The game coaxes out hearty chuckles and swear-laden outbursts in equal quantities, but there's no denying that the resulting blend of emotions make for a memorable experience.

While Sucker Punch should be applauded for its efforts (and successes) in adding user-generated content to an open world game, there's a real sense that the developer should have sorted out the foundations of its own house before inviting others to come over and redecorate.

The game is designed to simply let you get on with it. The lack of loading screens means you can continuously chug through a 10-12 hour game without the usual stop-and-start pausing at static screens, like you're being bullied by a traffic warden.

It's a modernised take on dungeon crawling that brings a few new ideas to the series.

It's a modernised take on dungeon crawling that brings a few new ideas to the series.

Close your eyes after playing, and a carnival of neon sea-creatures and fluorescent shapes will pulsate under your eye-lids. Child of Eden will linger in your conscious long after playing. While it's a fleeting and - on rare occasions - frustrating experience, it'll leave its mark on 2011 in just the same way.

I'd have liked the adventure to have been trimmed of fat, the combat is at times extremely irritating, and the art design far exceeds the technical prowess on show, but at its core Alice: Madness Returns is an imaginative romp through a world that's clearly been designed by some incredibly creative minds.

I'd have liked the adventure to have been trimmed of fat, the combat is at times extremely irritating, and the art design far exceeds the technical prowess on show, but at its core Alice: Madness Returns is an imaginative romp through a world that's clearly been designed by some incredibly creative minds.

I'd have liked the adventure to have been trimmed of fat, the combat is at times extremely irritating, and the art design far exceeds the technical prowess on show, but at its core Alice: Madness Returns is an imaginative romp through a world that's clearly been designed by some incredibly creative minds.

As a bizarre curio of video game history, Duke Nukem Forever's appeal cannot be denied, and there is some entertainment derived from overlooking the end product of one of history's most troubled productions. The main thing we can learn looking backwards, however, is that no game should be like this going forward.

As a bizarre curio of video game history, Duke Nukem Forever's appeal cannot be denied, and there is some entertainment derived from overlooking the end product of one of history's most troubled productions. The main thing we can learn looking backwards, however, is that no game should be like this going forward.

As a bizarre curio of video game history, Duke Nukem Forever's appeal cannot be denied, and there is some entertainment derived from overlooking the end product of one of history's most troubled productions. The main thing we can learn looking backwards, however, is that no game should be like this going forward.

While Blades of Fury is not the real deal, it's as close as we can get to at the moment, and that is not a bad thing, not a bad thing at all.

Technically accomplished and mechanically sound. But unfortunately that's not enough in a world of Dead Spaces and Gears of Wars. Aside from marvelling at the odd collapsing building, there's little here to hold your attention for more than a few hours. It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination; it's just an entirely forgettable one.

Technically accomplished and mechanically sound. But unfortunately that's not enough in a world of Dead Spaces and Gears of Wars. Aside from marvelling at the odd collapsing building, there's little here to hold your attention for more than a few hours. It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination; it's just an entirely forgettable one.

Technically accomplished and mechanically sound. But unfortunately that's not enough in a world of Dead Spaces and Gears of Wars. Aside from marvelling at the odd collapsing building, there's little here to hold your attention for more than a few hours. It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination; it's just an entirely forgettable one.

Taking the game around the Desert track delivers a massive nostalgic kick that will go straight to the core of anybody who remembers feeding arcade machines an entire tube of fifty pence pieces back in the day.

Taking the game around the Desert track delivers a massive nostalgic kick that will go straight to the core of anybody who remembers feeding arcade machines an entire tube of fifty pence pieces back in the day.

One of the most ambitious, darkest, and legitimately smart additions to the genre you'll have the luck of playing. Just get yourself a bloody decent PC.

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.

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.

Even if you find yourself irked by the tone, it is impossible to ignore the passion and creativity that went into creating Sworcery.

There's something entrancing about the way this game plunges you into the violence, the corruption, and the sadness of post-war Los Angeles. Each of the four major desks has a remarkably different tone, and while the slow reveal of Phelps himself is the major narrative thread, it's equally true to say the dark heart of the city itself is an equally important protagonist.

There's something entrancing about the way this game plunges you into the violence, the corruption, and the sadness of post-war Los Angeles. Each of the four major desks has a remarkably different tone, and while the slow reveal of Phelps himself is the major narrative thread, it's equally true to say the dark heart of the city itself is an equally important protagonist.

It's not quite as whiz-bang as LEGO Star Wars III and feels quite formulaic at times, but there's no denying it has charm and widespread appeal.

It's not quite as whiz-bang as LEGO Star Wars III and feels quite formulaic at times, but there's no denying it has charm and widespread appeal.

The only thing really letting it down is the bewildering omission of multiplayer, which a game of this nature relies on to give it legs. Sure, it's great fun for a few hours, but without real players to compete against, it quickly runs out of gas.

It's not without its faults, some of which are more serious than others, but Splash Damage achieves the impossible: a game that feels fresh in the stalest of genres.