Developer Digital Eclipse has delivered yet another riveting, reverent compilation of seminal games with rich behind-the-scenes insights, perfect versions of the arcade originals, and a slew of console ports. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is absolutely essential stuff for anyone with even a passing interest in the fighting game series that allows you to violently kill your rivals. A flawless victory, indeed.

As an RPG, Final Fantasy XV has everything you’d expect: a compelling, emotional story; a tapestry of complimentary mechanics; a significant lifespan; a cast of relatable and well-written characters and a world that’s dense enough to be a character in and of itself. As a Final Fantasy game, it lives up to all the tropes, despite the variations it’s taken from the more ‘classic’ games. Final Fantasy XV is a title that's aimed super high, and although maybe it hasn’t quite hit the targets it set for itself, it certainly doesn’t disappoint, and is a strong enough RPG experience to stand aside The Witcher as one of the best open-world role-playing games of this generation.

A welcome revamp to a more than decade-old cult classic, NieR Replicant ver.122474487139... will be equally inviting to Automata fans, NieR veterans, and newcomers alike. Only a lack of variety, a lightweight combat challenge, and disappointing boss encounters put a downer on proceedings.

Stray is a wonderfully crafted game. It not only manages to successfully immerse you in the role of an adorable cat, where exploration is key, but it also tells an engaging science-fiction story along the way.

Like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy before it, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy brings together three Nintendo DS and 3DS cult classics, but with a slew of bonus material. Beautifully scaled up to pop on your big TV display rather than the dinky handheld screen, all three games look stunning - gruesome murder mysteries have never been so inviting.

A sensational-looking game that looks just like the anime, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO marks a robust return for the dormant Budokai Tenkaichi series, even if the nuts and bolts of the game's fighting mechanics can wear quite thin pretty quickly.

Still Wakes the Deep is wonderfully, authentically Scottish – even the carpets on the Beira D oil rig are tartan. It's also a singularly immersive and utterly memorable piece of work that's among The Chinese Room's very best.

Darksiders II may not be the world-destroying beast we hoped it would be, but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. Whether you are jumping around on ledges, exploring the overworld, puzzling through dungeons or waving your massive axe around, there's a fun, rewarding adventure to be had. Only poor pacing and a lack of new ideas lets it down.

FIFA 18 has come out fighting this year, with an improved game of football, another chapter in its excellent story mode, and more besides. It's still not quite there yet, failing to deliver something as fluid and immediate as it could be. There's ample room for improvement, sure, but FIFA 18 is still a genuinely marvellous footie game.

A tasty dish, Overcooked 2 adds extra spice to the first game's stupidly enjoyable co-op shenanigans, with online multiplayer finally in the mix and the ability to throw food around making for even more gastronomic madness.

Point Lookout provides players with an expansive new area to explore, an intriguing new story, and several side-quests to extend the amount of play time in the new content, making this the biggest and longest expansion yet.

A beautifully crafted love letter to Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Mania is everything a Sonic game should be and more. I'd be deliriously happy if SEGA carried on making them like they used to; if it carried on making more games like Sonic Mania.

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.

A nice surprise, Forgotton Anne is an endearing anime-style platformer that doesn't deserve to go to landfill.

Enjoyable in a mad, pantomime sort of way, Resident Evil Village feels like a pretty significant step back from Resident Evil VII, and a toe back into the absurd. It's a game you're unlikely to forget in a hurry, for entirely the wrong reasons.

Filled with epic boss encounters and memorable battles, RE5 provides a thrilling ride, supported with enough extra content to keep the game interesting for a long time.

It may not be nearly as culturally seismic as Final Fantasy, but Fantasian Neo Dimension is proof positive that Hironobu Sakaguchi is an RPG maestro – it's another memorable tale that deals with big themes and neat systems, and its arrival on consoles is more than welcome.

