Lords of Shadow is a superlative start for Castlevania on current-gen consoles and we only hope that developer MercurySteam has more in the pipeline. It might borrow from other hack-and slash-adventure titles of the same ilk, but Castlevania is entirely its own game. With an unforgettable Middle Ages fantasy setting and an epic narrative, Lords of Shadow is the complete package and Gabriel Belmont is the coolest vampire slayer since Buffy. He's not as hot though.

By attempting to topple the genre's leaders and offering nothing new or exciting, Medal of Honor unfortunately pales in comparison to the competition. The single-player is short, but rather than being short and sweet, it's a little soulless, while the multiplayer, which is plagued by some bizarre design choices, falls somewhere between Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2, and in comparison to those two big hitters, it's clear it doesn't offer the same engaging and worthwhile experiences.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is a fantastic adventure title that's both beautiful to look at, compelling to play and enjoyable for the most part.

In attempting to start over and give PES its most substantial revamp in a long time, Konami has given the franchise a much-need shot in the arm. There's a lot more to like here than previous, but PES 2011 still feels like an also-ran that's still in dire need of some additional refinement and some of that old fluid magic that once made PES sheer footballing alchemy.

Dead Rising 2 is everything you'd want from the zombie-smashing, free-roaming sequel and although many were after an upgraded save system, the tweaks it's seen are relatively minor. Adding co-op and a hugely original multiplayer have definitely made this a must buy for zombie fanatics the world over, but the painfully long load times, the odd frame-rate issues and retreading the same ground after we've died umpteen times, really holds the game back from the dizzy 90s.

FIFA 11 is almost as perfect a football game as you could ever expect to play and it does pretty much everything right. The passing requires a more deft touch and fine aim than previous, which can throw you off a bit at first, but other than that, FIFA 11 is the beautiful game in every sense. Personality+ seems like a far too subtle addition from our uneducated football perspective, but Be A Goalkeeper, Be A Pro, Career and other modes will keep you irrevocably hooked for months on end. It's a cliché, but FIFA 11 hits the back of the net, every time.

For an F1 fan, F1 2010 is a dream come true. The physics and weather effects are phenomenal, the courses are for the most part accurately represented and the racing is second-to-none, but for everything the game does right, it fails to liven things up between races.

All in all, Liars and Cheats represents sound value for money, offering plenty of new and interesting stuff for the price, but some of the new game types might test your patience a bit.

Bungie wanted to go out with a bang, but instead, they've gone out with a nuclear explosion that not even a Spartan could survive. It's the end of an era, that's for sure, but the beginning of a new one. Step up 343, you have some big boots to fill.

With a tantalising story with some truly gripping and edge of the seat moments, new gameplay elements and some more of that previously promised deeper character interaction, The Lair of the Shadow Broker is what we call in outer space, a doozy.

HAWX 2 is such a letdown after the brilliant original and, if anything, feels like it has gone back a few steps rather than making any kind of progression. There is still plenty of fun to be had, especially in co-op or on the survival maps, but the first game has the edge in almost every regard. Bottom line: get your flight kicks there.

What RUSE offers is a supremely complex mix of strategy, with a control system that is easy to pick up and use. The RUSE mechanic itself offers players a surprisingly deep alternative to conventional strategy, and helps to keep battles fresh and interesting right until the end.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is thoroughly entertaining, but a combination of niggles and obscure design decisions drag it down. Despite that, it's still probably the best Spider-Man game on consoles and is well worth a look for that reason alone. Just don't expect to be blown away.

NHL 11 is every bit as solid and playable as its predecessor. Broken sticks add very little to the game, despite being peddled as a key new feature, but the numerous refinements show in the physicality on the ice and the returning up-close and personal fighting system.

It's abundantly clear that 2K Czech put an emphasis on story and ambience over gameplay in Mafia II and it really shows. With a repetitive mission structure, long arduous drives across a limited open-world and a bog standard shooter mechanic, Mafia II as a game rarely delivers. As a Mafia experience though, it delivers in spades. There are few open-worlds in video games that show this much depth, this much character and this much charm.

