but Sleeping Dogs has shown, confidently and emphatically, that you don't always need to change the rules. You just have to know how to play.

Rocket Riot is a simple game in all areas, but the core gameplay is great fun and the visuals have a retro feel that gives the game a trendy appearance.

You already know if you'll like GSC's newest entry in the series. If you like Call of Pripyat, you'll like this. If you didn't, Heart of Chornobyl rarely hides any true improvements to the formula. It's exactly what fans expect, albeit with a fancy, oftentimes gorgeous, new lick of paint and some modern sensibilities, but it's Stalker through and through - for better and for worse.

It's the first game I've played that nails the personality of the bots and it genuinely delivers a solid gaming experience alongside the nostalgia.

The wait for a new Jak and Daxter game has been a long one, and we're still waiting for the series to arrive on the PS3 (blame Uncharted and its success for that), but this PSP outing doesn't disappoint.

It's challenging, often frustrating, but wonderfully satisfying. Buy it. Play it. Get the t-shirt.

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.

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.

From the moment it starts, subdued colour palette aside, this is the series as you know it. By the time you find and build the dildo gun, you'll wonder what the fuss was about.

If you like SingStar and like the thirty tunes listed above, you'll love it. The majority of the tunes are the kind that everyone knows most of the words to, and the collection is far more balanced for males and females than some of the previous expansion packs.

With Nioh 2, Team Ninja has done a better job than anyone else at making smart innovations to a treasured design template.

It's a breath of fresh air to the racing genre and features some of the best online integration to date.