It's consistent, it's measurable, and it's the best fighting game ever - but now even more awesome.

Halo was remarkable in the ambition and innovation that made it so fresh, but the mighty number three doesn't have quite that same freshness - instead, it has a reassuring maturity to it, crafted as it is by a team who have learned from every mistake they've made and every word of feedback the community has offered over the years. Halo 3 is the best Halo has ever been, and you won't find a greater accolade than that.

Everything you ever wanted from a music title, and so much more besides. It doesn't matter how you want to play Rock Band 3, just know that you really do need to play it.

A massively impressive licensed game. Without a license holding it all together Arkham Asylum would have been a stunning game with striking features. That it's all wrapped up in Batman's world makes the experience so much more appealing, and it works both as an extension of lore for Batman enthusiasts and an entry point for those less familiar with the DC universe. [Oct 2009, p.84]

Everything that we loved about GTA IV but with its own voice. A gaming goldmine. [Aug 2010, p.81]

Massive, ambitious and thoroughly brilliant, Deus Ex Human Revolution turns out to be three different games at once, and all of them are outstanding.

Bioshock leaves you to figure things out for yourself. It's a gruelling game of resource management, and as the ammunition dries up, you end up having to improvise. And more often than not, Bioshock will reward you heavily for thinking outside the box.

A sandbox with unparalleled scale, this comes close to even topping GTA IV. [Jan 2010, p.80]

Doesn't change the record but pumps up the volume. The last essential FPS of the decade. [Jan 2010, p.64]

More than just a gimmick, this may be the best open-world action game on 360. [Aug 2009, p.86]

In almost all respects, Fallout 3 is a staggering, genre-defining achievement - marrying an utterly immersive world, memorable characters, incredible production values, some of the most inspired RPG mechanics ever devised and so much heart. It might not steamroll the epic "Oblivion" in the manner we all hoped, but maybe that was simply asking too much. Instead, Fallout 3 stands as the perfect companion piece - a near unparalleled RPG that stands so far ahead of the majority of the games on 360 that it would be a crime against gaming not to laud this title as anything other than a masterpiece.

A masterpiece of co-op gaming that's endlessly replayable and genuinely scary. [Jan 2010, p.76]

Visceral Games has managed to create a stunning single-player adventure and has made an encouraging, if imperfect, first step into the realm of multiplayer. Buy it. Fear it. Love it. Dead Space 2 is the undisputed king of action horror.

An essential rhythm action game. [Jan 2009, p.80]

Water Castlevania's roots and a rollicking adventure sprouts forth. Brilliant, bloody fun.

This year's game plays ultra-slick. [Dec 2011, p.104]

A huge and stunning sequel, as witty as it is brain-bendingly challenging. [July 2011, p.98]

Even with its faults, PES 2008 is still unquestionably a better game than its predecessors. It may be lacking in a couple of areas (hell, they needed to justify making next year's PES 2009 after all...), but PES 2008 remains far more than a yearly update; it's the first true next gen iteration of Xbox World's most played game. [Dec 2007, p.64]

Looks like a straight run and gun horror shooter, but it's filled with ideas which will be copied for years. [Feb 2009, p.68]

The latest installment provides rallying that's almost as thrilling as the real thing. Special stuff. [Nov 2009, p.82]

The very fact that we wish Dead Space included more of its original features and less content pulled from the last generation's greatest game speaks volumes for the quality on show. [Issue # 71]

Gears does what it does flawlessly. It's not the best shooter ever, but it's definitely the best Gears. [Christmas 2008, p.50]

The first hack-'n'-slash game which genuinely belongs to this gen, Bayonetta also sets a new standard. [Jan 2010, p.94]

They've surpassed themselves - intense, exhilarating, hugely accomplished racing. [Aug 2011, p.94]

No one does war like Clancy does, and this could be his finest hour yet... if it wasn't just a little bit too short.

Never before has storytelling been so competently ingrained into a videogame, and never before has a player had so much freedom to dictate the course of a linear storyline. Mass Effect isn't the laser-spewing monolith of a game we expected it to be, but it is far, far, far from a disappointment. [Christmas 2007, p.56]

Does for Spitfires what Forza does for Ferraris. The best combat flight sim ever made.

Swallow the shame of buying this and you'll own one of the 360's finest. [Dec 2008, p.94]