To be honest, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a disjointed mess. The promising early screens have, once again, been nothing but a false dawn and the shockingly brief story is barely worth a rental let alone a full purchase. The game may look nice at times, and have a thoroughly enjoyable multiplayer offering, but that in no way makes up for a mere three hour campaign, zero plot and two characters completely lacking in charisma.

As ever the latest Madden offers the best NFL experiences available on consoles... but it did the same last year, and the year before that. So the actual progression seems minimal to be honest and the new features are probably not enough to lure in any new converts, or satisfy the old guard that played last year's title. It is good fun, but not really a must own.

Clocking in at roughly 90 minutes, The Signal provides varied set piece battles across diverse settings that are well designed to maximize the tension Alan Wake is known for. Despite the retreading players must endure in the beginning and an abrupt conclusion, The Signal provides well-polished action worth picking up for anyone who's already completed the core game.

There's no doubt that Crackdown 2 is a well made title, and there's a lot to be said for playing through the game in co-op – and you'll need to if you want to obtain all the online orbs – but there's the distinct feeling that this is just more of the same stuff, in the very same city.

The best LEGO game in quite some time, and one of the best family titles this year. The obvious sequel will hopefully build on the successful foundations here, although the major issues of similarity and simplicity that make it into all of the games is hardly likely to go away – which is probably for the best as that would rob the games of their inherent charm.

A frenetic and fun title that is held short of true greatness by a lack of imagination in places, with a story that is only so-so and a multiplayer that needs a few more modes (and players) to be truly satisfying.

The one good idea here is the premise, but it is almost like the developers didn't know how to spin it out into a decent game and instead have created a jumbled, repetitive mess.

Toy Story 3 is worth playing for the Toy Box mode alone, as it has a wealth of things to see and do. The story is fun, but far too short though, but it would make ideal fodder for the younger gamers out there.

As far as Rock Band games go, Green Day doesn't have the creativity of The Beatles and it isn't doesn't have the same breadth as Rock Band 2. Aspects of its sloppy presentation are a big disappointment, but when the game gets it right (and it often does) it's as good as Rock Band has ever been.

Tiger Woods 11 is yet another fairly successful fine tune from EA. The game certainly does not break the mould or truly push the envelope in terms of creativity, but there are enough good ideas here to make it a worthwhile purchase, especially if you have given the last few titles the cold shoulder.

Buried beneath the poor shooter mechanics, Alpha Protocol does exactly what it says on the box, and that's make choice your weapon. With a great dialogue mechanic and more choice than your local Tesco megastore, the title is ultimately a letdown in every department except these key disciplines.

Pure Football is quite simply a terrible game on every level, never mind the fact it is one of the worst football titles available. Everything seems to have been rushed and poorly thought out, and the online is just shoddy. Even short blasts will soon get tiresome and it would probably never get near most respectable rental lists either. Avoid at all costs.

A supreme effort, but one that can get a tad repetitive over longer periods of play. It tends to be a bit too close to last year's effort to provide much in the way of new fangled entertainment for veterans. That being said, this is ideal fodder for fight fans and quite simply one of the best fighters around right now.

Remedy set out to create one of the most intense and gripping story experiences of the year and they delivered on their goals with sublime ease. An utterly compelling cast of characters and the most engaging story we’ve experienced in years means that Alan Wake is a must buy. The best survival-horror thriller we’ve seen for quite some time. It’s more Resident Evil than Resident Evil 5 was! Move over Capcom, Alan Wake’s in town!

Red Dead Redemption is undoubtedly one of the finest open-world games in quite some time and easily the best western inspired game ever made. Rockstar San Diego’s production values are seemingly impressive, but for a large triple-A title, it doesn’t have the same polish that you’d expect from a publisher and developer of Rockstar’s calibre. With more glitches than Windows Vista and too much pre-mission horsey riding, Red Dead Redemption is an amazing adventure... but, and if you want to be a 90 plus title in 2010, there can’t be any buts. Well not that big anyway!

