Easily one of the 360's finest shooters, then, and we genuinely can't wait to see what 343 does next.

In truth, FIFA was pushing an eight last time around, so to award this significant jump anything other than a nine would be absolute cruelty. As they say, bravo.

You're likely to have as much success doing this as trying to watch a 3D movie without the free Sugar Puffs glasses - it amounts to much the same thing. [Issue#32, p.116]

Believability, challenge, intensity and fun - DiRT 3 has the lot. [Issue#73, p.80]

If you don't already have Red Dead Redemption, this is definitely worth getting your hands on. [Issue#66, p.87]

There are some foibles – notably the general attitude of the game – but there’s absolutely no denying Forza Motorsport 6 is a brilliant, deep, rewarding racing game.

When it's good, Black Ops shows the world that Treyarch is far more than just the B-team. [Issue#66, p.70]

A delight to play, despite the fact that it openly revels in your failure. [Issue#97, p.70]

A worthy update that could have done with another year or so in production, to ensure that the flawless handling and lush visuals could be matched in the longevity department. [Issue#51, p84]

This gorgeous game takes a little too long to crank up the difficulty for our liking. [Issue#79, p.79]

Frustrating. [Issue#89,p.82]

It's one of the best local and online co-op games available on 360. [Issue#103, p.77]

We just cannot deny its addictiveness, nor its ability to draw us into the next battle. [Issue 27, p.116]

Flashbacks make this a thrilling racer, but they wear thin after a while and take their toll on the racing. As a result, we love Race Driver: GRID as much as we hate it, which is quite a lot! [Issue#33]

It's more of the same, which is both the strength and weakness of Shivering Isles. [Issue 19, p.82]

An absolute beast. [Issue#48, p.80]

A return to a level of platforming excellence that's been long forgotten. [Issue#125, p.82]

Typically impenetrable for novices, but it’s a stunning piece of work and with some time spent learning the mechanics makes for an epic sporting experience.

One of the best fighters around. [Issue#56, p.86]

An even better version of an already great game. [Issue#123, p.81]

BioWare is at the top of its game and though Dragon Age does nothing to push the genre forward, it plays with the existing tools to present an incredibly polished and thoughtful RPG experience. [Issue#52, p.72]

Titanfall is a ridiculous amount of fun. Maybe it’ll be surpassed, but right now it’s the best game on Xbox One and one of the best multiplayer shooters ever.

A near flawless example of how to reboot a franchise. Gripping, satisfying and strangely dark, we struggle to see how this origin story could have been told much better. [May 2013, p.77]

You'd be a fool to live without it. [Nov 2009, p.104]

Upgraded graphics, improved gameplay and all-new content to see. [Issue#116, p.72]

Borderline broken as a fighter, but, taken on its own meagre merits, a giggle to mess around with. Still, though, it falls a long way short of what could have been. [Issue#72, p.80]

It packs a lot into its short playtime but still manages to pack an emotional wallop. With intriguing puzzles and solid gameplay, Starbreeze earns every moment. [Issue#100, p.84]

If you love fighting games, you must get it. [Issue#77, p.100]

The game itself is categorically excellent and even if it isn't quite what you might expect from something labeled Devil May Cry, this is a robust, deep and brilliantly executed action game, not to mention a sterling effort at reinventing something that was – if DMC4 was anything to go by – beginning to grow stale.

Black Flag tightens enough screws and adds enough cool new stuff to make it the best in ages. [Issue#105, p.79]

The best kinect game yet. [Issue#79, p.82]

This looks awesome enough to make your eyes bleed with joy. [Issue#5, p.120]

Graphically sumptuous, deceptively deep and utterly essential. [Issue#5, p.96]

The way the levels unfold, literally paving the way out before your feet, removes any sense of exploration. [Issue#76, p.100]

A brilliantly designed puzzle platformer with a wonderful protagonist that sets varied gameplay scenarios within a compelling world. [Issue#124, p.87]

The only thing we can definitively say is that if publishers are going to begin overcharging for slight next-gen upgrades, then this is going to be one hell of a long generation.

