Dishonored: Death of the Outsider is another masterful entry in the series that in spite of its relatively slender runtime, is still a good few hours of first-person nirvana. Like Dishonored and its sequel before it, this is utterly essential.

Like Red Bull Racing winning every single Grand Prix, Codies brings home yet another cracking Formula One racing sim in F1 23, bringing back the excellent Braking Point story mode alongside all of that other good stuff. Break out the champagne – this one's a winner.

A fantastic racing game at its core, Need for Speed: Most Wanted is let down by too few race types and a multiplayer mode with somewhat limited appeal. Joyriding around Fairhaven can be fun in its own right, but there's simply too little real meat on Most Wanted's bones. Most Wanted? Nearly, but not quite. Criterion can do and has done better.

Two Point Hospital is a most excellent return from the abyss for the ‘hospital simulator’, one that is wholesome, colourful, incredibly creative and a joy to behold. It does tend to get a little repetitive after a while, but up until that point you’re in for a real treat.

A crisp and cracking remaster of a little known Nintendo DS curio, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is Capcom doing what it does best – bringing back its old games in carefully considered, elegantly made revivals. This is no exception.

The truth of the matter though is that beneath Bulletstorm's bravado and crude exterior beats the heart of a shooter that will challenge how you think about and play shooters, possibly forever.

Not really a major leap forward over Fallout 3, but certainly not just more of the same either. The variety of missions and random tasks will keep you entertained for hours and the few new additions serve to provide a welcome distraction in terms of crafting, gambling and reputation management. Jump in, but make sure you come up for air now and again.

Nightdive has done its level best to make System Shock 2 sleek and fast, in the hope that a little of the revolutionary might leak out.

Volition gets many things right in Saints Row: The Third in what is no doubt a fine sequel, but it's very much a case of sequelitis for the THQ franchise. The zany and over-the-top nature, well-written script and whole host of sandbox toys are held back ever so slightly by the oddly paced and repetitive proceedings of the game's main story.

Metro Redux offers two flawed but enjoyable games with a substantial visual upgrade and a number of thoughtful additions.

This title is going to be tough to pick up for newcomers but if you persevere with the controls you will soon be pulling off tricks like a pro. I may never understand the lingo but I know fun when I see it.

An accessible Roguelike that might initially seem a bit on the short side, Ravenswatch has more than ample replay value in the number of characters, modifiers, abilities, and items to experiment with. If you enjoyed Hades and crave roguelike action of a similar ilk, then the fairy tale charms of Ravenswatch will scratch that itch.

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.

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.

Hitman 2 is a solid follow-up to our 2016 Game of Year, delivering five huge killer sandboxes to explore to your heart’s content. Yes, the maps might not be as unique as iterations gone-by and there is seemingly fewer than normal, but boy, are they great maps. Factor in Contracts mode and the excellent Ghost Mode, and Hitman 2 is very much worth your time. Where else can you dress up as a mascot or get involved in a poisonous drinking game to take down a target? Answer: no-bloody-where!

Life Is Strange: True Colors is a return to form for the franchise, which delivers a captivating story from start to finish, one that will see you go through all the emotions. Just like Alex Chen herself.

WWE 2K25 continues a strong run of wrestling games with another enormously enjoyable and robust entry, full to bursting with modes and playable Superstars, and an interesting new distraction in The Island. This is well worth swandiving into.

A few new gameplay mechanics and the Fantasy Draft mode might not seem like enough to make you part with your cash, but the subtle changes are enough to make every game feel like a new challenge.

There’s no doubting that FIFA 14 is an improvement over last year’s version, but that improvement is very slight and those who aren’t ardent FIFA fans would probably never notice the differences. Having already played the next-gen version – with the new Ignite engine – I’d have to say you’re probably best off waiting. That one at least feels and looks like a different game, this one does not. Still, FIFA 14 is as great as ever.

Beautiful to behold, pleasing to the ear, Child of Eden can nonetheless be extremely punishing to play at times. There's not really much to do in the game either, but it's worth playing just for the experience. Go on. Take the trip.

If you think Resident Evil 4 is dated, then you're a heathen. It's still as fresh now as it's ever been, although you may have to adjust to the control system which is showing its age. More bonus content would have been nice, but the chance to revisit a bona-fide modern classic is massively welcome. Welcome to Resident Evil 4 HD, stranger! You're going to love it all over again.

Control is another absolute hit from Remedy, one that delivers from both a gameplay and narrative perspective. One of the generation’s most intriguing game worlds and almost perfect pacing, the only thing that holds Control back from being an all-time classic is its unfortunate and frustrating technical issues.

A marked improvement over last year, but the absence of pace is sorely missed. FIFA 16 is not as good on the pitch as PES this year – again – but it’s a great football game regardless, with unrivalled off the pitch options.

Short it may be, but Resident Evil 3 is also delightfully sweet. Or as sweet as a survival horror game possibly can be, anyway. Pared back, streamlined and completely brilliant, you'll have a blast outrunning Nemesis all over again.

Keep your fingers crossed that SEGA and Platinum Games continue to work together, because if they keep putting out quality products like Vanquish, then everyone's a winner. It doesn't quite reach the dizzy heights of Bayonetta and it's nowhere near as brilliantly esoteric, but Vanquish does put a new spin on the third-person cover shooter. And for that reason alone – despite some slight niggles and flaws – Vanquish deserves recognition for daring to break the mould a bit.

Fifteen stages of comic book nirvana, fifteen perfectly realised Marvel characters, and a bucketload of references for fans ensure Marvel Cosmic Invasion succeeds as another superlative retro-style scrolling beat 'em up from Tribute Games. This is about as good as it gets.

The game has taken Tiburon’s first outing, shaken it by the horns and ironed out any flaws that last year’s game had, replacing them with some great new features.