Split/Second is a total blast and keeps up the pace for race after race. The only problem is that the novelty eventually wears off and the whole thing starts to feel a little shallow. As an arcade racer, this one is hard to beat though, with thrills galore and it is even more fun to dish out some of the pain online too.

Whilst it is refreshing to see the challenge put back into the Prince of Persia franchise and the return of the excellent – and testing – platforming is a breath of fresh air, the rest of the game seems to have not been given the same love and attention. The combat is nothing short of woeful – and glitchy – and the story is so flat and uneventful that is makes Bayonetta’s plot seem like a wonderful hand-crafted masterpiece spawned from the mind of a sane person.

A lack of genuine innovation and the presence of persisting issues from the first game is unforgivable and frankly, we expected more.

More quantity over quality, Skate 3 nonetheless impresses with its sunny city built to accommodate your team of skaters, but ultimately doesn't deliver much in terms of innovation to the franchise.

A rushed, short and appalling game on every level. Even die-hard Iron Man fans should steer well clear of this rubbish.

Dead to Rights: Retribution can provide some good B-movie fun at first, but it soon gets overly repetitive and the niggling flaws soon begin to grate more and more as the game goes on.

It is hard to classify this game, because it tries its hand at so many different things and that is both its greatest asset and its biggest liability as gamers may well get tired of the seemingly random nature of proceedings. A jack of all trades, a master of none if you will. Stick with it though and you will be rewarded with some truly standout moments and a moving story.

Few will find themselves longing for things to return to the way they used to be, and Super Street Fighter IV updates the already winning formula in a logical, progressive manner to create an end product entirely deserving of its superlative moniker. Others will eventually follow, but for now Super Street Fighter IV is the undisputed fighting game champion of the world.

There's certainly enough new stuff in 2010 FIFA World Cup to make a purchase worthwhile and if nothing else, the new modes and refinements make this a perfect companion to FIFA 10. Simply put, this will be the best football game money can buy... Until FIFA 11 turns up.

Some people would dismiss this as a dull, slow paced historical game – but they would be missing the point. This is a perfect representation of the Holmes world, mixed in with one of the greatest unsolved cases of our time.

There's no doubting that Splinter Cell: Conviction is a great game, but it's a game that ultimately loses its way towards the end. It's almost like a 200m hurdle champion falling at the last hurdle, but still bumbling to his feet to make the finish line in a more than respectable time.

Whilst it’s quite clear that BioWare are in a good run of form with their full retail titles, creating RPGs from the upper echelons of class and sophistication, Kasumi’s Stolen Memories is another piece of DLC that just goes to show that they haven’t taken that art across into their DLC.

Just Cause 2 isn’t going to win any prizes for its trite story and constricting mission structure, but it’s a game that provide moments that no other game can create. The grappling hook revamp has created a gadget that is nothing short of stunning, but the game’s many annoyances hold it back from dominating the sandbox/open-world genre.

A solid racing game that does a good job of recreating a sport that has been pretty much ignored in gaming terms. It may not be suitable for everyone though thanks to the control issues and lack of variety.

A good game for beginners in the strategy genre, but for a title from someone of Chris Taylor's background, you can't help but feel a little underwhelmed. Supreme Commander 2 should have been the game that really offered us a challenge, however, we never found it.

Metro 2033 provides an immersive and bleak universe to explore, with excellent pacing and varied environments that keep the action fresh from beginning to end. We loved the HUD-free gameplay, but a bland narrative full of unmemorable characters, an inconsistent stealth system, and multiple smaller issues kept Metro from realizing its full potential.

This is truly for hardcore Dragon Age fans only and even they may well feel that the whole game has been dumbed down way too much to be recognizable any more.

With a genre that rarely sees any sort of risks or innovation, Resonance of Fate offers both in spades and comes through with high marks at every turn. The battle system could use a bit of a softening in the early chapters, as well as the game's overall difficulty, but once mastered it becomes a lot of fun.

Final Fantasy XIII at times doesn’t feel like a Final Fantasy game; what with its traditional mechanics streamlined down to next to nothing and not much outside the main scope of the game to get on with. If you can put that aside though and sit through a painfully slow beginning, then Final Fantasy XIII is as rewarding as any JRPG on the console.