While GRAW 2 is a good game, it doesn't make for a great game of 'spot the difference' with its predecessor. No advancements as such, just more of the same. But shorter. Whoops. [Issue 18, p.74]

A fantastic shooter that does a lot for the genre. [Issue#86, p.80]

Innovative controls, fantastic physics, seamless animation and pretty darn sweet visuals. Take a breath, retune your brain and learn how to sakte - you'll be glad you did! [Issue#25, p.84]

Some control and physics tweaks are needed, but to remedy distractions rather than critical errors. [Issue#77, p.90]

One of the standout games of the generation so far, Rise provides stunning setpieces, brilliant exploration and challenging puzzles. This is an Xbox One essential.

A contender for the title of 2014’s best racer, Forza Horizon 2 builds on foundations laid by its predecessor to make a diverse, entertaining experience.

A very slick dance floor mover. [Issue#91, p.76]

Perhaps still a step away from its freeform goal, but maintains a satisfying illusion of creativity throughout. [Issue#65, p.84]

Fantastically violent and built for online players and loners alike. [Issue#124, p.72]

We haven't had so much fun with a new Splinter Cell game since 2005's phenomenal Chaos Theory. [Issue#58, p.82]

More of the same, yet somehow less satisfying than its predecessor. While this makes scoring easy, we can't help but wonder were the series will go from here. [Issue#25, p.76]

Another highly competent sports sim from EA. We've obviously gone back in time without noticing. [Issue#25, p.102]

The greatest Guitar Hero yet. Amazing songs, phenomenal gameplay, and it's online too! [Issue 27, p.86]

The 'big' new mode is pointless and instantly forgettable, but the rest of the game is as solid and cocksure as ever. [Issue#70, p.84]

A deep, involving and beautifully put together adventure. [Issue#63, p.99]

A worthy continuation of a superb series that is unfortunately over way too quickly. When a game is this great you simply don't want it to finish. [Issue 13, p.82]

A top pinball game to play with friends, but on your own it can get boring. [Issue#116, p.80]

Refines its engine to the most impressive degree. [Issue#50, p.92]

It may not be quite the epic finale everyone hoped for, but Arkham Knight is still an excellent action game that retains many of the elements that make the series great.

It's a sublime alternative to Street Fighter and worth investing in even if you've got the original. [Issue#65, p.90]

The gameplay you’ve come to know and love is better than it ever has been and the new additions are downright fantastic. Another step up for the now veteran franchise.

Pure takes racing all the way back to basics and emphasizes fun over complexity yet still incorporates enough depth to have some serious longevity. Excellent stuff. [Issue#37, p.86]

The really great thing, however, is the character creation mode. Honestly, it’s brilliant, and about as close to a real character creation as we’ve ever seen.

Horizon sacrifices purity for spectacle, trades tuning depth for racing equality and shifts to an open road setting where once were trackside barriers and preset circuits, though none of this detracts from the glorious driving mechanics that Playground Games has superbly re-created under the watchful eye of Turn 10.

Another lovingly recreated LucasArts adventure. [Issue#62,p.100]

A competent if unspectacular return. Dragon Age: Inquisition offers an abundance of things to do but its pick ‘n’ mix approach undermines any wow factor.

The perfect antidote to Street Fighter's seemingly endless difficulty curve, offering tactical play by the bucketload without that prohibitive dexterity. [Issue#68, p.82]

The series is beginning to lose some of the charm of its youth. [Issue#51, p.82]

It's so enjoyable that we'd be hard pressed to recommend a better casual sports game for just about anyone. [Issue#79, p.103]

Dead Rising features arcade-quality gameplay wrapped around a classic movie theme and sprinkled with tons of extras. Worth buying an Xbox 360 for - everyone should play this game. [Issue # 11, p.72]

An incredible historical document, charting the rise and success of the Xbox's biggest franchises. Vital to any collection. [Issue#118, p.56]

A clear improvement over last year's effort. [Issue#24, p.83]

Finally, the great one is back - it looks cheap, but it plays exceptionally. [Issue#130, p.72]

