As a Fire Emblem newbie, then, I’m now a fully-fledged convert. Intelligent Systems has never shown a weakness in its strategical prowess, but the fact it also has strong storytelling and characterisation chops came as a pleasant, if not entirely unexpected, treat.

While it lives in danger of being filed away in that section of your brain that stores vague memories of forgotten train timetables, it's a surprisingly clever game that deserves to be played.

Like the best puzzle games, it has a compulsive quality that makes you feel like a genius whenever you work it out.

The core gameplay is solid and the online functionality is excellent, but there is a distinct lack of content compared to other golf games on the market.

This is not gaming perfection or a must have title that will be remembered for decades, but if you like war romps, and you long for the feel of Frontline or Underground, pick up this brilliant war game.

If there's one thing Saints Row does brilliantly, though, it's explosions. Cars literally get blown apart and come crashing back down with debris flying all over the place.

Unplugged manages to bring the band experience to the PSP in a way that works for the system and is highly addictive to boot. The lack of multiplayer is disappointing and we'd have preferred a few more tracks, but for finger tapping fun on the move this comes highly recommended.

Ninja Blade has no right to be as entertaining as it is. It's nowhere near as accomplished as the genre's heavyweights, but anyone able to see it as the roller-coaster ride it is should have a great time.

The key is that you can get a hell of a lot of enjoyment out of Civ Rev without getting completely bogged down by the game's statistics.

Here is a package that represents exceptional value. There's little here to convert non-believers, but then this game is not for them. This is one for the fans, and few who buy it will be left unsatisfied by how the story - their story - ends.

Let's face it: it's unlikely you're going to pick this up instead of FIFA 11, but as an alternative to play when football isn't on your brain, this does the job very well indeed.

While it won't be for everyone, Ninja does exactly what it set out to, with style and humour to boot.

Bionic Commando will frustrate many gamers, but get past the initial swinging learning curve and you'll find a highly entertaining action game that tries to do something a bit different.

With a cast of well-realised characters, and a story that captivates from start-to-finish, Subsurface Circular's robot mystery will have your attention from the moment the train leaves the station.

Soma's slowly-unfolding story, and the choices you live with, make the experience one that will stay with you for some time, the ending hitting all the right notes.

The PSP is a great platform for the SRPG genre, with games such as Final Fantasy: War of the Lions and the Disgaea series being shining examples. Valkyria Chronicles II is - dare I say it - the best of the bunch, and a truly fantastic PSP game in its own right.

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.

The developer, Insomniac Games, has a similar storytelling confidence to that of Naughty Dog—a natural cinematic ease, bolstered by money and technology, which gives equal weight to ground-level struggles as to those beyond the rooftops.

Spore: Creature Creator tells me a few things: creating new species is great fun, creation tools can be simple yet deep, people will always make the rudest things possible, and Spore is going to be a massively popular PC release.

For hardcore Skate players the new moves, altered city and new features (getting off your board, moving objects) will make Skate 2 essential, but at the same time perhaps not as big a leap over the original as they'd have liked. For everyone else, if you've got time to kill and fancy yourself as the next Tony Hawk, Skate 2 is well worth it. It's hard and often punishing to the point of frustration, but the rewards make up for all the effort.

In an age where most developers are reaching out to embrace casual gamers, ArmA II is something of a refreshing exception. It is unashamedly ambitious in its design and execution, embracing rich complexity at the expense of accessibility.

While the game is not a massive departure from Sonic Adventure, and at £30 it's a tad expensive for the play-time you get, if you're new to the series on DS or love all things Sonic, we heartily recommend it. One of the best games on the system.

It's certainly lacking in the presentation department and features the odd bug and control issue, but snooker fans will still find an awful lot to enjoy. Alone, online or on the same console with a friend, there's months of entertainment to be found here, even if it isn't really a next-gen experience.

On one hand you've got a fiendishly hard single-player game that taxes the mind as much as the reflexes, and on the other there's a more considered two-player game with a slower pace and more tactical play.

Somehow, against the odds, Guitar Hero: Live has given life back to a series thought long dead. I laughed like a pissed hyena when it was announced, but Freestyle has achieved something close to excellence here.

If you enjoy shooters then you absolutely must experience Vanquish; just know that you're not going to be getting much more than a weekend's play unless you get addicted to high scores and challenges.

Graphically light years ahead of everything else in the turn-based genre and is easily on a par with the best looking real-time strategy games, such as "Dawn of War."

The Coalition has slightly fiddled with the formula, and whilst some adjustments need to be refined for future entries, Gears 5 is ultimately the gorgeous third-person shooter you want it to be.