Facing non-stop attacks for virtually the entire length of the chapter, players will not be able to breathe easy until the credits roll. Providing truly intense action, Desperate Escape is absolutely worth the price of admission alone, while the additional 100 achievement points and two characters for Mercenaries Reunion are merely the icing on the cake.

Bad Company 2 took the solid foundations of the original and built a skyscraper on it. Improving in pretty much every discipline, the sequel boasts a much more robust and comprehensive set of online tools, a pretty engaging campaign and one of the most immersive battlefields in the history of consoles.

A decent add-on pack, but one that has a rather sub par song selection and absolutely no new features of note. New players should definitely stick to the original game, though this does act as a rather cheap DLC pack for those people desperate for some new material.

A lot better than some people would give it credit for and a pleasant change from all the driving simulations out there at the moment. The fun may well be too short lived for most though, with only the most dedicated achievement hunters putting in the required time to unlock everything. While it lasts though, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing can be a barrel of laughs – it's just not quite Mario Kart... damn.

With a campaign chapter lasting about an hour, and only two of the eight Mercenaries Reunion characters available with it, Lost in Nightmares feels like a paper thin package. Truth be told, Mercenaries fans may find enough to love this DLC, but gamers looking solely for a good story mission will feel short-changed.

While this game is not as strong as its predecessors, there is still plenty of fun to be had here, unfortunately the single player campaigns are all far too short and linear to hold your attention for long, but at least the multiplayer makes up for that by being a very solid offering indeed.

This game could have easily pushed into the eighties had it not been for the awful and extremely frustrating save game issues that dog it right from the start to end. Nothing is more upsetting than losing hours upon hours of work to a simple design flaw and it almost puts you off starting again. Where the game really succeeds though is that, despite all that, you cannot help but want one more go.

While this game may not be as strong as the original in terms of suspense or plot, it does make up for it with some neat innovations and a multiplayer mode that can be a lot of fun. For anyone in the mood for a good slice of storytelling then this is the game for them... and for those of you yearning for a return to Rapture, then this will be the perfect tonic.

This is a good game, make no mistake about it, but it suffers from being far too short and easy. After one playthrough you will have seen everything the game has to offer barring the arena mode, which itself, only lasts about an hour once you are leveled up to the max.

Mass Effect 2 is the poster child for non-linear storytelling. With perhaps the finest cast of characters in gaming, and tons of replayability, Mass Effect 2 is an epic sci-fi adventure that shouldn't be missed.

As a new franchise, Capcom’s Dark Void does a lot of things right and has quite a few nice ideas, and for that we can praise it. However, its shortcomings bring those nice ideas crashing back down to earth. With no replay value and boasting an awkward and sub-standard ground combat mechanic, it’s hard to see how the short 8 hour campaign is going to justify its price tag. There are a few nice set-pieces and the jetpack gameplay is a whole host of fun, but unfortunately that’s not really enough these days. For every moment of brilliance, there is a moment of mind-numbing gun-combat or a repetitive “haven’t I just done this?” moment.

Army of Two: The 40th Day is a huge improvement over its predecessor and EA Montreal should be commended for the work they’ve done. Unfortunately the praise will be short lived as you’re constantly bombarded with bugs and minor annoyances that are with you from start to finish. Not enough to break the game, but enough to hamper the experience. The 40th Day is a fun co-op shooter with a great cover mechanic, but it’s as frustrating as it is fun. So just be warned.

This game is fun for a short while but has a real dearth of long term appeal. The events are too few and far between, and are over all too soon, not to mention that once you have mastered them there is zero impetus to go back and play them again.

It may lack a certain level of polish, but for sheer fun you will be hard pressed to do much better, as the combat and puzzles are spot on and hark back to the classic Zelda games. The story does let things down a bit and the graphics are ragged in places, but as a slice of entertainment, this does a damn fine job.