The Behemoth's follow-up to Castle Crashers has been well worth the wait. [Issue#98, p.79]

The best Undisputed game to date, and arguably the best MMA simulation currently in existence. [Issue#82, p.84]

Cry Wolf isn't without its problems, but it provides a satisfying conclusion to an episodic series that we feared would wrap inconclusively. [Issue#115, p.76]

Red Faction: Guerrilla is a fantastic, laudably fun tech demo funneled into a rather awesome game. Undoubtedly this year's most gratifying and original title so far. [Issue#46, p.76]

An adrenaline-soaked blend of terror and action. If it wasn't for the fact that there's little between the PC and 360 versions, F.E.A.R. would no doubt have scored higher. [Issue 13, p.94]

A charming and often ingenious little game. [Issue #81, p.90]

It's the kind of old-school outing that will frustrate and satisfy in equal measure, above control issues proving the major reason behind such frustration. [Issue#38, p.115]

Far Cry 2 is a drawn-out yet ambitious FPS that doesn’t quite align its many ideas into an effective game, due to the confused nature of the open world. Nice atmosphere, though.

COD: World At War is a battered warrior that more than earns its stripes. Leading the charge with a meatier and lengthier single-player campaign, Treyarch has won the battle in producing a true standout in the series.

Enough of the old charm shines through for the eight online or local players to have a blast. [Issue#24, p.100]

Like playing through a slideshow of a friend's apocalyptic holiday snaps: beautiful at first, but you'll be tired of it by the end. [Issue#71, p.80]

An exceptionally well-crafted compilation, perhaps the best retro package ever. No matter whether you cut your teeth on the ZX Spectrum or Xbox 360, you’ll find something to love here.

With buckets of replayability and a big heart to match, Rare has finally come good and delivered a belter of a game. Wipes away rancid memories of "Perfect Dark" and makes you smile inside. [Issue 14, p.78]

It's still not as good as N+, though. [Nov 2009, p.104]

An undeniable classic - and, for once, one not showing the ravages of age. If only the letters "H" and "D" signified something more than numbers. [Issue#69, p.102]

Fully fledged and extensive, this is a great tennis simulator that becomes much more enjoyable once you get past the initial frustrations. [Issue#70, p.86]

While BF3's multiplayer will speak for itself, very rough scripting and level design mean its single-player campaign is good, but far from great. [Issue#79, p.74]

Combat's a gut-busting harmony of visceral martial arts techniques and, combined with the UFC telecasting experience, this is by far the best MMA game to date. [Issue#59, p.76]

Like any game of such scope, not every part of it is perfect. Yet, taken as a whole, there is very little that can compete with its wonderful, lavish, historical playground. [Issue#91, p.22]

The premise transfers comfortably enough. [Issue#73, p.101]

343 Industries is clearly passionate, but it’s shown a criminal misunderstanding of what makes the franchise work. Halo 5: Guardians has moments of greatness, but it’s a shadow of its former self.

We thought we'd seen all there was to see wtih the NBA licensed games, but 2K7 has taken us by surprise. [Issue 14, p.85]

Finishing the game actually burnt out the pleasure centres of our brain. We're unable to enjoy anything else in life now and instead spend our time wallowing in misery. [Issue#29, p.74]

With a track list that can rival anything on the market, this has captured the essence of Metallica perfectly. An incredible experience for fans. [Issue#45, p.78]

A game with such subtleties and fine detail as Civilization IV would never have worked on a console, and so while purists might carp at Revolution’s necessarily stripped-down feel, its injection of pace makes for a more exciting – if marginally less cerebral – strategy game. And more importantly, it’s still as life-suckingly addictive as ever. [Issue#34]

A good game, but a familiar game. [Issue#90, p.84]

A magnificent gameplay concept. [Issue#70, p.102]

What F1 2011 really needs is some drama and a touch of glamour. [Issue#77, p.86]

Too close to call between NBA Live, do you prefer gameplay or visuals? Stats or modes? Ah, the age-old question for sports fans. It really depends on what you prefer and how you play.