A triumphant marriage between two huge fighting franchises that could have quite easily been a mess. Filled to the brim with new characters and features, you'll be hard-pushed to find a bigger, better, more vibrant and appealing fighting game out there. Hadoken, indeed.

Black Ops II might not be perfect, but the entertainment value far outweighs some questionable design choices.

The mechanics of Reanimal are slightly plodding and airless, with not much by way of creativity or challenge, but the spectacles are often impressive.

Nearly twenty years since it first released, Virtua Fighter 5 still has plenty of mileage left in it. Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage emerges as the definitive version of a great fighting game, with meaningful new features, and challenging fighting mechanics that will keep you coming back.

An energetic and remarkably well made entry into the extraction shooter space, Marathon can be enormously harsh and unforgiving, but stay with it, and it can also be immensely rewarding.

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.

It looks inviting enough, and an accomplished platformer it may be, but Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is also bastard hard. For the most part, however, Toys For Bob's Crash outing is good, wholesome fun while it lasts.

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.

When you buy a Call of Duty, you have some idea of what to expect. Rest assured that Black Ops 6 lies at the better end of the series' spectrum, boasting a varied campaign that's well worth playing, a pair of robust and endlessly replayable Zombies maps, and multiplayer that remains immediate and immensely entertaining.

If you want to pass an afternoon with a friend and a couple of laughs, LEGO Voyagers will do fine.

UFC 2009 Undisputed is a fantastic recreation of one of the world’s fastest growing sports. The extensive roster, commentary, ring girls, Bruce Buffer and Classic Fights mode with Rachelle Leah ensures that the title is as authentic as they could have reproduced. Despite the stunning visuals though, UFC Undisputed remains on the brink of greatness with a bland career mode, steep learning curve and straightforward online mode.

Another superlative iteration of video game basketball with very few flaws, NBA 2K19's biggest problem remains in its implementation of those pesky microtransactions that threaten to eclipse everything the game does right. Look past that, and NBA 2K19 is still unsurpassed.

If you are looking for a football game to play with friends for the next year, you can’t go wrong with this one. Although the changes and new additions may not be game changing, they do enough to keep Madden 10 fresh and playing with a buddy in co-op is always fun.

WWE 2K24 builds upon the robust foundations of WWE 2K22 and 2K23 with another massively entertaining and accomplished wrestling game, and a wonderful 2K Showcase celebrating forty years of WrestleMania.

Yet another masterful entry in the world-beating series, NHL 13 is an exemplary ice hockey game and the perfect example of how a sports game should be done. The presentation is second to none, the gameplay is nigh-on perfect and the wealth of content on offer is genuinely mind-boggling. NHL 13 is pucking fantastic.

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.

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.

Starfield is the perfect example of a video game that is equal parts brilliant, and equal parts flawed. Its open-world is nothing short of staggering, while its animations and dialogue are something best left in the past. Regardless of that, though, Starfield is truly an iconic experience, and will go down as an all-time great - of that I have no doubt.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an impressive sequel to the brilliant Human Revolution. In the grand scheme of things, there are very few monumental changes, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? And everything that was broken in Human Revolution? It’s all fixed. Held back from true greatness by the odd grumble here and there, Mankind Divided is worthy of anyone’s time and money.

Bad Company boasts a competent and fairly entertaining single player mode but their multiplayer mode is most definitely their fundamental selling point. One of the best multiplayer modes and battle systems on the Xbox 360 as far as I’m concerned.

Yet another sensational compendium of classic arcade fighters, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 brings together eight seminal classics, and although there are a couple of omissions, what's here is great. For anyone who whiled away hours in the arcades back in the 1990s and 2000s, you need to get on this.

I would be surprised if Ragebound is not the best of Koei’s Ninja Gaiden revivals in 2025.

A fast-paced and addictive roguelike first-person shooter boasting a bold cyberpunk style, Deadlink is a cracking little game, and one that rewards your time and effort to boot.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will likely be seen less as the definitive way to play than as simply another way to play. Its reverence for the original makes this one feel oddly anticlimactic.

