An exceptional game no matter which way you cut it: intense singleplayer with stunning graphics and audio, and a rock solid multiplayer component.

Far Cry 2 is without doubt one of the best FPS games currently available on the Xbox 360.

It really is a beautiful game, truly 'next gen' in appearance if not gameplay.

By adjusting the control scheme and difficulty to suit your skill and experience FIFA World Cup South Africa is capable of simulating an extremely realistic and entertaining game of soccer.

Modern Warfare 2 is undoubtedly the single biggest release this year; not only in gaming but in entertainment, period. It delivers in a lot of areas; it has a campaign marinated in grandeur (even if it is to short) and a deep, engaging multiplayer facet (even if it is littered with connectivity issues).

If you're an avid rail-shooter enthusiast, I do recommend you play Rez if you haven't already, because it will draw you in, only letting go when it's ready.

The story is great, the double agent dynamic is unique and engaging, and the set-piece levels and accompanying ‘next-gen' graphics are second-to-none. But with all that said, Double Agent's drift from the stealthy core of Sam Fisher's past travails will no doubt displease many hardcore fans, and this is arguably the simplest and least challenging game in the series.

Brilliant audio, amazing graphics and the inclusion of Xbox Live co-operative play go a long way to minimising the pain of the game's shortcomings, though a more fleshed-out Deathmatch mode would've been great.

The total package that it offers by returning to 'its roots' and bringing back things such as Stage Fatalities as well as introducing new features such as Death Traps, Puzzle Kombat and Chess Kombat make it too good for MK fans to miss out on.

New features for 05 have made the game deeper and offered a more balanced gameplay engine.

While the interface between you and your squad has been simplified it streamlines the process and therefore requires less jumping out of the action to control your team and makes the game more accessible to new players.

While the single-player is laughably transparent and Sam Worthington makes me want to punch a kangaroo; Black Ops still offers one of the generation's very best online modes, vastly improved from previous ventures – we've got a new juggernaut, kids.

While Symphony of the Night was served up in the nineties, it's still welcomed with open arms today by XBLA enthusiasts.

If you didn't enjoy the first Viva Piñata, then Trouble in Paradise isn't going to turn you around on the matter. However, if you were an avid fan of the original, there's every reason you'll still be in love with this series.

While it could be harder, it's a very exhilarating game that offers up hours and hours of high speed thrills.

TTT wraps up the series in a sincere and compelling way that is genuinely rare in the gaming world.

The streamlined gameplay and tight narrative are worlds removed from the original game, but it will leave you feeling like this is the way it should always have been.

The ability to create items and the differences between the playable characters adds loads of depth to what is essentially a linear adventure and co-operative mode adds even more re-playability.

Skate was such a technical masterpiece; it was always going to see a bunch of sequels. And Black Box has done very well to ensure there were no backward steps.

Billions of hours are destined to be lost online as it slowly takes over the world because the multiplayer alone covers the retail price, and features such as Forge and Saved Film only further justify the purchase.

Regardless of what you think of Devil May Cry, or Ninja Theory as a developer, or Capcom as a publisher – DmC: Devil May Cry is a fun game.

The graphics and sound are some of the best on Xbox.

In the end of the day, it's still Guitar Hero, the uglier, sometimes less pleasing brother of Rock Band.

The return to more trick based gameplay is welcome, but there doesn't seem to be much more they can do with the series.

The boss battles, the furious action, the Vital Suits and the fun online modes all contribute to make Lost Planet one of the surprise sleeper hits on the 360 so far.

The awesome production values put into EON easily make it the best modern Bond game yet and even without Xbox Live support is still definitely worth your money.

While there aren't necessarily any revolutionary additions, this is a finely polished game that will please golf fanatics and casual gamers alike.

It may not be the deepest gaming experience, and much of the game's objectives are exactly the same (although placed in differing contexts) but it is also the most fun I've had on my Xbox in a very, very long time.

If you've played through the game previously on another platform then it's dependent on how much you love the game as to whether the console upgrade is worth it. However, if you're someone who has never experienced the humble joys of a Popcap gem such as this then it's a more-than-worthy purchase.

FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is fun. Immense fun. It's hectic, action packed, violent and features plenty of stuff that no other series offers.

Character models are another stand out point. The characters look fantastic and perform animations brilliantly.

What you end up getting with Cloning Clyde is an excellent example of a classic style puzzler remade and infused with just enough cheek and humour to definitely be worth the asking price of 800 Microsoft Points.

An argument could be made that Continuum Shift only offers true value to those who missed out on the 360 release of BlazBlue the first time around.

Lords Of Shadow is the revitalization Castlevania needed and deserved.

And while the graphics may not be the best around and the game may be a little rough around the edges, when you factor in the great cooperative play and the ridiculously frantic multiplayer, Saint's Row 2 is a criminally good game.

It manages to provide not only an extremely satisfying hack'n'slash experience, but also a solid story and non-combat component that adds a little depth to the usual shallow, button-mashing gameplay.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 is a great game. It captures the Rainbow Six ‘feel' and delivers high intensity gameplay both on and offline.