It has been a while since a game of this quality has kicked off the year, but Bayonetta delivers on every front, even managing to draw in players that would normally give this genre a miss, thanks to the superb presentation, humour and charm. The game pretty much lures you into multiple playthroughs too, thanks to that ‘one more try’ mentality to surpass yourself, which is a rare feat indeed. It may be that Japan will not make them like this anymore and that would be a tragedy, so do yourself a favour and enjoy this game.

There’s no doubting that The Saboteur is a barrel of fun and a pretty addictive game that will keep you wanting to do just one more mission, but the simple fact is, it lacks that extra layer of polish and a few ideas are missing to make it a great title.

Rogue Warrior is easily one of the worst games on the Xbox 360. Featuring broken stealth action and bland tactical shooting, Rogue Warrior is a miserable experience, and best avoided at all costs.

Despite its decent presentation and simplistic gameplay mechanics, Avatar is as shallow as the kid’s end of a Hobbit’s swimming pool. Whilst there is nothing overly wrong with the gameplay mechanics per se, after you’ve spent 8 hours going back and forth planting explosives or collecting objects for your mission objective, you’ll be ready to use Avatar as a coaster.

Assassin’s Creed 2 does exactly what we want a sequel to do. It improves on the original vastly and corrects all the errors, it adds a ton more depth and content, yet it still manages to encapsulate the charm of the original.

More modes, more scary zombie madness, a totally different feel to how you romp through the campaign and so much more. Yes, it’s all very familiar, but you won’t regret paying the cash for what is the best co-operative multiplayer experience around.

A mediocre game at best and one that will not even appeal that much to the target audience. Kids want a game that offers fun and excitement and this drawn out sandbox affair has very little of either.

Modern Warfare 2 shatters the old standard of excellence and has raised the bar for what it means to be an epic shooter. With a mind-shattering campaign, superb co-op play, and the deepest multiplayer experience on Live, Modern Warfare 2 is one of the greatest shooters in gaming history, and a must-own for fans of the genre.

This is undoubtedly one of the best RPG games to emerge in recent times and has a perfect balance between out and out fun, mixed with action, romance and comedy.

Clocking in at under five hours, Jurassic: The Hunted comes and goes in the blink of an eye. It packs enough thrills to be worth a rental, but the replay value of this cheesy Dino-slaying extravaganza is limited.

Easily the best simulator on consoles and is a simulation game that racing fans around the world can welcome with open arms. I mean everyone, whether you want to race with all the assists off and get the true simulation experience, or whether you want to experience fast cars and beautiful tracks but don’t know your clutch from your cam belt.

Borderlands provides players with an open world to explore, thousands of guns to collect, and plenty of compelling moments, making it worth a look for fans of shooters and RPGs alike.

Another strong entry in the series, but one that does not bring enough fresh ideas to the table to truly make it stand out. Sure you can make your own story, but the controls and plots are fiddly to manage. For wrestling fans this is a sure fire purchase, but for the rest of us, it is a fun fighting game at best.

This is still a great game of football and has a few neat improvements over last year's offering. However, the 360 degree control hardly seems groundbreaking and the rest of the package seems amazingly familiar. For all those that picked up the game last year, it will seem like very little has emerged to justify another full price release.

Overall, this is quite the forgettable game. Morrowind on the original Xbox had better graphics, and Two Worlds had a better story. The branching dialogue tree does redeem it somewhat, and if you are a fan of the series then it might be worth picking up at a discount somewhere.

Little more than a cash in on the first Lips and one that I would only recommend for people who do not own the original, but even then you are hard done to as you would be missing out on better songs and more achievements. Madness.

You owe it to yourself to give this game a test drive at some point, just for the laughs if nothing else. It may be rough around the edges and have an RTS system that would confuse some people, but overall it’s a solid game that will entertain you time and time again.

Perhaps not as glorious as Lost Odyssey or Eternal Sonata, but it definitely keeps up with Tales of Vesperia and Blue Dragon. A unique, twisting story with likable, engaging characters and a deep, entertaining battle system. Highly recommended.

Simply put, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a brutal, unforgiving and frustrating, but equally as exhilarating, enthralling and rewarding experience. It certainly is a game of two halves if ever there was one. On the one hand your heart will be racing throughout and you’ll be co-ordinating critical military manoeuvres in order to be successful, but then on the other hand you’ll be cursing the squad AI, the random glitchy deaths and the rest of its shortcomings.