KT Racing has excelled itself with this one. WRC 9 is the French studio's best rallying effort to date, with a superb Career Mode, licensed cars and tracks out the wazoo, slick, responsive handling, and a surfeit of options.

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.

After thirteen years, Space Marine is finally back, and it delivers on almost every front – more grisly gore, huge swarms of enemies, and, crucially, incredibly robust combat mechanics. It doesn't do much that's new, but who cares? Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a very good thing indeed.

Little Nightmares is surreal, supernatural and odd, but it's great too, its ending equally weird and disturbing, the whole thing will leave an indelible mark on your brain. And that's exactly why you should get it bought.

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!

If the first PowerWash Simulator casually sponged away hours of your time, then prepare to be inexorably immersed once more. PowerWash Simulator 2 takes everything that the original did so well, and offers meaningful improvements to the formula. It's time to clean up once more.

A tight, calibrated tactical shooter that harks back to the genre’s best days.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is silly fun; an enjoyable, exciting and vibrant compendium of collect-a-thon platforming classics given a new lease of life. Flaming wonderful.

Breathing new life into a decade-and-a-half-old PSP game, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion is a cracking remake of a JRPG that was already a pretty ruddy good in the first place. It definitely deserves a fair shake.

Skylanders Swap Force is at its core a fun filled kids game with a penchant for clever in-game marketing. It would be nice to be able to experience 100% of the game right out of the box, but where is the money in that? Instead you will probably get a thoroughly enjoyable 60-70% of the game and if you decide to call it a day at that point you will have still had plenty of fun.

A cool hybrid of platforming, puzzling and pinball, Yoku's Island Express is a bit of a one-off, and therefore well worth seeking out.

While Kick-Off's party games in particular are a highlight, FIFA 19 improves upon last year's outing in almost every department. One of the best football games around, FIFA 19 delivers the most fluid and fun entry yet, and is the kick up the backside the series needed. Back of the net.

Decades on, Gradius still proves enormously addictive and exciting. Gradius Origins is a great way to discover how the '80s and '90s shmup trailblazer helped to define a genre, with seven games that still hold up today.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is the Gears of War that fans didn’t ask for, but it’s the one they got, and it’s actually pretty great, as it happens. The campaign seems to have taken a backseat to the multiplayer in terms of improvements, but it’s worth buying for the multiplayer alone, so there’s that. It’ll tide you over till Gears of War 4 at least, but that’s about it.

With the adaptive AI the terrorist hunts ensure an ongoing challenge that is never the same twice.

Wonderfully, uniquely esoteric, Ghostwire: Tokyo is like little else. A cracking first-person paranormal yarn ripe with fresh ideas, oddly endearing characters, and an immersive world to explore, this is Tango Gameworks' most assured and accomplished game to date. Get wired in.

Dance Central is as close to a killer-app that Kinect has to date and Harmonix has gone and proven that they're not a one trick pony. If you're looking for an excuse to get Kinect, ladies and gents, may I present to you, Dance Central.

It's been more than 25 years since the last Streets of Rage game, and while ostensibly, Streets of Rage 4 might seem like more of the same, there's no way that could ever be considered a bad thing. Streets of Rage 4 is well worth the wait.

The Sexy Brutale is the perfect example of an interesting concept and excellent execution. Sure, it might have its issues, but underneath the unique puzzle mechanics is one hell of an enthralling story. Worthy of your time, indeed!

Ubisoft Montreal has conjured a fairy tale world that you'll enjoy spending time in, a text-based RPG adventure with its own line in rhyming. Child of Light is a glorious game, short and yet sweet, memorable, gorgeous; an incredible feat. And for the small price you'll be paying, Child of Light is definitely more than worth playing.

A loving throwback to the grand old days of defunct adventure game masters LucasArts, Darkestville Castle wears its influences on its sleeve, and as such, it's a beautifully orchestrated tribute. Fortunately, it also happens to be a fun and engaging point-and-click yarn in its own right.