There simply is no other game that comes as close to not only recreating a film, but also making you feel like you're in control of the action rather than just a part of it.

By combining the same addictive button-mashing core of its predecessor with better visuals, better level design, more dynamic gameplay (thanks to the scripted events that drive the levels), and a multiplayer co-op mode, Return of the King is an exceptionally well-produced game.

Condemned: Criminal Origins is one of the finest horror games to date, managing to mix the traditional scares with action-packed, enjoyable combat. The atmosphere is palpable, the audio downright chilling, and the storyline is compelling and well executed.

Provided you aren't expecting an in-depth, stat-heavy RPG, Fable 2 can be a wonderful experience, and it's exactly the sort of game you make it, which is exactly what the developers want it to be.

In terms of laying the groundwork for future iterations, Reckoning does an incredible job of establishing the lore as well as the world of Amalur itself. On the other hand, it fails to dish up a compelling single-player narrative, as the main plotline lacks substance and culminates in an almost cliché boss encounter by today's standards.

A solid sequel to a solid debut...it makes smart, incremental changes to the gameplay without messing with what made it work so well.

But with the gameplay improvements, enhanced Xbox Live, ear-blowing audio and jaw-dropping visuals, it's still a pretty attractive prospect.

Guitar Hero III offers few surprises and it feels like NeverSoft decided to ‘tread lightly' and not upset the apple cart (so to speak).

Too varied to be comfortably squeezed into the beat-'em-up genre, The Warriors will have you laughing in pleasure and wincing in mock sympathy for your on-screen victims.

If you can ignore the sloppy motorbike sequences and often unsatisfying combat, you'll have no trouble fitting into Lara's skimpy outfits and immersing yourself in the most enjoyable action-adventure on the Xbox 360 to date.

DiRT does plenty right and features the most realistic forest and desert environments ever seen in an Xbox racing game.

Running for a short and sweet couple of hours, "A New Day" is a damn cool introduction for what promises to be another sprawling saga from those talented guys and girls at Telltale Games. The cast is brought to life by intelligent writing and just about forces us, in no time at all, to find a soft spot for just about each and every one of them.

The presentation is smooth, the enemies are fun and varied to take on (and the dismemberment feature adds some dynamicity to the battles) and the boss battles are absolutely superb. This is a ridiculously fun ride, even if it does delve into the ridiculous at times. But it wouldn't be a Japanese action game without that.

A pure action epiphany, with awesome gunplay and crazy combat, mixed with a shot of Tequila and South American spirit.

A fabulous game, with single players being well catered for, and online players having a similar, although more arcadey and faster experience than their P.C counterparts.

It's low level of frustration, great controls and creepy atmosphere are almost certain to please survival horror fans.

As a whole, however, Need for Speed: Most Wanted comes across as extremely polished and very fun.

It looks great, it's dangerously addictive, and most importantly the wealth of professionally presented and enjoyable content makes it a value-packed purchase for anyone who likes a good puzzle game.

It's a shame that so many gamers will never even hear about FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan and the Raincoat Killer, because the game has so much to offer.

One of the finest soccer games I have played. Everything when playing a match feels fantastic. Scoring goals takes hard work, and when you do you feel as though you really have earned it.

Driver: San Francisco has allayed most of the concerns I had when it was first announced, fixing most of the problems that the previous games were marred by.

In my opinion all the games shortcomings are well and truly made up for by what the game does right. The world of Metro 2033 is painstakingly constructed with design elements skilfully integrated with the gameplay.

Far Cry 3 is a marked improvement from its predecessors though I feel as though it's effectively lost its identity and instead attempts to mirror everything about other franchises to make itself successful.

Syndicate is an excellent shooter that does a lot of things right in the gameplay department. A fun combination of excellent gunplay combined with an okay range of abilities and powers and some well put together melee moves makes the game a mixed bag that never gets too old.

The amount of characters and styles is huge but, the Story mode is greatly lacking, and the other modes can be incredibly frustrating at times.

A brilliant debut title for veteran Bioware's self-created world, combining solid storytelling with blisteringly fast and brutal martial-arts action.

Overlord is already shaping up as the sleeper-hit of 2007 – underpromoted by its publisher, barely hyped by consumers and critics, yet it delivers a unique and enjoyable experience on the Xbox 360.

Battlefield Bad Company is a great game and continues the excellent fun found in every game in the Battlefield series that I've played so far.

Splinter Cell Conviction deviates from the original series in quite a substantial way, but keeps its soul is intact.

With its many accessible difficulty options and forgiving career mode, PGR4 manages to be a very fun arcade racer.

Carcassonne is the sort of board game that the Arcade needs more of: simple to pick up and play, but plenty of scope for competition and strategy for hardcore gamers. The games are quick, lots of fun, and the whole package is well polished and easy to use.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a game that unfortunately doesn't provide a lot of revelation, but it is a fitting send off to both Altair and Ezio.

