Racing across the USA for a cash prize is a great concept, and perhaps there's a Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay collaboration in there somewhere. Or possibly there's a sequel that can inject some variety and fun into proceedings, rather than a succession of thankless, exhausting rubber-band races against faceless opponents and stereotypical rivals. Need for Speed: The Run does generate some memorable highlights, but they're simply too few and far between.

A pleasing adaptation of a family-favorite franchise. All around good fun and despite the short length, there is plenty of extras to come back to. Not exactly a blockbuster title, but a nice addition to a child's catalogue for sure. The older crowd can at least appreciate it for a bit of fun and an easy gamerscore boost.

Armored Core V is certainly a deep game, but it's also one that is let down by an underwhelming solo experience and an overly demanding online mode.

There is fun to be had here, especially in some of the more ridiculous endings, but even those are examples of tonal whiplash in a title that plays it straight for the most part. More film than game, The Complex doesn’t gain enough from the premise of being interactive - instead, it ends up as a strangely paced movie with a lack of focus and not enough tension to draw players in.

As a pure stealth experience, Styx: Blades of Greed is something of a treat. Despite being a bit rough around the edges, and slightly lacking in technical finesse, developer Cyanide's latest dose of sneaky goblin action is well worth a punt.

Clocking it at 3-4 hours, Operation Anchorage isn't extremely long, and some gamers may wish for more for their 800 points. However, most of that time is spent in combat, and the quest line feels intentionally designed to provide the best experience, with absolutely no fluff or filler to artificially pad the expansion's length.

Sniper Elite V2 is a solid game and one that should provide plenty of entertainment for those with an interest in brutally doing away with their enemies with a high powered rifle (read: everyone). Sadly there are a few flaws that hold the game back and make it a more frustrating experience than it ought to be. There is still plenty here to enjoy, but only if you're prepared to endure a few rough spots.

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.

Last year, we noted that WWE 2K17 was a marginally better game than 2K16 was. We could say the same thing about WWE 2K18. It is marginally better. But given that it recycles the same old gameplay mechanics and doesn't add enough to the tried and tested template, it's hard to really recommend WWE 2K18. Been there, done that. Next year, Yuke's needs to give WWE 2K a firm dropkick directly to its lycra-clad arse.

Cramming many of Assassin’s Creed’s calling cards into ACC: China’s diminutive 2.5D frame, while amping up the importance of stealth, is impressive. But too much of the game is flat and uninspired. There’s the barest bones of a great game here. Let’s hope one of the sequels expands on that promise.

Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut isn't a bad game, it's just not a particularly great one. If you're screaming out for a space combat game in the Colony Wars mould, however, this will certainly fit the bill. Just don't expect to be playing Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut for a particularly long time after you've beaten the missions the first time around.

While Transference offers something unique in how it utilises sound, throwing in the mechanic of switching between alternate realities for puzzle solving, it sadly falls flat in its narrative and doesn't offer much to encourage you to come back and explore.

It isn't trying to be competition to the tennis sims, it's providing an alternative option that is simple, easy and fun.

An enthralling open-world crime drama tarnished only by a few largely inoffensive bugs, Mafia 3 succeeds in delivering an involving story with great shooting and stealth gameplay. Repetitive missions and a lack of polish mar the experience, but you'll still have a ton of fun playing Mafia 3.

If you're hoping for a decent single-player experience, you're shit out of luck. Payday 3 is a resolutely co-op affair, but then, you'll need people you can trust to pull of the perfect heist. Either way, this is a first-person shooter that's criminally good fun.

Unless you've missed a few iterations of NBA 2K, there are few – if any – reasons to delve into this year's offering. NBA 2K21 features the same old insidious microtransactions that have marred MyCareer for years, but provides very little that's genuinely new or fresh. Capping off the generation with a whimper, we remain hopeful that NBA 2K21 is a lot better on next-gen platforms, because this current-gen version is a lukewarm rehash.

Bithell Games assumes your passion for Tron, but what is here stands on its own, though it doesn't truly succeed on its own.

A truly immense RE title that succeeds as a third-person action shooter, but falls flat on its face as a survival horror game. Yes, times have changed, but if Dead Space can still provide a good balance of scares and set-pieces, then why can't Resi?

High On Life is easily Squanch Games’ most ambitious project, but aside from the environments and the world-building which match that ambition, the first-person shooter itself is incredibly generic, and not funny enough to make up for it.

Dead Island Definitive Collection is one of the better value remastered bundles currently available, serving up one genuinely good game, one relatively crap sequel, and a reasonably enjoyable bonus game in Retro Revenge. For the cash, you could certainly do a lot worse, and few other games do zombie slaughter quite so well.

Managing to make the forest seem oppressive and claustrophobic, Blair Witch is adept at creating a tense and foreboding atmosphere, while weaving a compelling narrative that still proves exciting, even if you've sussed out the final twist hours before the end. You'll never look at trees the same way again.

Disintegration blends together FPS and RTS elements to create a satisfying gameplay experience, with weapons that feel great to use and battles that will have you constantly on your toes. Campaign missions can be hit-or-miss and the game's storytelling is a little slight, but an enjoyable multiplayer mode will keep you playing once the credits have rolled.

Unless you absolutely thought Prince of Persia was one of the great games of last year, it’s truly hard to recommend the Epilogue to you. Sure the new level is great and the story is as we’ve come to expect from the series, but after the short 2 hour burst, there is nothing left to do.

Doom 3: BFG Edition is still an enjoyable romp through armies of hellspawn, and if you've yet to play the Doom series, there's a lot to like here. Just be prepared for plenty of repetitive strafing and hours of fragging ugly demon ass. This is quite clearly the devil's work.

A game for the Dragon Ball purists, Xenoverse is unlikely to appeal to anyone else.

A sequel that delivers a glut of content, but locks too much of it away, Star Wars Battlefront II is nonetheless a clear labour of love and a robust multiplayer shooter, sadly buried in an over-complicated progression system. To try or to try not, then? If you're prepared to put in the time and effort, then Star Wars Battlefront II can be enormously fun and rewarding, even if it might not necessarily be the game you were looking for.

If you can get past all the issues that The Sims 4 has on consoles, it’s a ton of fun. That’s a pretty big 'if' though!

A solid but sadly unpolished Lovecraft-inspired detective story, The Sinking City has all of the key ingredients to be something compelling, but it's rough around the edges. Dodgy combat drowns an otherwise robust horror-tinged bout of sleuthing, drenched in intrigue.