I actually really enjoyed this game, but I can't say it really wowed me though. It was short, repetitive and overall didn't add anything new to the genre, but somehow just like its movie counterpart, it had charm and didn't aim to do anything but provide enjoyment; something it succeeded in very well.

Bungie’s latest storytelling method in ODST is certainly unique and captivates the imagination from beginning to end, but the problem is, just when you really start to get going, the experience ends. The single player campaign is far too short and can barely push 7 hours on the hardest difficulty, but there is plenty of replayability within the game’s new Horde, I mean, Firefight mode.

WET is certainly all about style over substance, but the rather short main story will not keep you occupied for too long. The presentation and music is spot on, but aside from a few achievements and challenge modes, there will be very little reason for most players to come back after one playthrough.

I was truly hopeful that the change of direction would be good for the series, but it just seems like a major step in the wrong direction. Instead the game sits uncomfortably between an arcade and a simulation racer, and never really excels in either department. Plus, the loading times border on the outright unacceptable.

This is still the best NHL game on the market, but one that seems to be running out of ideas. It is still a hell of a lot of fun, especially if you can get a full club of people up and running online. For those that have yet to sample an NHL title or skipped last year's, then this should be an essential purchase. For the rest of us it may well be a rental at best.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is passable at best. In answer to my original question of whether Vicarious Visions could handle the big stage? Well, I wouldn't say I booed them off, but I was definitely checking my watch for when the main act would be on.

Darkest of Days takes the concept of time travel in an interesting direction, and then proceeds to fumble at every turn. Poor AI and slowdown lead the list of this game's problems, and with so many better shooters out there, this isn't worth the time and frustration.

A perfect game for the kids but with enough fun to keep the adults entertained as well. You will never feel too taxed or too engrossed for that matter but the cute charm of the game shines through and means there is plenty of entertainment to be had.

A definite step up from the original in more ways than one. Immersive racing, jaw-dropping visuals, an extensive career and a vastly improved online mode make up for the game's few minor annoyances... like riding in vehicles that just aren’t that fun.

Providing a complex and multi-layered experience, Section 8 is one of the better multiplayer titles currently available on the 360. With clan support, stat tracking, and more, hopefully this game will sell well and build up the sizable community needed to keep the battles large and epic. Despite some need for the weapon balance to be re-tuned, an undersized HUD, and poor tank controls, Section 8 is a blast, and worth checking out if you're into large-scale multiplayer battles.

This is certainly not a game for just Batman fans, comic fans or action fans; this is a game that everyone should play and thoroughly enjoy. It looks beautiful, plays like a dream and has a superb mix of action, stealth and detective elements. The combat is intuitive, flexible and surprisingly deep too. Give this game a go and you will not be pleasantly surprise, you will be blown away.

Wolfenstein's Veil powers and the pseudo-sandbox city of Isenstadt make the game an entertaining ride, though poor AI and frustrating bosses hold it back from greatness.

GI Joe is a fun shoot ‘em up for a short while, but then you will realize that you can get pretty much the same kind of action from any number of arcade titles. The action soon gets repetitive and you will have no urge to play the game again, at least having a buddy along for the ride makes things a bit more bearable.

Team Builder and Season Showdown really make the game worth the money. Yes, it is a roster update. Yes, the mechanics appear to be 95% identical to ’09. But yes, it is worth the price if you are a fan of college football.

The entire game is almost identical to the last offering, only with the focus shifted to Quidditch, dueling and potions. If that floats your boat then prepare to spend a few hours just repeating those tasks until the game ends. This may be enough fun for rabid Potter fans but provides little in the way of entertainment for the rest of us.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a great realisation of the western genre both in single player and online in multiplayer. It truly is an authentic western experience that builds on the foundations of its predecessor and will be lapped up by western fans worldwide. If it wasn't for its lack of single player longevity and its few technical hang ups, some of which hamper the gameplay, the game would easily be shooting in the 80's.