Sleeping Dogs is a very well put together action game that manages to keep your interested throughout the whole story (as well as through most of the non-essential content). It manages to pick and choose components from other games that really work well, tweak them to give them their own unique touch, and provide an experience that manages to cover all bases and do a generally better job at them than other heavyweights in the open world genre.

What FlatOut does it does exceptionally well. It offers hours and hours of extremely solid racing action with excellent physics and handling that is very enjoyable, offline and online.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is that rare gem of a movie-companion game which manages to elevate itself above the source material.

A game to convert even the unworthy to boxing, Fight Night Round 3 will have you quite literally thumbing your way to heaven.

It is a good World War II shooter that a lot of people are bound to enjoy, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that, but I feel it doesn't have enough of its own identity to really win me over from continuing to play COD4.

Worth your time, although your mileage may vary.

The Instincts portion is a great game, looks absolutely stunning, and is fun and exciting, if a little easy and short.

From Dust is a very well put together puzzler that's obviously had a lot of thought and effort put into it. Not only does it offer a rather breathtaking setting to the player, but the various simple mechanics all come together to create a fun and compelling gameplay experience that hasn't really been duplicated on the Xbox Live Arcade before.

The animation in particularly looks very stilted, yet it remains an important milestone in gaming history for us oldies to croon over.

The game creates an excellent and believable sense of ‘reality', as much as a video game horror story can. You'll suspend your disbelief for the most part, and there are some very cool and spooky moments early in the game that will really put you on edge.

Civ: Rev is a great game, and I think most people will have a great time with this game, both online and offline.

Builds on the great gameplay elements from "The Sands of Time" but lets itself down with too much backtracking and a weak script. The level design in the game is amazing, at times breathtaking and the addition of Boss battles is great.

It excels where it counts in the gunfights and driving sequences and has buckets of style.

Overall Shank 2 is a really beautifully presented game, with a sharp, distinctive art style, and mostly awesome button-bashing gameplay, let down slightly by a few odd design choices here and there.

While The Darkness was a very atmospheric, story driven shooter with an incredibly gritty artistic direction, The Darkness II is an action packed, colourful story driven shooter that ramps up the action and provides players with an incredible amount of tools to have fun with. Many players will enjoy ripping enemies apart, wielding four different kinds of weapons and, of course, beating the bad guy. To put it quite simply, The Darkness II makes you feel like a real bad-ass.

Outland is a great platformer that brings together a unique artistic visual style with well-crafted and perfect feeling gameplay. It's just a little bit of a shame that it feels a tad shallow compared to other titles on the market. Still, at 800 points, this is an absolute steal that every platforming fan should pick up.

The simple fact of the matter is Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 should have been released last year. But still, it feels a bit like we're getting the same game over and over.

The additions this year make this a worthwhile pick up, but this year more than ever I wish the game wasn't a yearly event. Although nothing new breaks the game, and with practice you'll develop an appreciation and even fondness for the new changes, it's the little flaws which indicate that perhaps EA didn't get enough time to do everything they wanted. If the game was given more time for polish on the new features, this would easily be the best FIFA since 2010.

Choplifter HD is a worthy remake and a fun addition to the arcade library. Its pick up and play gameplay will make it easy for new and old players but difficult to master and complete the game. If you're looking for a quick game of something when time is short then Choplifter HD is the type of game for that situation.

De Blob 2 is a fantastic, fun game. Its cute characters will have you giggling throughout playing, and the clever game design will have you marveling at how something pretty simple can be so engaging. There's enough variety and challenge to never leave you bored, even with the lack of features such as leader boards and online play.

If you know what you're in for then G.R.A.W. will definitely scratch your tactical shooter itch. However, if you get annoyed with fiddly controls and are not very patient when it comes to progressing through games, G.R.A.W. won't be for you.

While the graphics aren't up to what Xbox owners expectations may now be, the game still looks great and ultimately, its 'fun factor' easily lifts it up into borderline gaming greatness.

What's on offer though is the slick refinement of everything from the first 3 games, with graphics updated for the HD era and some killer online action for 16 players, twice that of PGR3.

Easily one of the more polished first person shooters available on the Xbox. I would have liked to have seen some more advanced squad control options, or options to remove the visual cues, as this, plus the level design, gives the game a very linear feel.

Kane's Wrath does well on expanding what Tiberium Wars did to benefit the strategy genre.

Assault Heroes is easily one of the best original Xbox Live Arcade titles to date; the graphics are awesome, the action is intense and the gameplay is tough but enjoyable.

Catan is an odd choice to lead the board-game charge onto the Xbox Live Arcade, but Big Huge Games have done a phenomenal job of recreating the experience on the console.

It puts its mark on the ‘next-gen' in a way that will finally have Rockstar's venerable series being measured against something else as opposed to itself.

Whilst this is Microsoft’s first venture onto the ice, it does quite a respectable job at recreating the action, speed and excitement of the game of hockey.