With the welcome return of Braking Point and some substantial improvements to My Team mode, EA Sports F1 25 emerges as another fantastic instalment in Codies' racing series.

Mouse: P.I. For Hire is fast-paced first-person shooter fun with an inviting cartoon twist. Developer Fumi Games' debt to DOOM and its ilk is plain to see, but it's the monochrome noir look and energetic animation that marks this out as something unique, like a rich stilton or something.

Few games manage to pipe so many jaw-dropping sights into your eyeballs and even fewer deliver such complex, enjoyable puzzles and traversal challenges. Shadow of the Tomb Raider does all of this and more, its exhilarating predatory combat the icing on the cake.

The Outer Worlds 2 is a thoroughly enjoyable sequel, boasting an injection of adrenaline-fuelled gameplay compared to the original. We can't help but feel like it's lost a little bit of its soul when it comes to choice and consequence, but that doesn't take away from the overall experience. Just temper your expectations.

Obsidian with Matt and Trey have created a little bit of magic here. Shame about the censorship issues in Europe and Australia, so if it’s possible, you’d be advised to import it. Otherwise, it’s an excellent South Park extravaganza.

Lucid has succeeded in bringing Geometry Wars back with an almighty bang.

As games of this type go, RiME is among the best, its picturesque world one you'll want to spend time in and return to once the narrative has run its course. A stunning, dreamlike experience.

An endearing and impeccably-made reboot of a Capcom classic, Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection not only looks really good, but it doesn't compromise on any of the aspects that made the original so special.

A great gardening/breeding game that improves upon the original in many ways, but maybe not enough to justify you paying full price.

Blazing Chrome is a fantastic slice of retro run 'n' gun that deftly pays homage to a golden era of side-scrolling shooters. Badass.

Mysterious, beautiful, and almost dreamlike, FAR: Changing Tides betters its predecessor, delivering a truly memorable and engaging seafaring journey.

Shift 2 is a better game than its forebear, although it's still perhaps a bit of an acquired taste. Visually, it's an improvement and the handling and gameplay can be as realistic or as forgiving as you like. Hats off to Slightly Mad for taking on-board the criticisms levelled at the first Shift, addressing them and then some. Shift 2 kicks things up a gear, that's for sure.

The Division 2 is almost certainly a step up from its predecessor, offering more content than you can shake a stick at and enough tweaks to make it feel somewhat fresh. While Massive has attempted to rectify the issues of the original, it hasn’t quite managed that yet: yes, enemies are still kind of bullet-spongey and the missions can get quite repetitive after a while, but aside from that, The Division 2 is an impressive follow-up, building upon what was already a solid foundation.

It looks great and plays great and that is more than enough for me.

Is Borderlands 3 the best one yet? Not quite, but it's incredibly close. While it may not eclipse Borderlands 2, Gearbox has crammed Borderlands 3 with more chaotic gunplay, more ridiculous guns with which to wreak havoc, and more silly humour. More of everything, then? Yep. Borderlands 3 is one big bundle of fun.

Sustaining its paper-folding hook across reams of compelling 2D levels, Paper Trail is a pretty unique puzzling adventure, with endearing characters, an engaging fairy tale look, and a procession of smartly executed paper conundrums. This is some good sheet.

While not as an impressive leap forward as FIFA 14 on next-generation consoles, FIFA 15 is still a solid package. The gameplay might have taken a sideways or even slightly backwards step, but at the moment, this is the closest to the beautiful game we have in terms of presentation and delivery. For now.

Dragonborn left me with the same inclination that Skyrim's main game left me with after I had finished with the main questline, and that's that I just want to explore and milk as much content out of it as I can. After 10 hours, there's still stuff I want to see and places I want to go. If you felt letdown by Dawnguard or Hearthfire, then try not to let that put you off, because what Bethesda have created here is exactly what Skyrim fans would have been crying out for… and that's an experience that captures the brilliance of the main game but in a much more bitesize manner. We can't recommend this piece of DLC enough.

On the pitch, as always, Konami almost gets it bang on with eFootball PES 2020, but off the pitch it's seriously lacking in the balance and depth department.

Reminiscent of vintage arcade-era SEGA, New Star GP is a racing game that also happens to be a fantastic homage to five decades of Formula One. If it's a fun, retro-style racing game you seek, then this'll do just fine.

Indika is a must. It stays with you, its heroine is fascinating, and its surreal vision is unsettling. You haven’t played anything like it.

Silent Hill f is a strange concoction. It should be played, if you are a fan, but it suffers a lack of first-rate scares.

From its tense opening to its blistering conclusion, Far Cry 5 is another cracking instalment in the series, streamlining some of the hunting elements and putting co-op up front for both the campaign and the bottomless Far Cry Arcade. The narrative and characters will live on in the memory once you're done and dusted too, as will the insane random minute-to-minute moments that always succeed in making Far Cry so unique.

The Evil Within 2 will certainly hold your attention during its 17 chapters, with flashes of brilliance sandwiched in among the game's various flaws and less memorable sequences. Ultimately, as a sequel, it doesn't quite deliver, but nonetheless, The Evil Within 2 is a survival horror that's just about worth persevering with.

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.

Last year, we said that PES 2019 needs to go big or go home. And while Konami has indeed gone big on refinements and minor changes, the same modes, presentation and lack of licenses holds this year's game back again somewhat. Which is why it's fortunate that PES 2019 still plays a mean game of football. Your move, FIFA.

You can't go wrong picking up Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. While you might feel a little shorted on the single-player story for Dark Athena, your mood will soon improve when you realize that you can just boot up Butcher Bay and relive that experience.

A cracking dose of fast-paced action, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is a triumphant return for FromSoftware's mecha series after a decade, which proves both sternly challenging and deliciously rewarding in equal measure.

Another dose of rallying heaven and hell, DiRT Rally 2.0 is hard-as-nails, uncompromising and bloody brilliant.

A knockout combo of ten arcade greats – including five sensational Darkstalkers games – Capcom Fighting Collection represents fantastic value, online play with rollback netcode the icing on a delectable ass-kicking cake.

What could have so easily been a retread of previous LEGO Star Wars games, has more than its fair share of new ideas. The Skywalker Saga offers a greatest hits compilation of all nine films, wrapped up in signature knockabout comedy, with enjoyable and uncomplicated, though sometimes slightly dull, gameplay. Bottom line is, I'm a sucker for a LEGO Star Wars game. Sign me up. Again.

Still crazy after all these years, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered takes the 2006 classic and burnishes it with meaningful visual upgrades, refined combat, and other modern touches. And it retains all of its original charm, that unique eccentric spirit left entirely intact.

Providing players the broadest DLC quest line yet, new weapons, new enemies, and ten more levels to gain, Broken Steel is worth every penny you'll pay to download it, and is recommend for both newcomers to Fallout 3 and veterans alike. Broken Steel's additions to the game will continue to be felt and enjoyed long after the 4-5 hour storyline is complete. Wastelanders, get out there and crush the Enclave!

On the pitch, PES 2018 still delivers big with a footie game that remains the best around. Unfortunately a lack of anything truly innovative holds it back somewhat, as does the continuing shortage of licenses. Next year, PES needs to go big or go home.

Trimming away the fat to reveal a lean and mean sequel, EA Sports UFC 4 puts Career Mode in the spotlight, turns Knockout Mode into an arcade-style one-on one, and throws in backyard bouts for good measure. And while it's a gross oversight that Jean-Claude Van Damme and the soundtrack to Bloodsport are missing from KO Mode's Kumite, EA Sports UFC 4 is nonetheless a worthwhile new entry. We're just surprised there's no Fight Island.

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.